All Chapters of The Art of Life and Love: The Second Symphony : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

  Once the two of them had all their stuff, they got out and made their way up to the apartment. Tony was beyond content to see Dillon constantly look back at his new baby girl. There was no need for Mrs. Vera or himself to worry. The kid adored the car enough to be careful and rational in her care. Hopefully he adored it, anyway. He actually hadn't given a definitive judgment on what he thought yet.   The very second Dillon unlocked his door with his new apartment key and closed it behind him, he assaulted Tony with a huge hug. The kid's jaw hit the floor when he handed that k

.May 28th, 2011: Saturday Spring ~~~~~~~~~~ The sheets were warm and soft as Dillon turned over onto his side. The world around him was so comfortable that he didn't want to move, but he was so excited for their beach trip he couldn't help it when his eyes popped open. It appeared that he had woken up before the alarm, since the sun wasn't fully up yet. Tony had set the alarm for eight so they'd have time to wake up and gather whatever they needed to bring. With a big yawn and a stretch, Dillon slowly sat up and looked over to his right at Tony. Perhaps it was a creepy habit, but sometimes he would just watch Tony as he slept. It made his heart skip a beat when he moved the quilt slightly to the side to see his face. The peaceful, innocent expression he held gave him renewed faith in humanity. It made him so happy that he had somewhere to get away from the stresses of the world that warped that peaceful, innocent expre

  The two of them were on the road in under fifteen minutes. Dillon had packed one of Tony's duffels with their swim trunks, towels, Dillon's knife kit, water bottles, and other odds and ends they'd need. Then he gave the beach grill a wipe down with a disinfectant wipe to get the dust off of it and put it in a bag next to the duffel. Then he had to figure out what to do with his insulin. Tony found him a large insulated lunch box that he could keep it in along with the lunch ingredients and stuff to drink. At the last minute, Dillon also decided to pack an extra pair of flops for Tony. He knew the guy well. While he promised he'd be fine now, a few hours on his feet and he'd bitch and moan about how uncomfortable they were. It was kind of cute.

  Ever so gently, Dillon took his hand back from Tony when he pulled up and parked next to a Sunoco gas pump. Jersey unfortunately had the stupid rule that customers couldn't pump their own gas, so he waved down a fuel associate and had him fill his baby up. He'd have to think of a name for her now. Tony tricked her out and she was beautiful enough now that she needed

  Eventually, Tony moved to sit cross-legged behind the grill to watch Dillon cook. It flattered him that he liked to watch him work. At the same time, it made him a little bit nervous, as it did when anyone watched him in the school kitchens too. It was much worse in the school kitchens of course, as he didn't know how the diners would respond if he messed up in some way. It was different with Tony. As he put the de-husked corn cobs and halves of mango on the grill and shut the lid, Tony spoke up.   "Hey when you do the pineapple, can I have the core?"&n