Page 141 of Seasons of Love
Listening to Milo talk about his mom was both sad and riveting. All I wanted at that moment was to take him to that village in the White Mountains so he could see his lupines and connect with his mom.
“Ellis, let me ask you this. What do you want from Milo?”
I finish my beer and set the bottle on the table.
What do I want from Milo? That’s a good question.
I know what I want for him. I want to protect him, to make sure he doesn’t hurt. I don’t want to see him go hungry again. I want him to follow his dreams, and I want to encourage him to look for something in landscaping since he seems to have such a passion for it.
But what do I want from him?
I stare at Harrison, lost for words, and since I don’t answer his question, he continues. “Milo reminds me a lot of my younger self,” he says. “Almost too mature. Especially after my first relationship ended. I was nursing a broken heart because I had so much love to give and no one to give it to. All I wanted was to love.”
“How did you get past the hurt and move on? I mean, you eventually did because you married Megan’s mom,” I say.
“Let me ask you this. If all Milo wanted was to love you, would you let him?”
“I don’t understand.”
Harrison stands. “I need more beer for this.” He goes back inside, leaving me alone with my thoughts.
If Milo wanted to love me, would I let him? The answer should be yes. Right?
But what would happen when he tired of our life together? What about when I became too boring for him?
Harrison comes back with two more beers and sits in front of me.
“When I met Stella, I didn’t think I was worthy of being loved. I thought I had to be the one to do all the love. Otherwise, she wouldn’t want me. I worked so hard at being the perfect husband that, along the way, I lost myself. I lost us. It’s different with Fletcher. I love him just as much, but I’m not afraid anymore. We are both important to each other.”
I see Arlo a few yards away, and Harrison sees him too.
“All I’m saying is that you probably want to take care of Milo. Just remember, he’s not a porcelain doll. He’s, as you said, a strong man. If he likes you, let him show you. If you like him, show him you do.”
I nod. “Thank you.”
He nods back, and that marks the end of the conversation.
“Hey, boys. What are you doing out here? Too crowded inside?” Arlo asks.
“Yeah, I like going home smelling like my own aftershave, thank you,” Harrison says.
Arlo laughs. “Let me say hi to my man and grab a beer. I’ll catch you up with the meeting. Tyler is on his way too.”
When Arlo is out of earshot, I turn to Harrison. “Thank you for the talk. I guess I have some stuff to figure out, but I’d appreciate if this stays between us.”
“From what I hear, Milo is working in your backyard, so you have plenty of opportunities to figure it out.” He raises his beer and winks at me before taking a swig. “And your secret is safe with me.”
Arlo comes back with a couple of beers a few minutes later, and then, as he said, Tyler arrives.
“Get straight to it, man. What happened at the meeting?” Tyler asks.
Arlo makes eye contact with each of us. “The vote was unanimous to give the go-ahead for the parking lot.”
“What?” I ask. “How can they do that?”
Arlo raises his hands. “Hold your horses. The vote was unanimous because the only ones allowed to vote were those who want the parking lot to happen. A load of people in the audience questioned the ethics of the voting system and the lack of representation from residents from the area.”
“Damn right. How can they do something without even asking the people it’s going to affect?” Tyler asks.
