“Only a few more steps and then you can sit down and have a nice lunch with us,” he said. He knew how to give a pep talk that could motivate a rock to roll.
“With my two favorite people,” I added between breaths.
“Here we go, are you ready?” he asked as he guided me into the crosswalk.
When we made it to the other side and into the enclosed circle of tables, Ronnie rose to squeeze me so tightly I was sure a rib snapped. I hugged her back, savoring her weight in my arms and her perfume in my nose.
“I’m so proud of you!” she said and kissed my cheek multiple times.
She’d gotten all dressed up for lunch. Her hair was pinned up elegantly, and the summer dress she was wearing reminded me of a field of wildflowers. It made me think back to our college days when we’d gone shopping to pick out some more feminine clothes after she’d had top-surgery. She’d been shy about shopping in the women's section and trying on articles made to fit breasts. I’d splurged and bought her a $300 dress because I wanted her to feel pretty. Then we’d gone out for a night around the town, dancing and laughing as if we had nothing but our whole lives ahead of us.
And some fragile, transphobic jerks had ruined it for both of us, destroying our naivety that the world was a good place, full of good things and goodpeople. I’d never forgive them for what they’d done, whoever they were. A rush of emotion hit me, but I pushed it away. Today was a good day and I wouldn’t ruin it with bad energy.
“I actually feel like I accomplished something,” I rasped, my throat dry from exertion.
“You did, honey,” she said, hugging me again.
Jere held out the chair for me like a gentleman and I all but collapsed in it with a sigh of relief. He did the same for Ronnie who seemed surprised, and she gave him his own kiss on the cheek. He collected our orders and went to place them inside.
Taking my hand across the table, Ronnie smiled at me with tears in her eyes. “I mean it, I’m proud of you. And you should be too.”
I nodded, my breath catching up. “I didn’t think I’d get more than a hundred feet from my mother’s house, but Jere wouldn’t let me give up.”
“He’s good for you,” she said. “I’m glad you have him in your life, and might I add he’s way more spectacular than you ever let on.”
“And I’m happy I have you in my life,” I said, squeezing her hand. Even her nails were freshly painted in pastel green. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Stop, you’re going to make me cry,” she teased and kissed me again then wiped away the smear from my cheek. “Now that you’ve just run a marathon, what do you think about a day at the beach?”
I gasped, excitement rising like a balloon of happiness inside my chest. “We have to go to the beach at least once this year, don’t we?”
“Mhm. And we can check out that bird thing you like there too.”
“The Montrose bird sanctuary? Sadly, Monty died last year,” I said. “But there has been another piping plover spotted on the beach recently who is believed to be the offspring of Monty. Maybe if I’m lucky, we will see him.”
Jere returned with our food and sat down next to me, closer than a friend should be. But we were more than that, weren’t we? He split my sandwich into two and removed the lid from the container of potato salad. He took my right hand and set the plastic fork in my palm, making sure I had a good grip on it. My abilities in eating and handling objects were improving too. My left hand still had some issues, but every day was getting easier.
“Ronnie and I were thinking about going to the beach soon,” I told him and speared a chunk of potato with the fork. “We usually go multiple times a year and it’s already August, so we need to go at least once this year.”
“I’m in. It gives me an excuse to run around without a shirt and too-tight shorts,” he said. “Make you boys and girls cream your pants.”
Ronnie stifled her laugh and pegged me with raised brows.
“He’s joking,” I said, seeing the glimmer of playfulness in his eyes. I play-punched his bulky arm. “No reason to not flaunt the body you work so hard on. Make all the boys wish they looked as good as you.”
“And all the girls wish they had you,” she said, tossing him a wink.
And of course, because Jere was innocent, our flirtations went completely over his head. “Sean invited me to the gym he goes to. Paint buckets and cinder blocks only get you so far. It helps to have specialized machines to work the obliques.”
Ronnie chimed in. “I don’t even know where on the body those are, but I appreciate yours already.”
“Abdomen, right?” I asked.
Jere lifted up his shirt high enough that I got a look at the little brown discs of his nipples and pointed to the sculpted muscles on the side of his torso. I blushed for him, but mostly I tried to hide my sudden thrill at seeing parts of his body.
“Boy, do you want to kill someone?” Ronnie said and gulped down her water.
“Yeah, those are dangerous,” I said, barely able to contain my laughter and pushed his shirt down. I said to Ronnie, “He’s completely oblivious to the fact he is a thirst trap. It’s hilarious.”
