It was a beautiful sunny afternoon. The sky was blue, the sun was bright, and the grass was green and lush. Starsky lay back and looked up at the few puffy white clouds that drifted by. A little way away, Hutch was setting up a portable barbeque. A large, filled picnic cooler sat beside him, brimming with goodies.
Starsky felt good. No, better than good, he felt great. Sighing happily, he hoisted himself up to sitting, and rummaged in the cooler for a beer. “Hutch,” he said, “This is the life. A week of vacation. No cares, no worries, beautiful day, good food, good company… What could be better?”
“You could come here and help me set this thing up,” Hutch groused, but his heart wasn’t in the complaint. “Ah! There we go.” The final piece snapped in place and the barbeque was complete. He set it down and reached for the bag of charcoal that lay near. He poured the briquettes into the grill, doused them with charcoal lighter, and carefully ignited them. They flared up with a “fwomph” noise.
“Come over here, babe,” Starsky called. “Those coals will take awhile to burn down.”
Hutch reached into the cooler for a beer for himself, and then sat down next to his lover. He moved over and kissed him. Starsky put his beer down and leaned into the kiss.
They made out for awhile, not in a rush, but slowly and comfortably. This was old and familiar territory by now, yet somehow always new and fresh; the press of lips, the swipe of tongue, the pressure of hands moving and touching.
Finally they broke apart to come up for air.
“How long until we eat?” Starsky asked, taking a long swallow of his beer.
“Mushbrain,” Hutch laughed, “I have to cook it first. The coals should be ready in a few minutes.”
“I’m hungry now,” Starsky complained, pouting. “You got my appetite going, my big, beautiful blond.”
Hutch laughed again. “There’s stuff in the cooler. Don’t spoil your appetite.”
“Not much chance of that,” Starsky grumbled. “I’m too hungry.” He poked through the cooler. “Mmm! Cheese and crackers and pepperoni!” He popped a cube of cheddar in his mouth, followed by a slice of the meat.
“Some of the fruit would be healthier,” Hutch lectured, and helped himself to a plum.
Starsky dug in the cooler again and came out with a handful. He held it up. “Beulah, peel me a grape!” he commanded in his best Mae West impersonation.
Hutch ruffled Starsky’s hair. “Goofball,” he said, plucking one of the grapes from the bunch and popping it into Starsky’s mouth.
Starsky quickly kissed the invading fingers, then grimaced. “Ew, you taste like lighter fluid,” he complained.
“That’s what you get,” Hutch admonished. “And that reminds me,” he added, “it’s time to start the burgers.”
He placed the grill on the barbeque and unwrapped four fat burgers that had been carefully packed in the cooler. Then he laid them out on the grill. They sizzled appetizingly. They smelled even better.
Starsky got up and the two men stood by the barbeque watching the meat brown. Hutch flipped them over, and juice ran from them into the coals below, sending fragrant smoke into the air. They waited, occasionally snacking, as the burgers cooked. Soon they were done.
Starsky pulled buns and cheese from the cooler, and paper plates from a bag, and quickly each man had two perfect cheeseburgers. There were cartons of coleslaw and potato salad in the cooler, and a bottle of ketchup. They had slices of tomato and onion, still crisp.
“The only thing missing,” Starsky said mournfully, “is an order of fries.”
“You tell me how to grill an order of fries,” Hutch said, pointing sternly at him, “and next time we’ll have them.”
Starsky laughed.
For dessert they had a cherry pie, with a can of whipped cream kept cold in the cooler. Finally replete, they both leaned back against each other. The coals burned down to embers.
“Too bad we didn’t bring marshmallows,” Starsky mumbled. “We coulda’ toasted them and made s’mores.”
“If you want them, next time we will,” Hutch said indulgently. They each popped open another beer.
Daylight lingered, but eventually a gorgeous sunset spread over the sky. Fireflies, rare in California, but present, started blinking.
“Hey,” Hutch said. “You know what today is?”
“The first day of our weeks’ vacation,” Starsky said in satisfaction.
“Of course, doofus. I meant aside from that. It’s the summer solstice,” Hutch said. “The longest day of the year.”
“Oh yeah. I knew that. The first day of summer, too.”
“That’s right.”
“I know something else about the solstice,” Starsky went on.
