(Late) Mishloach Manot Delivery

There’s a pep in Wade’s step as he walks into Takeshi’s Lick It Ice Cream place. It’s still early, barely ten minutes after opening time. His muscular arms cradle the Mishloach Manot he prepared for Takeshi and his boyfriend, Manuel.

The bell above the store’s door clings as Wade pushes it open.

“Wade!” Takeshi looks up from behind the counter he’s cleaning. “Been a long time! How are you?”

“Hey, handsome! I’m okay. I got a little something for you and your boo.”

“Oh, wow, what’s this?”

“I started making hamantaschen for Purim a few weeks ago and I couldn’t stop,” Wade puts the Mishloach package on a table. “I baked some with pistachio fillings and some blueberries, they remind me of some of the ice cream flavors you have, so…”

“That’s very sweet of you! Thank you. And Happy Purim. Sometimes I totally forget you’re Jewish.”

“Yeah, I know,” Wade says. “I’ve been sort of neglecting that part of my identity.”

“I’m glad you’re reconnecting…”

“Attempting to…”

Takeshi laughs. “You gotta start somewhere.”

“You’re right. So, what’s up with you and Manu? Have you guys set a date yet? Got you the champagne for the occasion.”

Takeshi chuckles. “Nah, we’re kinda busy right now. Manu’s been getting even more involved in grassroots movements ever since, you know… that…”

“The election?” Wade says. “Ugh, don’t remind me.”

“Yeah, so he’s been volunteering to teach accounting classes and Internet classes in Spanish,” Takeshi says. “I thought since Lick It has been getting quite a bit of foot traffic and we’re going to have an ice cream social soon, why not have a bulletin board to advertise the classes?”

“Oh, hey! Look at you two helping the community! So proud of you both.”

“Thanks. Every bit counts.”

“Hey, that gives me an idea. You think I could put a poster of my ranch there? We have day trips and excursions. Would be nice to get exposure and to tell people Woodland Hills is fine after the fire.”

“Oh, for sure!” Takeshi says. “And I’m so glad your ranch is okay.”

“The Kenneth Fire was crazy, but yeah,” Wade says. “I really don’t need to go through that again.”

“Yeah, I’ll bet. We’re lucky the fires didn’t cross all the way here to North Hollywood.”

“If NoHo burnt, then that’d mean all of LA would be on fire. Speaking of, who made these posters?”

“Chrissy helped with the design. He said they were quick and dirty jobs but I dunno, I kinda like them.”

Wade grins. “Chrissy loves quick and dirty. Well, he loves all kinds of things too, so that’s not fair.”

Takeshi laughs. “When was the last time you met him? He has a new hairstyle.”

“Not for a while now. I’ve been busy with the ranch. I’m driving to Pasadena. I wanted to see him but Matt said Chrissy was out. Speaking of, I’d better get going to Matt’s place. I, uh… I think I parked in a no-parking zone.”

“Oh, damn. OK, well, we should get together soon. You’re coming to the ice cream social, right?”

“Wouldn’t miss it for anything, buddy.”

“Thanks for the gift basket!” Takeshi says. “Oh, and hey, if you send me the file of your poster, I can just print it here, so you won’t need to drive all the way down from Woodland Hills.”

“Appreciate it, Takeshi-chan! Send my smooches to Manu, yeah? I’ll email you once I get the poster ready.”

The two men hug before Wade hurries back to his car.

---

Matt was surprised to get a text from Wade, asking if he was home. He’s taking a much-needed day off after working for two weeks straight, much to Chrissy’s annoyance.

The latest fires in Los Angeles made Matt even busier. The sales team of BILT, the construction company he co-owns, is stretched so thin that sometimes even he has to do sales calls. He’s just thankful for two things: the fires didn’t get to his and Chrissy’s place in Pasadena, and BILT is booked solid till at least early 2027.

He was thinking of just being at home with Chrissy today, unfortunately, Chrissy already has a scheduled meeting. Matt’s a bit irritated, but he knows it was kind of his fault since he didn’t tell Chrissy about taking a day off until the morning of. At least he gets to spend time with the cats.

He’s about to text Chrissy when he hears the doorbell ring.

“Coming!” he calls out.

“Hey, brother!” Wade shows up at the door with a Purim Basket in his arms.

“Whoa, what’s this?”

“Oh, something I baked.”

“What? You made these?” Matt says.

“Yeah, these are called hamantaschen. I made them for Purim last week. But then it was shabbat and we got so busy at the ranch and…”

Diana, Matt and Chrissy’s white cat jumps on Wade as soon as he sits on the couch.

“Oh, Happy Purim, bro. Wait, is that how you say to people? I don’t want to offend.”

