Isolated Interview

Four times: Uriah Sutton

The sound of birds chirping outside was a surprise to Uriah. Birds didn't tend to linger around his home due to the clowder inside. It was a nice little sound, but the following chittering of Brick in the window did not come. There was no crawling around in the distance, and when he kicked his legs around the bed he found no resistance. No sleepy lumps to impede his progress or shark bites to destroy the invading feet gophers.

Uriah opened his eyes and was struck by a sick feeling. The same bland shade of soft brown paint on the walls. The same sheets. He sat up quickly. He was definitely going to leave immediately. Did I seriously go home with Jeremy? The fuck is wrong with me?! He was in too much of a panicked rush to notice where things were different. The bed was a queen size, yes, the carpet matched, the furniture, minus boxes of Uriah's writing, matched. However there was no window. The door was a different color. The best difference of all was that his ex was not present. Surely there would be a fight. Uriah struggled into the strangely folded clothing and was out the door as soon as his shoes were on.

Sunlight.

What?

The light was blinding to unprepared eyes. He hadn't bothered to fret about his missing phone, wallet, or keys. He would find them elsewhere. Maybe in his coat by the front door. Except this was not Jeremy's house. Instead of being greeted by the sites of old bruises and vicious fights he was met with an open patch of land. Green grass underfoot, and a little pebble path winding off to another building. There was one smaller building along the way, forking off slightly, but it was not as obvious.

This was all extremely bizarre. He turned around in the doorway, examining the room further. Was it just his imagination? The bed, the bedding, the walls... the carpet. He knelt down and touched an edge of carpet. Clean. No hints of crusted blood from a particularly bad drunken stubbed toe. You aren't crazy, Uriah. This was intentional... He turned back to face the open area. It looked almost inviting. He wandered around. As he reached the edge of the clearing he found the trees. Oaks, elms, birches. They seemed to thicken as he looked in further. Dissuading him from venturing further. He felt a distinct tugging inside. Tugging him back toward the buildings.

I guess this is what I'm doing today... He didn't feel good about it, but he walked. He walked past a pair of picnic tables and toward the larger building. The tugging pulled him along, and he opened the door. A little bell chimed overhead. He cringed. Uriah really did not want to be alerting his entrance to whoever was here, but there was nothing to be done. Kind of swanky for a summer camp motif...

"I'm in the next room."

Uriah stilled. Well, he wasn't alone. It was an unfamiliar voice. Accent. Male. He didn't know who this was, but he did not feel comfortable with the situation he was allowing himself to enter. He looked through the drawers of the front, or he tried. They were all locked except the top drawer. It had a time, and Uriah's name on the top next to it.

8 AM - Uriah N. Sutton

Uh... He looked at a clock against the wall. 8:03. A tall majestic grandfather clock. Still not fitting with the outside vibe. The floor looked more appropriate. Some sort of dark wood flooring in strips, but without and sort of ornamentation or shine to it. There were two doors, one which, when examined, clearly led to a small but modern bathroom. No shower, but there was a locked cabinet, assumedly for medical supplies. Uriah finally checked the last door. Inside the swank levels increased dramatically.

"Who are you?" he asked, keeping his eyes primarily on the unknown man. He was hot, but reminded Uriah of someone he'd known. Except that this man did not look like a dormant volcano. He did not give off the distinct impression that he was seconds from vibrating out of his plush leather armchair to break some drywall. His suit was pretty nice. That reminded Uriah of someone else. Another obvious question. Why a suit out here?

It was not until this moment that Uriah bothered to really take in his own outfit. Cargo shorts and a graphic tee with a lobster on it. The ankle socks were a bit odd, but the sneakers suited the outfit. He had a passing thought about how pale he was and how he should probably actually get some sun sometime ever, but that was not his current concern. His current concern was... all of this.

"Titus."

Your tone says you're tired of that question. "Do you have an ID for that?"

A half sort of chuckle. "Would you like to wait around while I dig one out? As if those cannot be faked? I understand you are suspicious, but I can make this simple." He gestured to the couch across from him. Uriah looked at it. He looked around the room, but kept his eyes darting back to Titus. He understood that Uriah was suspicious, but that did not make the poet less suspicious.

