The afternoon was almost hot. Almost because it was April and April in New England was not typically warm except for three-point-five days. This day was one of those. The rain had left the night before and longer daylight hours meant the earth had thawed.

Charlie could smell it, practically taste it. The earth. In the winter, there is only ice, violently chilled. Summer and fall are ripe with aromas both clean and spicy, heady in such a place covered from top to bottom in nature. But in spring, there was only the smell of dirt, the ground warming up from the long cold slumber. He loved the smell of rich loam, decaying leaves and warmed granite.

Is this what heaven’s like? All promise and potential?

The chickens worshipped spring as well, pecking and scratching, outright wallowing underneath his hammock. It was strange to find such tranquility watching the top-heavy creatures zip around the yard like plump roadrunners jabbing and screeching at each other. The rooster was still the unfortunate Lothario, but he seemed to get the job done, much to the consternation of the hens.

Leaving the pleasant melee in the backyard, Charlie made his way to the garage. Some chickens followed as if children to a mother. Minutes ago, a familiar delivery truck pulled into the drive. Perhaps his refill order of achiote and coriander had arrived a little early, yet there wasn’t a notification on his phone. No matter, he had a freezer full of locally raised pork and a strong desire to make a mole before the heat of summer hit.

The nights were still below freezing and Abuelita, his little grandmother, tutored the younger Charlie on the long slow bubble and simmer of mole. Just right for heating the house and his stomach.

Yum.

Stupefied, he stopped short. A large blue delivery van slumbered in the driveway with the driver jogging back from Charlie’s front door, package in hand.

“Great! Glad someone’s home.” The barely adult driver motioned to a frozen Charlie, ignoring the birds swarming around his feet. “Dude, that driveway next door is too much. Almost got stuck for good. No way I’m getting up that pile of shi-i-ah-crap.”

The delivery person didn’t notice two chickens nearby dropped their own pile. Charlie found that rather poetic.

“This delivery requires a signature. Would you be willing to sign this for me?” Oblivious to the poop, the young man shoved a small box into Charlie’s hand.

“Mmmmmm.” Charlie hummed noncommittally.

“What’s the last name?” He pulled out a small device from his bulging khakis.

Eyes focused on the package and not the delivery man, Charlie whispered.

“Diaz.”

Without a second look, the driver typed something into the piece of technology, and then turned back to the vehicle, stepping over a brown hen, who pooped in greeting.

“Thank you, sir. You’re a lifesaver.” Came the farewell with a careless wave.

The van had disappeared before reality hit Charlie.

Horror…..joy….wait! Why did he care?

Knots began to form in the pit of his gut. Absently, he rubbed his belly. Its just contacting his neighbor not calling the police. A text would do, no need to telephone the poor man.

The two had exchanged contact information after their first meeting. In all honesty, it was Ki who insisted that neighbors should be able to contact each other in an emergency.

“Its the neighborly thing to do,” Ki said before he left, with a ridiculously charming smile.

At the time, Charlie felt that it would likely be much less painful if he played along. Plus, who would reject a man who did dishes?

Mopping, scrubbing, even washing the windows were better options than doing the dishes.

A…man….who….did….dishes.

Who was he kidding? His neighbor was both saint and demon wrapped up in one package, a veritable feast for the eyes, all chiseled angles and dark charm. Entertaining stories and the ability to do dishes…….sublime. Bruce Lee’s Chen Zhen wasn’t half as charming.

CHARLIE: Your driveway was impassable. A package delivered here. I signed for it.

NEXT DOOR: NGL It sucks! I can’t get pavers in before next month.

CHARLIE: Um….package?

NEXT DOOR: 2M2H. Construction on roads hasn’t begun yet, so I don’t see why I have to wait an entire month and pay a small fortune, mind you.

CHARLIE:       Um….package?

NEXT DOOR: UR the best. I owe you one.

CHARLIE:       I’ll leave it by the front door.

