Is Yet Slash Yaoi Original Fiction Novel Story

“I think I can deal.”

“Okay.”

The car rolled out the lane and slowly into the small town. “Is it wrong that I haven’t even really been in town yet?”

Nick glanced over. “You haven’t even seen most of your own property yet.”

“True. Hiking about has been taken off my to do list.”

“There are plenty of folks without a leg that, like, run marathons.”

It was a debate Epi didn’t want to have. “I won’t be one of them. I didn’t run before and I sure as hell don’t need to go running for endless miles now in some misguided effort to prove I’m as good as someone with two legs. I’m not, so why be stupid about it?”

Nick ignored the snippy response and turned off into an alley between two houses. Back he drove to a decent sized old barn that sat behind one of the houses. There were other cars parked there and a truck as well but it looked like someone’s backyard. Nick pulled in beside one of the cars and didn’t bother to roll up his window or lock his door.

“This isn’t some odd, new guy in town, hazing thing is it?”

“Huh? No. Old fellows used to meet down at the post office but they’ve all pretty much passed away. Doesn’t mean they won’t give you a hard time.”

“Lovely.” He suddenly wondered why he’d agreed to go along but when he glanced up and saw Nick waiting for him he knew why. He was lonely and missed even Tori’s smothering nagging. The small daily interactions with Nick had become something he valued.

“Coming?”

“Yeah.”

The door was an old steel office door, heavy and painted with a fresh coat of white paint to make it look newer. Nick pulled it open easily and the background noise of people and life spilled out into the afternoon sunshine. He nodded to someone inside.

“Hey.” He greeted but no one inside greeted back. Nick held the door so Epi wouldn’t have to struggle with the heavy weight.

Whatever Epi had in mind, it wasn’t what he found. The room had obviously been a garage bay at one point but it had been drywalled off from the rest of the barn. The floor below was cement, with old oil stains peeking out from rugs that had just as obviously been cast out of the various men’s homes. There was an old fridge humming to itself in the one corner, a beer tap protruded from one side betraying the keg cooling inside. The furniture was an odd hodgepodge of old recliners and cast off kitchen chairs, an old kitchen table. Nothing matched and everything felt like it had been banished from living rooms by wives set on redecorating. A mounted deer head hung from one wall, a dart board from another. Along a shelf sat a radio that had to be as old as Epi was himself and from it dribbled out bluegrass music.

A half dozen men sat around, most in blue jeans and t-shirts. The oldest was white haired with a white beard and in that undetermined age past fifty five but before age stole all vitality. The majority looked in their fifties, one was obviously in his forties but it easily made Epi and Nick the youngest. Three of the men sat playing cards, two were sitting in worn out chairs watching and all of them had clear plastic cups of draft beer at hand. They all stopped and stared.

“Epi looked like he needed a beer. Brought him along.”

Looks were exchanged but none of the men said anything. Epi felt like he’d been caught doing something wrong and wondered if he should turn around and leave.

“Epi, that’s John, Jack, Snuffy, Buzz, Tom, and my dad, Jim. Everyone, this is the guy that bought Aunt Millie’s place.”

“Nice to meet you.” Steady, distant eyes kept watching him. “I hope you all don’t mind, Nick said it was okay…”

“Nick must be a special friend, he talks about you.” The one called Buzz, sitting off by himself watching the card game said with a wicked grin that crept on his face. “Right special friend.”

“Is he your special friend Nick?” Jack picked up the teasing.

It was a tone Epi was used to. He’d never really been in so he couldn’t say he’d ever come out but he’d never once hidden his sexuality. It just seemed cruel to mock Nick for it. “There was a mistake, I’ll go. Nick can you take me home?”

“Knock it off.” Nick muttered, blushing a little. His eyes darted to where his father sat studying the cards he was holding. He worked his wallet out and pulled a five dollar bill out. It dropped with long practice into an open cigar box before he moved to draw two clear plastic cups of beer from the tap that stuck from the side of the fridge. “They don’t mean anything by it.” Nick explained as he handed one of the cups to Epi and motioned to the array of empty chairs.

“Just giving you a hard time.” Buzz tossed out in way of apology. “Don’t mean to run you off with it. Takes all sorts.”

