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“Patrick, will you come downstairs, please?” David yells from the bottom of the staircase.
“Coming,” Patrick responds, his thundering footsteps on the stairs nearly drowning out his reply.
Patrick smiles when he sees that the living room lights are dimmed and rounds the corner faster, eager to see what David has in store for them. He is absolutely not expecting the title slide of a PowerPoint presentation in the approved Rose Apothecary color scheme and font on their TV.
“Have a seat, grab a drink and some snacks,” David says in his sales associate voice. “The presentation will begin shortly.”
“David, you once confessed to Stevie that one of the major bonuses to marrying me was that you never have learn PowerPoint.”
“Drunkenly confessed, and yes, yes I did.”
“Have you been replaced by an evil clone of David Rose? Did Twyla drug your macchiato? Possessed?”
“Of course not,” David replies. “I have a business proposal to make and I want you to take it seriously.”
“David, you know I always take your ideas seriously.”
“You do, honey. But this idea involves the business side of Rose Apothecary, not the product lines and aesthetics. I wanted to make a true business proposal.”
“So you learned PowerPoint.”
“Mmmhmm. Alexis was surprisingly helpful and Stevie only made fun of me twice.”
“God, David, that’s so hot.” Patrick crosses the room to David’s side, grabs David’s hips and drops to his knees.
“Wh-what are you doing?” David’s voice is shaky and high-pitched.
“Showing you how much I appreciate everything you did to create this proposal,” Patrick says as his hands wander under the front of David’s skirted pants looking for the fastener.
“Okay, I can’t believe, I’m saying this, but I worked really hard,” David’s voice trails off as he makes the mistake of looking down at Patrick who is smirking up at him from under his lashes. He clears his throat and tries again. “As I was saying, I worked hard on this proposal and I really want to give it to you. So can we table the appreciation until my presentation is finished?”
“Of course, David,” Patrick responds as he slowly moves his hand out from David’s pants. “I’ll grab some snacks and you can get started.”
David reaches down to help Patrick to his feet, chuckling when he notices Patrick adjusting himself in his jeans. “Really, Patrick? One PowerPoint slide is all it takes to turn you on?”
“Not just a slide, sweetheart, an entire presentation, just for me, made by the love of my life who hired me to do all the business things, but then learned how to do them himself because he’s smart, caring and perfect. You turn me on, David. You and everything you do for us and Rose Apothecary.”
David can’t not kiss Patrick after a speech like that. He pulls Patrick in by his shoulders and they lose several minutes making out until David has to pull back to catch his breath.
“Okay, enough distractions. Go take a seat. Let’s get this presentation done so I can take you to bed,” David says gesturing to the couch.
David is grateful that Patrick takes his time stacking meat and cheese on crackers and pouring himself a glass of wine. It gives him time to compose himself and review his notes.
“I’m ready whenever you are, David,” Patrick says softly as he makes himself comfortable on the couch.
David takes a sip of water, picks up his clicker and begins. “I would like to propose changes to our store hours this summer, specifically the idea of closing early one weekday every week to take advantage of summer activities and events in our area. I have reviewed and analyzed the data compiled by our fantastic CFO,” David pauses to wink at Patrick, “data in which I have the utmost confidence. For the past two summers, Tuesday has been the day with the lowest foot traffic in the store as you can see here.” David points at the bar graph on the screen. “In fact, we can break the data down even further into hourly sales, which shows that sales decrease drastically after 2pm on Tuesdays, and that a similar decrease does not happen other days of the week.” David clicks a button and even more graphs appear on the screen.
“David, you analyzed data for this?” Patrick looks at David like he wants to devour him. “I am going to worship every inch of your body when this presentation is finished.”
David clicks to the next slide to continue the presentation, but all he can feel is Patrick’s hungry gaze on him. “Patrick, I worked so hard on this presentation.”
“I know you did, baby. And you can give me the whole thing later. Right now, just give me the elevator pitch so I can take you apart like you deserve.”
David takes a deep breath. He can do this. “It’s our first summer as husbands. The last two summers have been so hectic with opening the store and then planning a wedding. I want to take Tuesday afternoons off so we can do summer things together. I made a list of activities. I also found some potential weekends where we could close for a mini getaway.”
“Yes, David. Yes to all of it. We’ll look at the weekends later and pick the best one. Best presentation ever, I’m thoroughly convinced,” Patrick growls as he grabs David’s hand and drags him up the stairs.
They update their socials and website, put up signs, remind customers for two weeks in advance and endure – with gritted teeth – Roland’s insinuations and comments about what they might be getting up to on their Tuesday afternoons off.
The first Tuesday of the summer, David locks the door behind their last customer while Patrick begins running the sales report. They rush through their closing tasks as fast as possible and are heading out the door by 2:18 pm.
“David, are you sure we can’t go straight from here?”
“I need to change into something lighter. Plus, it doesn’t start until four.”
“Still not telling me where we’re headed?”
“Nope,” David replies, popping the p.