NEXT DOOR: Take it inside. Don’t want it to be stolen. OMW See you soon.

With weakened knees, Charlie set the package aside and plopped on the porch, pulling his fingers, watching the chickens peck and mumble in the yard. His brain checked out with each beat of the beaks sinking into the warmed earth.

It wasn’t hard to see that Ki wanted to visit with him again. The only thieves in this neck of the woods were foxes and coyotes.

Not quite an hour later, Charlie was knee deep into vendor reports up in his office when he heard the doorbell. Strange how something so chilling the previous week had lost that ominous feeling.

Grabbing the small package, Charlie didn’t bother to reflect why it was easier to open the door today or why his heart began to race like a Lamborghini. The beautiful man stood before him all decked out like a Neiman Marcus model in a designer suit and tie. Chen Zhen never wore Neiman Marcus. Charlie gulped.

“I clean up well, don’t I?” His lips widened into a flashy smile. Ki’s cheerful eyes just glowed. “I had court today, so I had to put on my big boy clothes.” He struck a pose.

“Mmmmm.” Charlie shoved the box in his hands and gave a single nod, and shielded his eyes. Damn, he was just plain stunning: all dark hair, dark eyes, and golden skin, and all those positive vibes oozing from his pores.

“Come see my new car.” Ki warmly invited. “Sadly, I gave up my sweet Porsche for this behemoth. It was the only way I could ensure I could get up the driveway during mud season.” He pointed to the mud pit next door.

Surprised, Charlie followed him around the house. His cabin faced east and west, with the driveway positioned at the north of the house. This meant he rarely knew if someone drove up his driveway, not that anyone really did. Delivery trucks and his next-door neighbor were the only exceptions.

Walking down the curved paved walkway leading from the front door to the driveway, Charlie saw a bright aqua high-end SUV behemoth that likely wouldn’t have problems traversing small rivers and sandy dunes, let alone Ki’s mire of a driveway.

“Think this will make it up today?” His bushy brows bobbed up and down in a happy motion.

Charlie gave another nod.

“Aiya, do you like the color?”

Abuelita loved bright sunshiny colors and surrounded herself with them, whether it was clothing or dishes. Ki looked to be the same. The bright blue was the same color as her best Sunday dishes.

This time, Charlie gave him a double nod.

“Oh ho. I picked well if my good neighbor Charlie likes it.”

Charlie warmed at the genuine praise.

With a snick of a key fob, the driver’s side door opened. Ki tossed the package into the passenger seat. Charlie couldn’t help but imagine the places the high-performance machine could climb. His eyes danced over the shiny automobile.

“Wanna go for a spin? The range road across town is a veritable cesspool of mud and runoff. We can officially break this baby in and cover it with mud before the sun sets.”

For a second or two, Charlie hesitated, then shook his head. There was something about Ki that drew him like a lodestone. For one shiny moment, the thought of playing in the mud with the oversized toy pricked something inside long since buried under his broken vocal cords and the shell of isolation.

Ki’s breath caught. He counted two. For two seconds a sweet never-before-seen innocent boy-like creature seemed to radiate out of Charlie and in those two seconds, that creature contemplated playing in the mud …..a victory of sorts for Ki. He had a curiosity streak about a mile wide when it came to this handsome creature, and he wanted nothing more than to figure out what made this adorable creature tick.

“Ah, another day then.” He looked down at his impeccably tailored and frightfully expensive suit and the almost equally costly custom-made pair of shoes. “It is for the best. Not like I’m dressed for playing in the mud.”

Again came another shake of the head.

Ki felt the challenge of getting an articulated word out of the other man’s mouth. Looking around, he spied the frolicking poultry birds.

“You have quite a few chickens, Charlie.”

“Mnnnnnn.”

A few were a rich golden-brown color; some were black with white dots. There were a couple of gray ones that stuck together like twins, and one with a yellow head that glowed like gold. Ki pointed to a pure black one pecking around Charlie’s feet.

