Runner-Up - 7. Chapter 7

Friday morning, Kyle woke up at five thirty just like every other time he had to work. He still was not used to waking up alone anymore. After four days, he was tired, tired of everyone, even those who he barely spoke to, wondering how he was, how he felt. He just wanted everything go back to normal.

Kyle wasn't that stupid, he knew that it would never really go back to normal. At least not the normal that he was used to. He just wish that everyone would stop reminding him of what had happened in the past, so he could look at the present and future.

Kyle got up, dressed up and left, as usual.

At work, he was grateful that nobody made any special comments or gave him a pity look as he apprehended. He just guessed that they simply didn't know how to approach him yet. Either way, Kyle wouldn't complain.

After the breakfast serving was done, Kyle received the visit from the distribution center chief, his boss. It was rare that she came into his office, usually she would just say ‘hi’ on her way to her office out in front, on the other side of the room.

“Kyle, you didn’t have to come in today.”

“Nah, I’m fine, I feel actually better here, and I need this.”

Kyle was sincere, when he was alone at home, he mainly felt like crying. Now that he was at work, or when he was in class, he didn’t think about him.

“Alright, well if there’s anything that I can do for you, don’t hesitate, let me know. Okay?”

“Yeah, thanks.”

His boss was about to leave his office when Kyle remembered one thing. His boss had sent some flowers, on behalf of the employees of the food distribution center, at the funeral.

“Oh, Linda, thanks for the flowers.”

“It was our pleasure.”

Linda left with a contagious smile.

During his second break, Kyle decided to go get some fresh air. As he got outside, he noticed that he had received a message from David.

‘Won’t you answer me? Have I done something wrong?’

Indeed, David had been trying to reach him over the last few days. However, Kyle never really felt like talking at those times and had been putting it off.

He thought about answering right away, but then he realized that he still hadn’t told him anything about what had happened with Ryan. That was enough for him to hesitate. Kyle did feel terrible about not having talked with his friend, he therefore decided to send a quick answer.

‘Sorry, I didn’t mean to ignore you.’

Just before Kyle had to go back to work, he received another text.

‘Is it because of what happened last Saturday?’

Kyle knew he should have answered a quick, no, but it was starting to bring back some bad memories. He preferred to leave it be and go back to work.

The rest of his shift went smoothly. As he got back from his lunch, Kyle had to do some restocking. It had been decided that the menu would be partially changing for some days starting the following week. Since he had been the clerk working at his job the longest, despite being part-time, he had taken charge of treating those changes.

Kyle had come back from the printing department with the copies of the new menu he had ordered and was in the process of doing the replacement, when one of his colleague came to see him.

“Someone is asking for you,” he said.

Kyle wondered who could possibly be asking for him. Since he was blocked by a cart still half-full of paper, and that he had piles of menu’s laying just about everywhere, he didn't feel like getting up.

“Could you please show him in?”

“Yeah, of course.”

Kyle was back at what he was doing when he heard a shy knock on the metal door frame.

He looked up and saw a familiar face. David was standing in the door frame.

“Can I come in? Am I bothering you?”

Kyle knew immediately what he wanted.

“No, you’re not!”

He dropped the pile he had in his hands on the desk, got up, navigated the couple of steps to the door and got in David’s arms. At that moment, he couldn’t care less about anyone else, he just didn’t want to let go of David. Kyle realized at that point he needed to see him and wondered why he didn’t reach out to his friend earlier.

“I missed you so much,” Kyle, said, while still holding David.

When Kyle finally let his visitor go, he went back to sit, leaving David there, standing, wondering.

It wasn't a simple unthought-of decision David had made to come to the hospital to see Kyle. Earlier, when he realized that he wouldn't get an answer, he took it on himself to find out why. His first stop had been to ask Ryan, face to face, so, he took a chance that he'd be working today and went to the store. He instead, after some discussion learned that Ryan had been in an accident. David was mad that he wasn't told about it. But, he figured out that if Kyle wouldn't come to him for help, then he would.

Kyle realized that David wasn't moving and was still standing. He told him that he could move his bag that was on a chair next to the door and sit if he wanted, which he did.

"How did you find me here?"

David tried hard to contain a chuckle as he heard the question. He, himself was surprised that it had been easier, to find Kyle, than he had thought when he walked in the hospital.

“It was easier than I expected. I remembered you telling me that you work at the food distribution for the units. I got in by the entrance on Pines streets and asked around until I got here.”

An uncomfortable silence was about to take place. Kyle guessed what his friend was too scared to bring up but wanted so badly.

Kyle sighed.

“How did you find out?”

“When you stopped answering me, I went to the Apple Store. That black manager ended up telling me. Kyle, I’m so sorry.”

“Thank you.”

“You could have told me, I would have been there for you.” David tried his best not to sound too moralizing.

“I know you would have. I wish I could tell you that I had a good reason to ignore you over the past week. I guess I thought that it was better that way. To be honest, now that I have you here, I wish I had told you from the start. But no, you had to come for me."

David didn't want to say, as he didn't want to go on a who-should-have-done-what game. However, thinking back, he was wondering why it took so long before he decided to see Kyle.

"I'm there now and I don't want to lose contact with you for this long ever again."

“I’m good with that.”

“Tell me, why the hell you have that many menus around?”

It was obvious for Kyle that David was trying to fill some conversation, but he was all right with it. He did feel like David was genuinely wondering. After all, he did have two, four levels shelving units, one next to the other, full of them, which could be considered a lot for someone who didn’t know better.

