He doesn’t wait for my response. He steps forward and holds the door open for me. I nod slowly, the truth still sinking in.
“Okay,” I say, confused and intrigued.
I follow him inside, my thoughts racing as we pass right by the hostess station. All the late-night chats. The sexy banter. The flowers and sweet messages. It was Roger, a man I knew as nothing more than the amazing server who always earned his tip. I imagine him diligently checking our table every few minutes, refilling our half-full mimosas, and thinking of... me.
How did I miss this?
Roger leads me to a table for two near the front windows. He pulls out my chair, a gentlemanly gesture, as I think of all the things Nora’s told me about him. He’s a regular at her kink club, The Red Brick Road, and from what she’s said, kink is far more than just a lifestyle to him.
I sit down and he takes the seat across from me. A server instantly appears beside us, fully prepared with two small mugs, a pitcher of coffee, and containers for cream and sugar.
“Thanks, Amy,” Roger says to her.
“Let me know if you need anything,” she says, smiling politely at the two of us before she disappears again.
“Well,” he says as he reaches for the coffee, “by your expression, I guess this wasn’t what you expected.”
I shake my head once, sitting back a bit as he fills my mug. “No,” I say, exhaling. “Not at all. But not in a bad way, of course!” I add quickly. “You just... don’t seem like the type to do this kind of thing.” I cringe. “Sorry if I’m not wording well here.”
He chuckles. “It’s fine. Writers are good with words on paper.”
“Right. It doesn’t always translate well to the speech part.”
“You’re doing great,” he says. “But I know what you mean. It’s weird for a guy who occasionally dresses in a full black latex suit to pick up women to be so shy, but...” He shrugs. “What can I say? You’re a little intimidating.”
I nod. “I’ve been told that.”
“I guess I should explain. From the beginning.”
I lean forward with my warm mug safely snug between my palms.
Roger clears his throat. “Do you remember, about a year back, when you interviewed a few of us at the club?” he asks.
“Yeah,” I answer, thinking back. “But... I don’t remember interviewing you.”
“I backed out at the last minute,” he says.
“Really? Why?”
“Because I found out you were married.”
“Oh...”
“It sort of ruined my plans a bit,” he adds, chuckling.
“I see,” I say.
“Anyway, I moved on, but then I got my job here and suddenly there you were. Every Sunday.”
“Brunch with the girls.”
“Gossip and bottomless mimosas. I thought, whatever, it’s cool. I get to wait on her pretty face once a week. No harm done.”
My lips twitch.
“But then,” he says, “I overheard one Sunday morning that you were going through a divorce. I figured then that I might have a shot. I planned on asking you out once I knew it was officially over, but then...”
I blink. “Then, what?”
“Then, I met Robbie.”
“Robbie?” I repeat.
“I’d already seen him a few times here with you, so I recognized him when he started showing up at meetings.” He pauses. “Hi, I’m Roger and I’m an alcoholic.”
“Yeah, Rob mentioned that you were his sponsor.”
“He spoke a lot about you so I, once again, pumped the brakes on officially asking you out. I thought the last thing you’d want to do was date another alcoholic.”
I nod. “You’re probably right about that.”
“That’s when I came up with the flower thing instead. I’d send a bouquet of roses every few weeks with a cute note attached to it. Let you know someone was thinking about you.” He bites his cheek. “I used to watch them being delivered from afar just so I could see you smile.”
My breath catches. “That’s really sweet,” I say. “Um… about the ribbons.”
“The ribbons?”
“On the bouquets. Were they… significant to you? The colors, I mean.”
“Oh, yeah. The sobriety coins.” He nods. “I have a chart in my office. Keeps me on track, you know?”
“Yeah,” I say.
So, it was just a coincidence.
Roger continues. “After a few months, you left your number with the delivery service.”
“And then we started texting, and...” I chuckle. “Well...”
“Lots of texting,” he says, smirking.
I look down. “Uh-huh.”
“I wanted you to get to know me on a deeper level before you found out about... all the heavy stuff, you know?” he says. “It feels wrong to have kept it from you, in hindsight. I’m sorry about that.”
“No, it’s okay. I get it,” I say, taking a breath. “So, if things were going so well, then why have you ignored my messages?”
Roger nods. “That is what I really came here tonight to explain,” he says. “I wanted to meet you, but I also wanted to... take a step back, as weird as that sounds.”
“What do you mean?”
He smiles. “I mean Robbie.”
I sit back. “What about him?”
“Well, we’ve gotten close, he and I,” he says. “I know how he feels about you. I thought that was an unrequited thing, but then I saw you at his place last week.”
“Oh...” My gut clenches.
“And again here…” He glances over my shoulder. “In the men’s room…”
“Roger, I’m sorry. I didn’t know…”
He waves a hand. “Don’t worry about it.”
“No, it’s...” I pause, unsure what to even say. “Rob and I are just...”
“Soulmates,” he says. “In sixty seconds, right?”
I press my lips together. “I don’t know,” I finally say.
“No, you are. But it’s okay. Really. I know when to step aside.”
“Is that why you switched off Sundays?” I ask. “So you didn’t have to see me anymore?”
He pauses with a furrowed brow. “Yes,” he answers. “That’s one reason. And while I haven’t always acted with the best moral intentions, I can’t in good conscience continue pursuing the ex-wife of someone I’m sponsoring.
