Twin Firs, page 7
There was nothing he could do at the moment except eat lunch.
Of the few restaurants in North Mountain Lodge the only place with a vegetarian option was the Alferd Packer Diner. The small cafe was bustling and he was seated at a small round table in the back. While picking over his salad and debating whether to camp at Twin Firs again or try finding a spot in Grizzly Camp, the manager noticed he wasn't eating. She was in her 60s, bossy in a mothering way, absolute in her decisions. She ordered a trout dinner for Leo (that wasn't on the menu) and sat down to chat.
“I see it all the time. You boys come out here to play, stay up all night, and go home sick as dogs. You have to eat to keep up your strength,” Amélie gently lectured with a thick French Canadian accent. “Didn't your mother teach you this?”
Leo laughed. “My mother is a nurse. She kvetches about my health all the time.”
“Ahhh, the dangers of the profession. My son gets an earful from me about his sleeping habits every time we talk. I was a family physician.”
“Really! How did you wind up working here - at a restaurant?”
Amélie shuddered. “Early retirement. Couldn't stand the work anymore. Had to turn a patient every
ten minutes. It wasn't healthcare. It was a factory line.”
“My mother says the same thing,” Leo replied. “She keeps changing clinics hoping to find one she likes. We lived all over the West when I was a kid. Right now she's working at a senior living facility and hates it.”
“It's not the same job as when I started. I keep current with my education so I can respond to medical emergencies here. But the Canadian health system was always different than America.”
“You're from Canada?”
“You tease me. Everyone asks about my accent, la la.”
Leo raised his hands in defense. “I wasn't going to say a thing.”
“Besides I'm not the one with the funny accent - you are.”
They both laughed. Amélie patted Leo on the arm and stood. “Your trout should be ready. I'll check the kitchen. Oppeulaille! My son's here! Ethan, there's someone I want you to meet, la la. This is Leo.”
Leo turned in his chair after hearing Ethan's name. How many Ethans could there be?
Apparently only one.
Ethan stood dumbstruck in the diner doorway. “You're supposed to be on the train to Portland.”
“I missed it.”
“You miss a lot of trains, don't you.”
Amélie watched the two men with confusion.
Leo started getting defensive immediately. “I went to Twin Firs to find you to apologize for last night.”
“Apologize for what? I'm the one who... Maman.... this is Leo. We met a couple days ago.”
Amélie grinned. “Sa coche. You both have a lot in common. Sit down, son, and I'll get your lunch.”
“I can order my own lunch.”
“Aweille! I'm up already getting Leo's. Is George coming?”
“Probably not. He's in a mood.”
“He likes being in a mood. Some boys are just like that, la la. I'll be right back with your food.” She tottered off through the kitchen door.
“Your mother works here!” Leo burst out after she was gone.
Ethan grimaced. “Yes.”
Leo whispered conspiratorially, “Does she know you're gay?”
“No, it's going to be a big shock when I tell her,” he retorted sarcastically. “Good thing she's a doctor. She can give herself CPR.”
Chapter 8 – The Doting Maman
“Here's your trout, Leo,” Amélie said as she replaced his uneaten salad. “And here's your lasagna. Do you ever comb your hair?”
Ethan glared at his mother. “I don't want lasagna.”
“Well that's what I brought you.”
“You're not helping me lose weight.”
“Absurde,” she demurred and turned to Leo. “There's nothing wrong with a little meat on the bones. What do you think, Leo?”
“I prefer a guy I can grab a hold of,” he said and cast a devilish glance at Ethan's mother.
“I do too. Ethan's father was very handsome but lean. Part Mohawk. Ohhh, my parents were not pleased when they met him. They were 'Good Catholics' and when they found out I was pregnant they were beside themselves. Calice! It was bad enough I was dating a patient I met during med school residency, la la. But an Indian - that's what they called him...”
“You don't need to tell him your life story, Maman,” Ethan interjected.
