Xmas Cake by Raine O'Tierney

Author:Raine O'Tierney
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: romance, lgbt, christmas, happy ending, difference, social class, boughs of evergreen
Publisher: Beaten Track Publishing

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[Taking Responsibility]

It snowed the day Riley tried to return to his old life. How much he’d wanted to stay in the comfort of Kyle’s spacious apartment with the motherly housekeeper, the comedic brother, the cable television, the doorman, the view of the city sprawled out beneath his window; and, most of all, the man who had become his prince. It would be a comfortable life with little to worry about. But all of these incredible factors made him even more determined to go out and stand on his own two feet.

He imagined Kyle awaking that fourth day to find the note of thanks and the apology, plus twenty-two dollars, and the empty space in his bed where Riley should have been.

He’d given Kyle almost all the money he had on him, painfully aware that it did not come close to covering the room and board and medical attention he’d received. He would treat the kindness as a debt and pay on it when he could. With what was left of his funds, Riley caught the metro back to Midday South and he walked through the flurry of snowflakes to the factory.

His supervisor caught him as he was clocking in and told Riley he could pick up his last paycheck from Payroll. He wouldn’t even give Riley a chance to explain the special circumstances. Dejected, he walked over to Ravenswood, hoping to have better luck with his caroling job. The manager was much more understanding and listened sympathetically as he recounted the last four days, but the job had been permanently filled. By the time he made it to the bakery, Riley was soaked through, shivering, and certain that he’d be three for three.

“Are you feeling better?” one of the other baker’s assistants asked him the moment he pushed through the door. He nodded and was about to explain himself when the store owner came around the counter to chastise him for coming back to work so soon. Riley insisted he was feeling better, but they could all see that the walk from the subway station had taken its toll on him. He was told in no uncertain terms to rest, but at least he still had a job.

That bit of good news was small comfort when he walked across to the parking structure to find that his car was gone, towed away for having been parked there so long. For minutes Riley stood there, staring at the spot where his car had been. He thought about the presents he’d purchased for his family and his change of clothes and how now, literally, all he had in the world were the clothes on his back and his job at the bakery. When he became so chilled that he could feel the cold in his bones, he began to walk back toward the art district. There was a run-down gas station with a pay phone there. It was finally time to call home. It would have to be collect, he only had a few pennies left; Riley just hoped they’d accept the charges.

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