Free Out of the Blue by RJ Jones Page A

how’s your work going? Jake said you were called to that large freeway accident last month. That must’ve been scary, all those poor people trapped.” Brenda meant well, but the mention of the accident had that lump forming in my chest again.
    Jake stiffened beside me but didn’t look for my reaction, his smile tight as he poured more coffee from the pot.
     

Chapter Eight
     
     
    Jake
     
    The relaxed mood I’d enjoyed on the drive here vanished. Cam’s head dropped; he’d felt it too. I looked at Aunt Cece to see if she noticed, and she raised an eyebrow. The unspoken question acknowledged, I shook my head, begging her not to ask.
    “What’d I miss?” Brenda never could keep quiet. I loved her desperately, but she had the subtlety of a sledgehammer.
    “Hon, why don’t you go make sure we’ve got some wine chilled for lunch.” Cece gave Brenda the shut up, I’ll tell you later look.
    Brenda darted a glance between all three of us before she wandered off to the kitchen to check the wine. Cam looked at the table, scratching a fingernail over the knotted wood, his shoulders tense.
    “I’m sorry,” Cam whispered, dropping his head again. His voice was barely audible so I didn’t know how Aunt Cece heard him across the table.
    Reaching out, she patted Cam’s hand. “That’s okay, my sweet. I’ve known something’s been going on for a while. I can hear it in Jake’s voice over the phone. You’ll tell me when you’re good and ready. In the meantime, get yourselves settled in the cottage. Lunch is in a couple of hours.” My aunt stood and moved toward the kitchen, probably to berate Brenda a little.
    I nudged Cam’s shoulder. “Come on.”
    After grabbing our bags, we walked the few yards out the back to the guest cottage, and once inside, I dropped my bag and gathered Cam into my arms. I breathed in his familiar scent and kissed the juncture of his neck and shoulder. He was trying. Our apartment had never been cleaner. He came home after every shift, and although I never expected him to stop socializing with his friends, I wasn’t about to complain when I got to spend extra time with him.
    Cam suggested coming to Napa so we could reconnect. I’d always felt at home here, and we needed a chance to relax and regroup. Things at home were better, but there was a lingering tension that wouldn’t go away. Hopefully, after this weekend, our life could go back to normal, like it felt on the drive here.
    “I’m sorry,” Cam repeated, hugging me tight.
    “Don’t be. We came here for a chance to relax and find us again. This was the best idea ever, and I know we can get through this. I need you, Romeo, always, and when we leave here on Sunday afternoon, our life will be back to normal again. You felt it on the drive here, I know you did. We’ll get it back, I promise.” My voice held more conviction than I felt. I hoped the positive affirmation would hold.
     
     
    Lunch was a riot as we sat with my aunts on the deck, conversation flowing easily, and the tension dissipated.
    Brenda was a never-ending source of laughter, she always had a take no shit approach to life. One of the smaller wineries in the area didn’t like having lesbians nearby, and although they never approached Cece or Brenda, the talk was all over the valley. Most people either didn’t know or didn’t care they were together, except that one couple, and Brenda baited them every chance she could.
    “So, we were in the grocery store and Cece wanted some fish for dinner. I found a lovely piece of salmon, you know, plump and pink…” Brenda had a wicked glint in her eye and I could tell what was coming. “This bigoted couple stood on the other side of the delicatessen looking at the meat… I couldn’t resist.” She laughed hard and Aunt Cece tried her best to look ashamed, but I wasn’t convinced. “I picked up the salmon and waved at them. “‘Woo-hoo,’ I called out”—Brenda waved one hand in the air—“‘The salmon