CHAPTER 165: THE SODA SHOP

The two got out of the buggy and as they walked towards the front door, Jake reached over and took Constantine’s hand within his. He opened the door and let Constantine in first. They took a seat at one of the booths and held hands across the table.

The old man who was the owner walked up and kind of sneered down at them, tossing a menu on the table. "I’ll be back in a minute to take your order," he said, then walked away.

They were approached by a very nice muscular young man with beautiful blonde hair, blue eyes, and a good tan. "Old George don’t mean anything—he’s just a little overwhelmed. Two of his cooks didn’t show up and the place isn’t doing good, but he’s trying. Plus not everybody is always so keen on gay people here in this community."

That last statement brought a snicker from Constantine. He smiled and introduced himself to the young man, then introduced Jake as his new boyfriend.

"Glad to meet you too. I am Malcolm Stirling," the man replied. "I do electrical and contract work, building or whatever else I can do. I got a small crew, but right now it’s so bad we’re mostly not working, so I help out where I can when I can to help pay the way."

Jake shook his hand and asked him to pull up a chair and have a seat so they could get to know each other. Malcolm obliged him.

Constantine was still smiling from ear to ear and looking at Malcolm.

Malcolm had a blank look on his face. "Okay, what’s up? Do I have something in my hair or on my face? Why you still grinning at me?"

"Just so you know, we’re not gay," Constantine spoke up. "I’m from the Z1 and I’m a hybrid, and yes, we’re together—we’re on our first date."

"Holy shit!" Malcolm remarked. "When the angels put you together, they got it right. Nothing against you, Mr. Jake, but he is a frigging knockout. I would’ve never guessed that he was a hybrid. You talk about bonding—your parents’ genetics, it was destiny."

"Well, there’s me and my three brothers, and we live at the Z1 now after being raised on a not-so-nice ranch," Constantine explained. "It’s my younger brother Richie’s time, so he’s not here, and then I have two more brothers—Eli, he’s about 11, and Rusty, who I’ve had since he was three hours old when our dad split. Our father was just a sperm donor and owner of the ranch we came from. He must have liked dad’s scent because he kept on coming back for it every nine months and three days. Eli had a little false start—it took him three months to get it right."

Old George walked up to the table. "Okay, you met Malcolm, our resident knot on the log here, so what will it be, folks?"

"I would like a chocolate milkshake to start out with, sir," Constantine smiled, "and if you are doing any cooking back there, I wouldn’t mind a hamburger and some fries—something I don’t get much of on the ranch."

"Well, young man, let me put it this way—two of my cooks didn’t show up, so I don’t think I’m cooking much. Not with everybody wanting everything out here. I just don’t have that many arms. I’m getting too damn old for this place, and I’m afraid I’m going to have to shut down before long."

"Sir, if you would allow me, I am a chef in training and I would be thrilled to help you out and work in the kitchen for a few hours if you would just let me be a little creative and start throwing out a special for the night."

"Son, I don’t know who you are, but I was taught not to be a fool anytime someone offers help. And you claim that you’re a chef in training—I’m not going to turn you down. You have the run of the place back there. But you know, sometimes gay people make other ones nervous around these parts because people are kinda narrow-minded."

"Put their minds to rest, sir. Tell them I’m a hybrid, which I am, and I’m from the Z1. By the way, my name is Constantine—Constantine Freeman, formally of the Freeman ranch. And if I play my cards right, I’ll have a new last name before long."

Constantine went and followed the older gentleman, who told him his name was George and he had owned the place way too long. George showed Constantine all around the kitchen and introduced him to the prep guy and the dishwasher.

Constantine grabbed an apron and went to the freezer and cooler to see what he had to work with.

Constantine took the chalkboard and wrote upon it: "Tonight’s special: Seasoned fried star bird, mashed potatoes with creamed gravy and greens, fresh baked yeast rolls. Special starts at 7:15 PM." He handed it to the prep cook and told him to give it to George to proudly display on the front counter because they were going to get to work in the kitchen and it was all hands on deck.

The menu board went up on the counter and everybody started talking—who in the hell was cooking and where did George find him?

The smell that started coming out of the kitchen was nothing less than heavenly. Constantine showed the prep cook how to do certain things and even put the dishwasher to work peeling potatoes. George could hardly keep up at the front counter with all the orders coming in.

The front door opened and Sonja walked in. She looked over and saw her good friend Jake sitting with Malcolm and made a beeline for him. She hugged his neck. "It’s about time these eyes saw you again, Mr. Jake Traylor. Where the hell have you been hiding?"

"You know me, Sonja—all over the place," Jake replied. "I’m settling down about 5 acres from Ed Hawthorne and I’m getting ready to build a house. Time comes in a man’s life when fun and games are over—it’s time to raise a family. And I’ve located the person I’ll be having kids with. He’s a beautiful young hybrid named Constantine."

"Well don’t tell me, Mr. Jake, you done hooked up with that sexy Constantine!" Sonja exclaimed. "I know the day him and his brothers came into my shop they were in sad shape, the whole lot of them. But by the time I was through fixing him up, he could turn the heads of anybody. Looks like he got somebody."

"Yes, Sonja, he took my breath away the first time I saw him and I’m not letting him go," Jake said. "In fact, if you got time, Constantine is back there cooking and there’s a special on the board. Let’s just have three of those meals come out here instead of only two."

"I’m sorry, sir, but just make it two," Malcolm spoke up. "I can’t afford that kind of meal—times are tough and lean around here."

"Malcolm, it’s my treat, plus I need to talk to you," Jake said. "You were very honest—you came to us, you spoke plainly, and you spoke cordially to myself and Constantine. So I’m going to be needing a contractor to ramrod the whole house situation, and I need an electrical contractor to do some work elsewhere around here. Besides, I need to talk to George about a few things. So if you two will excuse me—you two can talk about everything, but I need to go talk to a man about a business proposition."