Elements and Elephants

Chapter 2-1

Chapter 2

The gentle but persistent chirping of his alarm brought Jack from a deep dreamless sleep. His first thought was that he wasn’t alone in his bed. This was immediately confirmed when an arm wrapped around his torso and pulled him into a tight embrace. The embrace included a moan of pleasure and the unmistakable pressure of morning wood against him. The moan morphed into a chuckle. Jack rolled over and glared at the bearer of a grin and boner.

“I seem to recall leaving you safely stowed in my guest room. Care to explain your presence in my bed?” He tried to deepen his frown but it was difficult with the boyish face grinning at him from under unruly bedhead.

“I might have gotten up for a pee and forgotten which room was mine. I was careful not to wake anyone when I crawled into bed.”

Jack shook his head. “Anyone? The fact that there was someone in bed should have clued you in.” He did a quick check to make sure he was still wearing his sleep clothes. Then he reached over to check that Willem was still decent.

“I thought at first you might have been my pillows. Then you made animal noises and wrapped your arms around me so there was no way I could get away was there? Finally, I fell asleep until your alarm woke me.” Willem actually tried to blink innocently at the end of his pile of lies. “Besides, why do you have to get up so early? Normal humans don’t work until eight or nine. Your clock says it’s barely six.” He waggled his eyebrows. “Do you have plans for a pre-noon nooner? Breakfast will be our second date so we’re both free to put out on a second date, right?”

Jack blinked and slowly shook his head. “You sure talk a lot for someone who’s just woken from a short sleep. Stay put. I’m going to put the coffee on and start breakfast. After our second date,” He made air quotes, “I’ll drive you to the bar to get your wheels. Then I’ve got to get to work. So in answer to your question, no. No pre-noon nooner or nookie of any other kind.” He grinned as he walked out of the bedroom followed by a pathetic whine.

Jack poured himself a glass of cold juice before setting the coffee maker. He was contemplating breakfast for two when Willem wandered into the kitchen. “Good timing, what would you like? I can do up some waffles, bacon, and eggs, or just cold cereal.”

“You’re not being very hospitable. You didn’t mention yourself once when you rattled off the menu items.”

Shaking his head, Jack said, “I’m being a perfect host. Since you haven’t decided, waffles and bacon it is. You can shower while I’m getting it ready.”

“That’s okay; I’ll wait ‘til after breakfast and shower with you. I can’t reach that spot between my shoulder blades.” He narrowed his eyes. “You finished saying you were a perfect host and no self-respecting perfect host would dream of letting his guest wash his own back.”

Once they’d finished breakfast Jack changed into his blue-collar work clothes and led his guest to his truck. He’d tried not to laugh out loud at the constant whining from Willem about being expected to sleep alone, wash his own back, and now entertain himself for the whole day.

Willem sighed. “I guess I’ll find a hotel for tonight. I’ve got to keep busy until the late afternoon check in.” He took a slow and deliberate appraisal of the attractive man beside him. “You look hot in your work clothes. I’d imagined you in a suit when we first met at the gym. This look keeps you down to earth and more approachable.” He once again felt a surge of lust. “When you’re off this evening why don’t you come and spend the night at the hotel? We can have a few drinks in the bar and not have to worry about driving, taking trains, or walking straight.” He decided he’d like to get to know this man much better even if any relationship they might form had an expiry date.

Jack shrugged non-committedly. After a brief silence he glanced over. “I’m not big on drinking. Last night was my quota for a very long time.” He was silent in thought a while longer before he said, “Look, I hardly know you and I’ve never done this before with a stranger but why don’t you save some money and stay at my place again tonight? I’m off at five. I’ll give you the address. There’s guest parking behind the condo that’s clearly marked.”

Arriving at the parking lot for Cuir Jack wrote his address on a slip of paper and handed it to Willem. He then wrote down the make, model, and license plate number of Willem’s car. “I’ll make a note in the registry at the condo so you don’t get towed.” They shook hands and Willem hurried to his car. Jack paused to check the address of his first job. He’d been there before so didn’t bother setting his GPS.