A few hours later, after a slightly later-than-planned departure because Patrick couldn’t keep his hands to himself while David was changing, they pull into the parking lot of the Elm Ridge night market.
“It’s a farmer’s market that stays open until 9pm in the summer. Tina could not stop raving about the views from the park.”
“Are we here as co-owners of Rose Apothecary?”
“Just as David and Patrick. Newlyweds enjoying their first summer as husbands. We can grab business cards from vendors, but no business discussions. This is a date.”
Patrick entangles his fingers with David’s. “Lead the way, love.”
They wander around the market, sampling products, admiring the wares and slowly filling up their tote bag with treasures and contact information. They see a few of their regular vendors and David gently, but firmly, stops all business discussions, insisting that everything can wait until regular business hours – he and Patrick are on a date.
Soon enough their tote bag is full. “Will you run this to the car and grab the bags in the trunk?” David asks. “I’ll grab the rest of what we need and meet you by the meadow.”
Patrick rushes to the car, depositing their purchases, then pulling out a picnic blanket and cooler bag. By the time he returns, David is waiting with several to go containers.
“When I picked this for our date, I called ahead and prepaid for a picnic spread for us,” David explains as they lay out their picnic blanket.” I supplemented with a few, purchased, items from the store,” David continues. He bends over to straighten the edge of the picnic blanket just so.
“David, this is so thoughtful, thank you. I’m so glad you came up with the idea of taking an afternoon off each week in the summer. I love that we’re going to have weekly date nights this entire summer.”
They eat dinner, savoring each other’s company and enjoying their little picnic blanket bubble. They feed each other dessert and share sweet, mostly chase kisses. Reluctant for the night to end, Patrick lies down and places his head in David’s lap. David’s hand immediately begins to card through his hair. Patrick sighs, happy and head over heels in love with his amazing husband. He closes his eyes, reveling in his husband’s gentle touch.
“Patrick, open your eyes, this is the best part,” David whispers in his ear. He slowly opens his eyes, gasping at the sight before him. Patrick had been so caught up in David he failed to notice the setting sun. From the top of the hill overlooking the meadow, they have an unobstructed view of the red sun sinking lower and lower in the sky. The clouds are bathed in golden light, the sky lit up in shades of orange and red.
Patrick sits up, leaning back against David’s chest and feels David’s arms wrap around his middle. He places his hand on top of David’s and squeezes. “It’s gorgeous. Thank you for planning this for us.” David hums quietly in reply. They stay wrapped in each other until blues and purples start to fill the sky.
“Let’s get you inside before the bugs come out,” Patrick murmurs as he breaks away to begin cleaning up.
It’s late when they finally pull up to the cottage, but neither of them has any regrets.
They trade off planning their summer Tuesday date nights.
Patrick arranges an al fresco dinner at their favorite local winery. Maureen, the owner and vintner, is one of their favorite vendors. She creates a five-course tasting menu for them and lets David be the first to sample the latest batch of his favorite wine.
David surprises Patrick with tickets to a baseball game with a fireworks show afterwards. David insists they eat all the food – hot dogs, popcorn, nachos, fries and soft pretzels. He buys Patrick the ridiculously expensive souvenir beer mug and promises he won’t throw it away. Patrick spends more time watching David’s face lit up by the fireworks than watching the actual fireworks.
Patrick buys a hammock for their backyard and they cuddle in it as the sky darkens. It’s a calm and peaceful evening until David spots a lightning bug. He shrieks, jumps out of the hammock and runs inside. Before he can process what’s happening, Patrick is on the ground underneath the hammock. He sits there laughing as David rants about bugs from inside the house.
David gets tickets to Shakespeare on the Square performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Elmdale. The production is terrible – Helena forgets at least half of her lines and the actor playing Oberon is clearly drunk. They are among a handful of attendees who stay until the end, but only because David falls asleep in Patrick’s lap and Patrick spends almost the entire performance looking at him.
Their local drive-in movie theater runs a Jane Austen period romance night featuring Pride and Prejudice and Emma. David curates the finger foods, and Patrick braves the masses to buy popcorn and David-approved snacks. On the way home they take turns tossing out cheesy pickup lines in increasingly terrible British accents.
David buys an inflatable pool to combat the overwhelming summer heat. They change into their tiniest swim shorts and each take their time thoroughly coating the other in sunscreen. They lounge in the cool water drinking mojitos made with mint from their garden and eating pizza because it’s too hot to cook.
Late July brings an unexpectedly busy week at the store. Due to vendor vacations and two buses full of tourists visiting for the Moira Rose Schitt’s Creek experience, they spend both their regular days off restocking and doing vendor pickups. They close the store at two on Tuesday, drive home and crawl into bed for a well-deserved nap. Patrick wakes up around four, cancels their dinner reservation and runs to the store for steaks, fresh corn on the cob, potato salad and watermelon. They can grill and lounge in the hammock. David is still sleeping when he returns, so he grabs a beer and heads outside to warm up the grill.
