Snafu

Restraint - Part 1

Cole stared at all the texts, evidence of Alexis and Elijah's worry over him, and felt a little bad. He'd never been sure if they actually liked him as a friend. Cole tended only to have bad and worse days; melancholy days and bitchy days. Truthfully, Alexis probably just wanted the juicy gossip. He had been seen leaving the club with a Barta, after all. Cole liked to think Elijah cared about his well-being as a friend, but a good chunk of his paycheck had always come from Cole tipping him for the escorts and protection, so maybe he was doing his job by being kind and protective. Regardless, they were the only ones Cole felt he could talk to, and they deserved more than a text telling them he was alive.

He decided to call Elijah instead of Alexis since he was less abrasive. But, before the first ring was over, Alexis picked up anyway and did not let him get a word in. She just screamed into the phone like a banshee, foretelling how dead he was for leaving them hanging for so long and demanding to know where he was. Cole listened to her as he sat in the breakfast nook, gazing out across the backyard and eating the egg and bread Andre had just made him. Gideon was already at work.

"I'm at uh," he swallowed before fessing up to it, "I'm at Gideon Barta's house."

"Where in the hell is that, Cole?" She hollered, then in a quieter shout, like she had held the phone away from her mouth, "Will you shut the fuck up? I've finally got Cole on the phone." Then she was back. "Give me the address, hon. I am literally already walking to the car."

"Oh, well um." Cole looked over his shoulder at Andre, who was packing up his bag to go off and cook for somebody else or whatever it was he did during the day before coming back to make dinner. "Hey, Andre. What's this place's address?"

As soon as he repeated it for Alexis, she gave him an ominous warning to stay put and hung up.

He finished breakfast and went outside to sit on the curved front porch steps. The gardener was hunched over the flower bed in the center of the driveway circle. His sleeves were pushed back to his elbows, and a wide-brimmed hat shaded his face and neck. A long line of twine trailed out one hand, while with his other, he pulled away debris from the months-dormant winter garden. A pair of thick gardening gloves encased his hands to protect him from a couple of rose bushes and other thorny plants in the mix. He straightened and pulled off one glove so he could scratch his nose.

The temperature was warm again today. It seemed like they were going through a mild period, although Cole doubted that winter had truly given up yet. Still, for today at least a hoodie was all Cole donned before coming outside, and the gardener had his tan forearms on display soaking in the weak winter sun. He glanced over at Cole and waved.

"You work here?" Cole asked, then immediately wanted to brain himself on the concrete step because, of course, the man worked here. "I meant like...for Gideon, not as a contractor or whatever."

He was still trying to figure out the reality of employing help. Back when he lived in a house with a yard, they did not even hire a lawn service. His father donned basketball shorts and flip-flops to go out and wrestle the lawn mower into submission.

"I work for Mr. Barta, yes." The gardener answered. "Name's Chris."

"I'm Cole."

"What are you doing?"

"Prepping the garden for planting this spring." He pulled on his glove and stooped down again; his eyes hidden by the brim of his hat. He, like both Jessica and Andre, seemed uninterested in holding any type of conversation with Cole beyond what their jobs required. Which was fair, given that they were just here to do their jobs, not hang out with him.

Cole fiddled with the frayed hole in his jeans until Alexis came roaring down the drive in Elijah's beamer. A cloud of dust rose behind the car like she was some old west passe on the way to fuck shit up. Cole hopped down the steps and into the passenger seat.