Chapter 5 Beau
FIVE
BEAU
“Hi.” I slide into the empty chair across from Vincent.
We’ve managed to have lunch together once a week for the last month.
Even better, it’s actually together. Not just sharing a table while ignoring one another.
None of the times have been deliberate, with concrete plans to meet, but it still counts.
Today, his hair is pulled back in a ponytail that hangs low down his back.
His eyes have a bit of glitter over his eyelids, but I can’t figure out what color it is.
His lips don’t seem to have anything on them, but there’s a lip imprint in light pink on the lid of his cup.
I wonder, as always, if this one is flavored.
Light pink could be so many different things. Perhaps something fruity.
“Hey. How’s work today?” Vincent asks.
I wave him off. “I don’t want to talk about it.” It’s the least interesting topic that I can think of. I’ve come to enjoy talking to Vincent, in part because we talk about things other than work, finance, and next steps. It’s a lovely way to live in the moment, even for a short period.
“We can do that. Did you have something you do want to talk about?” Vincent closes his laptop. He’s always there before me, sitting at a table, drinking tea, and working on his computer.
“Is that a capybara dressed like…Jayne?” I’ve seen the sticker on his laptop case a few times, and it always looked familiar, but it finally struck me exactly where I knew it from.
Or rather, it’s an outfit. The little guy is wearing an orange beanie with strings hanging down the sides and a big pompom on top, paired with a green bomber jacket.
“You know Firefly?” Vincent asks, excitedly.
I’ve just outed myself as not being quite as far away from the nerdom that Jacklyn and Vincent are part of.
I can’t stand most of it, but Jacklyn forced me to watch an episode of it, swearing that if I hated it, we could turn it off and she’d never mention it again.
Except I immediately fell in love and demanded to binge-watch the whole thing.
Of course, that’s before I found out how few episodes existed. “Yeah, it’s one of my favorite shows.”
“Mine, too. Jacklyn introduced me to it.”
Part of me thinks Jacklyn masterminded this whole thing over a period of years, fostering both of us until she felt we were ready to be together.
She wouldn’t do that, though. Right? “I think she’s on a personal mission to get everyone addicted so that she can keep demanding they bring it back.
” As much as I’d love that, I don’t think it’s going to happen.
“If anyone could manage it, Jacklyn would get it done.”
“Agreed. What else has she convinced you to watch?”
We compare lists for the next twenty minutes. Unsurprisingly, they’re very similar. One thing I quickly realized is that almost everything on my list of favorites is something she introduced me to.
My favorite book? Waiting for the Barbarians, a book Jacklyn shoved into my backpack one day and told me to get it back to her in a week. It only took me three days. Then I bought my own copy so I could reread it a second and third time.
My favorite restaurant? A vegan Chinese restaurant that’s off the main strip, where she took me for my birthday last year. It was both weird and wonderful. I now eat there at least once a month.
Given how much influence she’s had in my life and how many times she’s been right, it only makes sense that she would be able to pick out someone for me to date who met all my requirements.
Vincent might not fit the mold of a guy I expected to fall in love with, but the more time I spend with him, the more I think maybe that’s a good thing.
VINCENT
It’s hard to say when exactly these lunches shifted. Like many things, it happened so slowly that I didn’t realize things were changing. Then, today, I found myself sitting across from him, feeling the full extent of the difference. It’s like it all bubbled up at once to create a perfect moment.
Sitting here, bonding over a shared love of multiple different fandoms while simultaneously commiserating over our meddling friend. It’s only fitting that Jaclyn is what finally brings us together. It’s what she wanted in the first place, and she always gets her way.
Another thing I’ll never tell her.
“So, do you want to do this again on Friday?” It’s the first time I’ve specifically asked him to meet me. Usually, we fall into these lunches without any recognition that we’re both showing up here with the intention of spending time together. At least that’s what I’ve been doing.
“That would be nice. Is noon okay?” He leans forward a little, locking gazes with me from across the table.
I nod, mentally checking my schedule to make sure I don’t have anything that can’t be moved around.
My schedule is flexible, but that doesn’t mean it can bend entirely to my will.
There’s still plenty of client meetings, deadlines, and appointments with the various business and tax advisors who make sure I keep everything legal.
My Friday is free, which is how I like it.
I usually get up early and drive to a nearby state forest, where I take some shots and experiment with various equipment.
It’s also a good time to take in a bit of fresh air and get a little bit of exercise.
Hiking and communing with nature are the only forms of cardiac activity that I like.
Well, the only kind that can be done with my hands on a camera.
Maybe someday I’ll be able to take Beau with me, drive him out early in the morning so we can watch the sun rise through the trees together.
We can pack a picnic breakfast and eat it while sitting on a blanket.
If I’m really lucky, we’ll miss the whole thing, too wrapped up in each other to be bothered to look away, even for a moment.
That’s a dream for another day.
“Great, I’ll be here.” His phone alarm goes off, breaking the magic of the moment. “Sorry,” he taps the button to quiet his phone.
“Get back to work. I’ll see you Friday.”
“It’s a date.” As soon as he realizes what he said, his face turns bright red. “Not like a date but…”
“I know,” I say, letting him save face. I’m secretly hoping it is a real date. Or maybe a precursor to the real thing.