Page 3 of Hitched at Randy’s (Diner Days)
Three
Cam
T he smell of bacon filters through my dreams, and when I open my eyes, I realize why. I stretch my arms above my head as I sit up. The guest bed isn’t the most comfortable, and my aching shoulder reminds me I’m not in my twenties anymore. Jumping on a plane to visit Evan was definitely the right move, especially if he’s making me breakfast. I follow my nose to the kitchen, not bothering to pick up my jeans from the floor. It’s just Evan after all. I’m not that concerned about walking around in just my T-shirt and boxers.
“What are you making?” I ask. “And please say some of it’s for me.”
“Of course I’m sharing. I’m making pancakes, eggs, and bacon. It’s almost ready.”
“Damn, I thought I was gonna have to get you out of bed and instead you’re making me breakfast,” I joke, leaning against the counter to watch him cook. Evan looks over his shoulder at me, and I’m caught up in his blue-gray eyes. He’s always been a looker, broad chested, tall, with a gorgeous head full of black hair, though I liked it better when it was longer. Regardless of all that, now probably isn’t the best time for me to be checking out my best friend. I don’t know what’s going to happen with Viola, but from the pieces of the story I’ve gathered, she’s not all that committed to the idea of marriage. Still, Evan is dealing with enough right now, and he doesn’t need my old crush popping up.
Besides, as far as I know, he’s straight. A fact I really need to keep in mind. It’s best for both of us if he never finds out I find him attractive.
“Can you get some plates?” he asks, drawing me out of my thoughts. “It’s that cabinet, right there.”
I grab the plates, snagging a couple of cups as well. We work together easily, setting the table with all the food, along with orange juice to wash it down. “So, what are your plans for the day?” he asks. “What are you gonna do while I’m at work?”
“I’ve got a commission I’m working on and a book to read if I get bored.” I spear a couple of pancakes with my fork, adding them to my plate.
“You don’t want to check out the town?” Evan takes a sip of his orange juice.
“I’m here for you, not to play tourist. If you wanna show me around after you get off though, that might be fun, I guess.” I finish the sentence with a shrug. I’m more of a homebody, anyway. Evan was always more of the extrovert in our friendship.
He shakes his head at me before taking a bite of his pancakes. “I’ll take you out for dinner, and we can walk around a bit afterward.”
“Sounds good.” We eat the rest of our food, and Evan fills his thermos with coffee before heading out to work.
I admit it’s a bit weird being left alone in Evan’s apartment. Despite the fact Viola lives with him, I don’t see much of her things around. The place reminds me of Evan’s room back home. It looks more like a bachelor’s pad, just with more grown up toys, like his PS5 plugged into the TV. I notice a few papers on his counter. I’m not trying to be nosy, but a pair of tickets catch my attention. I lean closer to get a better look and accidentally knock it right off the counter. As I pick up the papers, I see it. Two tickets to Vegas for next week. I’m guessing it was for the honeymoon, but Viola won’t be here to use them now.
An idea forms in my head. Maybe I can convince Evan to go with me instead. It could help get his mind off the wedding, and it’d be fun. We can hit the strip and gamble, maybe see a show. We’ll be too busy having a good time for him to worry about the fact that he’s spending time with me rather than his fiancée. With my mind made up, I put everything back the way it was and head back to the couch to go through my bag. I really do need to work on the commissioned illustration.
My pen stylus flows over the tablet, etching the lines for the outline of the dragon’s head. The neck is wrapped around the embracing couple. I get so involved in the drawing that I barely notice the hours passing by. I’m too caught up in getting the image of Merlin, Arthur, and the dragon from my head to the drawing. It’s not until the door opens and I look up at Evan that I realize how long I’ve been working.
“Hey, wow, that looks really good,” he comments, looking over my shoulder at the tablet.
“Thanks, it’s for a book cover.” All that time and I’ve got the outline and basic line work done. It’s enough to show the author and get approval before I start coloring and shading it to add all the finer details. I save the file and place my tablet down to look at Evan. “Hey, so, uh, not that I’m snooping around, but I found something earlier. Two tickets to Vegas?”
“Yeah, they wouldn’t let me cancel the tickets,” Evan says with a shrug.
“We should use them. You and me. Come on, it’d be fun.”
“Weren’t you telling me just this morning how much of a homebody you are?” Evan asks, putting his hand on his hip, and I laugh.
“Evan, the tickets are paid for. You might as well use them. I understand not wanting to go on your own, but you’ve got me. We can go and get drunk, if you want. Just, you should get out of here, do something fun. Your classes end tomorrow, right?”
“Okay, fine. We’ll use the tickets. You talked me into it.” Evan says, taking a seat next to me on the couch. “But before that, let’s get something to eat for dinner.”
My stomach grumbles at the mention of dinner. I must have skipped lunch while I was working. “Deal,” I answer.
“So, what about you?” Evan asks on the way to the restaurant. “Are you seeing anyone? Please tell me you at least get out of your house every once in a while.”
“I’m not seeing anyone, but I go to a weekly meetup with some friends. We play DnD and other tabletop games at a local diner.”
“That sounds fun. I’m glad you aren’t a total hermit,” he jokes. Evan parks the car in the lot outside a Mexican restaurant, and we make our way inside.
“How are you enjoying teaching?” I ask, turning the tables on him. “Glad the school year is almost over?”
“Glad I’ll get a break, but I’ll miss some of the students. It’s always a little hard saying goodbye at the end of the year. Then next year starts, and I get a new batch of kids.”
“Ever think about moving back to Boston?” The question leaves my lips before I can overthink it.
Evan takes a drink of his soda, taking his time to think of a response. “Maybe one day,” he says finally. “I don’t know, there’s so much that’s up in the air right now. Thank you again for coming out here. I’ve been pushing myself to cancel all the wedding plans and finish out the year at school. I haven’t really let myself think about what it means for my relationship. What does it say about Vi that she would rather take a part in a play than stay here and marry me?”
I keep quiet, not knowing what to say to his question. I don’t want to badmouth a woman I’ve never even met, but I don’t get it either. Sure, her career is important, but to just pick up and leave like that, without talking it through with Evan or trying to reschedule things before she left... It doesn’t sound like she was that committed to the wedding to begin with.
The waiter walks up to our table. “Have we decided what to order?” he asks. It’s a welcome distraction from the topic at hand.
“I’ll have the pork tamales with the red sauce,” I answer. “The chicken fajitas with corn tortillas,” Evan says.
The waiter takes our menus, leaving us with our sodas. I know I need to change the topic back to something lighter, but a safe topic escapes me. “Why Vegas? For the honeymoon, I mean. Why not Hawaii or something like that?”
“It was Viola’s idea,” he says. “I’ve never been, and she thought it’d be fun to walk around the strip. See Cirque du Soleil , gamble, drink. I know it’s not the most romantic of a honeymoon location. We had the whole thing planned out, though. The hotel booked and everything.”
“Did you already cancel the hotel reservation?” I ask.
“No. I don’t know why I kept it. Guess it’ll work out now.”
The waiter pops up again, setting our food in front of us. “Let me know if you need anything else,” he tells us before he leaves.
“Mmm,” I moan as I take a bite of my meal. The masa is perfectly moist. “This is delicious.”
Evan smiles at me, watching me eat. “Glad you’re enjoying it, but should I leave the two of you alone?” he jokes.
“I would get a room with these tamales,” I say back, sticking out my tongue at him. Just like that, we’re back on familiar footing. He laughs, loading up a forkful of his chicken and vegetables to fill his tortilla. It’s like time has barely passed since high school. Things have changed, but we’re still the same pair of goofballs, enjoying each other’s company.