"Why am I here?"

"I have a small interview for you."

"An interview... for a job?" Not that he had any desire to be hired by magic beings who predicted his movements or set him up in rooms that looked like his ex-boyfriend's bedroom. He was very much fine with his self-employment. If necessary he would get another minimum wage part time job to supplement things, but he was doing alright.

"You have done personal interest pieces before, have you not?"

Uriah crossed his arms. "If you know so much about me, why don't you just answer the questions yourself?"

"Because the answers are most important coming from your perspective. Come. Sit," he offered, gesturing again to the couch. "It is simply a list of questions. You finish the questions, you go back home. It does not need to be a hostile affair."

"So it was hostile previously?"

He saw the man blink. That's a tell. Right? Uriah sighed. "Alright, what are you looking for, my social security number and my gross income?"

Titus chuckled, "No. You might consider these more invasive though..." Uriah watched him, as if to urge him to add context. "Some of them relate to your personal relationship."

Some of them...

"... And if I get through the list, I go home?"

"Yes."

Uriah sighed, rolling his eyes, but settled onto the couch. "How many questions?"

"Seventeen, some have multiple parts, some are longer than others."

"Sounds like you've given this spiel before." Titus did not blink, or shrug, or react in any sudden way. "... Cool." He looked around. This was weird, but the couch had not eaten him up immediately. He decided that this was weird, but not the worst thing to happen to him lately. He could endure this.

"What is your name?"

"Uriah N. Sutton."

Titus wrote that down, but Uriah wondered if the page didn't already have that listed at the time like the schedule.

"What is your age?"

"Thirty-one, currently."

"Your sexuality?"

"Bisexual." He nearly added his general leanings, but realized quickly how irrelevant that was. He liked men and he liked women, the individuals mattered more than the overall gender.

"What is your relationship status?"

I guess he isn't going to draw this out. That's fine. A bit... weird, but fine. I could probably visit Teddy after this... Speaking of which. "I am single."

Titus wrote that, then looked at the questions. He looked back up to Uriah, "You may wish to select a relevant person who is closest to being in a romantic relationship with you for the following questions."

"May I? What is the next question?"

"Why you like that person."

"Are most of them about a relationship?"

"Probably more than half. I have not counted."

"So we could skip them?"

Silence. He squinted. He didn't seem sure of his answer to that. Whatever, Teddy is fine... he's... yeah. Fine. He smiled softly.

"Okay, we can go with... my friend. Who I find sexually attractive. Why do I like him, right?" He waited, Titus gave a nod. "He is considerate and patient. He is... interesting to speak to, intellectually stimulating, and not emotionally grating. He is... soft? Like a warm coat, more than a blanket, or a kitten. Functional, practical, but still comforting. I like his qualities, and I like that he humors my oddities."

This sufficed, as the man continued. "What does he not know that you don't want him to find out?"

Jeremy. The rapes, the degradation. How pathetic I am... the... everything... Uriah took a breath. He needed to answer aloud. "I would prefer... he not know about my past relationship with my ex-boyfriend. The one... who I suppose is the reason that we met. Its not a great story." Maybe if they got together it would come up, but it had no place in a casual friendship.

"What is your greatest fear regarding him?"

"Hm... I guess that he will realize I am a trainwreck and avoid me? No. Wow... no." The realization was completely mortifying and it showed on his face. He felt cold. "I... am afraid that if he is associated with me, something bad will happen with him. He'll get beaten up or... something. My ex has only ever done things to me, but he riles people up. I don't want Teddy to get hurt." It had been a fear of his from the gate, but not since that night.

"What is your greatest fear unrelated to Teddy?"

Titus had apparently picked up on the name and decided to use it. It was slightly unsettling but there was no need to say anything. Uriah was used to being uncomfortable. He shifted on the couch, lacing and unlacing his fingers. He settled his hands on his thighs. "Unrelated... that my parents will be disappointed with me... and uh... their health." He did not share with people his mother's cancer. He did not like to worry them, and he did not like the sad looks. Or at least he imagined there would be sad looks. Maybe no one would care. Maybe they would tell him that people got sick, it happened, get over it. That wasn't his concern though. He did not want to worry anyone. He wanted his worries held close to his chest. He liked his time with Teddy to be light and friendly. He needed a happy place to go, and he didn't want to bring his negative energy in any more than it already was.