Willem made a snap decision when he noticed Jack hesitate before leaving the parking lot. He started his car and followed as Jack slowly departed. He smiled at the generic wave Jack gave from his open window. Having nothing better to do for the day he decided he’d watch his new friend discreetly while he worked. Despite the traffic, Willem was able to keep Jack’s truck in sight and smiled when it turned into a yard with a whole lot of tractors and other heavy equipment. He parked outside the gate and waited for a while. After catching the news on the radio and listening to part of a talk-show debating the virtues of logging versus environmental protection he left his car and walked into the yard. It hadn’t taken long for him to spot Jack’s truck beside a large front-end loader. Jack was at work on the side of the bucket away from him. He was able to observe without the danger of flashes from the arc hurting his eyes. Walking closer he noticed recent welds on his facing side of the bucket along with others that didn’t appear as detailed. He would like to have seen his new friend directly at work but his lack of eye protection meant he’d have to settle for second best.

The roar of the welding machine faded to an idle. An older man approached the loader from behind Jack. He wore a frown, glancing absently towards Willem before speaking to Jack. Willem couldn’t hear but noticed Jack’s posture tense as he stood and lifted his visor. Jack shook his head and turned to get back to his task. The older man walked away before turning once again.

Willem strolled over near him and watched as Jack used a wire brush to clean off another section of the bucket. “He does some impressive work don’t you think?”

The look he got wasn’t quite a glare but it wasn’t friendly either. “He does okay. Are you a welder? How else would you know if that was a good job?”

Willem knew from experience that the best way to deal with rude people—assholes—was to keep calm and remain pleasant. “Just comparing welds on the other side. His work is obviously the newest while the other weld by someone else looks rough and haphazard. Almost like day and night between the two.”

Asshole sucked in a breath through his teeth. “You might be comparing his work with mine since we’re the only two that I’m aware of to work on this machine. There’s nothing wrong with the previous work. I guess that answers my earlier question. You obviously know nothing about welding.” With that, he turned and walked towards another truck with the same logo as Jack’s. s**t, I just pissed off his co-worker, Willem thought.

Once again the machine returned to an idle. Jack stood and called to the older man. “This one’s done, Dad. I don’t have any others on the work order but I’ll check just to be sure.” The older man just shrugged and drove off.

Willem pressed his lips together before calling out to Jack. “Hey, bud, I didn’t know he was your father. I pissed him off right good without meaning to. Sorry.”

Jack’s eyebrows rose. “What are you doing here? How’d you piss off my father? I’m usually the only one who does that.”

Willem shrugged. “I was bored and wanted to watch while you worked. I just pointed out the comparison of welds on the other side here.” He gestured with his hand. “He took offense when I told him yours looked much better than the previous ones.”

“Way to go, mister. You, a complete stranger, told my father, a complete asshole, that my work is better than his.” He groaned and shook his head.

Willem grinned. “Well, just look at the two. Yours is prettier if nothing else, smoother with no lumps and bumps. His is like his personality—rough and totally unpolished.”

Jack sighed. “The surface doesn’t mean the weld isn’t solid or is better. I developed my technique because I’m lazy. I don’t like to chip excess rough off once I finish a weld. Dad’s been doing it long enough that he doesn’t really worry about appearance. When the machine’s in use it’ll wear off the roughness over time.” He sighed once again. “Look, I don’t mean to sound rude but it really isn’t safe for you on these worksites. I’ve got more jobs to do so why don’t you go to the gym or play tourist. I’ll see you shortly after five.”

Willem pulled a tight smile. “I’m sorry, Jack. I didn’t mean to cause problems between you and your father. I’ll see you at your condo this evening.” He felt a pang of guilt because he was sure that whatever issues came between father and son had now been made worse.