Intermission // Van McCann

26. Last Day

Van was already out of bed by the time I woke up. He was in the kitchen making his brew and I lingered in the hallway watching him get the mugs ready. I forced myself to get ready because I knew I could get carried away watching him get to work. Once finished, I entered the kitchen, yawning.

"I'm so tired," I told him.

"Me too," Van replied.

We stayed up all night talking until one of us fell asleep. It was probably me as I'm the one who requires more sleep. We decided on Weetabix for breakfast and sat at the table eating. It was silent for the most part as we were both still waking up but the caffeine eventually kicked in. Van and I made our way towards work and the thought of doing this all over again the next day without him made me sad.

We entered the lab and turned on all the lights. We didn't have much planned for today. In fact, Bondy gave Van permission to work a half day and leave after lunch but he'd still be paid for the whole day. Van and Bondy planned to spend a few hours tying up loose ends today. Van was even kind enough to check on everything one last time just for good measure and to make sure there were cheat sheets for in case something was to go wrong.

Iván offered Van all the clothes he had made for him over the years which was a lot. Van sifted through the clothes and didn't want a majority of the clothes and I don't blame him. The clothes from the 70s to the 90s weren't the most stylish. Van got excited when he came across the ugly sweaters we wore when we got rained on at Alki Beach years ago.

"Ren, do you remember these?" he asked excitedly, pulling them out. "They're so fucking ugly—" Van immediately stopped talking when Iván glared at him.

"Say that again and I'll put the sweater in your mouth to shut you up," Iván threatened. Van put the sweaters back and backed away slowly.

"How do I say sorry again? Oh right. Soy estúpido," Van said playfully, grinning and Iván cracked a smile.

"I'll let it go this time, McCann. Only because I like you and I'm gonna miss you loads. You and your complaining."

Van was never one who liked having his picture taken but he was willing to participate in a group photo that will be printed and hung on the bulletin board for memory's sake. Bondy set the timer on the camera and quickly ran back to the group. The first few photos were silly as Van was messing around ruining the photos on purpose. He loved getting close to Bondy, puckering his lips and pretending to kiss him on the cheek. And then I'd feel him getting close to me and I'd turn to look at him.

"What are you doing?" I questioned.

"Nothing," he replied quickly, feigning innocence.

"At this rate, we're gonna be here forever," Iván complained, rolling his eyes.

"Van, please take a serious photo for once," Bondy begged. He set the timer on the camera once again and ran back to the group. Once the photo was taken, Bondy went to take a look at the picture. "Fuck's sake, Van!"

Everyone gathered around the camera. Everyone was all smiles except for Van whose face was serious.

"You said to take a serious photo," Van said, repeating Bondy's words.

"You're too smart for your own good. Okay then...let's take a normal, smiling picture. If you manage to mess that up, I'm printing it regardless so the new employee can ask 'who's that?' And I'll reply saying 'an idiot who used to work here.'"