There Are No Answers // Falsettos

Marvin's Back with Whizzer

It feels almost surreal. With all my and Marvin's history together, I wouldn't have thought for a second we'd be going out again, or that I would be more glad than ever that it happened.

I go to his place to pick him up the next week. While I'm waiting outside, I hear somebody say my name. I look over next door and Charlotte, Marvin's friend, is standing right outside, unlocking the door. She must have just gotten home.

"It's Whizzer, right?" she asks, giving me a warm smile. "Great to see you again."

I look at her in surprise. "Oh! Yeah, you too."

"I think Marvin's out," she remarks, gesturing to the door I've been standing outside for the last five or ten minutes. "If you're waiting for him."

Damn it. He was the one who called me! And now he's not even home? I nod at Charlotte and start to turn to leave, and then she says, "Hey, do you want to come in for a bit?"

"Sure, that would be nice," I reply, hesitating before walking in with her. "Sorry, I'm a little nervous. Not about you, about Marvin. We've only gone out a few times since the baseball game, and I'm still worried I'll screw things up."

She nods knowingly. "I get it. I might seem cool now, but when Cordelia and I first started dating I was a mess."

I smile slightly. I don't know Charlotte very well, but even still I can't envision that. She seems calm; collected, relaxed.

"Where is Cordelia, anyway?" I ask her.

Charlotte pauses to sniff the air. "She's in the kitchen." We walk down the hall and immediately I'm hit with a strong aroma of kneidlach. Cordelia's there cooking, and she turns around when she hears us.

"Hi, hon. Hi, Whizzer." She gestures at the pot. "As you can see, I've been busy. How was your day?"

"I'll tell you about it later," Charlotte replies with a grin.

"Mine was good." I look around the kitchen. "You're the caterer, right?"

"Yep. I'm the caterer, she's the doctor." She walks over to Charlotte and plants a kiss on her cheek. "She saves lives, I save chicken fat."

Charlotte laughs. "And you do it well, don't you? She has a gig coming up and she's taking it very seriously," she tells me.

"Right. Well, good luck on that."

"Thanks," Cordelia responds. "And, hey, congratulations on your relationship with Marvin. He told us about you ages ago, I didn't think we'd ever get to meet you."

"I guess you guys are lucky, then," I remark, leaning against the counter. "So, do you have a lot experience with Jewish cuisine?"

Cordelia shrugs. "I'm learning."

"Looks like you've got a lot here," Charlotte says, looking over the plates of food that Cordelia has placed on the counter.

"Oh, do you want to try some?" Cordelia hurries over and picks up a plate of something that, even though my mom's side of the family is, like, hardcore Jewish, I am unable to recognize.

Charlotte eyes it suspiciously but eventually gives in and takes a bite. "Oh! Wow."

"You like it?"

"Mm-hmm." Charlotte turns her back to Cordelia and I can see her spit whatever she's eating into a napkin. "Love it."

Cordelia turns her attention to me. "So. Did you come over here to see Marvin?"

"Yep. We're going to play racquetball." I emphasize the word like it's very special.

"Fun," Cordelia replies. "I wish this one would want to get out of the house more." She nudges Charlotte with her elbow.

"I work all day at the hospital," Charlotte complains, but lightheartedly. "I'm completely exhausted when I get home."

"That's okay, babe," Cordelia says, returning to her cooking. "I'm too busy perfecting my bar mitzvah cuisine, anyway. Here, if you could try this..."

"Oh, no, thanks," Charlotte replies, lightning quick. "I'm... really full."

"Whizzer?" Cordelia holds the spoon out to me.

I wave her off. "I'm good. Can't play racquetball on a full stomach."

"I would say you can't play racquetball on an empty stomach, but I digress," she answers. "Anyway, have fun with Marvin!"

"Thanks." I turn to Charlotte. "Do you, uh, know when he's getting back?"

She shakes her head. "All I know is his car was gone."

I rock back and forth on my feet a little. It's not that I'm bored here, I'm just kind of frustrated with Marvin for not being here when I was supposed to come over. It's not all bad, though, because I did want to have more time to get to know these two.

"We can leave for a bit," Charlotte tells her partner, indicating for me to follow her. "If you're busy."

Cordelia gives us a thumbs-up but doesn't turn around.

"When did you two meet?" I ask Charlotte as we're leaving the kitchen.

"Oh, years ago. Our mid-twenties. Both my family and hers were pretty homophobic, so we kept it on the down-low for a while, and then finally we moved away and she started her catering business and it all came to be how it is now."

I sigh. "I'm sorry about your family. Some people are so closed-minded."

She just shrugs. "I decided not to waste my time with them."

Just then, the doorbell rings, and Charlotte leaves me in the hall to go and answer it. When I get to the door, Marvin is there, holding a bag of groceries in one arm.

"Hello, Marvin," Charlotte says.

"Hey. I figured you two had stolen my boyfriend." He enters the room, balancing his grocery bag. "I'm so sorry. There was a huge line at the store and—"

I cut him off. "No worries," I assure him. "I had a nice time here, if a little short-lived." I'm more focused on him calling me his boyfriend, something he almost never used to refer to me the first time we were together. I reach out to grab his bag. "Here. I'll take this inside."

"Great." He gives Charlotte a salute. "We'll be heading off soon. Thanks for taking care of him."

"Is that Marvin?" Cordelia calls from the kitchen. "Ask him if he wants to try my kneidlach!"

Charlotte leans in and mouths, Run.

Marvin laughs and leads me out the door and back to his place. Once we're inside, I set down the grocery bag, and he asks, "How was it with Charlotte and Cordelia?"

"It... was really nice. They're really nice. I'm really glad I got to meet them."

"Me, too," Marvin responds. "Again, I'm sorry I was so late. I'll make it up to you later tonight, so don't worry." He starts taking groceries from the bag and putting them on the kitchen counter.

I blink. "Wait, what?"

"Racquetball," he reminds me. "Did you already forget?"

"Oh, that's right. No, I did not forget, and I'm going to kick your ass."

He grins. "Looking forward to it."