Ezra busied himself around the kitchen. The smell of roasting lamb filled the kitchen, floating around every possible space in the air. It would take another five minutes or so, he reckoned. The baby potatoes were boiling away on the stove, steam rose from the pot as the potatoes jostled and pushed against each other and bubbles slipped through the small space in between. They were ready.
He picked up a folded hand towel and used it to pick up the hot metal of the pot. He brought it over to the sink, grabbed a colander and emptied it all out into it. The weight built up as each potato bounded into the colander and the water rushed out. A great hot cloud shot up over the sink as he did so. He sat the colander down in the sink and left it as he went back next to the over, he pulled out a chopping board and began to cut up a random selection of vegetables.
"That smells so good."
Colby sat at the kitchen island, looking into the kitchen as he graded some papers for his class. He'd been complimenting the food as soon as he caught whiff of the meat in the oven, begging Ezra for a small scrap of food.
"I think I'm going to die if I don't eat in the next two minutes."
Ezra flung the towel over his shoulder and carried on. "The lamb will be ready in five, but we're still not eating until until Stavros is here."
Colby groaned. He dropped his head and let it hit the table with a dull thud. "Can't you at least tell him to hurry up then?"
"Don't think that's going to help. He's never been on time to anything in his life."
"Is it a Greek thing?" Asked Colby.
"I'm not sure if you can generalise being late to an entire nation."
Colby lifted his head up and sighed. He picked up his pen, pouted and balanced the pen on his upper lip. "A Stavros thing then."
Ezra continued to prepare the dinner as Colby finished up his work. Colby picked up a piece of paper.
"She hasn't done it again." He muttered.
"Is this that girl you're worried about?" Ezra took the lamb out of the oven. The heat hit his face as the door opened. He placed it on a chopping board and began to carve it. Juice poured from every movement of the carving knife, some of the herbs and spices that he'd rubbed into it before putting it in the oven flaked off.
"Yeah. Her name is Gracie Kobayashi. I just have this gut feeling that somethings not right, you know? Kids don't always do their homework, but Gracie never does it."
"That's not that odd though. Kids hate homework."
"It's not just that though. Her hair is never brushed, her clothes are dirty and she'll wear the same outfit for days, she never has her own lunch, she doesn't talk to other children. Something's not right with her and I think she might be having a hard time at home." Colby sighed and buried his face in his hands. "I'm going to call my dad later and ask him what he thinks."
Ezra wiped his hands on the towel over his shoulder and patted Colby's head. "That sounds like a good idea."
There was a knock at the door.
"I'll get it!" Colby shot up from his chair, abandoning all the work he was doing and ran towards the door. He reminded Ezra of dogs that go to the door just to bark, but then get excited when the visitor comes in as it means they'll soon get attention. The door clicked open. "Γεια σου!" Colby greeted gleefully.
He heard Stavros let out a laugh in surprise. "Γεια σου! Τι κάνεις?"
"Πολύ καλά. Και εσύ?"
"Μια χαρά."
Ezra had some idea of what they were saying. Ever since Ezra and Stavros had developed a close relationship due to working together, Colby had made an effort to pick up small parts of the Greek language. Stavros became a frequent visitor to their apartment or sometimes they'd go round to Stavros' apartment instead. Each time they met, Colby tried to say something new. It began with Colby simply learning the Greek alphabet, then learning the pronunciations of it. He'd spent many a night watching YouTube videos and suing free apps to pick it up. He would tell Ezra what he found out as well: "Look, Ezra. This letter looks like a B but it's actually pronounced like a V." Ezra would nod his head, pretend he understood and say: "That's nice, babe."
Maybe Ezra should've paid more attention to Colby's little Greek lessons. Now the pair chatted away in Greek. Nothing complex, just asking how are you and replying with things like fine and good. Even Ezra knew how to say hello, or at least he was pretty sure he did.
Stavros came into the dining room and waved at Ezra from across the kitchen island.
"Ya su." He tried.
Colby cringed and Stavros laughed at him.
"Almost," said Stavros encouragingly. He was well dressed for the evening. It wasn't often Stavros dressed for fashion over comfort, so Ezra appreciated the effort. He was wearing a white button up shirt, black trousers with dark brown loafers. His thick curly was held back by a thin black headband. He had a grocery bag in his left hand that he placed on the dining table. "That smells divine. What's on the menu?"
"Roast lamb." Ezra told him.
"Fantastic."
Ezra began to plate up the food as Colby and Stavros sat at the dining table. They chatted away about all sorts. Sometimes Colby would attempt some Greek to which Stavros would either reply or correct him. Ezra was amazed at how quickly Colby was picking it up, it sounded like a nightmare language. Come on, a whole different alphabet, grammar rules that would take a lifetime to wrap his head around, around eighteen different ways to say 'the'. Maybe if Ezra had more time outside of his job he'd take the time to learn Greek. However, Stavros could speak amazing English whilst having a more demanding job than Ezra... was Ezra just lazy?
He carried over the plates of food and placed them around the table. The table was already set with cutlery, place mats and wine glasses. Ezra also took the time to light the candles in the centre of the table. Stavros then revealed what he had in his little grocery bag. He pulled out a bottle of red wine, uncorked it and poured a glass for everyone.
