Hearts and Bodies- cmbyn

Part Five

Oliver and I were shopping for groceries when I noticed a familiar face at the opposite end of the aisle. Michael had already spotted me before I recognised him and he walked towards me, a large bag of flour in his arms.

"Elio." He greeted, a friendly smile upon his lips.

"Michael," I breathed, almost startled, "Tschüss."

He noticed Oliver beside me and nodded at him, still smiling.

"Tschüss." Oliver said messily.

His German pronunciation amused me. Oliver was a linguistic genius and spoke Greek, Italian, Turkish, Arabic and Hebrew with a perfect accent. However, in the couple of years that he'd been living here, his German was still blocky and unnatural. Michael also looked amused.

"It's been a long time." He mused.

"It has. How are you?" I asked.

"Fantastisch." Michael beamed, "My son actually got in contact with me on Facebook a few days ago and, can you believe it? I'm going to meet him tomorrow."

"That's wonderful, I'm so happy for you!" I genuinely was.

"And I discovered that I'm also a grandfather. My grandson is nine now. You won't believe what his name is."

"What is it?"

"Ariel! Isn't that crazy!"

"Wow, that is crazy. You must be so excited."

"I am. And how are things with you? How is your mother?"

I felt Oliver tense up beside me and he placed a comforting hand on my back, out of Michael's view. It was strange to be with them at the same time, like two separate lives converging.

"We lost her last month, actually." I told him solemnly.

The smile fell from Michael's thin lips and he gasped.

"Oh, Elio, I'm so sorry to hear that. She was a wonderful woman."

"She really was. But, it was fast and painless, and it's a comfort knowing that she's with my father now."

"Of course..." Michael sighed, his soft eyes still locked on mine.

"Well, we should get going now." I said, clearing my throat, "We've got a lot to do to prepare for the Shabbat."

"Of course. It was good to see you again, Elio." He turned to Oliver and extended his hand, "It was nice to meet you again, Oliver."

I cringed, realising that I hadn't introduced them. Oliver shook his hand, seemingly unphased, and we parted ways.

"Who was that?" Oliver asked, bemused.

"Just an old acquaintance." I said and we left it at that.

Oliver went to the airport to pick up his sons, whilst I tidied the apartment and prepared the dough for the challah. My apartment had changed a lot since Oliver moved in with me. It is no longer a "bachelor pad", but a home. Now, we had furniture, multiple sets of bedlinen and even placemats for the dining table. There were multiple sets of cutlery in the drawers and different sizes of wine glass in the cupboard. I had settled.

Oliver moved to Dresden with me two years prior. Our relationship had been long distance for three years, so that he could stay with his sons as they went through college, and it was difficult. Sometimes, I'd missed him so bad that it caused me physical pain. Sometimes, I'd called in sick for work so that we could Skype at a reasonable time. Sometimes, my chest had heaved as I sobbed into my pillow, craving his body around mine. But, he was always just one call away. No longer was there an air of finality around our relationship, of uncertainty. Before, when I missed Oliver, I was missing a memory of him, something that I believed that I would never have back. But this time, I'd known that someday soon, we would be reunited.