Forgoing the invitation to the bonfire was always sad. The events were a blast, and I enjoyed them immensely. Not only was there usually music and food and drinks, but the people that came were by invitation and always included the most interesting, sweet people. On normal Saturdays, I wouldn’t miss it, even if I usually spent most of the time people-watching and nursing a beer.
Hank and Lana coming in was worth missing it, though. I had spent a good portion of the week preparing the guest room for them. When I first bought my place, one of the selling points, aside from the game room, was the guest room. It was big enough that I knew that if Hank and Lana wanted to come down and stay a while, they could.
Thankfully, since no one had stayed in there yet, the guest room and the bathroom attached were in great shape. The rest of the house, not so much. The game room was in a near-constant state of needing to be picked up, since I tended to spend most of my off time there.
The living room and kitchen also needed some touching up, and while I was at it, I probably should hit my bedroom and bathroom too. As I got home, I shrugged, went into my room, and changed into gym shorts and a T-shirt. I’d make myself some dinner and then clean the rest of the night.
I spent all night cleaning and was exhausted by the time I woke up early in the morning. Hank and Lana probably weren’t going to get into town until near dinnertime, so I had a little bit of time to sleep in. I took full advantage of it, getting some rest and not getting out of bed until the afternoon. When I finally did get up, I showered and prepared for Mom and Dad to come in, twiddling my thumbs and waiting around the house.
As the evening neared, I got a text from Mom saying they were an hour or so away. Smiling, I texted Finn and told him it was time. I got an emoji back and a time to head over. Dinner was going to be spectacular.
Hank and Lana had tried everything they could to teach me how to be a good person and a functional adult. The one thing that just didn’t take was cooking. I was terrible at it. Abjectly awful.
I felt like I understood the process. Follow a recipe to the letter, set timers, and things should work out. But I still managed to screw up measurements and times and forgot ingredients. It was a never-ending parade of ineptitude.
So, rather than possibly give them food poisoning, or at least a terribly unsatisfying meal, I concocted a plan with Finn to make the best of the best diner food. Finn was happy to do it, especially since it meant trying out a new recipe he had created. I had no doubt that it would be delicious no matter what, so I told him to go hog wild with it.
I got dressed in real people clothes and headed out to the diner. When I got there, Finn was waiting for me at the counter. Helen was in the kitchen as well, and I waved at her as I came in.
“Here you go,” Finn said. “This should be better than… whatever you would have made.”
“Thank you, my friend,” I said. “It will certainly be better than a frozen pizza.”
“You know I could teach you to cook,” he said, smirking.
“I know. But I don’t want to risk losing your friendship with my incredible ability to screw up in the kitchen.”
“Wouldn’t happen. But you have to want to learn. If that ever happens, let me know.”
“I will,” I said. “Thank you again. This will be wonderful.”
“How long are they staying?”
“I’m not sure, actually,” I said. “At least a couple of days. They were saying they might like to head over to Myrtle Beach too.”
“Oh, wow, another long trip,” Finn said. “That’s true love right there. Being able to be in a car with someone for that long is a test.”
“They would pass that test,” I said, laughing. “They are the two most in-love people I have ever met. You don’t see them in the same room without seeing them touching each other in some way. It was a huge culture shock for me when I first went to live with them.”
“I bet,” Finn said, nodding.
If anyone else understood what I meant, it would be him. Both of us grew up with parents that weren’t exactly loving. Our folks had been addicted to various drugs and had abandoned us to survive on our own more often than not. Seeing people in healthy, loving relationships was weird for a long time.
It was one of the reasons I was especially glad for Wendy in my life. I met Finn at random, just walking through a hiking trail, taking pictures. He was my first real friend in town, and really, my best one. Meeting Wendy not long after and taking her on as my apprentice at work allowed me to get close to her too.