“Why not? Leo told me about his mother. Nothing wrong with friendly conversation.”
“I don't want to pry.” Leo attempted to dispel Ethan's discomfort.
“You're not,” Amélie assured him. “I simply want you to know I raised Ethan well despite being a single mother. I also taught him how to use a comb, though lately he seems to have forgotten.”
Leo looked down at his plate, embarrassed for Ethan.
“You also changed my diapers. Want to tell Leo about that?”
Amélie feigned shock. “Let's not go too far.”
“Too late...” slipped out of Leo's mouth before he could stop.
Ethan burst out laughing. He slapped the table and spilled his iced tea. Leo laughed with him.
Amélie chided them, “All right, all right, make fun of me.”
Ethan sobered up and asked, “How're you doing, Maman?”
“Oh, the same old. The young ones complain about the older ones moving too slow. The older ones complain about the young ones slipping away during shift to give blow jobs. I bet they wouldn't bitch if they were on the receiving end. I started rubbing lidocaine on my wrist. It helps. Nothing to complain about.”
“Mama Amélie! Mama Amélie,” a customer shouted from the other side of the diner.
“Oh, I'm needed.” She looked over the tables to see who was calling, then turned to Leo. “Take good care of him. He's the only son I've got." She kissed Ethan on both cheeks and limped across the room gleefully shouting, "I'm coming boys!”
Ethan watched her leave, then focused on Leo. “You came looking for me?”
“Yeah,” Leo hesitated, “I wanted to apologize for being so abrupt last night.”
“No, I was totally saying the wrong things. My brain thinks things and they don't come out right.”
“You were right,” Leo said. “I don't know when we'll see each other again.”
“If you keep missing trains I don't know when I'll get rid of you.”
Leo was taken aback. “Oh.”
“I didn't mean it like that,” Ethan blurted out quickly. “I don't want to get rid of you.”
Amélie returned with fresh iced tea for Ethan. “I'm back. They saw your trout and wanted to know why it's not on the menu.”
“Why isn't it?” Leo asked.
“This is a cannibal themed restaurant, la la. Alferd Packer. Donner Trail...'Have Family for Lunch'...”
“That's in California,” Leo interrupted.
Ethan quietly reminded Leo, “Everything here is fake.”
“Creative license, sa coche. Anyway, eating fish has a whole different connotation with gay men.”
“Riiiight.....” Leo slowly nodded.
“And I've never told you,” she turned to Ethan, “but I've always wondered where you got the gay. Because your father definitely wasn't. He loved eating fish.”
Leo spit lemonade across the table.
“WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?!” Ethan shrieked.
Amélie continued dreamily, “He used to whisper to me in Iroquois when we were making love.”
“DON'T TELL ME THIS!”
“I often regret never teaching you his language.”
“I don't want to know! I DON'T WANT TO KNOW!” Ethan pushed his chair away from the table. “Don't tell me about your sex life!”
“You told me about yours this morning.”
“NO I DIDN'T. That was autocorrect!”
“I'm simply comparing you to your father. You get the shyness from him.”
“Please stop,” Ethan countered. “You're embarrassing me in front of someone I barely know.”
“The fact that you barely know him isn't my fault,” she declared. “I'll leave you alone so you can remedy that.” Amélie trudged away and directed her attention to the table against the back wall, “Your fish will be ready soon!”
Ethan played with his fork. “Sorry about that. I never met my father. She had me when she was visiting him in Upstate New York, which is why I'm a US citizen. I've only seen a picture of him and I don't look like him at all. I'm not even sure he is my father.”
“At least you didn't grow up with a bastard father like mine.”
Ethan joked. “No, because I am the bastard.”
Leo winked at him. “We'll see if you really are...”
Ethan cleared his throat. “Anyway, Maman has no boundaries. She used to walk into my bedroom at the worst times. The only door in our house with a lock was the bathroom. I lived in there from age 13 till I left for college.”