“Nah, you’re good,” Wade says. “And thank you.”

“So, can I open them?” Matt says. “Can I try them?”

“Heck, yeah! But don’t laugh. Or gag. I mean, I don’t cook or bake as well as you do, so…”

“Oh, shut up,” Matt chuckles. “These are Jewish pastries?”

“Yeah, I stopped by at Lick It and gave Takeshi the pistachio and blueberry hamantaschen…”

“What? I’d love some of those. What are these, then?”

“These are actually my favorites: apricot, strawberry, and lemon curd. I made some peanut butter ones for Thor too.”

Matt takes a bite of the apricot hamantaschen. “Dude. Wade. This is so good.”

“Yeah, you like it?” Wade says as he pets Diana, who begins to purr.

“Fuck, yeah. The texture’s great. The filling’s great.”

“I can’t take credit for the filling since it’s a store-bought jam. I made them a few weeks ago for the first time and haven’t stopped making them ever since. Derek and my other staff at the ranch must’ve been so sick of eating them. So, I thought I’d bring some and share them with people I love.”

“Aw, I love you too, you big softie,” Matt softly nudges Wade’s arm. “I’m sorry you had to drive all the way from Woodland Hills and won’t get to see Chrissy.” He reaches into the glass jar to get another hamantaschen.

“Nah, that’s okay. Oh, and I may have a design job for him. But I’ll just text him.”

“He’s at Billy’s store.”

“Oh? The porn store?”

“Yeah, Priapus. Billy’s launching something for Easter and he needs Chrissy to do the box design.”

“A porn store doing something for Easter? That guy. What, like a sexy bunny costume?”

Matt chuckles. “No. Vibrating eggs.”

Wade bursts into laughter. “Bro. I mean… Good for him.”

“I know. A section of my girl’s portfolio is sex toys.” Matt puts his hand on his head, feigning shame.

“I need her to design a poster for the ranch so I can put it on the bulletin board at Takeshi’s place. But it can’t be sexy since I want families and kids and students to come to the ranch. We could always use the money for some fire safety improvements.”

“The goddamn fires. I feel like a ghoul for taking advantage of all the destruction.”

“Oh, bro,” Wade says. “That’s not fair. That’s literally your job. As long as you’re not jacking up the price, you’re good. You’re not jacking up the price, though, right?”

“Fuck, no,” Matt says. “Chrissy’d kill me. Speaking of Chrissy killing me, I’ve been a rude host. Can I get you anything? Coffee? Water?”

“Nah, I’m good. I can’t stay, though. I need to drop off the last box at Gar’s and I don’t want to keep Thor alone for too long.”

Out of the corner of his eyes, Wade sees Galadriel, Matt and Chrissy’s tuxedo cat. He grabs her and gives her kisses. She meows and protests but Wade keeps bombarding her with smooches before letting her go. “Serve you right for being a cutie!”

Matt chuckles. “We’re relieved that you and the animals are fine at the ranch. It wasn’t fun for Chrissy and me. Or the cats. We almost had to evacuate and they freaked out when they saw us take out the kitty carriers. I can’t image what it’d be like for you if you needed to evacuate your animals.”

“Thanks, buddy,” Wade says. “But yeah, I was just telling Takeshi how scary it was. And the air quality was terrible for a while.”

“I bet. We had to run air purifiers 24/7 for a few weeks. Hey, you also giving Gar all these pastries? You know he doesn’t eat sugar. Now me, on the other hand…”

Wade chuckles. “Nah, bro. Juice and fruits. Just juice and fruits for the health nut meathead. Even the juice doesn’t have sugar. He’s just gonna have to deal with it. If you want, I can make some hamantaschen in pistachio and blueberry for you and wife, yeah?”

“Yes, please,” Matt says. “Hey, we’ve really missed you, man.”

“I’m going to the ice cream social at Takeshi’s,” Wade says. “You going too?”

“Eh, I don’t know. I may have to work that day, but Chrissy’s going.”

“Aw, okay. At least I’ll get to see your girl.”

Matt laughs. “The three of us really need to get together soon. But I know how busy you are…”

“And so are you,” Wade says. “But we’ll make time.”

“We will. Thank you so much for the pastries. Hey, do you want me to connect you to a fire safety consultant to see if she could do something to improve your ranch? She owes BILT a few favors and I’m sure I could get her to give you a good price.”

“Yes! Holy shit, yes, please. Geez. Why didn’t I think of asking you in the first place?”

“Eh, no worries, man. You drive safe, yeah?”

“You got it, bro. See you.”

As he walks back to his car, Wade realizes how light his heart feels, and he can’t stop smiling. For the first time in quite a while, happiness and hope return. With all that’s happening in the world, at least he has friends who love him.