Unplanned

Chapter 3

When I got in the man's car, everything was quiet except the sound of the engine and the rain hitting the windshield. It was peaceful, but I was a little wary. Soon enough the man spoke.

"In case you wanted to put a name to my face, it's Gerard."

"Oh." was all I said. Gerard kept driving. "Hey, Gerard?" I interrupted the silence. "Why were you out that way?"

"Visiting my mother," Gerard said with a straight face. "Why were you walking out that way? In the rain? You could get sick, you know."

"I was visiting my mother too.." I said carefully. "It wasn't raining that hard when I left. Plus, I have a strong immune system. A little rain shouldn't hurt." Gerard nodded and everything was quiet again. He didn't have any music on, so we sat there awkwardly. I did, at least. I looked around his car. He had a sketchbook lying on the seat behind his. Gerard glanced at me out of the corner or his eye and I decided I'd better just stay still and quiet.

"Do you mind if I smoke?" Gerard asked.

"Nah, go for it." I replied

"Do you smoke?"

"Yeah." I answered. "It's a bad habit, but I would assume you know that already."

He lit a cigarette and stuck it in his mouth. "Of course. But we all know it's the things that kill you that make you feel the most alive." It was my turn to nod. He offered me the cigarette, but I shook my head no. He asked if I was sure and I said of course, I just wasn't really in the mood for smoking, which was a lie. I wasn't sure about the man just yet, I had to decline for my own good. I could smoke all I wanted when I got home, which we were growing closer to at that point.

"So do you live in town?" I asked. He nodded. "I live just around the corner from here. You can drop me off now if you wa-"

"No," he cut me off. "I'm too kind for that. I'll drop you off at your door to help you stay as dry as possible."

I uttered a quick "thanks" and felt my cheeks grow hotter. I lived in a beat up apartment on the poorer side of town and was a little embarrassed that he would be seeing it, even if it was only the outside and I had no control over what that looked like. I told him to take the next left and that my apartment was the second building on the left side of the street. He stopped right in front of it. "Thanks for the ride, man." I said as I started to get out of his car.

"Wait," he stopped me before I could close the door, "you never told me your name."

"Frank." I said simply.

"Frank," said Gerard, "is that a nickname? Or is it just Frank?"

"Frank. It's, uh, just Frank." I furrowed my brows.

"Have a good night, Frank."

"You too, Gerard. And thanks again for the ride." I waved goodbye as I walked towards the stairs to my apartment. I turned to watch him drive off, getting wetter in the process. I was dumbfounded. The whole situation was just outright weird. I mean, what were the chances that we would both be visiting our mothers on the same day? And what were the chances that he would have left his mother's place in time to see me walking, and even stop to give me a ride? We were strangers. I helped him find some flowers and that was it. I saw him in the coffee shop, but I still didn't know if he saw me. We weren't even properly acquainted previously; we had only learned each other's name in the car minutes before.

Despite the absurdity (in my mind) of the whole situation, I was kind of glad it happened. I now knew his name and he knew mine. It was a start. I hoped we would meet again. I figured it was likely because I had already seen him three separate times, but maybe that would be the end of our encounters and that thought somewhat saddened me. I wanted to know about Gerard. I wanted to know  Gerard. From the moment I saw him I knew I wanted to know him. I wanted to know him like the back of my hand. The more I saw him, the stronger my urge was. But when faced with the opportunity, I became tense and uncomfortable. I needed another chance. If I didn't see him again, I would always wonder what if. I would always wonder what he was like, and who he really was. A name doesn't give you much information.

It was a few weeks until I saw Gerard again in the coffee shop down the street from my work, but it was worth the wait. I was sitting in my usual spot near the back enjoying some coffee when he walked in. He was alone this time. He saw me and waved. I nodded my head towards him letting him know I saw him too. When he paid and got his coffee, he brought it over to me.

"Hey, mind if I sit here?" he asked earnestly.

"No problem, have a seat."

We made small talk about the weather and such and he pointed out that liking coffee was another thing we had in common, next to smoking. I don't know how long we talked for, but when I looked out the window the sun was setting. "I better get going soon," I said nonchalantly, "work in the morning."

"Oh, right. I'm sorry to have kept you here for so long!" Gerard exclaimed, his embarrassment creeping up, displayed on his cheeks.

"Oh, don't be sorry," I said looking him in the eyes, "I enjoyed talking with you." My gaze fell to the table as I said my next few words and my hair covered my face a bit. "We should meet up again sometime." I stole a glance up at him, but I was unable to read his face. "I mean, if you want. You don't have to if you don't want to," I added quickly with an air of nervousness. He told me he would definitely like to meet up again and we made plans to meet back here next Thursday, a week from today.

As we left the coffee shop together, he offered to drive me home - despite the fact that I lived so close. I accepted his offer, wanting to spend more time with him, no matter how limited. I liked his company and hoped he liked mine as well. It would be kind of bad if he didn't like my presence. If he didn't want to be around me then I would have to accept that, but I would always have questions. I started to worry that he didn't actually want to spend time with me and was just going along with everything for the time being. Maybe he felt bad that I didn't have a car and that was the reason he was driving me.

"Are you sure about driving me?" I asked him when we got in his car. I had to ask. I paid close attention to him when he answered me.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?" Gerard said without hesitation. He looked pretty sincere. I decided it was okay and he was being caring like any friend would, nothing more, nothing less. I didn't answer him. "Are you sure about me driving you?"

"Oh, yeah. I just didn't want you to feel like you had to drive me, you know? I don't live too far and I like walking. But if you want to then I'm very much willing."

"Good." Gerard started the car and backed out of the spot he was parked in.

The car ride to my house was a lot less awkward than the first one and I was thankful. It was only a few short minutes in the car with Gerard, but it was still time for us to become more accustomed to being around each other. I felt more at ease and I even took a drag of his lit cigarette when he offered this time.