“Could be worse,” Leo replied. “My mother embarrassed me in other ways. I got the birds-and-the-bees talk when I was eight, and it grossed me out.”
“Maman waited till after I started taking 30-minute showers. She didn't talk about birds or bees. She graphically told me what to do with my penis to please a woman.”
Leo groaned in disgust, “Omigod! That is too much!”
“I almost ran away from home.”
“I would have died.”
“It gets better,” Ethan continued. “She put condoms in my lunch sack.”
“NO!”
“When Oswaldo tripped me in the hall between third and fourth period and stole my lunch he reached into the bag and pulled out three rubbers. He called me a faggot and then his gang ridiculed me about having AIDS because I had condoms.”
“What grade were you in?”
“Eighth. My geometry teacher heard all this.Instead of stopping Oswaldo he sent me to the office because I was a 'danger to the students.' Because, you know, AIDS.”
“Wow. What a dick.”
“I hated him. I wanted to curl up in a ball and hide. The principal called Maman. She's furious because she had to leave her clinic. The principal thinks she's our housekeeper because she's ranting in French. Then he asked her where my father was.”
Leo shook his head in disbelief. “What did she say?”
“It's a good thing he didn't understand French.”
“But you do?”
“I learned new words.”
“What did your friends say?”
Ethan shrugged. “I kept to myself mostly.”
“We moved around so much," Leo responded, "by the time I made friends my mom got a job in another town. Dad never worked because of a bad back, so we went where she thought it would pay better. Because I was altitude challenged I had to be funny so the bullies didn't beat me up.”
“Altitude challenged....”
“Short.”
“Yeah,” Ethan replied, “I caught that.”
“I sort of put it out there for you,” Leo sarcastically explained.
“Thank you. Next time could you use hand signals just to be sure I don't miss anything?”
Leo held up his middle finger and grinned. “Like this?”
“You're out of luck pal,” Ethan retorted. “Oswaldo took my condoms.”
Leo leaned toward Ethan and whispered, “There are things we can do without them.”
Jorge appeared from nowhere, “I did your job for you. Now I see why you were in such a hurry.”
Leo looked up and recognized Jorge. “Hey! If I had known how hot you are I wouldn't have stood you up. Sorry, man.”
Jorge stopped. He wasn't expecting that. “It's okay. I met someone else.”
Leo leaned back in his chair. “Oh. Good!”
Ethan watched their exchange, hoping it would lead to a detente. “Thanks, George. I'll be there in a minute.”
“You better,” Jorge scolded and strutted out the diner door.
Ethan realized Leo's presence inflamed George instead of putting the issue to rest. “Oh, he's going to be a real pain in the ass the rest of this trip.”
Leo glanced toward the door. “You're working with him?”
“Unfortunately. You hurt his pride when you didn't show up on Thursday. Now he thinks it's my fault.”
“I'm sorry. Well, not really, but....it kinda is your fault.” Leo looked deep in Ethan's eyes. “Since I'm here another night, do you want to get together later?”
“You want to see Mamma Mia!?”
Leo considered. “Or we could do something else.”
Ethan understood what 'something else' meant. He wasn't ready for that. He barely knew this guy. He'd probably never see this guy again. He was really attracted to him and could easily fall in love. Yet he knew consummating this would only break his heart.
“I have to go,” he stood abruptly. “I'll meet you at the theater at seven.”
Leo couldn't avoid seeing the bulge in Ethan's pants two feet from his face. “Okay...” Leo wanted to yank down Ethan's zipper right there at the table. “Are you sure that's what you want...?”
“The show is a lot of fun,” Ethan replied. He had to get out of there fast since he was desperate to adjust himself.
Leo stood up. “Okay. I”ll be there at seven.”
Ethan couldn't think clearly at the moment because all his blood was swelling in his boxers. He was even dripping. He yearned to grab Leo around the back of his neck but he had to squash those desires. He backed away from the table. “Okay, bye!” he blurted and ran out the door.
