Jon swings the door wide as I lie, “I parked really far away. Thank you.”
Lying twice? First claimed that was my jewelry and now this?
“I’ve got no excuse,” he admits. “I’m just late.”
The hostess brings us to a table right away—no waiting during the slow time between lunch and dinner hour. The nature of my work means I clock in later than most Monday thru Friday workers.
Jon is an artist who makes his own schedule.
She hands our menus over, and asks if we’ve been here. Our nods are enough, and she exits.
He wants the Southwest burger because of his addiction to their BBQ sauce, so Jon doesn’t even look at his menu. “What’s up with you today?”
Not meeting his eyes I ask, “What do you mean?”
“How long have we known each other?”
“Four long years.”
“So…what’s up with you?”
I’m getting the mushroom burger, my usual, so I set my menu down because I was only hiding behind it anyway. “I just lied to you.”
When Jon has a feeling you know it. “What??! You lied to me?!”
I slink down in my chair, self-conscious of all the people looking at us now. “Yes.”
“Why? How??”
“That I parked far away.”
He blinks. “Why would you lie about something that boring?”
“I was chasing Wyatt Cocker. That’s what I was really doing.”
He blinks again, and leans to whisper-hiss, “You better explain right now.”
As our server approaches, piercings wink in the yellow lamplight, green apron low around tiny hips like he forgot to tighten the string after a bathroom visit. “You guys ready?”
Jon gives the guy a look. “Come back. This is serious.”
A minimal reaction later and we’re alone again.
I launch into my short story, finishing with, “Have you ever seen Wyatt Cocker?”
He hums, “MmMm no,” pulling out his phone for a remedy. “I didn’t know we had a Cocker police officer. Did you know we had gay cops walking in the pride parade?”
“I did know that.”
Jon looks up and sees my expression. “Oh, right, I told you.”
“About a million times.”
He shrugs, “I thought it was interesting.”
“Very forward for the South.”
“We are open-minded people now.” Glancing up he adds, “In most parts anyhow.”
“Some people will never change,” I agree.
“Hmm. Here’s that group you told me about. Oh my gawd honey, look at this man!” He holds up a photo that makes my inner thighs loosen.
I point at it, demanding, “Do you see why I was wet? I mean…late?!!”
Jon smirks, “That’s a nice Fruedian slip dress you’re wearing.”
“Guilty.”
“Anyone have handcuffs for the guilty? Oh, he does!”
“I already thought about those, Jon. You’re not helping. Which neighborhoods has he been photographed in?”
“Little Five Points. Edgewood. Piedmont Park. Downtown. Castleberry Hill. Here’s one at G. Tech. This makes me want to go back to school. He is divine. His tailor clearly loves him. There’s a Wy-so-hot post! This is amazing!”
“He doesn’t seem to notice them.” I frown as Jon scrolls. “Completely focused on his job.”
“I can’t blame you for being late, Diana. I’m surprised you showed up at all.”
I tilt my head. “He drove away.”
“And you didn’t jump on the car?”
I grab the phone. “I’m sorry, but we have to stop. I’m losing one of my appetites and the other I can do nothing about.”
Jon rudely waves at our server. He’s ignored but unfazed as he bluntly asks me, “What did you think was going to happen when you chased him? What if he saw you? You would’ve looked crazy!”
Covering my face in shame, I mumble, “I don’t know why I did it! It wasn’t planned! I’ve never done something that weird before.”
“I don’t think our server saw me.”
“He doesn’t appreciate being summoned like a dog.”
“Oh yeah? Watch this!” Jon fills his lungs, pauses, and lets the air out. “I was going to whistle.”
“But you’re not a jerk.”
“But I’m not a jerk,” he sighs. “He’ll come back at some point. What else have you been up to?”
Thinking about it, I pick at the menu. “Just work.”
“You’ve got that face again.”
“I had a conversation with May Cocker this afternoon.”
Jon crooks his neck, “That’s an odd coincidence.”
“It’s not totally one. I’ve known her for a whole year, see her five days out of seven.”
“All the days you work.”
“Exactly. She lives at Silver Linings. That’s not the important part of the story. What she said is what’s interesting.”
“But just today you had,” he holds up finger quotes, “an interesting conversation.”
“Jon! I’m trying to tell you something. They aren’t connected!”
“Fine!” He holds his palm out to ward off my ire. “Continue.”
“She suggested I reach out to Eddie.”
“Your ex, Eddie?”
Right now is when our server walks up? Really?!
Jon and I say what we want for lunch so rapid fire, the server asks us to repeat them. He catches it all and heads away thinking we are screwing with him on purpose.
We’re not.
Jon announces, “I had a couple seconds to think about it and I think you should!”
“Those couple of seconds just now?”
“Yes.”
“I should call Eddie. That’s your decision.”
“Yes.”
“You came up with that just now while we were ordering.”
“Yes.”
Dislodging disbelief with a shake of my head, I demand, “Why?!”
“Because you need to get laid, Diana! That is the problem with you straight people. You wait too damn long to touch another human being and it’s not healthy.”
“It’s an important decision!”
“Is it?”
“Yes! I am letting someone into my body, and that means something.”
Lemonade and Ice Tea are placed on the table, making Jon and I look up at the deadpan face to see if he heard what I just said.
He did.
I close my eyes and wait for Jon and I to be alone again. Maybe if I can’t see our server he can’t see me.
“Diana darling,” Jon begins, inspiring me to squint a peek to see if it’s just him looking at me. It is. “I understand where you are coming
