The Love Bookshop

Chapter Eleven

After a long tiring wait in a small cramped triage room at Love General Hospital Ben was  feeling very cranky and a little achy from falling down the stairs. He was also embarrassed that he was basically intruding on Daniel's personal time and life. The man must be a saint. He had even helped him into a restroom at the hospital so he could change from his PJs into his favorite Books Are For Lovers tee shirt and faded blue denim jeans along with his battered sneakers. Daniel had even waited with him through a cat scan, a MRI and a physical exam. Not to mention the sheriff's infernal and occasionally annoying questions that seemed to go nowhere fast. He would make a great friend but Ben felt guilty about keeping him from more pressing issues. More interesting things than him.

Finally the equally weary looking ER doctor let him go with a good report of just aches , pains and thankfully no concussion. He also gave Ben a prescription for a mild painkiller which Ben had no intention of filling. He hated taking medicine unless it was necessary.  After that he decided to let Daniel off the hook. " We can just head back to Hope Street. We don't really need to eat. "

Daniel smiled wryly. His strong arms were folded over his chest. " Nope. I'm hungry. And I bet you are too. So where's the best Italian restaurant in town , neighbor ? "

" Are you sure? I don't want to keep you from anything important. "

Daniel laughed. " All you are keeping me from is a really boring ass night unpacking my life in box form and watching bad reality tv. And trolling idiots on Facebook and Twitter for shit and giggles. "

Ben couldn't help laughing himself as he stood up gingerly from the hard hospital bed he had been reclining on. Settling his weight on his cane he walked outside with an attentive Daniel at his side. They left the hospital and Daniel lead him to a silver Jaguar. Once he settled Ben in the car , reminding him to buckle up, Daniel jumped into the driver's seat. Ben gave directions to Love's only Italian restaurant Santelli's which was a little far and on the outskirts of town. As he drove they made small talk. Ben was secretly delighted to find out how much they had in common with each other. From music ( jazz and old school blues and classical ) to books of course ( mysteries and thrillers especially although Ben confessed a fondness for poetry and cheesy romance novels of a queer bend ) to food ( Italian and seafood ). Neither watched much television with the exception of PBS and old BBC comedy series. By the time they had gotten to Santelli's , a shabby looking but homey red bricked building with a decent sized parking lot Ben felt as though he had known Daniel all his life. Frankly that scared him a little bit. He didn't even mind the other man's protectiveness like opening his car door and assisting him out. If anyone else tried that Ben would have taken their heads off. Even Henry. He was also starting to like it when Daniel called him doll sometimes. Yeah , he was screwed , he thought as they entered the cozy restaurant and were seated by the host at a table in the corner. The table was  covered with a white lace tablecloth and adorned with both a long flickering white candle and one single red rose in a tall crystal vase. It reminded him of a date. When was the last time he had been on a date ? Had he ever been on a date ? The closest was ordering burgers and fries at the local diner with Henry. Usually on Saturday night he was at home snuggled under a blanket on the sofa reading or listening to music with his sole companion being his cat. God , he thought. That sounded so pathetic.  Only excitement in his life on Saturday nights was when Henry would practically kidnap him off to Atlanta to watch his drag show. He looked at Daniel and thought that the other man didn't have boring Saturday nights. Like he did. 

After the bouncy young waitress took their orders ( spaghetti and meatballs for Daniel and a bacon mushroom calzone for Ben ) Daniel took a long sip of his bottled water and sat back to study Ben. Those eyes of his unnerved Ben. It was like the man could see all the way into his very soul. Ben dropped his eyes down to the table top and played with his silverware nervously. " So I guess you have a girlfriend ? She must be so disappointed you moved here. I love my town but it is not exactly Atlanta. "

Daniel smiled at him and shook his head. " No girlfriend. Or wife. I'm not made that way. I'm gay , Ben. Always have been. "

Ben swallowed harshly. Damn his shitty gaydar. " Oh. Well. Ummm. That's good. Ummm ..... boyfriend ? "

Daniel's smile faded and there was a pensive look in his eyes that Ben suddenly regretted. It was like the man had went somewhere that Ben could not go. Finally he spoke. " I had one. Once. He was the best artist I had ever seen in my life. The best. Had art shows left and right. They wrote him up in newspapers , magazines.  They called him an outsider artist. Said he would be as big as Picasso. His name was Eric. Eric Tyler. He died. Robbery. Unsolved robbery. "

Ben was quiet. He blinked his eyes at him. He didn't know what to say. He was mentally kicking himself for bringing up such a painful memory for the man. God , he was such a screw up with any type of social cues. Henry he was not. " I'm sorry. "

Daniel smiled at him once more and it was wonderful seeing it. It made him feel like he was the center of someone's attention. It made him feel so special instead of just himself. Like he mattered. 

" Thank you. Eric was a good man. Gorgeous. Funny. Sweet. You'd have liked him. Everyone liked him. He never met someone who didn't become a friend. He'd have liked you too. "

Their food came at just that point and for a few minutes they were both silent as each savored the delicious creations. Then Daniel asked , " So is Henry your boyfriend ? "

Luckily Ben had just swallowed a bite of food or he would have choked on that question. Jesus. Him and Henry ? God no. Not that they hadn't thought about it once. Or twice. They had even kissed once. It was a disaster. Awful. Terrible. It had been like kissing his brother if he had one. Or his grandmother. 

At the look on his face Daniel started to laugh. "Ok. Not a boyfriend ? "

Ben giggled. Tonight he felt so oddly free. " No. Not a boyfriend. I don't have one. Never have. Which doesn't come as a surprise I know. "