Standing in front of the bathroom mirror, Erik brushed his fingers through his hair and grimaced as the unruly strands fell back across his forehead. He needed a haircut.
Out in the kitchen, Ryan was making noise, helping to get dishes prepared for Thanksgiving dinner. Not that Ryan cooked—he insisted he was useless in the kitchen—but he had been running up and down those stairs all day helping his mom and his sister as they worked away downstairs.
Erik had yet to meet them; Ryan had
"Shit, why is it so cold?”
Ryan watched in amusement as Erik zipped up his thick, black parka and pulled the hood up over his head. It was cold, even Ryan could admit that, but Erik seemed especially sensitive.
“Sorry.” He couldn’t stop himself from apologizing, even though he knew full well he couldn’t control the weather. “It’s not usually this cold in October.”
“Fucking climate change.”
“Sorry.”
“So, it’s true, isn’t it?”
“What?” Ryan asked as he pulled Erik’
The Toronto Aquarium was surprising empty on Saturday morning when Erik showed up to meet Ryan and his niece. They were waiting for him in the lobby, tickets already in hand, Chloe jumping from foot to foot, eager to go inside.
“Sorry to keep you waiting,” Erik said as he approached. He didn’t get the standard grin from Ryan this time; no, instead he was treated to a full smile that made Erik’s insides turn to liquid.
“You weren’t.” Ryan turned to the five-year-old girl with dark-bro
There'd be no story if there wasn't a little bit of anguish thrown in there There is definitely a journey, in some ways similar and in some ways different to the one Ryan went on in the first story.
Aw... thanks for re-reading the first story!!
You're right, Ryan does have a new number, and they do trade their phone numbers again. I didn't write that out, I just sort of implied that they traded numbers again. Oops!
The small room in Toronto was at full capacity, a mix of young and old, business suits and ripped jeans. Erik was surprised at the size of the crowd; did they know what kind of film he was here to promote?
“If everyone can grab a seat, please.” Doug, the event host, waved Erik over to his chair at the front.
“I want to thank everyone for attending this Columbia University alumni event tonight. I’m happy to introduce our guest, Erik Fischer, who holds a Master of Fine Arts from Columbi