There was a painfully long drawn out silence as the men sat and sipped at beer and played cards. Epi was acutely aware of it, if he could have walked home he would have and for the first time he really hated that he didn’t drive. Nick didn’t seem to notice it, he sank into the chair he’d claimed and his shoulder’s relaxed.

“Get that ramp torn up?” His father, Jim finally asked.

“Yeah.”

“Get it done?”

“Just abouts.”

Silence fell again and Epi sipped at his beer, feeling it go right to his head.

“Henry’s back in the hospital.” Tom spoke up as he stood to get another beer.

“Again?”

“Blood sugar was up above four hundred when they tested it.”

Several of the men whistled and shook their heads.

“That’s what killed his brother, he should have laid off the sugar cakes.”

There were grunts of agreement and silence returned. It took another spurt or two of conversation for it to occur to Epi that the long silences weren’t because of him. Everything made it seem like that was just how they were and it made sense. Nick too was quiet more than not, keeping his thoughts to himself and his silences long only it seemed so much louder when amplified by so many other men.

“Did you see Dick’s fence?”

“Yeah, he says some kids drove right through it.”

Off and on spurts of gossip and town news came out. It was slow and painful and Epi felt like he was watching some bizarre slow motion train wreck. If he’d been in a comedy movie the long silences and random tidbits would have been painfully funny. Only it was simply painful without the context of a movie.

“You from Washington?” One of the men finally asked Epi directly only he said the name like it had an r in it, Warshington and it took Epi’s mind a second to both translate it and understand he was being spoken to.

“Just outside of it, Northern Virginia.”

“Traffic bad down there, Bill got caught in it going to Florida, sat for three hours on 95.”

“It can be.”

“You liking it up here?”

He felt eyes on him, Nick’s most of all. “So far. It’s quiet.”

“Must be, odd having a famous writer in town. We had a bluegrass singer living outside of town a few years back.”

“I’m not…I’m not really, I’ve just been lucky and that was a while ago.”

“He’s nine books out.” Nick provided.

“Nine! Geesh!”

Epi guessed it would be impressive to men that most likely hadn’t read nine books between them in the last year.

“What’re they about?”

“Last couple were about the civil war. I like history.”

“Should introduce you to Denny Glatfeller, he’s a historian. Was dean at Gettysburg college for a while, ask Jim or Nick he’s their uncle.”

“Great uncle by marriage.” Nick explained.

“I’d like that. I was a history and English major but I’m not anything close to being an historian.” The answer seemed to satisfy everyone and silence returned again.

Epi nursed his beer and Nick finished his and one more. The men around them continued to have long silences broken with bits of town and family gossip as they played cards and sat in contented comfort. It was bizarre but other than Nick’s father occasionally tossing Epi some cold looks no one else teased about him being gay, or even about his being an outsider.

“Well,” Nick sat forward and finished the last swallows. “We should be going.”

It took a bit for the plastic cups to be thrown out and a few good byes to be said. Nick spoke briefly with his father about a family matter but Epi was too busy trying to stand and not fall on his face to care what Nick’s sister was planning. Nick got the heavy door open for him and Epi moved quickly to get into the car.

“That was bordering on cruel.”

“What?” Nick asked as he climbed into the driver’s seat.

“That!” He waved with one hand as he adjusted the crutches between his legs. “You could have warned me they’d hate me. Just tell me if it’s because I’m an outsider or because I’m gay.”

“They liked you.”

“They barely said a dozen words for an hour.”

That made Nick grin. “They’re Penn Dutch, if they hadn’t liked you they’d have stayed silent the whole time. Just be glad Dad was there or they’d have been worse about the gay thing.”

“You mean that’s how they are normally? All silent but…”

“Gossipy like women? Pretty much.” He pulled the car out of the small lane back onto the main road. “I warned you, Penn Dutch men take a little getting used to.”

“That was the oddest thing I’ve ever seen.”

Nick shrugged a shoulder.

“Are you going to become like that when you get old?”

“Who says I’m not like that now?”

