It was the first time he’d made the Stew for the kids, and as soon as Harper tasted it, she made a funny little face.
Wyatt ate it slowly, almost thoughtfully, but he wasn’t shoveling it into his mouth like he did with most of Del’s cooking.
Del wasn’t sensitive about his cooking. He tried to eliminate stuff that he knew might be too much for the kids’ palates, but this was the Stew. He’d loved it as a kid!
“Del?” Harper asked after she’d eaten her salad and some of her rice, but only tasted the Stew. “Why does this taste like beer?”
Why do you know how beer tastes like? You’re six!Del kept the words in, and explained to her that it had beer in it, but it had no alcohol. And that she didn’t have to eat it if she didn’t like it.
“I’m happy that you tried it. Maybe you’ll like it when you’re older.” He considered for a bit. “Since you tried it, I’ll find you something else. There’s still some of the quiche I made for lunch. Wyatt liked it.”
Wyatt looked at him hopefully then. He’d eaten marginally more than his sister.
“You get some too, bud.”
Once the kids were eating again—funnily enough, Scarlett seemed to love the little Stew she had mixed in her mostly-mashed potatoes—Del left his own half-eaten plate on the table.
“Harper, can you keep an eye on them? I’m gonna check on Justin.”
“Sure,” she replied, nodding in a way that told him she was back to being a responsible big sister instead of a troubled little girl. It was weird, seeing the switch, but Del supposed it was because of her mom.
“I’ll be right back. If Scarlett’s ready before I’m back downstairs, don’t try to lift her from the chair, she’s getting heavier.” The high chair was another one of Del’s purchases and it had come in handy, no matter the look Justin had given it when he first saw it.
Del jogged up the stairs and went to his bedroom. He knocked on the bathroom door.
“Justin, you still awake in there?”
“Uh-huh.” The answer came in a sleepy tone, which prompted Del sigh.
“Is this door locked? Can I come in to check for myself?”
“It’s open.”
Del opened the door and found a very tired and flushed looking Justin lounging in the tub. The air was humid and he guessed the bath was doing its purpose of relaxing Justin and his poor muscles.
“Hey,” Del said, feeling awkward suddenly.
Justin smiled almost shyly. “Hi.”
“So listen, there’s something you might want to talk about with Harper. Neve is moving, I guess her moms got some homophobia or something and…” Del shrugged and grimaced.
“Oh, shit…yeah. I’ll try to work it into a conversation.”
“For what it’s worth, I think your mom was homophobic and she knows it, but doesn’t agree.” Del sat on the edge of the tub awkwardly.
Justin had poured some of the bubble stuff in the water, so there wasn’t much to see—and boy was Del happy about that—but it was still intimate sitting there like this.
“T-that’s good.”
Del moved his hand to gently wipe some bubbles off Justin’s shoulder.
“She didn’t like the Stew, Harper I mean. Said it tasted like beer.” Del let his fingers slide to Justin’s collarbone slowly, enjoying the smooth texture of his skin. “I don’t want to know why she’d know what beer tastes like.”
“M-me neither,” Justin managed to say in a breathy voice.
“Wyatt drew on some of my recipes today,” Del continued to speak almost absently as he kept touching Justin. “It’s okay, but he got scared when I guess I seemed mad at him for a while. I wasn’t, by the way, not really, it’s just…I hate that these kids have gone through hell already.”
“Uh-huh…” The hand Justin had clutching the opposite edge of the tub from Del twitched a bit.
“Scarlett was really well-behaved all day. She’s loving the Stew, by the way.” Del chuckled a bit, his fingers circling Justin’s nipple now.
“D-del?”
“Huh?” He looked into Justin’s eyes, and realized what he was doing. “Oh, oops?”
Justin let out a little laugh, then took hold of Del’s wrist. “Maybe not do that while you’re talking about my siblings?”
Del flushed. “Yeah. Sorry. I didn’t come here to…” He gestured at Justin’s chest and got to his feet.
“I’m not saying I mind, but…”
“Some other time?” Del completed the thought.
“Yeah, definitely. Raincheck.”
“Del! Scarlett wants down!” Harper bellowed from somewhere downstairs.
“Duty calls. Get out of the tub and come downstairs to eat,” Del told Justin who looked bashful for a moment. “What?”
“I have a problem I have to take care of first,” Justin said quietly. Then he pointedly looked toward his lap, and blushed deep red.