Best Served Cold

16: Hard Tensions

I got home and Jordan helped my unload all of my bags, carting them up stairs and placing them in my apartment before bidding me goodbye after I gave him a long lecture about keeping to the speed limits.

I put everything away, hiding them in the back of the cupboards that Broody doesn't open or rarely goes into and decided to make a start on dinner. Pulling out the chicken fillets I decided to crumb them and make a salad with a cream sauce. I pulled out the hormone replacements and turned them over in my hands. I knew they can take a while to work so I best do it now. I wasn't sure if crushing up the tablets and putting them in his food was going to work but I would try anyways. If it works for dogs then it's bound to work for Broody.

Pouring out two tablets I crushed it with the edge of the blade and then separating the sauce. Pouring my half over my chicken and salad I mixed the tablets in with the remainder of the sauce and poured it over his plate.

Just as I was finishing up the dinner my phone started ringing interrupting my moment of feministic power. Pulling out my phone I glanced at the caller id and bought it to my ear.

"Hello?" I asked into the phone.

"Hey kiddo, you breathing and staying away from drugs?" John's voice rang out with his usual one line greeting.

"Yes and yes." I chuckled and leaned in against the kitchen counter, my fingers tracing the pattern in the bench top.

"Good. I'm glad to hear it."

"So what's up John?" I asked him wondering why he called although I suspected it was for his check up every few weeks.

"Nothing much, just checking up on you. How is everything?"

"Good. Works been busy as always and I think Rose is trying to get me fired." I raised an eyebrow and pouted even though he couldn't see me.

"She sounds like a real piece of work. What are you working on now?" He asked sounding purely interested as he always is. John always supported my decisions and my job even if I was making the wrong ones.

"A restaurant that is going to be opening up, we going to renovate the old building, it's going to amazing." I said with all my pride.

"Well with you working on it, I'm sure it will be. How about that fiancé of yours? and Julie?"

"Julie is" Great? Fine? Misunderstood? Crazy? "Julie is Julie." I figured that answer was self-explanatory.

"And Broody?" He pressed probably picking up on my hesitation.

Do I tell him? John and Broody don't talk so I had no doubts that he would tell him - not that he would even think about doing such a thing - but I still didn't know.

"Broody's fine." I finally said.

"Is everything okay on that front?"

"Not really but I kind of don't really want to talk about it right now." I didn't want to lie to him but I didn't want to speak about it now, not after I have already explained it once today.

"I understand, but when you're ready I'm only a phone call away."

"Thanks John. What's been going on with you, it's been a little over a month since I've heard from you?"

"Well." He started and I could tell from his happy tone that life was treating him well. "I've been great, my investments are all doing well and the garage is up and running so I am enjoying early retirement." He told me. I was glad he was doing well. John's early retirement as he calls it was the result of the company that he worked for shutting down and laying off all of its workers, forcing him to be unemployed at forty-five. He took the payout money and invested it with plans of opening up his own garage and working from there and now five years later he had finally done it.