Promise

Promise, by Brian Holliday (who is a frequent contributor to our magazine, and whom we have invited to join us as editor), is a lovely story about love and honour, set in a time when we did things differently.

Inside, there wasn’t much space to spare, just a small table at one side, with two wooden benches, and a lot of closed cabinets. A heavy curtain hung just behind the farthest bench. Everything was clean enough to please Mama, but the smells were heady and masculine: tobacco and harness soap and sweat. Thomas and Papa sat on opposite sides of the table, and I crouched on a little stool by the door, goggling at the private place that belonged to Thomas.

Thomas brought out two glasses and poured an inch of amber liquid into each, pushing one toward Papa. I’d never seen Papa take strong drink, except the medicinal whisky Mama spooned out for the chilblains, but he picked up the glass and took a sip, nodding appreciatively. “Kentucky,” he said.

Thomas smiled. “The best, sir.” And took a somewhat larger sip of his own.

Papa spoke: “I’ve given this a great deal of thought, and can think of no better way to ask.” He paused. “What are your intentions toward my son?”

Brian Holliday

Brian Holliday has had a couple of stories in Wilde Oats.   You can see his Wilde Oats page here.  One of his stories (Home Cooking) was subsequently accepted for publication in I Do Two!, the anthology written in support of gay marriage.  We're pleased to announce that we'll have another story from this author, entitled Christmas Eve, a heart-warming story of unexpected love from an unexpected place, in issue 6 of our magazine.

Here's a quote from the story:

I was busily shoving papers back into my briefcase, listening to comments from members of my own company, and then, suddenly, I saw these eyes.

You’ve got to understand, that’s not usually the first thing I notice about a guy. Most often I start my looking below the neck, sometimes below the waist, and sure, I get to the face eventually but, well… this was different. They were nice eyes, a blue so dark they were almost black, kind of startling because his brows and lashes were light, pale blond. That led me to his hair, the same pale blond color, longish and curling over his ears. His mouth was a real cupid’s bow with a funny downturn to the corners that made his smile unique. 

 The new issue will be published in December.

The photo is from Brian's Google group, which you can visit here.