Page 17 of Hitched at Randy’s (Diner Days)
Seventeen
Cam
I know it’s important for Evan to leave so he can get the rest of his things and drive his car out here, but the thought of being away from him for a whole week is setting in. “You sure you can’t just buy new stuff?” I ask, and Evan laughs.
He turns to look at me, leaving his half-packed suitcase on the bed as he walks over. “Yes, I’m sure. It’s not that long. Most of the time I’ll be gone is going to be spent driving back, but I’ll need my car when I start my new job.”
I know realistically that he’s right, but I wrap my arms around Evan’s neck, pulling him in for a kiss. “Fine,” I grumble. “Go if you have to.”
“I’ll be back before you know it,” he tries to reassure me. “And we can call. You can talk dirty to me when I stop at hotels for the night.” Evan’s lip lifts into a grin, and I know he’s teasing me.
“Don’t think I won’t. Just because you’re gone doesn’t mean we can’t still have fun.”
Evan shakes his head at me, but he doesn’t say no. “I need to finish packing. Oh, and don’t forget, you’re meeting with my mom for lunch tomorrow to go over the details for the reception.”
“Already have a reminder in my phone,” I assure him.
Evan closes his suitcase, and I’m fighting the urge to push him down onto the bed and make him late for his plane. “We should get going.”
Right. When Evan walks past me, I adjust my packer, shifting it so it isn’t pressing against my T-dick quite as much. He loads his suitcase into the trunk of my car, and we climb in to head for the airport. “You sure you don’t want me to park and wait with you?” I ask when we arrive, even though we’ve already had this conversation.
“I’ll be fine,” Evan says. “Besides, don’t you have a commission you’re working on?”
“Ugh, fine,” I grumble. “Call me when you get there and let me know how the flight went.” I pull into the loading zone, pausing long enough for Evan to get out and grab his things. He walks over to my door, motioning for me to roll down my window, then he leans in and presses a kiss to my lips.
“I’ll miss you. Good luck with my mom tomorrow. Don’t agree to anything too extravagant.”
“I’ll be fine. Have a safe flight. I’ll miss you too.”
Evan waves as he walks away, and I put the car in gear, and make myself pull out of the loading lane. Evan’s right that I have a commission to work on, but I can’t see myself working alone at home right now. Being there without Evan is too distracting. I need to be around people. I stop at home long enough to grab my tablet and what I need, then get back in the car and make my way to Randy’s diner.
“Just you today?” Iris asks when I walk in. With a nod, I follow her to a two-top, and Iris hands me a menu. “Do you know what you want to drink?”
“Coffee,” I answer automatically. I need a jolt of energy to get me out of the funk I’m in. Sure, Evan’s only leaving so he can grab his things and head back out here, but what if he changes his mind? What if while packing his things up he realizes how crazy it is to move across the country and stay married to me? It’s not like we’re planning to stay married forever. All of this is temporary.
Iris returns to the table, setting down my coffee, and pulls out her notebook. “Are you ready to order, hun?”
“Sorry, I need a few more minutes,” I answer. I need to snap out of my doom spiral and focus, but she nods, not bothered by the delay.
“Sure thing.” Iris tucks her notebook back into place and walks off to help another table.
My eyes go to the menu, and I make myself read it over, even though it hasn’t changed. It’s more of a distraction to force my mind off of Evan. As it is, I barely even feel hungry. When she stops by the table again, I mumble out a request for a tuna melt. Iris nods, leaving me alone again, and I pull out my tablet. I have the base sketch down, but the piece has a way to go before it looks decent. Right now, it looks more like a stick figure in the rough pose for the final piece. It’ll serve as a guideline as I add in the details and finer points.
I’m still thinking about Evan as my stylus drifts over the tablet. I have to believe that it’s all going to work out or I’ll drive myself crazy. At some point Iris stops by the table again, setting my food next to me but not interrupting as she glances at the tablet. I’m drinking my coffee as I work and taking the occasional bite of my food. With the chatter of the diner, I’m able to relax and just throw myself into the piece without letting my mind wander.