“What’s that?”
“It’s supposed to be a magic time,” Starsky said dreamily. “Elves and fairies and magic creatures and stuff. That would be nice, Hutch. A little magic.”
Hutch chuckled. He put his arms around Starsky and nuzzled his neck. “I don’t need any more magic. I already have my magic creature.”
“Yeah? What’s that?” Starsky leaned into Hutch and nibbled his ear.
“I have you.”
That was, indeed, a magical day. I could almost smell the burgers. Although I was worried that, while the guys were making out, the burgers would be stolen by a Silver Chipmunk. 😉 Yes, our boys make their own magic. Lovely story. <3
Thank you!
Aww. Beautiful, domestic and sweet. Just what I wanted to read tonight. Thank you, SC.
So glad you liked it!
Great story!
Thank you!
Nice and peaceful. Just right for a first day of a vacation. The guys deserve it!
Yes, they do. Thank you.
ohhh that was lush
Thank you!
Thanks for this sweet and refreshing story, I really enjoyed it!
Thank you!
A sweet slice of life!
Thank you!
Such a sweet little glimpse into a moment in their lives! I love how it reminds me of Suzan’s artwork with the mention of magic and fairies. Great job!
Glad you like it!
Siiiiiiiiighhh.
This is so beautiful. So peaceful. And so THEM!
Thank ou, Silver Chipmunk for this lovely, sweet story!! KUDOS
Thank you so much!
It was easy to picture this as the story unfolded. Nice work.
Thank you!
The perfect start to the Summer Solstice-a BBQ! Good idea and it made me hungry too, lol.
Glad you liked it!
Lovely and sweet, as everyone has already said, and just about perfect! What a great gift for this wonderful calendar, Silver Chipmunk. Well done!!!!!
Thank you so much!
Awwww….so sweet!
Thank you!
This was a charming peek into their magical, domestic bliss. So enjoyed it. Thanks for writing and gifting us.
Thank you!
Aww, that was sweet. I loved Hutch popping the grape into Starsky’s mouth.
So nice to see them happy and contented.
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!
Framed this way, it’s easy to see how a relaxing barbecue is, actually, imbued with magic. Lovely story!
I have to admit, when they started making out after Hutch lit the grill, I was wondering if he needed to wash his hands, so it made me smile when I got to this part:
Starsky quickly kissed the invading fingers, then grimaced. “Ew, you taste like lighter fluid,” he complained.
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed that bit!
Now I’m hungry! This is the kind of story I like to read, it’s super sweet and I like to see my boys being domestic ❤️
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!
Such a sweet story. Just perfect! I love stories about our boys enjoying their domestic life together
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
A magical day indeed! Loved the line: They flared up with a “fwomph” noise. Made me laugh! Fireflies are exceedingly rare in California. I have never seen a one.
Thank you! Yeah, I know they are rare there, but I read there are some, and they really do make a night much more magical.
What a lovely (lightly barbequed) slice of life – and I have a week of vacation ahead of me, too. 🙂
Btw, this was the first time I heard of summer solstice being considered the first day of summer. Very optimistic! Here (in Finland) it’s midsummer, and for some it’s basically the beginning of the inevitable downhill slide to depressing winter darkness. 😀 Different conceptions of time are fascinating and weird.
Thank you! Yes, I’ve heard different places have a different starting date for the seasons, but in the US we mostly go by the solstices and equinoxes. That’s interesting about Finland.
That’s odd, I typed a reply to this and it doesn’t seem to have posted. I’ll try again.
Thank you! That’s interesting about Finland, here in the US we tend to use the solstices and equinoxes as starting points.
I love watching the guys make/eat food together and not only enjoy the meal, but each other. Sweet glimpse into a happy day. Thank you!
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Aw, sweet! No drama, no car chases, just a lovely day 🙂 Nicely done, SC!
Thank you!
A perfect story for my magical day ? Thank you.
Glad you liked it. Thank you!
This sweet moment reminds me to appreciate the little perfect experiences in life. Happy Summer!
Happy summer to you too! Thank you!
I’ve missed you Silver Chipmunk! Thanks for this peaceful slice of a day in the life.
Why thank you so much for saying so!
Sweet story of a lovely day. Those simple days really can be magical when you share them with someone you love.