For all his willingness to include Epi that late afternoon, when they got home, Nick disappeared into his apartment. Epi puttered about, did some light cleaning, sorted out another box or two. He watched some tv while wearing a cat and cooked a light dinner. The house didn’t feel as empty as it had been and he chalked that up to the simple truth that he’d actually been social today.

Shortly after dark, as Epi was washing up his dinner dishes, a car drove down the lane and parked near the garage. The light over the garage that gave a dim glow to the parking area allowed him to see the man that stepped out of the car. He was well dressed in nice fitting jeans and pull over sweater. Dark hair curled around his collar and he was slender and lean.

Nick must have heard the car too because he opened his door, spilling light from inside out onto the dimly lit stairs, and came to lean over the balcony railing. “Hey, you’re early.”

“That a problem?” The new man called up.

“Course not, come on up.” He hovered near the door and waited as the other man climbed up to join him.

Epi watched as they paused by the door, Nick holding it open, and said something. It made the stranger grin and Nick shake his head but all too soon the pair disappeared into the small apartment. It left him wondering what sporting event was on tonight since it seemed that’s when Nick invited people over.

The tv had nothing on and Epi was restless. He eventually gave up and went upstairs, this time with his glasses, to try to read quietly until sleep claimed him. He changed out of his clothes, brushed his teeth and took off his leg and braces before settling in to bed. Sleep, however, was as elusive as finding a good tv show to watch and after what felt like a small forever he closed his book and took off his glasses. A mug of tea would have been nice but that would have required going downstairs and he didn’t feel like being forced to go down the steps on his ass and the idea of putting his leg back on bothered him.

He settled for hopping over into his wheelchair to go to the bathroom and get a cup of water. Even that didn’t feel like enough so instead of wheeling back to the bedside he rolled slowly out onto the sleeping porch with it’s screened in sides. The night air was cool and soothing and settled his nerves more than the water. Crickets and other night critters made soft noise in the fall air and somewhere an owl occasionally hooted.

The peaceful silence that was slowly soothing Epi to relax was suddenly broken. Nick’s apartment door slammed open hard enough that it hit the railing on his balcony. The glass vibrated in it’s window frame and Epi tensed to hear it break and was surprised when it didn’t. Out into the night Nick’s friend hurried and from inside the apartment Nick hollered after him to wait.

