Jack

He looked at everything in front of him on the cutting board: the herbs and garlic were minced, the veggie sliced, the lemon quartered. He raised an eyebrow, sure he was forgetting something. ‘Right,’ he said to himself, before turning around to grab one last thing from the fridge: a handful of cherry tomatoes. He rinsed them throughly before placing them on the cutting board. Then proceeded to place them one at a time on it in order to dice them. All of this done while he quietly hummed to himself.

“Jesse?” he said, halfway through. He waited the few minutes he knew his husband needed to come back from the book he was reading.

“Yeah?” replied Jesse, as he placed the book facedown on his lap.

“I was thinking...”

Jesse knew then that this required his full attention: he carefully placed his bookmark in the book. He then stood up from the couch in the living room and started walking toward the kitchen area. They had opted for an open area room just for moments like this. They had decided that whoever was cooking for the day could have the other comfortable nearby for company, if he so wished.

“Yes?” He was now standing in front of the kitchen island, leaning against the sink cabinet behind him.

“I was just thinking,” he repeated, momentarily placing the knife down and looking up, “I want to learn woodworking.”

“Are you serious?”

“I am! Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Kev...”

“What?”

“Oh! You really are not kidding.”

“No, I’m really not?!” He furrowed his brows in confusion. “Why?”

“Do you want me to just tell you or show you as well?”

“Show and tell, please.” Kevin smiled widely.

Jesse nodded, then started walking toward the stairs to the second floor. Kevin dried his hands on a washcloth before following close behind.

On the second floor, Jesse stopped in front of Kevin’s office’s closed door. He waited for the other to reach him before dramatically opening it.

It was a fairly big office, spacious enough for a couple of desks, a lower table, a whole wall covered in bookshelves, and still have room for various objects scattered around.

Kevin didn’t dare enter the room, he already knew where this was going. He had sensed it the moment he had seen the surprised look on his husband’s face at the mention of woodworking. He had played dumb, partly because it was fun, that was for sure. But also to delay his response. He still glanced at everything he had cumulated in the last couple of years.

On one of the desks, his main desk, was his laptop, a typewriter, and a bunch of blank loose paper. Not to mention the countless number of pens in the drawers. Just before moving to the house they were now living in, he had decided that he was going to become a writer, hence the fancy equipment. He had gone back and forth between wanting to write books and write poetry for the entire time they were finishing the last touches on the house. Once it was actually time to move in, he only set everything nicely and neatly. By then, he had already moved on to the next shiny thing. The only time, since then, that he had used the typewriter for something creative, was when he attempted to write Jesse a romantic poem as a Valentine’s gift.

The second desk had a few boxes, still sealed, containing various size puzzles. Only one was halfway done next to them. Puzzles had been the next shiny thing. As they had finally settled in, Kevin had realized they needed more wall decorations. Sure, they had both posters and canvas, but he craved something more colorful. He had picked the most vivid he could find, but had ended up giving up the hobby almost immediately. He had realized he had no patience for all those small pieces.

Meanwhile, in the room, Jesse was looking at the half completed puzzle, placing a piece in the right place every once in a while. He was giving Kevin the time he knew he needed.

To bring more color to the house, he had opted to start painting himself. That, as everything that far, had short lived. ‘I like the concept of painting, but I have no talent,’ he would say to anyone who asked about it. The easel and empty canvas were in a far corner of the room.

Jesse was now in front of the bookshelves, probably trying to figure out if his next read would come from these ones. Books was what had originally brought them together. Neither of them saw reading as a hobby, rather as a ‘way of life.’

One entire shelf, though, was dedicated to Kevin’s journals from that time he had decided to start journaling. He had opted for it, at first, as a way to use all the pens he had already bought. ‘What’s easier than putting your every-day thoughts down on paper?’ he had asked himself. ‘It doesn’t have to be pretty,’ he had reminded himself later on, as he had tried and failed multiple times. It was the thing, that far, to which he had committed the most. Then, even that, had been cut short; this time for a good reason. Their twin niece and nephew, ten years old, were going to spend the summer at their place. He wanted to give them something to do together whenever they weren’t at the beach nearby. That’s when he had bought the lower table. He had stacked it with coloring books — both for kids and adults — and lots and lots of colored pencils. The two adults and the two kids had had two months of pure fun. That was six months prior. Everything was still as they had left it. Even the journals, that now laid there, forgotten.

“Jack of all trades, master of none,” said Kevin at last, leaning against the doorframe. “At least my name is not Jack,” he added, almost whispering.

“Though sometimes better than master of one.”

“Uh?!”

“That’s the complete original saying.”

“That is way more reassuring.” He smiled.

“I thought it would be.” Jesse approached the door. “I’m sure you’ll find your thing.” It was as if he had read his mind, which was a sign of how strong their relationship was.

“You really think so?”

“I do.” He wrapped his arms around Kevin’s waist and kissed his cheek.

“Thank you.”

After a couple of minutes of peaceful stillness, Kevin added: “there wasn’t much of ‘tell’ in your ‘show and tell’.”

“I didn’t think it was needed.”

Kevin turned around and kissed him lightly on the lips. In the same moment the doorbell rang.

“Uh-oh,” he exclaimed.

“What did you buy now?” Jesse tilted his head at him. “Kev...”

It was probably not the best time to confess that he had ordered a pottery wheel machine a few weeks before. Order he had forgotten about till that very moment.