“Shit.” I bite my lip as I realize my mistake. At some point, I stopped thinking about the character I was supposed to be drawing and focused on Evan. The picture looks remarkably like him. I’m going to have to go back and rework it now to fix the piece. Maybe it’s a sign that I shouldn’t be working right now. Sighing out of defeat, I pack up my tablet and take another drink of my coffee, finishing what’s left in the cup. I wave Iris over and ask for the check and a to-go box. I barely finished half the sandwich.
Sure, I could stay here and try to distract myself further, but that hasn’t worked out great to begin with. I might as well head back to my apartment. Maybe work on the painting of Evan some more since I can’t get him out of my head. It’s coming along quite nicely, but it’s at the point where it’s no longer possible to deny it’s a picture of Evan. I’ve been avoiding it because I didn’t want him to walk in while I was working on it and see himself on the canvas.
I put my half-eaten sandwich in the fridge when I get home and glance over at Donnie, but that only reminds me of Evan. The way he dropped to his knees and blew me was extremely hot. It’s hard to believe that was only a few days ago. I bite my lip, trying my best to turn my thoughts to something safer. It won’t do me any good to think about how Evan looked when he had his mouth full with my packer. Maybe I should focus on the meeting with his mom.
She’s always been welcoming and accepting since we first became friends. Even when my own mom wasn’t the most understanding, Evan’s mom always did her best to gender me correctly. I’m not worried about what she thinks about Evan and me getting married. I’m more worried about disappointing her when she finds out all of this was a drunken mistake.
I wipe my hands on my pants as I walk in the door. It was my idea that we meet up at Randy’s to go over reception plans, but now I’m wondering if I should have picked somewhere else. Being here runs the risk that we’ll see other friends of mine that frequent the place. I’m about to turn around, thinking we can call this off or go somewhere else, when I notice Evan’s mom already sitting at a table with a glass of water. She looks my way and waves. Guess I’m not escaping this meeting that easily. I make my way over to her table, but before I can sit down, Tanya stands up and pulls me in for a hug. I awkwardly wrap my arms around her, telling myself this isn’t any different from normal. I’ve practically been part of the family for years.
“I still can’t believe you two got married,” she says as we sit down. “Last we heard, Evan was all set to marry Viola and then we hear he’s already married to you. We always thought of you as another son, but this came as some surprise.”
Yeah, to you and me both. “It was kind of a last minute thing,” I admit. “We just decided to do it while we were in Vegas.”
“I didn’t even know you two had those kind of feelings for each other. But I always wondered.” She winks like she’s letting me in on some sort of secret.
I don’t know what to say in response. My eyes dart around the room until I notice a server walking our way. Perfect timing. “Can I get you anything to drink?” Henry asks as he slides a menu in my direction.
“I’ll have tea,” I tell him.
Henry nods and leaves us alone to look over our menus. My temporary distraction is gone along with him. Tanya sets her eyes on me, and I keep my gaze on the menu even though it hasn’t changed since I was here yesterday. “I was thinking we could do the reception at our house. Keep it small, just family and a few friends. With the short notice, we can’t expect too many people to show up.” She looks at me like she blames me for the sudden marriage, but Tanya doesn’t seem upset.
“Keeping it small is fine with us,” I say.
“Cam,” Tanya reaches out, placing her hand on top of mine. “I just want to say, I know this is sudden, but we’re happy it’s you. You and Evan have always been such great friends, and it’s clear how much he cares for you. I’m not sure what happened with Viola, but we’re thrilled to officially be able to call you our son.”
I fight the urge to wipe my eyes. From the stinging burn, I know there are tears forming. “Thank you,” I answer, but all I can think about is how much we’ve fucked up. When Evan and I divorce, I’m going to lose the only real family I have.