		Is Yet Chapter Ten
		“I think I can deal.” “Okay.” The car rolled out the lane and slowly into the small town. “Is it wrong that I haven’t even really been in town yet?” Nick glanced over. “You haven’t even seen most of your own property yet.” “True. Hiking about has been taken off my to do list.” “There are plenty of folks without a leg that, like, run marathons.” It was a debate Epi didn’t want to have. “I won’t be one of them. I didn’t run before and I sure as hell don’t need to go running for endless miles now in some misguided effort to prove I’m as good as someone with two legs. I’m not, so why be stupid about it?” Nick ignored the snippy response and turned off into an alley between two houses. Back he drove to a decent sized old barn that sat behind one of the houses. There were other cars parked there and a truck as well but it looked like someone’s backyard. Nick pulled in beside one of the cars and didn’t bother to roll up his window or lock his door. “This isn’t some odd, new guy in town, hazing thing is it?” “Huh? No. Old fellows used to meet down at the post office but they’ve all pretty much passed away. Doesn’t mean they won’t give you a hard time.” “Lovely.” He suddenly wondered why he’d agreed to go along but when he glanced up and saw Nick waiting for him he knew why. He was lonely and missed even Tori’s smothering nagging. The small daily interactions with Nick had become something he valued. “Coming?” “Yeah.” The door was an old steel office door, heavy and painted with a fresh coat of white paint to make it look newer. Nick pulled it open easily and the background noise of people and life spilled out into the afternoon sunshine. He nodded to someone inside. “Hey.” He greeted but no one inside greeted back. Nick held the door so Epi wouldn’t have to struggle with the heavy weight. Whatever Epi had in mind, it wasn’t what he found. The room had obviously been a garage bay at one point but it had been drywalled off from the rest of the barn. The floor below was cement, with old oil stains peeking out from rugs that had just as obviously been cast out of the various men’s homes. There was an old fridge humming to itself in the one corner, a beer tap protruded from one side betraying the keg cooling inside. The furniture was an odd hodgepodge of old recliners and cast off kitchen chairs, an old kitchen table. Nothing matched and everything felt like it had been banished from living rooms by wives set on redecorating. A mounted deer head hung from one wall, a dart board from another. Along a shelf sat a radio that had to be as old as Epi was himself and from it dribbled out bluegrass music. A half dozen men sat around, most in blue jeans and t-shirts. The oldest was white haired with a white beard and in that undetermined age past fifty five but before age stole all vitality. The majority looked in their fifties, one was obviously in his forties but it easily made Epi and Nick the youngest. Three of the men sat playing cards, two were sitting in worn out chairs watching and all of them had clear plastic cups of draft beer at hand. They all stopped and stared. “Epi looked like he needed a beer. Brought him along.” Looks were exchanged but none of the men said anything. Epi felt like he’d been caught doing something wrong and wondered if he should turn around and leave. “Epi, that’s John, Jack, Snuffy, Buzz, Tom, and my dad, Jim. Everyone, this is the guy that bought Aunt Millie’s place.” “Nice to meet you.” Steady, distant eyes kept watching him. “I hope you all don’t mind, Nick said it was okay…” “Nick must be a special friend, he talks about you.” The one called Buzz, sitting off by himself watching the card game said with a wicked grin that crept on his face. “Right special friend.” “Is he your special friend Nick?” Jack picked up the teasing. It was a tone Epi was used to. He’d never really been in so he couldn’t say he’d ever come out but he’d never once hidden his sexuality. It just seemed cruel to mock Nick for it. “There was a mistake, I’ll go. Nick can you take me home?” “Knock it off.” Nick muttered, blushing a little. His eyes darted to where his father sat studying the cards he was holding. He worked his wallet out and pulled a five dollar bill out. It dropped with long practice into an open cigar box before he moved to draw two clear plastic cups of beer from the tap that stuck from the side of the fridge. “They don’t mean anything by it.” Nick explained as he handed one of the cups to Epi and motioned to the array of empty chairs. “Just giving you a hard time.” Buzz tossed out in way of apology. “Don’t mean to run you off with it. Takes all sorts.” There was a painfully long drawn out silence as the men sat and sipped at beer and played cards. Epi was acutely aware of it, if he could have walked home he would have and for the first time he really hated that he didn’t drive. Nick didn’t seem to notice it, he sank into the chair he’d claimed and his shoulder’s relaxed. “Get that ramp torn up?” His father, Jim finally asked. “Yeah.” “Get it done?” “Just abouts.” Silence fell again and Epi sipped at his beer, feeling it go right to his head. “Henry’s back in the hospital.” Tom spoke up as he stood to get another beer. “Again?” “Blood sugar was up above four hundred when they tested it.” Several of the men whistled and shook their heads. “That’s what killed his brother, he should have laid off the sugar cakes.” There were grunts of agreement and silence returned. It took another spurt or two of conversation for it to occur to Epi that the long silences weren’t because of him. Everything made it seem like that was just how they were and it made sense. Nick too was quiet more than not, keeping his thoughts to himself and his silences long only it seemed so much louder when amplified by so many other men. “Did you see Dick’s fence?” “Yeah, he says some kids drove right through it.” Off and on spurts of gossip and town news came out. It was slow and painful and