Colby took a small sip and nodded his head. "That's really nice. Ευχαριστώ."
"What was that?" Asked Colby.
"Ευχαριστώ," Colby repeated slower this time, "efaristo. It means thank you."
Stavros smiled and nodded his head in approval. "I'm going to steal your boyfriend if you're not careful, Ezra."
Ezra brought over the last thing for the table, a jug of gravy. He poured it over his own meal before passing it to Colby who passed it to Stavros. "You're too old for him," said Ezra, "also it's not boyfriend. It's fiancé." He held up his hand with the engagement ring on to emphasise the point.
"It's not too old if you try hard enough." Stavros picked up his knife and fork and began to tuck into his meal. "I actually found out how old my lover boy is."
"Is this guy from the club Ezra was telling me about?" Colby asked, Stavros nodded his head. "I can't believe you were there that night, I wish we'd seen you. What's he like then, the guy you picked up?"
"Well," Stavros was more than happy to give details, a sly smile crossing his face, "he's actually ten years older than me. Forty-seven, apparently, and he looks damn good for his age. He's been divorced once, has a kid that he hasn't got the best relationship with but I don't really ask about it, it seems like a touchy subject."
Colby frowned at the description.
"I also found out," said Stavros, "that I'm not the first guy he's been with."
"I thought you were," said Ezra.
"So, did I. However, turns out that he's been with a man in the past. I was worried for a while that he was actually some straight guy who just liked the attention, but it seems I've got a closet case on my hands."
"How closeted is he?" Asked Colby.
"We haven't really done anything physical yet. He refuses to touch me in public."
"Because that would be a crime." Ezra jabbed at him.
Stavros stuck his middle finger up at Ezra. "I meant like holding hands, smartass." He put his hand down. "I did manage to steal a kiss on his cheek today though. That was nice."
"Are you serious?" Ezra laughed.
"What?"
"A kiss on the cheek? This is so not like you, Stavros. Normally you would've taken them to bed already then magically lost their number the next morning. You've never been persistent with someone for this long. Are you losing your fuckboy ways?"
Stavros held up his hands in defence. "I would not call myself a fuckboy. Look, I get it, you two got the happily ever after thing when you were seventeen, but I didn't. I'm fine with being single for the rest of my life, I've been with that for a very long time. It's simpler that way. The people I hook up with know this and they want the same. Not everything can be romantic gestures and taking your time."
"But, you're taking your time with this guy." Said Colby. "Is he different?"
Stavros stabbed his fork into the lamb and shrugged. "I don't know... maybe."
Colby gasped in shock and Ezra laughed at him.
"No way is sleazy Stavros going soft," said Ezra.
"Well, I- sleazy Stavros? Do people call me that?"
"Not everyone, and the people who do mean it as a joke. The guy who started it is that nurse from ICU that you hooked up with. Don't have any serious injuries, Stavros, because he will pull the life support on you."
Stavros leaned back in his chair and groaned. He took out his headband and ran his hands through his hair before putting it back in. "This is the issue. That nurse was the last guy I tried seriously dating and look how well that went. With my current guy, I don't want to hurt him, he's so..." Stavros leaned forward and clenched his hand, a word on the tip of his tongue that he was struggling to reach, "... delicate but not. I don't know how to describe it. He may as well have a sticker on his forehead that says 'handle with care', but he's been on his own for a long time and he can clearly take care of himself. He's complicated, but he's also sweet and mature. He's a good man and I don't want to ruin that."
Ezra stopped his laughing when that serious expression came over Stavros. How rare to see his mentor like this. The private things they'd confessed to each other in the breaks they got between surgeries, things Ezra didn't tell just anybody and Stavros had done the same with him. So, it was with what he knew about Stavros that he said to him as a friend: "You can't let what happened with your ex-fiancée define you forever. You're not unloveable."
They looked at each other from across the table. A serious expression shared between them, a thousand words with a single look. Then Stavros smiled. "Thank you, Ezra."
"If you're worried about hurting him, you could try and just be friends first." Colby suggested.
"Bit too late," said Stavros. He hid his face by pretending to be super interested in the wine he was drinking.
"Why?" Asked Colby.
"They keep having phone sex." Ezra put bluntly.
Colby gasped again, then clicked his tongue in disapproval. "Sleazy Stavros." He muttered.
"I can't believe people are calling me that. I will be calling him again tonight though." He took a sip of his wine. "Maybe I am sleazy."
"You are." Ezra confirmed. Then Stavros kicked his leg under the table. "Ow!"
"How's things going with your dad?" Asked Stavros.
Ezra pondered the question for a bit, deliberating on long winded explanations that went in-depth on details about the complex and varied range of emotions Ezra felt towards his dad. The contradictory dichotomy of loving someone but also hating them. Eventually he decided to sum it all up by saying: "It's complicated."
Stavros nodded his head. "Well, you know Papa Stavros is always here for you. Your dad can suck my dick."
Ezra only laughed at him. "I don't think he'd be into that."