Page 53 of Broken Halos
“Oh,” he said, watching her every move. He stiffened when she turned back around with the cup of coffee and smiled at him. Claire set the coffee down then reached in the display case to pull out three big cookies.
“I threw in an extra cookie since it’s your first visit to my coffee shop,” she told Drew.
“How do you know it’s my first visit?” Drew asked, finally finding his voice in front of her.
“I’d remember seeing you here,” she said then shot him a playful wink.
I paid for Drew’s coffee and cookies then handed them to him. “Come on, Romeo,” I whispered. “I got us a corner table.”
Once Drew was away from Claire’s beauty, he returned to his usual, unflappable self. “What’s up, Ollie?”
Drew patiently listened as I told him about the events occurring over the last twenty-four hours. “That’s a huge shock,” he said when I finished. “Do you believe he’s telling the truth?”
“I do, but the information is too recent for me to process how it changes things or if it does at all. Learning Kaleb didn’t mean any harm doesn’t change what happened to me.”
“It doesn’t, but he becomes one less ghost in your past who can pop up out of nowhere and send you into a tailspin.”
“True,” I admitted. “I know at some point I want to start working on forgiving Kaleb. I’m just not there yet.”
“How strong is your need to drink or get high?” Drew asked me.
“It comes and goes. Earlier it was much stronger, but it’s better now.”
“You know what you need to do right now. Stay away from people and situations that are triggers and avoid places where it’s easy to give into temptation.”
“Like a bowling alley?” I asked.
“Is this bowling alley a place you normally go to without issues?”
“I bowl there every week in a league.”
“You should be okay, but you should leave if you start to feel off.”
“My team is made up of recovering addicts, so I’ll be in excellent company if I need help.”
“I’m also just a phone call away. You’ve done amazing things with your life since I met you thirteen years ago. I’m proud of you, Ollie.”
“Thank you, Drew. Your regard means the world to me.”
We lingered at the table talking for a few hours, catching up with one another’s lives. We ordered another round of coffees but skipped the desserts the second time around. I didn’t get back to Archie’s until after three. For once, no one was watching television, and Esther wasn’t in the kitchen. I heard Archie speaking to someone on the phone about quarterly returns and other accounting mumbo-jumbo which added to my brain fatigue. I grinned as I let myself in his room because those doors really were an issue. I lay across Archie’s bed, planning to let him know I was back as soon as he got off the phone, but I must’ve ended up falling asleep. The next thing I knew, he was gently kissing me awake. The interior of the room was dark, telling me I’d been asleep for a long time.
“What time is it?” I asked, sitting up so fast we nearly knocked heads.
“Take it easy there, killer. We still have a few hours before we need to be at the bowling alley. I thought you might want to take a shower to wake up while I cook us dinner.”
I narrowed my eyes at him because he looked way too happy about cooking. It was his least favorite thing to do. “What are you cooking?”
“Well, I stumbled across this recipe for a fancy grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup.”
“Stumbled across it, huh? Mama didn’t give you a gentle push?”
“Millie might’ve said it was your favorite thing to eat when you were upset. She also said it was the first thing you wanted to make for people who were important to you. People like me,” Archie added, recalling the night I’d made the same meal for him.
“It’s true,” I admitted. “I think a shower sounds lovely.”
“Take as long as you need, baby.” Archie caressed my face then kissed my forehead before he stood up.
Archie’s nurturing didn’t make me feel like less of a man or helpless; his attention showed me how much he cherished me. I’d do the same for him if the situation were reversed. I took my time in the shower just like he’d said. I let the hot water cleanse me, relax me, and visualized it washing the ugliness away down the drain with the body wash and shampoo. When I was done, I felt a lot better. I looked at my reflection while I brushed my teeth and took inventory of my emotions. I still felt battered and bruised, but I knew I was going to be okay. I felt stronger than I had that morning and was confident going to the bowling alley was safe. In fact, there wasn’t a better group of guys to be around when my chips were down.