Wednesday Brief #2
Okay, now here are the prompts:
If I'd known you were coming, I'd have.... (fill in the blank)
or the alternate prompts are:
tree, highway, understanding
or
all we are is dust in the wind
or
do something involving time travel
Love on a Rail
If there was one thing Ben loved, it was getting out of the house and spending time with his man. It was hard with their busy schedules to arrange time together. It was Sunday; Tom had just finished his three day rotation, and Ben didn’t have any houses to show. Since this situation was rarer than seeing Halley’s comet they weren’t going to waste one single minute of their precious time. They made plans to spend the day taking a ride on the open highway, seeing where it took them. There were still plenty of places in Pennsylvania they hadn’t seen yet.
“You know where I’d like to go?” Tom broke the silence. Each man had been so lost in planning out their day, that it startled Ben for a moment.
“No, where, Tom?”
“I’d like to visit Strasburg, I’ve always wanted to visit the Railroad Museum. And then we could take a train ride on one of those old steam engines.”
“That sounds like a great idea. I love trains too. My dad and I used to have model trains. We kept them in the basement. we used to drive Mom crazy. She’d practically have to pry us out of there for dinner.”
“Okay then, it’s a date. I’ll print out directions and we can go right after we have breakfast.”
“Hey, Ben?” Tom had done some research on the train ride they planned to go on and he was getting more and more excited, just like a kid in a candy store.
“What?” Ben had joined him in the office where they kept their laptops. He stood behind Tom and looked over his shoulder,
“It looks like they’re having a wine and cheese tasting event today, I can call and see if there’s space for us.” Tom looked at Ben, who was wearing one of his million-dollar smiles. “How does that sound?”
“Sounds great, sweetheart.” Ben leaned over and brushed Tom’s lips with his.
Tom called up the main office and found out there was still room for them and he booked passage.
In less than a half hour, they found themselves in the town of Strasburg. Ben helped with directions, and they found space to park under a big oak tree.
Tom took care of everything at the ticket office. “I’m sorry, sir, I don’t see you on the list.” The man at the ticket counter was looking over the passenger list.
“It was my understanding that you had space available for me and my partner.”
“Can I have your name?”
Tom gave him the information and waited while the guy looked it up again.
“Problem?” Ben had forgotten his camera in the car and ran back to get it, rejoining Tom.
“Yeah, it looks like we’re not on the list.”
“Hold on sir, it looks like you are on the list. I’m very sorry for the inconvenience. I’m going to have to ask you for some ID.”
Tom and Ben looked at each other, then back at the ticket agent. “ID?”
“Yes sir. Since alcohol is going to be served, you have to be twenty-one and over to board. No exception.”
Ben felt giddy; he hadn’t been carded in ages. He and Tom pulled out their driver’s licenses and showed them to the agent. He processed their tickets and told them where they needed to board.
The event took place in one of the dining cars; trays of cheese and bottles of wine sat upon a serving counter.
Between the two of them, Tom was the more outgoing. Whenever he walked into a room, people would flock to him like a magnet. So it was no surprise to Ben to find, upon his return from the restroom, that some blonde-haired woman had taken his seat.
“Oh, Charlie… CHARLIE!” the older woman screeched her husband’s name—you could tell she was getting tipsy from drinking all that wine. “Did you know Tom here’s a firefighter?”
“No dear,” a less-than-interested man, who looked like he was in his fifties, answered, standing next to his wife.
“I just think you’re all heroes.”
“Why thank you, ma’am.” Tom always blushed when a fuss was made over him.
“I bet a handsome guy like you has to fight off women.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Oh, I’m sure you do.” She leaned forward and patted his arm.
“I already have someone.”
“Really? Well, where is she?” the busy body asked.
“He’s right here,” Ben answered as he stepped behind Tom and kissed his cheek. “I can’t leave you alone for a minute, can I?”
Ben was tempted to take a photo of the woman’s eye-popping, jaw-dropping expression.
“Well…I…uh…um. Excuse me.” She quickly left.
Her husband watched her go and looked at Tom and Ben. “Thank you, that’s the first time I’ve seen my wife at a loss for words.”
He smiled at them then disappeared into the crowd.
Ben took a seat next to Tom. “Well, that was fun.”
“You mean funny. I was hoping she’d get tired and leave. It took my boyfriend to chase her off.”
“Just so long as you know who you belong to.”
“I never forget.” He grabbed two glasses and asked the server to fill them with a shiraz.
“Try this, baby, it’s one of my favorites,” Tom whispered in his ear.
Ben had to admit it had a nice fruity taste; it went well with the Roquefort cheese they tried.
“Is this your only favorite thing?” Ben asked.
Tom’s arm snaked around his shoulder. “Nope, you’re my favorite thing…. always.”
Ben smiled, and they shared a wine-flavored kiss.
TBC
My fellow Weds Briefers
That was a sweet story. The part with the woman and her long suffering husband was fun. You paint an intersting picture of a cheese and wine party on a train, not something I have ever tried. It sounds fun. Can't agree with Tom about the shiraz though... Eeeew
ReplyDeleteAww, that was sweet. I like the way they got rid of the annoying woman... very amusing. Loved it!
ReplyDeleteHow sweet and I loved that part of the annoying woman, LOL
ReplyDelete