CHAPTER THREE
It was gone.
Xeno looked everywhere; from the deep crevices of his wardrobe to the bathroom to the kitchen.
Despite the relatively small size of his flat, he always found himself losing his things.
Especially his clothes, he found that he was always misplacing them.
Could he have left it at someone else's house?
He wasn't a stranger to afterparties, especially after the museum's big get-togethers.
To be honest, he didn't much care for them, but he went for Jess and Aruda.
He considered calling around, but he realised it would surely be too late and, if someone did have his suit blazer, it would have probably made its way back to him by now.
Cursing under his breath, he reluctantly began his morning routine.
Combing his hair, brushing his teeth and washing his face, all the while worrying about what he was going to wear.
As he pushed a loose strand of his jet black hair out of his face, he remembered he needed to go into town to run errands, anyway.
He'd think about what to do while he was shopping.
As he stepped out of his flat and began walking through the hall, he remembered the blonde man whom he had bumped into the previous day. He briefly wondered if he was still thinking about him, too. He cleared his mind- why was he still on his mind anyway?
Xeno got in his car, a light grey Zoe he'd bought a couple of years prior off of a slightly shady car dealer, and set off for the three mile drive to Willowheath town centre.
A couple of years ago, when he'd just moved into the flat, he'd used to walk into town.
It had probably been better for his health, but Xeno favoured the convenience of his car which cut the forty minutes the walk would have taken down to five.
When he got to Morrisons, he picked up a shopping basket and let his mind wander. Xeno liked shopping for food and other essentials the best out of his weekly tasks, because it gave him time to reflect on the past week and also to prepare for the next.
As he passed the baking section, he tried to picture the blonde palaeontologist he had met the day prior.
At least, he assumed he was a palaeontologist because of his jumper, with the cross-stitched dinosaurs on it.
Hopefully, he wouldn't see him at the upcoming party- he was too embarrassed for having been rude to him.
Then, onto the dairy section. Xeno considered which milk to get, briefly interrupting his ongoing train of thought which had, up until then, been flowing freely.
When he zoned back out, he began worrying again what he was going to wear to the party.
The dress code was "business casual". What did that even mean?
Xeno opened his phone and searched "business casual".
Then, "business casual outfit". Then, "business casual outfit men".
Frustrated, he put his phone back into his pocket.
It seemed that finding something suitable to wear for a simple office party was proving too difficult for him.
This was why he didn't want to find anything else, that red suit had served him well over the years.
Begrudgingly, he realised he'd have to call Jess. Otherwise, he'd have absolutely nothing to wear. As the phone rang, he looked through the pastry aisle. Finally, Jess picked up.
"Xeno? Hey, what're you calling me for?"
"I was just wondering, what would you suggest I wear for the party?"
"Did you finally come around about the suit?" He heard the laughter in her voice, even if she was too mature to outright make fun of him.
"You could say that." He said, not willing to admit that he was only calling her because he'd lost it.
"Let's go out today. I was going to go shopping anyway."
"Sounds like a plan, do you want me to pick you up?"
"Pick me up at quarter past three, please."
Xeno glanced at his watch. That was in an hour and fifteen- he'd have some time to kill before he went to hers. "Sounds good, see you later." Xeno pocketed his phone, walking towards the self- serve tills. His mind was elsewhere, however. He knew exactly where he was going to spend the next hour.
Octavia's Cafe was a quaint establishment in the town centre. Adjoined on either side by a jewellers and a funeral parlour, it was unassuming from the outside. However, the atmosphere was perfect for Xeno, in that it was never too loud or too quiet.
However, as he walked in, the barista immediately greeted him by name. "Xeno! Is that you? How've you been, man?"
Xeno looked up from his phone, surprised to have been named, and recognised the forty-something year old man behind the counter, though he didn't quite know where from. He had a stocky build and a wide grin, and was waving at Xeno.
Suddenly, he placed where he knew him from. "Matt? Hey.. how've you been?" He smiled awkwardly.
Given Xeno's upbringing in a bakery, it was no surprise that he was familiar with many people who worked in food establishments.
However, he had not expected to run into Matthew, whom he had forgotten about since he'd left his dad's house.
Luckily, he wasn't too bad. He was a little overfriendly for Xeno's taste, but better too friendly than the opposite, Right?
"What brings you here? I thought you were a shoe-in to be manager at that other place?" asked Xeno, struggling to make small talk.
"Yeah, but then my wife got a job here. They had a job vacancy, and it wasn't too far away from my new house. You work at the museum, don't you? Your dad said you did."
He winced, He had forgotten that his family would probably still talk about him to other people.
"Yeah, I've been working there for about three years now. I'm an astronomer, I give talks there."
"You wouldn't remember a little blonde girl in the front row, would you? Probably asked something about aliens?
He considered for a moment. "Yes, I think she was with a primary school when I did a talk, why?"
"That's my daughter, her name's Harriet. Didn't cause you too much grief, did she?"
"No, I love it when the kids ask questions, it reminds me of myself at their age. Can I get a latte, please? To stay in?"
He thought he'd masterfully weaved in his request, and Matt didn't seem annoyed as he poured his coffee.
However, just before he was able to weave out of the conversation, Matt continued it. "You know, the assistant baker position's still open at your dad's bakery."
He froze. "Really?"
"I don't think he ever did replace you." Matt said, thoughtfully. Xeno assumed that he didn't know the full story as to the reasons he'd left his family and the bakery, nor that he hadn't wanted to look back since.
"Well.. that's a shame." He replied.
"You know, Xeno.. Not that it's my place to say, or anything, but I really do think you should give your dad a call."
He struggled to find the right words to say. Luckily, he didn't need to. Another customer whisked Matt's attention away, leaving him with his mocha latte with a chocolate chip biscuit in a separate bag. That'd been his order for a very long time.
As he sat down in his usual space, the booth with a view out of the window, the thought of the Astronomy department getting cut. What would he do? It had been his dream to work there since he was young, and he had to succeed, otherwise..
Clearing his mind, he forced himself to be in the present moment, sipping his latte. The cafe was one of the few places that Xeno felt he could truly relax. He could spend hours under the watchful gaze of the porcelain animals on the shelves.
Checking his watch, he realised that he'd be late to Jess' if he waited any longer. He gulped down his drink and walked briskly to his car, mentally preparing himself to go shopping for goodness knows how long.