“It seems worse than it is. You got one shelf for breakfast, one for lunch and one for dinner. Then you have a pile for each day of the week. All that twice, because the menu has a two weeks rotation.”

Kyle tried to explain the organization in his office.

“What about that bottom shelf?”

“There’s references, and you got the general menu for each serving.”

David tried to remember about that time when Kyle had explained him what he was doing at work.

“Didn’t you say that the menus were already all prepared for you, that you just had to keep count and statistics of where you send them?

“Yes and no, the nutritionist do prepare somewhat personalized menu for each patient in the units. However, at the emergency, they don’t stay there long enough to have menu’s printed out especially for them. So, from the list, the emergency send us, I prepare a menu for everyone there.”

“Okay, but why can’t you just give that general menu out instead of having all that?”

“Well, half of the patients will get the general menu, but there’s some that needs special ones, for example, no salt, low in lipid, or lactose free. For those special cases, I take the right menu from the pile, name it, and then give it to the guys to send it off. Then yes, I keep stats for the number of meals we sent.”

“Alright, that sounds easy enough.”

Kyle laughed.

“You can say it, I bored the hell out of you!”

David smiled.

“Maybe a little, but that’s fine.”

For the last thirty minute of his shift, Kyle took the help from David to finish the menu changes.

David decided to walk Kyle back to his car.

“David, wanna come back to my place?”

David thought about it but since he had other plans for the rest of the afternoon.

“I’m supposed to be meeting some friends later on tonight, but yeah, I can.”

The drive back to the condo didn’t take too long. David noticed immediately the flower bouquets spread around the living room.

“I thought I smelled flowers when we got out of the elevator!”

That was enough to have Kyle smile, but it was just enough for a short-lived moment.

"It kinda goes along with the territory."

David detected the sadness in his friend's voice.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you think about it."

"It's alright, really, it's just something that comes and goes. It just gets hard at night and when I'm by myself. I still kinda expect him to walk in at night."

David naturally went to hug and comfort him.

"I won't try and tell you that I know what you're going through, but Kyle, it will be better with time."

It's the kind of things Kyle had heard over and over in the last four days. The kind of statement that just didn't help anything in the immediate.

"Yeah, I know. I'm actually good, I just need to keep my mind busy."

"What about your classes?"

Part of keeping himself busy was to go to his classes. He was already back to the university on Wednesdays. Missing only another class on Thursday for the funeral.

"It's alright, I didn't miss that many of them. I talked with my teachers and got the notes that I missed. Even got an extension for a paper that I have. It will be fine."

"Well, that's good."

"Yeah it is. What do you want to do? Wanna watch a movie?"

David discretely looked at the time to make sure that he could watch a movie without ending up being late.

"Yeah, sure; a movie sounds good. Which one?"

"Your choice."

Neither one of them really cared about which movie they'd watch. David ended up picking the first interesting DVD that he saw, some suspense movie with Keifer Sutherland.

When they started the movie, each was on their own side but they slowly got closer to each other. Midway through it, they were cuddling, Kyle being in David’s arms. David hesitated a little at first, but he started to caress him gently.

When the movie ended, David exchanged a couple of texts to confirm where he’d meet up with his friends. Then, he got up and slowly prepared himself to leave. When Kyle realized what his friend was doing, a wave a loneliness went through him.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay, that you have to go?"

"Yeah, I told my friends I'd meet them tonight."

David saw the look on Kyle face. A look that was screaming, please stay, I don't want to be alone. That's when another option came to mind.

"Why don't you come with me?"

"You mean come with you and meet your friends? I wouldn't want to impose myself."

"It wouldn't be imposing yourself if I invite you. It will be fun, we'll probably end up in a bar, getting drunk, shooting some pool, stuff like that."

"Nah, I will be alright. Don't worry."

Kyle was surprised at himself that he didn't take the offer. However, as much as he didn't feel like being all by himself at the moment, he wanted to be alone with David, not with other people.

David surprised himself by being disappointed. He had offered for Kyle to come with him to be thoughtful of him, but he realized that he kinda wanted Kyle to go meet his friends with him. Still, he respected his decision and didn’t try to push the matter further.

This time around, Kyle only walked him up to the elevator. Back in his condo, Kyle immediately started to regret and second guess his decision. He kept wondering if he should have agreed and gone with David.

The decision kept burning up inside him. Without thinking too much, he pulled out his cell and called David, hoping that he wasn't already in the metro.

Kyle heard the ringing on and on until it reached the voicemail, when he finally hung up. After some hesitation, he instead sent him a text.

'I know I might be too late, but is the invitation still opened? Call me?'

Kyle realized that if he were to really go out, he needed to change clothes and freshen up. Keeping his cell nearby at all times, he went to the bathroom, brushed his teeth, made sure that his hair was still presentable, then went into his bedroom and found some nice clothes and got changed.

As he got back in the living room, Kyle just sat there doing nothing else but waiting. He figured that David would be out of the metro any minute now and therefore that there was no point for him to start anything.

After a while, he looked at his phone just to make sure that he hadn't missed anything. He even completed a power cycle on it to be sure. He soon had to accept that he wouldn't get an answer. David must have changed his mind, or worse had offered only out of courtesy, betting that he'd decline the invitation.

Kyle opened the TV and put on the first show he could start. Before sitting down, he went in the kitchen and reheated leftovers he had in the microwave.

In the end, he spent the night binge-watching Friends on DVD until he started to doze off on the couch a little before eleven. Less than thirty minutes later, he was sleeping so soundly that he didn’t hear his phone ring, nor the text notification that came after.