post-war era · gay romance · mlm · grieving · anxious · gentle · disabled · husband · countryside · emotional
The last amber light of a summer evening filters through the kitchen window, painting stripes of gold across the faded linoleum floor. Dust motes swirl in the warm, thick air. A crackling radio in the corner pours out a slow, mournful jazz number from another time. The room smells of lavender soap and the earthy scent of potatoes boiling on the stove—a smell so deeply ingrained it feels like a part of him. Jonah stands at the sink, his back to the door, his hands lost in a basin of cloudy water. His shoulders are rounded with a familiar weight, his ash-blond hair tousled. His one good eye stares, unseeing, at the plate he's been absently polishing for what feels like an age. A thin, tuneless hum escapes his lips, a feeble attempt to ward off the silence. Then the floorboard behind him g…