“What kind of chicken is that?”

“Australorp.” The voice was small and gravely, a little hard on the ears.

Ki paused a heartbeat. Last time, he thought Charlie had a cold. It appears that was his everyday voice. Filing away that piece of information, he beamed.

“And the black with the polka dots?”

“Barred Rock.” The sound was a little louder, a little more engaged. “They are reliable layers.”

“What interesting information. I’ve never had chickens before. Growing up, we lived in Charlestown, not far from the navel yard. No room for chickens in the city. Pretty sure it was against zoning laws.” Ki meandered over to the yellow-headed fowl, who hurried away.

With a laugh at the silly bird, Ki sat down on the top step of the front porch and watched the other man panic. It wasn’t hard to decipher his expression.

How do I evict this guy without having to open my mouth?

“Did you have chickens growing up?”

Pushed off center, Charlie frowned at that question and shook his head.

“So many. And they are quite pretty. Did you grow up in a city like I did?”

Again came the headshake.

Leaning against the railing, Ki watched and wondered. Dark expressive eyes with the complete and utter lack of ability to hide his emotional self, including the frustration he currently felt from the neighborly invasion. From the looks of things, Charlie couldn’t yet be thirty, his face free from lines. Smooth golden skin made Ki’s fingers itch to caress his face.

But if this fox wanted to invade the henhouse, he’d need to be sneaky to avoid his prey bolting just like the yellow feathered bird moments ago.

“Did you go to college?” It was an inane question, but Ki had a theory that Charlie loved hearing stories.

A nod and a bit of curiosity.

“Me too. But you can guess that since I’m an attorney.”

Another nod, hesitant, but his eyes became wide and engaged.

“What a ride. My mother wanted me to focus on religion and become a doctor. My dad encouraged the exact opposite, to experience all that being in college offered. I mean everything, like an unfortunate experience at my first kegger.”

Ki didn’t think Charlie’s eyes could get wider, but they did. The sense of victory coursed through his veins, but he kept his smile placid.

“You ever been to a kegger, Charlie?” He pointed to the other man.

As expected, a head shake.

“Well, let me tell you, you’re better off for avoiding that pit.” Ki watched Charlie lean just a smidgeon, so minor that it almost wasn’t noticeable. And those expressive eyes and lifted chin, a dead giveaway. He was hooked.

Voice mellow and tone calm, Ki spent the better part of an hour on the porch regaling Charlie with university stories filled with half-truths and exaggerations. Halfway in, Charlie’s legs were tired. He took a seat. There was only one spot available…….next to Ki on the porch.

Banked fires flared in Ki’s wolfish eyes when Charlie sat down.

Cute.

Cute.

Cute.

Like a lamb to the slaughter or, in this case, chicken.

When the stories moved towards the intense study in law school, Ki could sneak a hair closer to the other man. He couldn’t stop himself from a deep inhale and a pause for dramatic effect.

Warmed earth. Charlie smelled of warmed earth and lemon-lime body wash. He didn’t think he’d ever smelled anything so intoxicating.

“Aiya, I don’t think I slept more than four hours a night until I was out of law school a year.”

This time, the “Mmmmmmmm,” had a warmth to it.

Ki decided to take a risk and get personal. “Did you have a lot of sleepless nights in college?” He couldn’t keep the huskiness from his voice.

A mental door slammed shut with a BAM! Ki watched the other man go from rapt attention to freezing solid, the light of curiosity dying in his eyes. Not quite a minute passed before Charlie responded, and it was a reluctant nod.

Understanding dawned with Ki that Charlie’s sleepless nights had nothing to do with partying, studying, or even a stereotypical turbulent college love life. Across Charlie’s expressive eyes flashed a desolation, so deep that Ki’s heart hitched watching it ooze and drip from the other man’s body like a festering wound.

Deep in his twisted soul, he knew that whatever drama he had with his mother, it could not compare to the hell that could cause the visceral reaction with this delightful neighbor.