Going Home (Completed)

Chapter 10

Just wanted to say Thank You to everyone for reading Going Home!!
As of today, over 220 reads!
I hope you've enjoyed it so far and will enjoy the rest of Max & Tul's adventures.
😘🥰
❤🍫🫖❤

~♡~♡~♡~

Max was sipping his coffee and giving a breakfast bar the stink eye. They were quick and easy with no cooking. Except eating them day after day after day... they got boring. And were not very good for him. He'd been pleased when he found the huge box while collecting but he was going to have to break down and start eating something else.

Cooking wasn't the same anymore. No microwaves, no rice cookers and the gods knew no coffee makers. Everything took time and Max didn't want to take the time. Right now, he had to unload the SUV and start planting seeds. It was late to plant a garden so if they were going to eat this winter, he had to get a move on.

"Making a lot of donuts here lately, Max." he said to himself as he gave in and opened the breakfast bar packet. His little smile was back.

Whenever his family and Tul managed to make it to the cabin, he would be ready. And tonight he would cook. Some rice, canned chicken and vegetables along with seasoning would hit the spot.

~~~~~

The eyes watched and waited but no boy. A short nasty laugh. "Hopefully, he's working and getting ready for me." 

~~~~~

Max had unloaded the SUV and organized things a bit in his 'guest room'. It was a small room off the kitchen next to the bathroom. He had a full sized bed squeezed in it but that was it. Currently, it was piled with everything he had gathered in town with the exception of the gardening supplies. They were on the deck.

After organizing it a bit, he decided to start on the seeds. He read seed packets until he was cross-eyed. He chose the vegetables with the shortest growing time first. Thirty days and there would at least be lettuce and radishes. Fresh food sounded drool worthy.

Max spent the day planting seeds when he wasn't cussing them. Squash was a reasonably sized seed in his opinion. Carrots were ridiculously tiny and were scattered by the slightest puff of wind. He was fairly sure the majority of the carrots would come from the new planting zone next to the deck where the wind had thoughtfully placed them. "Fine. They can grow there if they want to!" Max announced in a huff and moved to the next package of seeds.

By the end of the day, over half the deck was covered in seedling trays and Max was fairly sure he'd never stand upright again. He was proud of himself though as he surveyed the neatly labeled trays.

Laying down on the deck, he stretched and felt his spine realign. A groan. Damn, that hurt and at the same time felt so good. A rather naughty grin. Like when Tul would bite the crook of his neck. It had been a long time since they had been able to touch each other much less be enthusiastic about it. He missed the scent of Tul. His soft smooth skin and the sounds he made as Max -

"Okay. Enough of that. Got too many donuts to make today to be thinking about that. When you get here though, Tul, you'd better hold on. I'm going to rock your world." Max grinned again. Sitting up, he listened to the last few pops in his back. A sigh. " Yep. Gonna rock your world, babe." Max whistled as he walked into the cabin.

Dinner had been simple comfort food and Max had inhaled it. Maybe he needed to make the time to cook. He hadn't realized how hungry he really was. What about leftovers though?

As he made a cup of tea he began to ponder.  The refrigerator was probably out of action permanently.  He had eaten everything out of it and wiped it all clean. He just used it to hold things in plastic or paper bags now. No mice in this cabin, thank you. 

He paused. Tul had done some huge paper on geothermal cooling and heating when he was working on his masters. What had he said? The earth was a stable temperature then something about it was cool in the summer and could bring cool air into a house. Cooler....

One side of the cabin didn't receive direct sun. If he dug a hole there for a box of some kind, it would keep things cooler and maybe reduce his chances of getting food poisoning. He'd put it on his 'With Tul' list.

It was dark and Max was tired. His left over warm water let him wash the few items from dinner. Then he was off to bed.

~~~~~

Max yawned and stretched. He felt good this morning. Up beat and positive. He put the coffee on and got ready for the day.

His seed trays looked just fine as he drank coffee on the deck. He ate his leftovers and a can of Mandarin oranges. Quick clean up of his dishes and he was off to town.

Get in, check the view through the windshield, close his eyes and start the car. Quick peek. Just trees. Good to go. Maybe some tunes for the ride down. The 7 album by BTS slipped into the cd player. Max sang along as he hit the asphalt road and turned off the car to coast to town.

~~~~~

Ahhh... a small anxious frown smoothed away. There was the boy.

"Beginning to think you had left. Can't have that, now can we?" A smile. Today would be the day.

~~~~~

Today, Max wanted to check if there were fruit trees still alive at the nursery. He wasn't sure where he would put them but he'd find some where. And shelves. The disaster in the guest room needed some serious help if they were going to keep track of what was in there.

There were a few smaller apple and plum trees still alive at the nursery so he'd taken what he could fit in the SUV. The front passenger seat was clear and he thought he might be able to put at least 2  heavy duty wire racks there. Hell, he'd be happy with one.

The home improvement store had several wire shelving units still in the box. Max trundle two out in a cart. As he lifted the first one out of the cart, he heard a voice.

"Hello! I'm so glad there's another survivor!"

Several things happened at that point. Max almost had a heart attack and let go of the box. It landed firmly on his left foot. An exclamation of pain from Max and a gasp from the person behind him. He spun around.

In front of him was a short woman in her mid-60s maybe? Iron gray hair cut in a bob with reading glasses jauntily perched on top. She looked horrified.

"Oh my God, are you okay? I am so sorry. Sorrow. Sorrow. I didn't meant to startle you. I was just so nervous." She continued on as Max tried to figure out if his foot was broken. Fuck, that hurt.

He looked back at her. She was wearing a neat floral shirt, white pants and sneakers. She looked like someone's grandma.

"I don't think it's broken. Probably just bruised. Alot." He held onto the car and turned towards her. "I'm Max by the way." He held out his hand. "And you are...?"

Somewhere along the way, Max had just accepted that he was alone. It was both unsettling and reassuring to find out he wasn't.

"I'm so sorry. I'm just rambling on. My name is Christina but my friends call me Stina." She shook his hand and smiled. "You have no idea how glad I am to see you."