Against All Odds by Ivy Penn

Author:Ivy Penn
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: mm, friends to lovers, coming out, self-realization, love
Publisher: 13-6 Publishing LLC
Published: 2021-10-01T00:00:00+00:00

The holidays suck when you work retail. I forgot about how much until I came to check on my shop and stayed to help due to short staff.

I’m in the backroom looking for the box that matches a tea set we have on display and when I come out the customer I was helping is talking to Mrs. Parks.

“Andrew!” She smiles and opens her arms for a hug.

“You know this young man, Jean?”

“I do. He’s one of Jeremy’s best friends.”

“Does that mean I get a discount?” The woman winks at me.

“I can do that for you, ma’am.” I smile politely. “I’ll go put this behind the counter for you and let the staff know.”

“Thank you, young man.” She pats my hand and looks at Jean. “I’ll see you at bunco.”

“Do you have time for a cup of tea?” Jean smiles at me.

“Sure. What would you like?”

“Black tea, splash of cream, two sugar.”

Nodding at her order, I take the box behind the counter, put a note on it, and make two cups of tea. Walking them out to the small table where she’s sitting, I join her.

“I hope I got it right.”

“I’m sure you did fine.” She takes a sip and gives me a thumbs up. “How have you been?”

“Busy.”

“I figured as much. You haven’t been around since Thanksgiving.”

“Well, with everything that happened then, I’m sure the family needed time.”

Nodding, she looks down, then looks up and shakes her head. “No. we didn’t. That’s the thing about family. You just keep on, keeping on.”

“How is Jeremy?”

“He’s healing well.”

“Healing?”

She tips her head. “Yes. Healing.”

“What happened?”

“Well. He had an awful night and hurt his head, and then the following week his nose was broken and he re-injured his head.”

“How did he get a head injury?”

She taps her thumb on the rim of her cup. “You know. I think that’s a story better explained by him.”

“What about his nose?”

She lets out a sigh. “That’s another one. I was wondering why we haven’t seen you. Now I understand it’s a mutual thing.”

She stands, wiping a tear from her eye. “Thank you for the tea. Have a wonderful Christmas, Andrew.”

My heart aches in my chest as I watch her leave the shop. Looking around, we’re not that busy. I go let the manager know I am leaving for the day and to call me if she needs me to come back and I head over to get my oil changed.

Walking in at Grease Monkeys, Olivia greets me with a half-hearted smile. “What brings you in?”

“Oil change.”

She twists her lips. “Hold on.”

I watch as she walks to the shop and see all three heads pop up. She looks between all three of the brothers and comes back into the office. “Soonest they can get to it would be when hell freezes over.”

“Why is he mad at me?” I hold my hands up. “Don’t. I’m a big boy. I can handle myself.”

Olivia presses her lips together and says nothing.

Knocking on the counter, I decide what the hell and walk into the shop.

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