Leo stood in the middle of the diner watching Ethan bolt out the door, wondering what he was doing wrong.
Jorge was working the mic. “Listen up, queers, our train is now departing and we'll be picking up men left and right all the way to Mountain Air. This is the last train ride for Brakeman Ethan today but it won't be his last ride before tomorrow! Hold on to your boyfriends, fellas, because he'll steal yours.”
Only 90 more minutes of this, Ethan thought to himself. He could avoid George all next week until Saturday. In the past he always thought George was funny, especially his snide comments cutting down other people. It didn't feel funny now that he was the joke. It also occurred to Ethan that George was making up crazy shit about him and Leo. He wondered how much of what George said about other people was true.
At that moment Ethan realized he'd been silently participating in George's bitter queen dramas. It didn't feel very good. This was not how Ethan wanted to live his life.
More jabs at Ethan's sexual prowess followed as the train rolled through Coyoteville, Grizzly Camp, South Timber Valley, Skookumchuck, Twin Firs. The final stop in Mountain Air would be a crew change before the train reverses direction to return to North Mountain Lodge two minutes after arrival.
“When this train stops rush out the door and bend over to kiss the ground, relieved that you made it to Mountain Air,” George serenaded into the microphone. “You were never in danger. Ethan just wants to see your asses sticking up in the air so he can choose which one take home.” The guys teased each other, pointing out who has the best ass. Ethan scanned the station platform looking for his replacement. He had his grip in his hand. He was ready to finish this trip.
Caleb, the conductor who brought pizza to Twin Firs on Thursday, strode up to Ethan standing in the vestibule. “How was the run?”
Ethan was tightlipped. “Fine. You might have to wipe the smark off the microphone.”
Caleb groaned. “You must be working with George.”
“Yeah,” Ethan smirked.
“He fires up the crowd.”
Ethan forced a huge smile. “It's great. Best day ever.”
Caleb snorted. “That's why I usually work night shift. He always pulls the day runs so he can cruise the motels after dinner for older men.”
Ethan stepped off the train and Caleb took his place. “The toilet in this car won't flush. George should have written it up.”
“Anything else?”
“Never talk to anyone George wants to fuck.”
“Did you? Are you finally getting some action?” Caleb asked.
“NO. Jesus. Although George told everybody all fucking day that I was.”
Caleb swung his fists together and pulled a strained smile. “Best day ever!”
Tricos was still next door with her father, Kip, when Ethan got home. He showered off the train grime and texted Kelsey to reserve two tickets for tonight's early show. He looked through his closet for something to wear. Most of his clothes were either uniforms or t-shirts. He had a couple dress shirts and a pair of Rustler blue jeans that snugged his butt. He wasn't dressing up to see Leo, he told himself. He was going to the theater in civilian clothes and wanted to look respectable. He chose his white shirt with a pattern of small anchors. From a distance the anchors vaguely resembled dangling dicks. Not that it mattered; Leo would be wearing a t-shirt and shorts.
Ethan grew up in a nice neighborhood, always wore nice clothes to school, paid some attention to his attire. His clothing regimen changed after he flunked out of med school and plunged into becoming a large animal veterinarian. The ranchers he called upon wore blue jeans. He abandoned his designer slacks for Rustlers and ironed a crease in them to appear professional. After a couple years at the Cascadian Western Resort he lost interest in impressing anyone and tossed most of his chi-chi clothing. The anchor shirt was the last remnant of his fashionable lifestyle.
He heated dinner in the microwave. Out the kitchen window he saw Tricos wandering around her backyard, looking for something to bark at. Going out for the evening puts a glitch in his dogsitting routine, since he wouldn't be home before Kip took off for Seattle again. He sent a text to his neighbor, 'I'm going out for the night. Put Tricos in my backyard. I'll be home later.'
