Save the Date

Turnerstorm

Alex kept his promise and the gifts kept being delivered non-stop. It was a new coffee machine, a new wine cooler, bottles of expensive wine to fill the wine cooler, a new high-end home cinema system, etc, etc, etc. The gifts kept coming until the day Alan said he wouldn't accept the delivery.

"But it's a grand piano!" Miles argued in vain moving his hands frantically. Alan could almost believe he was in the verge of tears.

"That's exactly why we can't accept it! It would take the whole living room Miles." Alan explained the obvious. The piano wouldn't even make it through the door, it would have to go in through the window.

"But...but..." Miles eyes had gone sadder. 'It's a gift from Alex.' He thought without saying it. 'And it's a grand piano...' He kept it for himself again. "But it's so beautiful..." He ended up saying out loud with puppy eyes. Alan almost gave in looking at Miles' disappointed face watching the piano being put away on the back of the lorry.

"I know baby, I know...I'm so sorry." Alan said giving Miles a hug and kissing his forehead sweetly. Miles held him back shedding a solitary tear . "Please tell Alex to stop. We've got a lot of things already, he doesn't need to do all that." Alan said in Miles ear.

"I will." He nodded sadly, pecking Alan on the lips and running to talk to the delivery guy, who was already inside the lorry ready to leave. Alan watched carefully but he was unable to hear the conversation. Before the guy took off, Alan could see Miles giving him some money.

Miles couldn't let the piano go that easily, so he gave the delivery guy the address to his storage unit, and some money for the extra trouble.

"What was that money for?" Alan asked suspicious when Miles came back to the front door clearly happier.

"A tip...for the trouble." Miles said and Alan frowned narrowing his eyes.

"Sure..." He mumbled pretending to believe the rubbish excuse Miles threw at him. Sometimes, he thought, it just feels right to let it go.

***

"Hey..." Miles said sweetly on the phone. "Are ye alright?" He fidgeted with his shirt pacing nervously in his living room.

"I am...indeed..." Alex answered elongating every word. "I see ya've got the piano!" He said excited. Miles couldn't help but to sigh heavily.

"Yeah...'bout that..." How he should tell that to Alex without hurting his feelings when even his own feelings were hurt? He decided on telling the truth. "The grand piano is beautiful Aly, but I had to send it to me storage unit. Alan thinks...eh...we think is way too big for our living room." He changed from 'Alan' to 'we' to not throw Alan under the bus on that. He agreed the piano was way too big anyway.

Alex was quiet on the other side of the line, and Miles chest was contracting and smashing his big heart. "Aly..." He called.

"Eh...that's fine Mi..." Alex eventually answered. "One day ya'll 'ave a bigger house and ya can 'ave the piano in the livin' room." Yes, when Miles moved in with him, of course. "Did ya like it?"

Miles let out a breath of relief. "Are ya kidding? I loved it. It is so beautiful Al..." 'Just like you' he wanted to say, instead he stuck to the plan of asking Alex to stop sending gifts. "But darling...eh...ye must stop sending us gifts, there are way too many already." Miles said it quickly and waited anxiously for an answer.

"That was the last one love, don't worry your pretty 'ead." Why Alex calling Miles 'love' felt so heartwarming? Miles shook his thoughts off his head. "A grand piano for the grand finale..." Both laughed of Alex's bad joke. "...guess I was apologising for being...eh...a jerk..." He said writing down in a piece of paper 'Cancel all Mi gifts.'