Shelf-Made Man

Chapter 15

Chapter

Fifteen

A unt Virginia exclaimed happily over the decorations before leading Alfie and Tobias into the kitchen. “Much of our feast is precooked, I’m afraid. I’ve neither the time nor the endurance to make everything from scratch.”

Tobias sniffed the air appreciatively. “It smells delicious.”

“And I had such fun shopping for it all! It’s foolish, really. I’ve spent so many years fearing that others would appraise me poorly now that I am no longer young and beautiful. But the world doesn’t revolve around me, does it? Most people simply want to get on with their own day, their own business. And why should I care what strangers think anyway?”

“We know you’re beautiful,” Tobias said.

“Yes. Just as I know the same of you. And that is what is important.” She rubbed her hands together. “If you boys would set the table, I’ll go get dressed for dinner.”

Tobias looked down at his sweater and jeans. “We’re not, uh?—”

“You are both perfect.” And she left the room.

When she returned fifteen minutes later, she wore a ruby-colored ballgown with a full skirt and sleeveless bodice. The glass heart pendant glittered at her neck. She smoothed the fabric of her dress. “I know I’m far too old to wear something like this, but?—”

“You are a vision,” said Alfie. “That color suits your complexion perfectly and the cut accentuates your elegant neck.”

“The last time I wore this was to a New Year’s Eve gala I attended with Olve. He wasn’t usually much for big events, but he made an exception now and then, and he made quite a handsome picture in coat and tails. I wish I had a photo from that night, but at least I kept the dress.”

Alfie bowed to her. “And you’ve generously shared this memory with us. Thank you.”

Soon afterward they sat down for dinner. There was far too much food for three people, but everyone wanted a taste of everything and it was all mouth-watering. Roast pork loin, polenta, warm crusty rolls, cranberry chutney, root vegetables with a balsamic glaze, a green salad with walnuts and beets, and two bottles of pinot noir from a friend’s Sonoma Coast winery.

Everyone got a little tipsy and ate more than was wise. Aunt Virginia and Alfie each told wild stories from their youths, and both seemed entertained by Tobias’s much tamer tales of life in Portland. “One of my neighbors rides a really tall bike,” he said. “I don’t know how he gets on and off it. And he wears a top hat.” And “There’s a cat a couple blocks away who sits on his front porch until pedestrians walk by, and he gets mad if people don’t pet him.” And “One booth at the nearby vintage shop specializes in old Lego sets and vintage building toys. Sometimes I spend way too much time there.” Nothing earth-shaking about any of that, but they were important to him, and neither Aunt Virginia nor Alfie found what he had to say insignificant. He realized that, aside from the loneliness, he liked his life.

Dinner concluded with a sour-cherry trifle, forty-year-old port, a round of sincere toasts, and more laughter.

The evening was a true celebration, the first that Tobias had experienced since his mother died, and it was glorious. Not because the food was plentiful and delicious and the wine expensive, but because of the company. Tobias loved these people and was loved by them. It wasn’t a large family, by any means, but it was a special one. A good one.

Eventually, however, Aunt Virginia stood. “I can’t remember the last time I was so happily exhausted.”

“We’ll clean up,” Tobias assured her.

She waved a hand. “It can wait until morning. If you boys could just put away the leftovers—oh, so many leftovers!—that will be enough. Unwashed dishes overnight are not the end of the world. You need your rest as well. And I’m sure you’re desperate for some quiet time together.” She winked broadly and left them. Tobias tried unsuccessfully to stop a blush.

As instructed, Tobias and Alfie put away the food. They rinsed the dishes and set the pots and pans to soak, mostly because Tobias hated a messy kitchen. It turned out that Alfie, due to his background, didn’t really know his way around a kitchen, but he listened to Tobias’s directions, made a good effort, and it all turned out well.

Then they were back in their borrowed room, standing together at the window, gazing out at the lights sparkling in the bay. “I have a heart’s desire as well,” Alfie said eventually, his voice almost a whisper. “Something I’d wish for if I performed the ritual that you did.”

“I could maybe find you some edibles and Lego if you want to do that.” He’d have to google to see what was open at this hour.

Alfie looked up at him with a sweet smile. “No thank you. I’m speaking hypothetically. It would all be a waste anyway, given what’s going to happen to me soon.”

That big dinner suddenly felt heavy in Tobias’s stomach. “Maybe it won’t happen. Maybe we’ll figure something out.”

“Perhaps,” Alfie said, but without any conviction. “In any case, I am exceedingly grateful to have had the opportunity to meet you—although I’d feel happier about it if I wasn’t leading you to your doom.”

“You’re not leading me anywhere. It’s my choice.” Tobias decided to change the subject. “What would you wish for?”

“Family.”

“Oh.”

“It wasn’t until tonight that I fully realized how badly I want that. Once upon a time I had a father and an older brother, but now…. Tonight, with you and the countess, that was as close to perfection as I could ever dream of. I would desire more of that.”

Tobias blinked a few times. Perfection. It had been a single dinner with a wounded elf, an eccentric old lady, and a data-engineer troll. Not a feast in a palace. Not zillions of siblings and cousins and nieces and nephews.

But it had been pretty close to perfect, hadn’t it?

“We should get some sleep,” Tobias said.

“Well, we should go to bed, at any rate.”

Tobias’s entire body flushed—with desire rather than embarrassment—and he grew hard so fast that he felt a little dizzy. Carpe diem, right? They might be destined for disaster tomorrow, but they could damned well enjoy themselves tonight.

He stripped faster than he ever had and Alfie did the same, and this time they stood for several minutes, their eyes doing all the caressing. Alfie’s bruises had faded to a pale yellow and his leg wound, no longer bandaged, now showed healthy-looking scar tissue. His hair was somehow perfect despite all their adventures, he had no hint of stubble, and even though his eyes were an icy blue, they were as warm as a summer afternoon. The tips of his ears and the tip of his erect cock were temptingly pink. And his smile spoke of mischief and joy… and love.

“I found my heart’s desire,” Tobias said. “That means there’s hope for you too.”

“Hope for us both.”

They ended up snuggled together beneath the blankets, languidly stroking each other as if they had all the time in the world. Their breathing synchronized as if they were joined in song. And weren’t they, in a way?

Tobias’s mother had taught him long ago that although Solstice festivals varied in their specifics, they tended to share a common theme: light emerging from the darkness. The hope dawning—quite literally—as people emerge from the longest night. A celebration of having survived thus far and an optimism that now the world will slowly improve. The triumph of life over death.

In that case, the joining of his body with Alfie’s wasn’t simply a carnal act but also a holy one. A sacred rite.

“I love you,” Tobias murmured into Alfie’s ear.

“And I you. Whether I have a few hours to live or many decades, I shall love you to my last heartbeat.”

“I’d prefer the many decades.”

Alfie chuckled softly. “As would I. In true troll fashion, you have captured me, Tobias. I never want you to release me.”

And there it was. Like an unexpected and wonderful gift discovered beneath a Christmas tree, the formerly tricky facets of the original plan resolved in Tobias’s mind. He didn’t know whether it was a good and viable plan or if it would bring success. But it was a plan, and that was something.

He wrapped Alfie in a tight embrace. “Release you? Never.”