It was all wrong. All not what Lacy would have chosen.
Jasper shook his head. “No. I don’t think so. This isn’t her. I think I’ll just remember her as I knew her.”
Jasper turned away, feeling on the verge of tears. He didn’t want to cry in front of Lacy’s uncle—or anyone else gathered at the funeral home, for that matter.
As he reached the door, Robert’s voice stopped him.
“Jasper?”
He turned.
“Would you mind if I came with you? I need to get out of here too.”
Jasper smiled through his tears. “No, I wouldn’t mind. I’d like the company.”
Robert hurried to join him. “Maybe we can go get a drink. Toast to Heather’s—” He stopped himself. “Lacy’s memory.”
“That sounds nice. Come on. I know just the place.”
And Robert followed him out into the cold.
The snow had begun to fall.
Chapter 4
JASPER HADno idea what to do with this well-dressed, affluent-seeming man who was old enough to be his father. Robert Burroughs was a marginal step up from being a stranger. The only thing that kept him in Jasper’s esteem was that he was a link to Lacy.
Jasper had been walking rapidly toward the L stop at Granville, head bowed against the biting wind, when Robert caught up. He held up his phone so Jasper could make out an app with a map and a little car on it. “I’ve phoned an Uber,” he said. “It’s too cold for public transportation.” He smiled, and his gaze drifted upward to the L station a couple blocks west of them. “I’m guessing that’s what you had in mind.”
Of course it was what he had in mind, but Jasper took the tiniest bit of offense. He could have been headed for his car, couldn’t he? Perhaps parked right around the corner? Did he lookthatpoor? That he couldn’t afford the humblest of junkers? His brain, forever reeling him back to earth, told him,Dude, youarethat poor. He was on the verge of expressing his indignation verbally, but the realization made him hold his tongue. Robert was simply doing him a kindness. So what if he assumed Jasper was heading for the train, which he could hear the rattle of at this very moment? The assumption was correct.
Again, so what if he appeared poor? The truth was hecouldn’tafford a car, not even a piece-of-shit one with 100,000 miles on it. Gas, taxes, registration, insurance, parking fees, and city stickers alone would eat up too much of his pay to even consider the idea of private transportation. Besides, itwasfreezing. The temperature had dropped what seemed like at least ten degrees since he’d gone into the funeral home. The snow was coming down hard now and accumulating fast on the frozen concrete. He shivered.
“Thanks. I’d love a lift.” He eyed Robert.What is it with me and older guys giving me a ride suddenly?In Jasper’s mind’s eye, he pictured Jerry Mathias, who had given him a ride home on the last night of his best friend’s life.
“We should go wait in front of the funeral home.” Robert did an about-face and started back from where they’d come.
Jasper turned too and followed. At least they could wait on the porch, where they’d have a bit of shelter from the wind off the lake and the big, fluffy flakes floating down from the dark gray sky. They were the kind of snowflakes that melted on contact, drenching you as quickly as a summer storm. Already, water trickled down Jasper’s face from his hair.
He’d be glad to get to some shelter, but there wasn’t time to even make it up the front steps of the funeral home.
A black Lincoln Continental glided to the curb about a block north of the place and discreetly flashed its lights.
“Our chariot awaits.” Robert gestured toward the car.
Jasper knew the difference between Uber and UberX. The latter were much finer cars, more like limousines. The difference in cost was considerable too.
Robert opened the door for him, and Jasper hopped inside, grateful for the warmth.
Then Robert slid in next to him, so close their shoulders touched. Jasper got a little tingle from the closeness. And he loved the smell of the man. He recognized the scent, even if he couldn’t afford it—Equipage by Hermes. They carried it at Nordstrom and sometimes got a few bottles in at the Rack, but it was still too expensive for him, even with his discount. He was more of an Axe man, much to his chagrin.
“Where to?” Robert shut the door with athunk, silencing all the noise around them. It was suddenly so still, and the quiet made Jasper feel out of place, as though he’d stepped into another realm. Indeed, maybe he had.
And, although he’d said earlier he had someplace in mind, Jasper’s actual mind was a blank. He thought for a minute, and an idea came to him, as though it had been there all along. Hedidknow just the place after all. He only hoped it was open—and that Robert wouldn’t be uncomfortable in a gay bar. Jasper leaned forward a bit. “Do you know where Wishful Drinking is?”
The driver, a well-coifed hipster type in a black suit, no tie, and sporting a man-bun, eyed Jasper in the rearview mirror. “No.”
Jasper eyed him back, wondering if he was being truthful. It didn’t matter. “Just head north on Sheridan a couple miles or so. Turn left on Jarvis.”