"What is a negative memory that you think impacts you to this day?"

"So many. I guess I carry them around like accessories. I guess... Elle's... reaction to finding out I had a boyfriend..." Did that information live in Titus' head? Maybe, maybe not. Maybe he hadn't even set up the room and was only working on minimum information. He gave nothing away in his face though. It hadn't been a good night. Having a shot thrown at him was really not that troubling, but her pain had been the worst thing Uriah experienced in a long time. "Having... my closest friends disappear without cause... and I suppose many experiences with my ex. Those are more like background noise, I cannot pick specific ones anymore."

You sound like such a sad S.O.B., get it together...

"What is a vice or bad habit that you have?"

"Elle used to say I talked too much... sometimes I suppose I do. Self-deprecating tendencies. In comments or in not taking care of myself. Or maybe its that I collect toxic people in my life. Something, I am sure." He did seem to attract a lot of criminals. Some were mild, some were pretty bad. It was his accepting nature. He accepted people, and even when he did disagree, he wanted to accommodate and not push them away. It was a weakness of character, he supposed.

"Do you consider yourself open with your significant other?"

"Teddy... Uh..." he cleared his throat. Open? Was he open with anyone? He spoke to his mother regularly. Even more so now than before... but he didn't tell her difficult things. He didn't tell her about how he felt, or the slump he was in. How he could write, but things came out dark gray, dripping in angst and animosity. He didn't tell his sister, and she lived in the same house as him. Teddy? "No, I prefer he see the good things."

"Alright. If you received $10,000 in a contest, what would you do with the money? The condition being that the money is spend in the next month, and you have that time off, as does anyone else you wish to involve."

That was a lot of money. He supposed he should be doing something fun with this? Was that the idea? That he should come up with something lovely and memorable? "I would..." he cleared his throat again. Why did he feel this way? "spend it on my mother's medical expenses."

"And if you were required to spend it on something besides bills or prepaying things?"

So there was a built in condition for that. That was fine. It suited Uriah. He could answer with complete honesty, and he could give a more "fun" answer. "Am I supposed to tie these back to Teddy?"

Titus shrugged, turning his hands out slightly as if to say it was up to Uriah. Well that was unhelpful.

"Teddy it is. Take him on a date? No, that might be... I'm not even sure if he wants to date me. Or... try to. And... I probably am not ready to date..." Ready to do other things, apparently but... Teddy was nice. He liked to spend time with him. He liked to be around him. He could take his family on a trip, but he would steer clear of that. No... maybe... "Take my family on a trip. It won't cost $10,000 though. Maybe just a spa in the area. A hotel with a spa in Miami and just relax for a four day weekend. They would enjoy that. Get a few more extravagant cat design work in my place. They need more shelves, frankly." He chuckled, finally. Finally a moment of good humor. He had a lot of cat things, and he really didn't need too many more, but he could always find the space. He didn't have much personal furniture at this point. His cats did him a lot of good.

"Buy some books for Teddy that he hasn't been able to get his hands on... finish some remodeling in the back yard... and go somewhere with Teddy. I know, lots of Teddy for not dating but... he's my friend and he has been very helpful to my mental health lately. Maybe Zach could come. Make it less weird. I'm not sure where we would go, but I would have enough leftover for that. That would be nice. Something... fun. I'd poll the audience for suggestions," he said, giving another smile. Titus just listened. He gave another nod. It was strange talking to him. He wasn't a friend. He was a complete stranger, but talking through things was nice. Actually thinking about them, even though they would never come to fruition.

"What are three things on your bucket list?"

"I do not have a bucket list, really... but I can think of some things... Have a child, get married..." What else? What did he want that much? When he'd been with Elle he was faced with deciding what he really wanted in life. He had to look at his priorities and his actions and see where they were contradicting each other, which was unfortunately at almost every intersection. His decision to value himself and work on what he wanted, even when it was not what she wanted, was why they never got back together. It was better, in the long run, even though it hurt like drowning each day.

