Free FanningtheFlames by Eden Winters

by Eden Winters
    How It All Began...
    Barry Richards sympathized with his sister's
    parenting woes for a full half hour, hoping to learn a thing or two. He wondered if he'd ever be able to so skillfully juggle a full-time job, housework, unfinished homework assignments, skinned knees, and a toddler's grief over a dead goldfish. As a gay man, hearing the words, "Love you, Daddy," might never happen for him, but he wanted them to, some day. Until then, "Love you, Uncle Barry," would suffice.
    Karen's "day in the life" ended with, "Anyhow, what's up with you? You still treating Mr. Cutie Professor right? He's a keeper, and if you let him get away, we'll have words, brother mine, words!"
    "We're doing good," Barry answered, unwilling to commit to more and possibly jinx his newfound
    happiness.
    "Good? Just good? Listen, it's not enough to light the fire, now you gotta fan the flames."
    That brought a wry smile to Barry's face, offering the perfect lead-in to why he'd called. "Yes, ma'am, and I bow to your wisdom on flame-fanning, oh she-who's-Fanning the Flames - 2
    been-happily-married-for-twelve-years. What are you getting Jack for Valentine's Day?"
    Karen replied, "I got him passes to the new golf course in town, when it gets warm enough to play again, that is. Right now, all eighteen holes are buried under three inches of snow."
    Damn. This wouldn't be easy. He'd hoped to copy
    Karen's gift and be done with it. Sadly, his boyfriend, Adam, didn't play golf, knocking him back to square one, with no gift and no ideas. His budding relationship, going well right now, was still too new for presents that might scare Adam off by hinting at how badly Barry hoped for permanence. Until Adam broached the
    subject, Barry felt it prudent to refrain from offers of drawer space and color-coordinated his and his hangers for the closet.
    The men had met two months prior on the GLBT
    dating site GetaDate.com, and while both of their
    profiles listed a common goal of "long-term relationship," that didn’t necessarily guarantee Barry the honors with Adam. Look at how many frogs he'd kissed to even find a prince.
    Hmmm... Did Adam see Barry as a frog or a prince?
    Barry mentally ticked off his warts, "slightly sloppy housekeeper" heading the list. Or did his obsessive nature about all things other than housekeeping take top honors?
    "Barry? Barry? Are you still there?"
    Barry snapped back to the present. Time enough to worry about Adam's feelings for him later. Oh wait!
    Maybe worrying should head his "Why Barry is Far From Perfect" list -- along with "attention deficit."
    "Oh, sorry, Karen," he replied, switching tactics.
    "What does Jack normally get you?"
    Fanning the Flames - 3
    Karen chuckled. "Now you know good and well that he always gives me jewelry." Even without a visual, Barry readily conjured the dreamy expression on her face that accompanied talk of her husband -- and jewelry. "We started dating in March, making it nearly a year before our first Valentine's Day. He proposed and gave me an engagement ring. Now, every occasion, he gives me shiny pretties. Earrings, bracelets, necklaces; anything from garnets to diamonds."
    How could Barry have forgotten? The official
    Richards' family Christmas joke was: "What's the difference between Karen and a Christmas tree?"
    The answer? "Karen's better decorated."
    Good for her, but that wasn't helping Barry any. In his way of thinking, a present involving diamonds after only two months of dating might cause running for the hills, unless it involved tickets to a baseball game. And ballgames, while exciting, weren't really romantic enough for his and Adam's first Valentine's Day.
    He'd promised Adam they'd take things slow, and
    since that time, found himself putting on the brakes several times a week, determined to keep his word.
    Thank goodness Adam had relaxed the "take it slow"
    rule enough for their relationship to escalate physically.
    Karen's heavy sigh preceded, "Jack won't be here this