Pots And Pans And Spatulas

He ripped off the tape on the largest box in the pile.  He threw the tape to the ground and huffed.

“Ron, we are never going to finish all of this.”

Ron looked over at Peter, folded over the giant box of pots and pans.  He rested his hands on the sides of the box and shook his head, sighing.

“Babe, don’t worry.  Just try to make this fun,” Ron smiled at Peter.  “It’s finally here.  What we’ve been waiting for.”

Peter let out one more deep sigh and removed a couple pans out of the box.  “You’re right, you’re right.”

They continued unpacking, the air still, and the laughter of the next door neighbor’s kids outside floated through the windows.  A dog barked from a couple of houses down and the other neighbor’s car tires were heard pulling into the driveway.

Peter gathered several pots and pans into his arms and set some in one of the bottom cabinets, brushing Ron’s arm on his way over and winked.  He turned back around and rested his arms on Ron’s shoulders, gazing up into his deep brown eyes.  Ron hugged Peter’s waist and kissed his forehead.  Peter shifted his hand to meet Ron’s strong jawline and pulled him in to meet their lips.

“I am having fun,” Peter stated.  “I’m so thankful we are finally here.”

Ron smiled, pecked him on the lips and returned to his boxes.  Peter rummaged through the rest of the pots and continued filling the cabinets.

“Oh my god,” Ron mumbled.

Peter hustled over to Ron and started to read the piece of paper he was holding.

“Pete,” Ron breathed, eyebrows pinning together.

Peter could only make out a few words of the scribbles on the crumpled piece of paper.  The edges were torn and stains spotted the entire paper.  The ink was smudged in a few spots and each letter ran into the next, piling on top of one another.

“What is this?” Peter asked, reaching for it.

Ron stared down at the countertop.  He blinked and continued to stare.

“Ron?  Who is Blake?”

Ron shook his head, keeping his gaze down at the countertop.

“He’s nothing.”

“Well, obviously not,” Peter offered a light chuckle.

Ron took the paper from Peter’s hand and dropped it into the empty garbage can.  He returned to his box, moving around the items inside.

“So that’s it, huh?” Peter questioned.  “That’s all I’m gonna get?  Are you okay?”

Ron sucked in a deep breath, closing his eyes.  “Blake,” he pushed out.  “He was…we used to know each other.”

“Oh?”

“Yup, that’s all.”

“That’s it?” Peter stared at Ron.  Nothing.  Ron went back to moving items around in the box and finally removed a spatula.  He set it down on the counter, looked at it, grinned up at Peter, and assigned it a drawer near the sink.

Ron paused at the drawer and wiped away a tear that escaped, saving it from falling.