Jeff lay wrapped in Stevo’s arms watching his partner sleep. They have just made sweet love together, and although tired, sleep eluded Jeff.
His left hand rested on Stevo’s hip and the early morning sun shining through a chink in the curtains caught his ring, causing it to glisten.
Jeff was still overcome every time he looked at it, which was almost every waking hour, and was more than a little disappointed when Stevo had turned down the offer of one from Jeff. He explained that he didn’t wear jewellery to work as he was scared of it getting damaged, or lost. Jeff thought that he was more likely to damage his when he was doing his plumbing work, but reluctantly agreed not to get one.
Still the thought of getting Stevo a love token of some kind kept him from sleeping, and he decided that he needed a trip into Coffs to sort it out. That settled in his mind, he finally slipped into sleep.
It wasn’t too long before the wonderful aroma of grilling bacon wakened him. Stevo was up and cooking breakfast before leaving on his early shift.
Jeff slipped into a pair of shorts and wandered into the kitchen. “Morning, Seb,” he said, kissing the top of Stevo’s head as he bent over the table placing the cutlery out.
“Morning, Lover,” Stevo replied, grabbing Jeff and whirling him round before kissing him and letting him go to enable him to get back to the grill. “Sit down, brekkie will be two ticks.”
“Ta, mate. I love it when you’re on early shift,” Jeff grinned.
They sat down together and enjoyed their first meal of the day, washing the food down with lashings of hot tea.
“You got anything on today, Jeffie?”
“Not ‘til late this arvo. I need to go take a look at Ceri’s studio, she’s having problems with the sink in her dark room.”
“Whatcha doing before then, slobbing out by the pool?”
“As a matter of fact, I need to go into Coffs. There’s a new supplier opening up and I need to go look at their prices.”
“Fancy heading off early? You could give me a lift. Tom had to take the ambo in last night and decided to stay over.”
“Something wrong, mate?”
“Nah, it’s due a service and George booked it in real early. We’ll hang about the office catching up on our paperwork, then pick it up later and come home.”
“Okie dokie. I’ll pop into the station when I’m finished, and if they haven’t sent you both out in a replacement ambo, I’ll have a cuppa with you both before coming back.”
“Deal,” Stevo smiled, kissing the top of Jeff’s head as he stood gathering the plates and taking them to the dishwasher.
They were soon on their way into Coffs and Jeff dropped Stevo off outside the Ambulance HQ, waving at him and Tom before taking off. He felt a little guilty about lying regarding his trip into town, so decided to go to the new supplier to ease his conscience. He was glad he did in the end as they had some high quality equipment and very good prices. After looking round with the manager and placing an order, he hopped in the Ute and headed back to the centre of town. It was time to do some hunting.
Three hours later he thought he’d found the ideal gift for Stevo. Excitedly he made his purchase, smiling at the assistant as she gift-wrapped it for him.
Paying for the package and taking it from her, he smiled and thanked her for doing a good job, then headed back to the Ute.
Pulling up outside the station, he locked his precious package in the glove compartment before hopping out and going in to find Stevo and Tom.
“G’Day, Jeffrey. You’re looking well.”
Jeff turned to see Stevo’s boss coming down the steps from his office. “G’Day, George. Ta, I’m feeling good.”
“You all healed up now?”
“I sure am, even survived Seb taking out my stitches.”
George laughed and put his arm round Jeff’s shoulder. “Come on, son; let’s go find Steven for you. I think you chose a good day to pop in, one of the lads has supplied more than enough cream cakes to feed all of Coffs…it’s his 25th wedding anniversary and his wife suggested he spoil us all in celebration.”
“Wow, 25 years. That’s good these days isn’t it.”
George agreed as they walked through the vehicle bay heading towards the staff room. As George opened the door, Jeff saw that the place was unusually full; it seemed that the word was out regarding the cakes and everyone onot out on a shout was there.
“Gentleman, we have a visitor; I hope you’ve left some crumbs.”
“G’Day, Jeff,” they all called. Jeff was a member of the footy team and knew almost all of the men crowded into the small staff room. “Come over a grab a cake before they all go, mate. We have ta build you up before footy season starts, looks like you dropped a few pounds while you were laid up.”
“Ta, mate, don’t mind if I do,” Jeff replied taking the offered cake. He took a bite and his eyes searched out Stevo and Tom, exchanging looks with them that spoke volumes…these weren’t even close to Lucy’s.
Stevo pushed his way through the throng and gave Jeff a kiss on the cheek. “Glad you made it before we head out. Our ride is due back in about fifteen minutes, then we have to do a transport run before heading back to the Glen. What say you pop into Lucy’s when you get back and pick up some good cakes?”
“I can do that,” Jeff smiled.
“Hi, Jeff. What’s the new supplier like?”
“G’Day, Tom. It’s good. I’m glad that I took a look round. They have some quality gear there so I placed an order.”
“Just make sure you’re not on your own when it arrives. I’m not keen on finding you under another load of metal,” Stevo warned.
“No worries, they send two blokes out and they stack for the client.”
Jeff snagged another cake before leaving, promising his footy mates that he would be ready for the first training session. Stevo saw him out to the Ute and leaned against the driver’s door as Jeff got in.
“Drive safe, Lover. I’ll be home in a couple of hours.”
“Okie dokie. I’ll stop off at the butcher before I leave town and pick up some meat for dinner. Can’t be bothered to get anything out of the freezer. It’s gonna be so much easier to stock up with fresh stuff when Travis and his dad get the new butcher shop open at home.”
Jeff was just finishing up the meal when Stevo came through the door. “Good timing, mate; it’s almost ready.”
“I’ll just have a quick shower and change, one of our transport patients was a bit on the smelly side, and I think it’s clinging to me.”
Ten minutes later they were enjoying the pork that Jeff had carefully prepared. When they were finished eating, Jeff got up and went to the kitchen, opening one of the drawers. He came back with the package in his hand and squatted down by Stevo.
“Seb, I know you didn’t want a ring, but I wanted to convey my feelings for you in a tangible way. I hope you’ll accept this token of my love.” He handed the package to Stevo to open.
“Oh, Jeff…it’s beautiful,” Stevo exclaimed.
“It’s an Infinity Loop. I know it’s a Maori tradition, but I thought it would work just as well for your culture. I would have brought you an Aboriginal piece, but the ones you have from mum are too beautiful to even try to match.”
Stevo put his fingers gently on Jeff’s lips to stop him talking. “Jeffie, it’s beautiful. I’ll wear it to infinity…and beyond. He grinned and passionately kissed the love of his life.