Epi felt like he was watching some bizarre slow motion train wreck. If he’d been in a comedy movie the long silences and random tidbits would have been painfully funny. Only it was simply painful without the context of a movie. “You from Washington?” One of the men finally asked Epi directly only he said the name like it had an r in it, Warshington and it took Epi’s mind a second to both translate it and understand he was being spoken to. “Just outside of it, Northern Virginia.” “Traffic bad down there, Bill got caught in it going to Florida, sat for three hours on 95.” “It can be.” “You liking it up here?” He felt eyes on him, Nick’s most of all. “So far. It’s quiet.” “Must be, odd having a famous writer in town. We had a bluegrass singer living outside of town a few years back.” “I’m not…I’m not really, I’ve just been lucky and that was a while ago.” “He’s nine books out.” Nick provided. “Nine! Geesh!” Epi guessed it would be impressive to men that most likely hadn’t read nine books between them in the last year. “What’re they about?” “Last couple were about the civil war. I like history.” “Should introduce you to Denny Glatfeller, he’s a historian. Was dean at Gettysburg college for a while, ask Jim or Nick he’s their uncle.” “Great uncle by marriage.” Nick explained. “I’d like that. I was a history and English major but I’m not anything close to being an historian.” The answer seemed to satisfy everyone and silence returned again. Epi nursed his beer and Nick finished his and one more. The men around them continued to have long silences broken with bits of town and family gossip as they played cards and sat in contented comfort. It was bizarre but other than Nick’s father occasionally tossing Epi some cold looks no one else teased about him being gay, or even about his being an outsider. “Well,” Nick sat forward and finished the last swallows. “We should be going.” It took a bit for the plastic cups to be thrown out and a few good byes to be said. Nick spoke briefly with his father about a family matter but Epi was too busy trying to stand and not fall on his face to care what Nick’s sister was planning. Nick got the heavy door open for him and Epi moved quickly to get into the car. “That was bordering on cruel.” “What?” Nick asked as he climbed into the driver’s seat. “That!” He waved with one hand as he adjusted the crutches between his legs. “You could have warned me they’d hate me. Just tell me if it’s because I’m an outsider or because I’m gay.” “They liked you.” “They barely said a dozen words for an hour.” That made Nick grin. “They’re Penn Dutch, if they hadn’t liked you they’d have stayed silent the whole time. Just be glad Dad was there or they’d have been worse about the gay thing.” “You mean that’s how they are normally? All silent but…” “Gossipy like women? Pretty much.” He pulled the car out of the small lane back onto the main road. “I warned you, Penn Dutch men take a little getting used to.” “That was the oddest thing I’ve ever seen.” Nick shrugged a shoulder. “Are you going to become like that when you get old?” “Who says I’m not like that now?” For all his willingness to include Epi that late afternoon, when they got home, Nick disappeared into his apartment. Epi puttered about, did some light cleaning, sorted out another box or two. He watched some tv while wearing a cat and cooked a light dinner. The house didn’t feel as empty as it had been and he chalked that up to the simple truth that he’d actually been social today. Shortly after dark, as Epi was washing up his dinner dishes, a car drove down the lane and parked near the garage. The light over the garage that gave a dim glow to the parking area allowed him to see the man that stepped out of the car. He was well dressed in nice fitting jeans and pull over sweater. Dark hair curled around his collar and he was slender and lean. Nick must have heard the car too because he opened his door, spilling light from inside out onto the dimly lit stairs, and came to lean over the balcony railing. “Hey, you’re early.” “That a problem?” The new man called up. “Course not, come on up.” He hovered near the door and waited as the other man climbed up to join him. Epi watched as they paused by the door, Nick holding it open, and said something. It made the stranger grin and Nick shake his head but all too soon the pair disappeared into the small apartment. It left him wondering what sporting event was on tonight since it seemed that’s when Nick invited people over. The tv had nothing on and Epi was restless. He eventually gave up and went upstairs, this time with his glasses, to try to read quietly until sleep claimed him. He changed out of his clothes, brushed his teeth and took off his leg and braces before settling in to bed. Sleep, however, was as elusive as finding a good tv show to watch and after what felt like a small forever he closed his book and took off his glasses. A mug of tea would have been nice but that would have required going downstairs and he didn’t feel like being forced to go down the steps on his ass and the idea of putting his leg back on bothered him. He settled for hopping over into his wheelchair to go to the bathroom and get a cup of water. Even that didn’t feel like enough so instead of wheeling back to the bedside he rolled slowly out onto the sleeping porch with it’s screened in sides. The night air was cool and soothing and settled his nerves more than the water. Crickets and other night critters made soft noise in the fall air and somewhere an owl occasionally hooted. The peaceful silence that was slowly soothing Epi to relax was suddenly broken. Nick’s apartment door slammed open hard enough that it hit the railing on his balcony. The glass vibrated in it’s window frame and Epi tensed to hear it break and was surprised when it didn’t. Out into the night Nick’s friend hurried and from inside the apartment Nick hollered after him to wait.
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