word about it.”
“Deal!” Amber says brightly.
5
“Are you gay, dude?”
Caleb stares across the bar at his old friend, waiting for the guy to crack a smile.
Danny Patterson stares right back as if all he did was ask the time.
Apparently it was a serious question. Thank God nobody else inside Watson’s heard it.
“No, I’m not gay,” Caleb finally answers.
“You just never seemed that into Theresa is all.”
“Well, we weren’t in love. That’s why we got divorced.”
“I got that. So why marry her in the first place?”
“I don’t know. Convenience?”
“Since when is marriage convenient? Especially if you don’t love the person?”
We’re not always supposed to be with the one we really love, Caleb thinks, but he doesn’t say it because he knows Danny will just respond with more pushy questions.
Also, Danny hasn’t shut up yet.
“Unless, you know, the dad’s threatening your life ’cause you got the girl pregnant, in which case you do it ’cause staying alive is convenient. But…wait a minute! You didn’t get Theresa pregnant, did you, ’cause I don’t re—”
“Danny, you’re twenty-three and you’ve been engaged three months. Quit lecturing me on marriage.”
“Three or four sentences isn’t really a lecture, if you ask me.”
Which I didn’t, Caleb thinks. But you drove an hour out of your way to have a drink with me so I’m gonna be polite and not clean your clock today.
People who watched too much daytime television liked to say Danny Patterson was on the spectrum. But as far as Caleb was concerned, implying someone had Asperger’s syndrome was just a fancy way of shaming them for not talking to you like you were their boss.
He’d first met Danny back when they were both working on the Proby Ranch outside Surrender, Montana. The kid was fresh out of high school then, so Caleb had blamed his 5-Hour Energy drink demeanor on the blissful ignorance of youth. But Danny’s older now and a cop, and still he chatters away like a five-year-old who doesn’t know when to stop bugging his parents during a long car ride.
“So,” Danny said.
“So what, Danny?”
“Are you gay?”
“For the second time here, which I’m hoping will be the last. I’m not gay. Why are you asking me this?”
“’Cause women catch on fire the minute you walk into a room and you’re still single.”
“I’m a huge player.”
“You’re not. You hooked up with one girl in the time I knew you before you married Theresa.”
“I’m not a fan of women on fire.”
“You’re evading, sir. A guy who looks like you…well, it’s just not normal for you to fly solo for this long, Caleb.”
“Unless I’m going full Brokeback Mountain in secret, you mean?”
“Pretty much. Yeah.”
“Well, if this is your way of telling me you think I’m good looking, then thank you, Danny. And I’m sorry I’m not more excited about that information, but, see, the thing is, I’m not gay .”
“Eliza’s got a gay brother and the dude’s awesome. Good looking guy too.”
“Son of a… Is this some kind of fix up?”
“What’s wrong with that? What are you a homophobe or something?”
“What’s wrong with it is that a good friend of mine is accusing me of lying about who I am. I’m not gay, Danny, and I’m not married to my ex-wife anymore ’cause we both moved on. It was a mutual decision, alright?”
“And you both moved on ’cause you were never in love with her to begin with and apparently she wasn’t in love with you either. I guess that’s supposed to make sense?”
“Danny, I’m fixin’ to add some Drano to that Heineken if you don’t shut up!”
“Just hate to see you alone is all,” he says. He shakes his head with a faraway expression that says he’s thinking about his new fiancée. Again. Because these days, he doesn’t think about much else.
“I get it. You meet the love of your life and suddenly you’re everybody’s matchmaker. You’re
“Deal!” Amber says brightly.
5
“Are you gay, dude?”
Caleb stares across the bar at his old friend, waiting for the guy to crack a smile.
Danny Patterson stares right back as if all he did was ask the time.
Apparently it was a serious question. Thank God nobody else inside Watson’s heard it.
“No, I’m not gay,” Caleb finally answers.
“You just never seemed that into Theresa is all.”
“Well, we weren’t in love. That’s why we got divorced.”
“I got that. So why marry her in the first place?”
“I don’t know. Convenience?”
“Since when is marriage convenient? Especially if you don’t love the person?”
We’re not always supposed to be with the one we really love, Caleb thinks, but he doesn’t say it because he knows Danny will just respond with more pushy questions.
Also, Danny hasn’t shut up yet.
“Unless, you know, the dad’s threatening your life ’cause you got the girl pregnant, in which case you do it ’cause staying alive is convenient. But…wait a minute! You didn’t get Theresa pregnant, did you, ’cause I don’t re—”
“Danny, you’re twenty-three and you’ve been engaged three months. Quit lecturing me on marriage.”
“Three or four sentences isn’t really a lecture, if you ask me.”
Which I didn’t, Caleb thinks. But you drove an hour out of your way to have a drink with me so I’m gonna be polite and not clean your clock today.
People who watched too much daytime television liked to say Danny Patterson was on the spectrum. But as far as Caleb was concerned, implying someone had Asperger’s syndrome was just a fancy way of shaming them for not talking to you like you were their boss.
He’d first met Danny back when they were both working on the Proby Ranch outside Surrender, Montana. The kid was fresh out of high school then, so Caleb had blamed his 5-Hour Energy drink demeanor on the blissful ignorance of youth. But Danny’s older now and a cop, and still he chatters away like a five-year-old who doesn’t know when to stop bugging his parents during a long car ride.
“So,” Danny said.
“So what, Danny?”
“Are you gay?”
“For the second time here, which I’m hoping will be the last. I’m not gay. Why are you asking me this?”
“’Cause women catch on fire the minute you walk into a room and you’re still single.”
“I’m a huge player.”
“You’re not. You hooked up with one girl in the time I knew you before you married Theresa.”
“I’m not a fan of women on fire.”
“You’re evading, sir. A guy who looks like you…well, it’s just not normal for you to fly solo for this long, Caleb.”
“Unless I’m going full Brokeback Mountain in secret, you mean?”
“Pretty much. Yeah.”
“Well, if this is your way of telling me you think I’m good looking, then thank you, Danny. And I’m sorry I’m not more excited about that information, but, see, the thing is, I’m not gay .”
“Eliza’s got a gay brother and the dude’s awesome. Good looking guy too.”
“Son of a… Is this some kind of fix up?”
“What’s wrong with that? What are you a homophobe or something?”
“What’s wrong with it is that a good friend of mine is accusing me of lying about who I am. I’m not gay, Danny, and I’m not married to my ex-wife anymore ’cause we both moved on. It was a mutual decision, alright?”
“And you both moved on ’cause you were never in love with her to begin with and apparently she wasn’t in love with you either. I guess that’s supposed to make sense?”
“Danny, I’m fixin’ to add some Drano to that Heineken if you don’t shut up!”
“Just hate to see you alone is all,” he says. He shakes his head with a faraway expression that says he’s thinking about his new fiancée. Again. Because these days, he doesn’t think about much else.
“I get it. You meet the love of your life and suddenly you’re everybody’s matchmaker. You’re
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