About Renovations 6: Coming Home

by Anah Crow and Dianne Fox
38 pages / 19500 words
ISBN 978-1-60370-771-8, 1-60370-771-9
Available file types - html, lit, pdf, prc, epub, Sony-optimized pdf

Ven has strong beliefs about commitment; being gay hasn't shaken his desire to get married. But to make his plan to pop the question to his lover work, he needs the support of his family, Toby's family, and Toby's ex-wife, Brenda. And he has to do it while renovating his future in-laws' house.

Toby is blissfully ignorant of Ven's plans, happily showing Ven his old haunts and playing 'what's a nice boy like you doing in a bar like this?' Toby seems happy with the way things are, and Ven knows even if the pieces fall into place, he risks losing everything if Toby doesn't want to marry again.

Sample

"Ven! Come in for lunch!"

Ven was out in the long, narrow backyard of the house he'd once shared with Cake, throwing a rag bone for King and scritching Zoe behind the ears. He could hear Momma clearly from where she'd been working in the kitchen. A moment later, he heard her out front.

"Benedict Parrish, I told you that lunch was almost done, and just look at you."

Poppy must've gone ahead with changing the oil filter on the old pickup. He always did think he could get the job done in half the time it really took. Ven had been living at home back when Poppy had bought that truck, and it hadn't been anywhere near new back then. Some things didn't change. Ven shooed the dogs off to their dog houses and went on inside to wash up. He was just drying his hands at the kitchen sink when Momma came back in.

"Ven, did it not take Poppy an hour to get that truck fixed up last time?"

"Yes, ma'am." Ven tried not to laugh. He didn't want to miss out on a good lunch by ticking Momma off.

Momma checked her reflection in the microwave and patted her hair down. "That man is the king of misunderestimation," she said with a roll of her eyes. She pulled on her oven mitts -- rainbow fish that Cake had bought her for Christmas -- and opened up the oven to get out the macaroni and cheese. Damn, but it did smell good. No matter how Ven tried, he never could quite make it as good as hers.

"I keep telling him to take it into the shop." Ven helped himself to a piece of bread from the basket on the table and started to butter it. "I can write it off as a business expense, since he drives the truck for work."

"I know." Momma brought the salad to the table and stuck the tongs in it. Ven could smell the tang of the dressing, the same one she'd used since he was a little boy. "You're a good son." She kissed him on top of the head, on the bandana he had snug over his hair, then tugged his braid before she turned away. "What do those little girls think of you having your hair longer than their mama's?"

Ven watched her for a moment, as she pulled plates out of one of the cupboards he'd built himself back when he bought the house. His first house. He'd been thinking of her when he rebuilt this kitchen, from the wall oven, like she'd always wanted, to the gas range, even to the yellow walls and tiles to the glossy white trim and cupboards. She loved the white and blue china knobs on the cupboards. Ven and Cake might have lived here, but Ven had always harbored the secret hope that Momma and Poppy might move in here instead.

"Well?" Momma put a plate down in front of him. Ven blinked and looked up at her. She laughed at him and patted his cheek with a smooth-worn hand. "Day-dreaming again? You always were off somewhere else half the time. Making plans in that pretty head of yours."

"Just thinking," Ven said, leaning into her touch before she moved on to keep getting lunch on the table. "And the girls like my hair. I gotta watch I don't end up covered in bows and barrettes, but other than that, it does keep them busy. They like to get at it on the weekend when I don't have it up."

About the Author - Anah Crow, Dianne Fox