Revised: Pain Management

Duncan and I work the weekend shifts here at Kerry’s Grill. Kerry’s is an expensive place, mostly because it looks like a hole-in-the-wall and it isn’t. Sure, it built a reputation on being a small restaurant, but once the Boss and his wife had enough money, they bought out the rest of the floor and now they’ve outgrown their kitchen twice. Duncan takes care of the back, making sure Cook—who is a diabetic, all good cooks are—doesn’t scare off too many newbies or anything, and that the food looks good on the plates as it goes out. Kerry’s is one of those places that puts little streams of sauce all around the plate to make it look fancy, though not quite one of those where they put a little sprig of parsley to garnish it.

Strip

She is used to the heat of the furnaces in her smithy, but her husband is not. Boromir comes to escape his duties sometimes—and reluctantly, too, she can see how it eats at him in his eyes—in the full regalia of the Steward. After twenty minutes he will subtly shrug out of the over-robe required of his office, as well as the symbolic mithril chain denoting his duties and loyalties to Gondor and King Ellassar. Aragorn had told him nearly a year ago that he didn’t feel such demonstration was necessary—he knew Boromir’s quality had been tested during the last war of the ring. Boromir, however, had prepared for his entire life to bear the weight of such things and wanted to continue some of the ancient traditions of his house.

Covers and Kisses

He was twenty eight when he realized it. Cuddled close against Isaac, a man he was devoted to, he realized it. Isaac had never pushed, had never asked, and had never strayed, and suddenly Jude realized that he would never bend, would never acquiesce, and would never recover if Isaac left him over this. Isaac’s body was warm against his, warmer because of the chill of the apartment around them and the pathetic cloth couch they lay on. It wasn’t Isaac’s fault. Jude felt that maybe it wasn’t even his own fault, it was the world’s fault, it was God’s fault, it was Brian’s fault, and in the end it was just how it was.