Rocky Horror snorts and glances down at the Kid. “Pointtaken. Okay, yes, I’ve enjoyedportin my many years of queer... sommelier-ing.”
“Well, Andrew and I were talking about trying it sometime, when we were back in the Keys.”
“Yeah.”
“But I just... I don’t know, I kept getting nervous and I wanted it to be the perfect time for us to try port.”
“Totally,” Rocky Horror says. “You have to have the right atmosphere and food pairings. I mean, port and Mexican food donotgo well together.”
Now I’m confused, because I don’t know what Mexican food is supposed to be a euphemism for. I’ll try to figure it out through context clues. “Right, so I guess my main question is, is port... tasting, the first time you tried it, were you—”
He snorts again and it turns into a laugh. “You two fucking dummies are perfect for each other, you know that?”
“Fucking dummies,” the Kid says.
“Hey,” I say, giving his hand a gentle shake. “Don’t repeat what Rocky Horror says.”
“Was I nervous?” Rocky Horror continues. “Yes. I mean, a lot of that stemmed from somemajorfu—” His eyes drop down to the Kid again. “Effing gender dysphoria. But even after I started to get those things figured out, yeah, it’s anxiety inducing and sometimes scary. And sometimes that makes port even better, but that’s a lesson for another day. Look, you want to try port, right? Like you’ve thought it through on your own, you’re into it, you want to try it?”
“Yes, of course.”
“Specifically with Andrew.”
I nod.
“Then the next time you two are alone, tell him. I mean, not right away—you can ask how his day went, and please get some privacy. And you can be nervous about it, but be nervous together. The point is, if you’re with someone you love or connect with, port tasting is almost always great. Like pizza. God, I’m hungry. And I would love a drink. Even port, the real stuff, which, like,portisnotlike pizza. Let’s kill the metaphors because I think I’m starting to confuse myself.”
“Yes, please. Thanks, RH.”
“You’re welcome. Now, excuse me, I need to regroup with therealport shippers and reclaim the last remaining shreds of my dignity.”
He walks a little closer to the group to continue to listen to Daphne while the Kid and I keep our own pace back here.
Rocky Horror is right, and so is Andrew. There is no real perfect time for us. I still don’t want to rush it, but I also don’t need to wait until we’re off the road and safe. Neither of us knows when we’ll ever be truly safe again.
“Hey,” I say to Andrew when we stop for the night. “We should do a supply run in town.” We’re just outside a small town called Laureldale, and while we have enough food right now, things could get light if we don’t look for more soon. Also, I want to talk to Andrew without anyone else nearby.
He nods and we let the others know.
“Look for some port while you’re there,” Rocky Horror says to me.It isn’t until he widens his eyes at me and grins that I get the joke and my cheeks flush.
No, we won’t be doing that in a store. But we can at least talk about it.
Andrew leads me to a small mom-and-pop market next to a shopping center, but not before I notice the “Bob’s Beds Mattress Emporium” next door.
Again I flush a bit, because that would be silly, even in the apocalypse. Maybe especially in the apocalypse.
Andrew heads for the canned food, but most of the chest-height shelf is empty. He takes what’s left without really reading the labels, putting them in his bag. There are Florida-themed knickknacks scattered across the floor and on a couple of shelves at the front of the store. A wooden turtle painted neon green and pink with the wordFloridaon its shell catches my eye, and I snatch it while Andrew is distracted. I’ll give it to him later. Just something for him to remember the good times we had in the Keys.
“I wanted to talk to you about last night,” I say, taking the next aisle over to check the dry goods packaging for pantry moths or holes chewed by rodents.
Andrew shakes his head. “You mean my horniness-induced temporary insanity? Don’t worry about it. I felt like a very unsexy dumbass last night, so I’m sorry.”
“Okay, but I just wanted to make sure you know...” I have no idea why I’m having this conversation over the top of a shelf. I walk around to him and take his hands. “I want to make sure you know how much I love you and that I very,verymuch want to do that. Very much with you.”
“Well, there’s a mattress emporium next door, did you see?”
My cheeks burn again but I can’t help but laugh. Andrew stands on his toes and kisses me.
