Ellie’s son had a breakdown in the green,orthat scary man is intimidating customers.
As fast as the moment started, we returned to the silence. I gestured toward the table with the beef jerky. His shoulders didn’t slump as much, and his feet didn’t drag as loudly. I’d consider this a victory.
“I got kicked out of my apartment,” he said.
I didn’t push. I let the silence give him space.
“After that night, I thought I was awesome for getting revenge. I stood up for myself… sort of. I joke that he put a curse on me. I got back to Vanguard and found out I was being evicted from my apartment. No big deal, it happens.”
He paused, taking a deep breath.
“Evicted. Three days later, I lost my job. They claimed downsizing, but I was the only one in my department let go.” He was staring at me, but it felt as if he were a thousand miles away. “Lacie let me move in.”
I respected her more for her support.
“I started seeing this guy. In the entire city, a thousand bears? What are the chances I date my ex’s ex?”
“Ouch.” I might not believe in a curse per se, but his luck had turned to trash.
“At that point, I had to laugh at it. Then I got ready for a job interview. I had a real good feeling about it. The recruiter liked me. I get to the parking garage, and somebody had stolen my car.”
“Dude.” I reevaluated my belief in curses.
“I rescheduled the interview. The morning I was supposed to go in, they filled the position.” He rubbed his eyes before shaking his head. “Oh, and that’s not even the worst of it.”
At this rate, I expected him to be held up at gunpoint or be recruited into the Illuminati. “Dare I ask?”
His face went slack, all emotion vanishing. “I accidentally sent my mother a dick pic.” He almost snarled. “Face included.”
Damn.
He had convinced me. His ex had made a blood sacrifice or hired a witch. Somebody out there had summoned the spirits from beyond to put a curse on this poor man. With the numerous blows life dealt him, the shop closing didn’t seem all that bad. Though when I got home, I’d be sure to move all my nudes into the hidden folder on my phone.
“That’s rough.”
It’s all I could think to say. I couldn’t come up with words warm enough to offset the world kicking him in the gut. The retreating, the heavy sighs, it all made sense. I wanted to give him a hug. No, I wanted him to step into the tree line and let those worries fade away while Mother Nature gave him room to breathe.
I held up a finger. I didn’t have words, none that would convince him that there was a modicum of good in the world. Words wouldn’t fix the problem. Instead, I stepped up to the table covered in beef jerky. The small display boxes had a bunch of packs of the dried meat.
I didn’t recognize the man behind the table. I’m sure if I asked Mum, she’d explain that he was the third cousin of that kid who did that thing when I was little. Right now, he only needed to be the guy selling salty meats. I picked up a box and handed him my credit card. Minimal discussion, just the way I liked it.
“Thanks.”
“My pleasure.” He tipped his cap. “Tell Ellie, Marge wants a rematch.”
“Will do.” The interconnectedness of Firefly never ceased to amazeordiscourage.
As I walked toward Nick, he had his arms tucked tightly across his chest. When I held up the box, his eyes went wide. I might not be able to solve his problems or remove his curse, but I could fill him with salty meats. If that wasn’t a metaphor for the thoughts running through the back of my head, I don’t know what was.
“You didn’t have to.”
“I know.”
I shoved the box against his chest. He glanced down counting the vacuum packs filled with dark meat. I watched the edge of his lip, waiting for it to curve. His rigidity softened as he finally took the box.
“Not the meat I expected.” His eyebrows wiggled. “But, I’ll take it.”
While I decoded his reference to my meat, I snatched one of the packs. “Consider it tax.” I turned so we stood shoulder-to-shoulder, my hand against the small of his back. He shifted, pulling away. Did I— He took my hand, gripping my palm as we walked.
