The movie was terrible, but at the same time, it was the best movie Tom had seen in his life. He wouldn’t have traded the hours spent sitting next to Bailey in the dim theatre for anything. The occasional brush of their arms as they sat side by side, the sound of Bailey’s laughter as he cracked up at the bad jokes on screen, the shine in his eyes when he’d accepted the Choc Top ice-cream cone that Tom had ducked out mid-movie to get. The night had only gotten better when Bailey had agreed to a late dinner back at Tom’s place—one of the advantages of living in the city within walking distance of the movie complex.
The apartment above Take Two only had a basic kitchen but it didn’t really matter, not when Tom wasn’t doing any real cooking there anyway. Dinner had been huge slices stolen from the massive pan of moussaka Tom had made for the cafe. It was a popular dish with his customers and Tom had known Bailey liked it because he’d ordered it a couple of times when it was on the daily specials menu. Tom had accompanied the dish with a Greek salad. Simple but filling food that he’d hoped would be a crowd—or more accurately a Bailey—pleaser.
Tom looked at the plate Bailey placed on the coffee table, and judging from its empty state, Bailey had enjoyed his meal. Warmth filled his chest.Score!
“Do you want seconds? There’s plenty more,” he asked.
Bailey groaned but the smile didn’t leave his face. “I couldn’t fit in another mouthful. That was delicious. You’re a good cook.”
“Thanks.” Heat travelled to Tom’s cheeks at the compliment. “I stick with the few things I can do well. Mostly simple dishes really, nothing fancy.”
“Did you study commercial cookery?”
“God no.” Tom chuckled at the thought. “I’m not a professional chef, just a cook. I don’t even make many of the sweets in the cafe. I order in most of the cakes and pastries.”
“But you went to uni? Studied, right?”
“Yeah. I studied at Sydney University but I majored in finance. Nothing to do with cookery.”
Bailey tilted his head, the confusion evident. “Finance?”
“Finance and investment.” Tom squirmed uncomfortably, not sure he wanted the conversation to follow this path, at least not right now.
“Wow. Unexpected. So that’s what you meant about changing careers?”
“Uh-huh. Four years at uni followed by a not-so-stellar corporate career, before ending up with the cafe. But I love what I do now. I hate the road I took to get here, but at least I’m finally doing something I can be proud of. Building the business, watching it grow from nothing, and knowing I did it myself is satisfying.”
“I think it’s brave—chucking in one career and starting all over,” Bailey said, his voice filled with conviction.
If he knew the real reason for the change he wouldn’t think I was brave. More likely he’d think I’m an arsehole.
Tom cleared his throat, then turned the focus away from himself. “If you could start again, and knowing what you know today, what would you do? Teaching?”
“That’s an interesting question.” Bailey paused and took a sip of his drink. He leaned forward and replaced the glass on the coffee table before settling back and answering. “A lot of what I’ve done has been driven by a need to make money. I left home and had to get a job to support myself, so that meant not much time for study and definitely no university course with a huge fee. I guess I could have taken on some debt, but a roof over my head was more important at the time. I’ve tried my hand at retail and done some bartending. I eventually ended up on the phones at the energy company about a year ago under some misguided notion that I could start at the bottom and climb the corporate ladder. Climb to where is the million-dollar question, but I guess working in an office felt more like a proper career.” Bailey stood and picked up the empty plates from the coffee table and carried them over to the sink, continuing to talk as he crossed the short distance. “To be honest, I’m not sure why I even thought I wanted to work for a big company. Perhaps the idea of maybe stumbling on something I’d like or earning more money, but it’s not really my thing.”
“Huh?”
Bailey chuckled. “Not the making money part, I like making money. A lot. It helps pay the bills. I mean the office job part isn’t really my thing. And the thought of climbing the ladder makes me feel nauseous.”
Tom joined him at the sink and started filling it with water. “So why are you still doing it then?”
“To be honest, I’m not really sure why I haven’t moved on. Maybe I felt like I need to give it a proper go, be grown-up and stick to a job.” Bailey passed over a plate and Tom started washing. “Obviously I still need an income, and I guess I haven’t worked out what the next step would be, where the money to live will come from. I’ve got to think about rent, food, paying the bills, keeping the van running.”
Tom passed the clean plate back to Bailey. “Like I said last time, life’s too short to be unhappy. You need to grab for what you want.” Tom continued to wash. From the corner of his vision he watched Bailey drying up. He looked pensive as he ran the tea towel in circles over the plate. If he rubbed much longer the navy stripe would be gone from the porcelain.Shit! I’ve fucked up. I shouldn’t have brought this up again. He already told me he didn’t get to follow his dream after the stuff with his brother.“I suppose the book library keeps you busy enough without adding extra work or study,” he said in an effort to change the topic back to something he knew Bailey was passionate about.
Bailey placed the plate on the bench and reached for the other one. He smiled as he met Tom’s gaze. “Busy is an understatement,” he said with a laugh. “But being busy with the library sure beats being busy on the phones. I’m lucky to have it to focus on.”
“You’re lucky? Fuck, those kids are the lucky ones, having you to keep an eye out for them.”
“Those kids deserve a bit of happiness. Everyone needs a leg up every now and then, and people like to help others. It’s not just them that gets the benefit—it gives me a sense of satisfaction to know I’m doing my part. Giving something back, you know?”
Tom looked at Bailey. Such an amazing guy, with a heart of gold. Bailey didn’t even seem to understand how much good he did, how everything he did was focused on helping other people. He appeared to be the type of man who naturally put everyone else first and he didn’t expect anything in return. “I think you’re pretty amazing.”
Bailey flushed under the praise. “Thanks. You’re pretty okay as well. Ah… I guess I should get going.”
“Do you have to? It’s not that late.” In truth it was close to midnight, but the thought of Bailey leaving hung heavy. Tom’s spirits lifted when Bailey replied.
“I suppose I could stay a bit longer.”
