The word prompts were: "If bread is the staff of life..." or use: cowboy, whistle, pleasure or "My other boyfriend is a ..." or use: ten, banana, mummy or use: sky, felicitations, generosity
In last week's Stan and Ollie, a normal day at the diner has become not so normal, and Stan calls in his sister to help out so they can deal with the strange visitor. Don't forget to check out the other Wednesday Briefers, whose links follow my tale. Enjoy!
Stan and Ollie #3
Breakfast is well under way by the time Gwin arrives,
Lorenzo in tow. I don’t have to see her to know she’s here. The instantaneous
rise of the testosterone level tells me that she’s just hit the radars of every
male in the place between the ages of eighteen and eighty. My older sister is a
stunner, there’s no two ways about that. Red hair and green eyes, she got the
looks in the family for sure. She could have been a big hit on the catwalk of
any famous designer. More than a few have tried to talk her into exclusive
contracts worth big bucks, not to mention fabulous perks, such as free travel
to exotic lands, world-wide recognition, and her choice of just about any man
in the world.
But Gwinneth Lawrence has something more important than her
looks—she has a heart as big as the sky. If it wasn’t for Gwin and her
generosity, I wouldn’t have met Ollie. A self-proclaimed, un-degreed social
worker, Gwin literally picked my better half off the streets and brought him
home to stay with us. Yes, counter to both my wishes and my advice. I was
against the idea but I wasn’t in a position to argue about it. Mom had just
died, and we were both trying to cope with her loss, and I wasn’t handling her
death as well as I should have. How was I to know I’d lose my heart to this
strange newcomer with the beautiful eyes? I can’t even begin to pronounce his
real name. Gwin actually dubbed him Ollie, and it’s the closest we’ve come to
the truth of the matter. My sister thinks it’s cute to call us Stan and Ollie,
like we’re Laurel and Hardy or something. I let her get away with it.
Lorenzo is her latest social experiment. He’s close to my
age, I think, maybe around thirty to thirty-five. Average height,
underweight—but she’s working on changing that, with regular meals and such.
Dark hair, grey eyes and pretty quiet, although he’s getting more social, I
have to admit. So far he’s working out well. He doesn’t mind helping out in the
diner when we need it. I suspect he’s
worked in restaurants before, but he’s pretty close-mouthed, and Gwin refuses
to let me run background checks on any of her protégés.
She smiles at everyone as she crosses the dining room,
accepts their well wishes and felicitations with her usual sunny disposition.
Lorenzo nods at me as he pushes open the door to the kitchen.
“Hi, Lorenzo. I appreciate your coming.”
“No problem. What orders are waiting?”
I show him the tickets that I’ve started and the ones I
haven’t. He pulls on a clean apron, reaches for the first one and gets to work.
I’m already untying my own apron when Gwin walks into the kitchen. She reaches
and pulls it over my head and tosses it the laundry basket before eyeing me
critically.
“Hang on.” She grabs a paper towel and dampens it at the
sink before attacking my face. She has the ability to make me feel like I’ve
five or something, but I put up with it. Good thing I love her.
“Where is…?” she asks delicately. Lorenzo knows nothing of
Ollie and his unusual talents, and I intend to keep it that way.
“In the office. I don’t know what’s going on, but I’ll let
you know as soon as I know something. Assuming there’s anything we can do. Or
want to do.”
She gives me one of her knowing smiles. I hate when she does
that. Like she thinks she knows better than me. Unfortunately, she usually
does. That’s why I trust her people instincts so much. “You know if Ollie says
do it, you will.”
I sputter, but it’s ineffectual, as usual. Damn her for
being so right. “We’ll see.” That’s my way of saying I don’t want to discuss it
any more.
A clatter of silverware in the sink announces that the
princess has entered the room. I’m not even going to waste my breath suggesting
she help out by washing dishes. Just not worth it.
“Gwin!” she fairly purrs. She and my sister squeal and hug.
Over Gwin’s shoulder, Xylina narrows her eyes at me, just because she can. I
don’t know why Gwin likes her, I really don’t. And when I spoke of Gwin’s
people instincts, that obviously didn’t include the mutant catwoman. She’s all
wrong about her.
Well, I’ve seen enough. I’m anxious to get back to Ollie.
Not that I think he’s in danger. If I thought that, he wouldn’t be alone with
that runaway bride, or whatever she is. Trust me on that one. The sooner we get
started with whatever it is, the sooner we can get done. Gwin and Lorenzo have
things well enough in hand.
“I’ll let you know,” I repeat to Gwin, lightly touching her
arm. I pick up a plate of Belgian waffles that I made just a few minutes ago,
and some silverware wrapped in a napkin. I’m not going to let Ollie go without
sustenance for any reason.
I carry my culinary offering across the lively dining room.
Our customers like to chatter amongst themselves; that doesn’t bother me at
all. That’s the difference between living in a small town and living in a big
city. Friendlier people. For the most part, anyway.
At the door to the office, I give our private knock, so
Ollie knows it’s me, then step inside. They’re sitting close together in a
couple of chairs across from our desks. Ollie leans toward her in a sympathetic
posture. I lay his breakfast on his desk and give him a look. In case that
doesn’t work, I point. He gets the idea.
He rises obediently. “Thanks, Stan.” He kisses me, and I
take the opportunity to look into his eyes.
Damn, I don’t like what I see. Road trip, for sure…
to be continued
Go see what the other Briefers are doing!
Cia Nordwell m/m
Sara York m/m
LM Brown m/m
MA Church m/m
Nephylim m/m
Michael Mandrake m/m
Tali m/m
Lily Sawyer m/m
Until next time, take care!
♥ Julie
Oh good! I'm sure we have the relationship dynamics down with Stan and Ollie, the cat woman and family, plus the environs of the diner. I'd love to see the world beyond that though because I can't tell if they are fantastical of some sort, or modern and Ollie is the abberration that has brought the fantastical into Stan's life.
ReplyDeleteOh, I love road trips. :) Nice set-up here, with a fine cast of likable characters and a cool setting and a mystery. Or at least it's a mystery for me, because I want to know how all these pieces are going to come together. This is a really fun story.
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