Stepping outside onto their deck, Patrick is surprised by how much the sky has darkened since he returned from the store. The air crackles with heat, humidity and tension. Ominous dark grey clouds are rolling in from the west. He puts everything on the grill, hoping to beat the rain.
David wanders onto the deck just as the first fat raindrops start to fall. A sleep rumpled David is one of Patrick’s favorite sights and he smiles broadly.
“Can you grab the plates and get us set up on the coffee table? I’ll get the food off the grill and we can eat out here.” Patrick asks.
David nods, moving quickly to get everything arranged under the overhang. Patrick soon joins him with the food.
“Are you sure we should eat outside?”
“C’mon David, it’ll be romantic. You and me curled up on this loveseat, watching the rain fall? We’re far enough under the overhang that we shouldn’t get wet. We can watch the storm move out,” Patrick pleads.
He sits and pats the cushion next to him, resting his arm along the back of the sofa.
David nods and cuddles into his side, his right-hand tracing mindless patterns on Patrick leg just below the cuff of his jorts. “I’ve always loved the smell of petrichor,” he says. They watch as the storm intensifies, gazing at the rain coming down in sheets a few feet away. “Okay, as nice as this is, I do require sustenance.”
“Okay, David. Let’s eat.”
They savor their dinner, talking and laughing as the rain gradually lightens. The setting summer sun emerges from behind the clouds. David stops talking mid-sentence and drags Patrick into the yard for an unobstructed view of the full rainbow. Patrick insists they take a selfie, brushing aside David’s protests about his bedhead. Their smiles are radiant, both men glowing with happiness and love. David makes a mental note to post it to share it with their families before leading Patrick upstairs to show him just how much he loves him.
To cap off their first summer as husbands and celebrate their first anniversary, they plan a trip to Niagara-on-the-Lake. Patrick finds a quaint cottage in the historic downtown where they can celebrate their anniversary as loudly as they want. David books a tour of the Jackson-Triggs winery. He also secretly purchases tickets for the cellar dinner and concert by a Canadian folk artist that Patrick adores.
On the day of the tour, David wakes up early. He’s so excited to surprise Patrick with the concert tickets, he cannot sleep. Patrick gives him an odd look when he’s ready 30 minutes ahead of schedule, but David distracts him with kisses until it’s time to leave. They hold hands throughout the tour, asking insightful questions and purchasing several bottles of their favorite wines.
The tour guide leads them outside to enjoy their complimentary glass of wine. Patrick leans his head against David’s shoulder as they take in the view.
“I wish we could’ve purchased tickets for the concert,” Patrick says wistfully. “I can’t believe how quickly they sold out.”
“Um, about that,” David replies, “I set an alarm, got up early and got us tickets to both the cellar dinner and the concert.”
“David! You set an alarm for me?”
“Of course, honey. You’re my husband and I know how much you love this artist.”
“I love you, David.”
“I love you, too,” David murmurs as he reels Patrick in for a kiss.
The four-course dinner is delicious, but the concert is incredible. David isn’t as familiar with the artist’s catalog, but witnessing the joy on Patrick’s face as he listens to his favorite musician fills him with delight. Patrick shines with happiness and David basks in the glow.
They spend most of their final day in Niagara-on-the-Lake in bed. They reluctantly leave the cottage for dinner at a farm-to-table restaurant one of their vendors recommended. The food lives up to Matt’s enthusiastic praise – everything is seasonal, locally sourced and delicious.
After dinner, Patrick drives them to Sunset Beach in nearby St Catharines. They walk along Lake Ontario, enjoying the waves and beautiful views.
“I’m so happy you made your business proposal, David. I’ve loved every adventure we’ve shared this summer.”
“Even when I dumped you out of the hammock?”
“Even then. You’re cute when you’re running from insects.”
David chuckles. “I’ve loved them all too. It’s made our first summer as husbands so special.”
“I think we should make it a yearly tradition. Close the store early one day a week and focus just on each other.”
“I don’t know, our business manager is pretty strict. I don’t know if he’ll approve that.”
“I think he can be persuaded.” Patrick leans in, “And I think you know just how to do it,” he whispers in David’s ear before dropping a kiss to his neck.
David turns his head, his lips meeting Patrick’s in a heated kiss. They are both breathless when they finally pull apart.
“Just think of all the epic dates we’ll have next summer with nine months to plan,” David muses, rubbing Patrick’s shoulders and looking out over the water.
“I’ll start a spreadsheet when we get home so we can keep track of what we’ve done. How many different activity categories do you think we’ll need?”
David shakes his head, a slight smile raising the corners of his lips. Thank goodness Patrick fits none of the images a younger David had for his spouse. He never could have dreamed up this amazing man. “At least four, maybe more. You’ll be able to create so many tables.”
“Well, David, now that I know you’re capable of learning the business side of things, you can learn Excel and we’ll create them together.”
“That sounds perfect, honey.”