He knew that he wanted children. At least one. One would suffice, but he would prefer more than one. "See my god-daughter graduate. University, trade school, high school if she is going to skip those. Whatever she wants, I want to see it... That is three."

"That is three," he agreed. He wrote some things down on the paper. Uriah wondered just how much he was writing. Was it even what Uriah was saying? Where did it go at the end? Did he want to know? No. Well that was easy. "What do you think that you are worst at in your relationship, current, and how would you like to improve that?"

The current one. That changed things. Assuming he was in enough of a relationship with Teddy. This was his basis for consideration regardless. So... "I'm not sure. I want to say 'opening up and being vulnerable' but that might be wrong. I do not want to scare him off. Tell all the truth but tell it slant, success in circuit lies."

Titus blinked, frowned, blinked some more.

"Its... a poem. Not mine. There's more to it."

"I know."

"Oh... well that's... good." Uriah felt increasingly awkward, but he supposed this was fine. It wasn't like it was a bad poem, or bad to reference. It was certainly not bad that the man knew the reference. He was just awkward for assuming Titus didn't know. Hopefully that was all. "Anyway, it says not to overshare too quickly... trust. That's it. I am worst at trust. Plan for the worst, except... even worse than that. He has done nothing for me to be paranoid and anxious... and it isn't about him, but trust is something I can work on. Relaxing and trusting. I... can just try. Spend more time with him. Maybe be more open with feelings, but not overshare all of my problems. Not that I think he would have any trouble listening to me. He is a good listener. I think he would be perfectly apt at being a sounding board but being a sounding board sort of negates being more. You can be many things, but if you are too much of one, you will not be another. Entirely a lover, you might not be a friend. If you focus on those aspects to the neglect of others..." And there is that talking too much...

Uriah sighed, "Anyway, just allow myself to be in the moment. Write more poetry notes about him. Those always help me to be calm."

"What is a kink or sexual preference in your relationship that is new or unexpected?"

"... What?"

Titus did not respond. Apparently the initial comment stood for itself. Uriah heard him, he just was not sure what to do with those words floating in the air. Floating around like that Passion Pit video. Maybe if he just smacked them they would go away. "There really... isn't anything. I have enough experience to know what I like and... there is nothing... uh... new or unexpected..."

"Very well." He wrote some more words. "What do you think of your significant other's family?"

"I... I haven't met them. I'm sure they are nice. He has sisters."

"Mm." Writing. "What does your family think of him?"

"I imagine they would think he is a nice guy... be happy I'm happy. Wish I was married to a girl and having cute little dark haired babies..."

"Do you think that is fair?"

"Well, I can still adopt... so I think they will be alright... " he paused, realizing what he was saying. "Not that I'm adopting children with Teddy. I just... what? Uh... its fine. They would think he is nice. He is nice. They would like him more for making me nice... that is fair. If I married him, they would be satisfied... I'm just behind. I can... yeah. Mom wants grandchildren. Its... its fair. I'm not going to tell Teddy that. Especially since we aren't... dating." He drummed his fingers against his thighs restlessly.

No feedback from Titus. "Last question. Describe a hypothetical road trip with only you and Teddy. From west to east coast, USA. Talk about and preparations you would make, and select three designated stops along the way. There could be more, but you simply need to state three for this question."

"Oh... that's... different." He was accepting this strange scenario, so he might as well go with the question too. That didn't mean he was going to draw it out. "Well, I am not sure if he likes concerts, so maybe skip that... otherwise I would like to go to a concert. Maybe we could, but I would need to see. First I would need to- Oh my goodness... I would buy Fenton some toys! As part of my $10,000... I would... wow, yes, definitely some dog toys... anyway. Uh, find someone... maybe see if Sarah Jane could feed Fenton while we are away. I would need to make sure she is comfortable feeding the cats, tending to their litter boxes and flea medicine and the like. Zach could help if need be..." Pets tended to require the most consideration when going on a trip. This trip was just him and Teddy, so Fenton couldn't come. She might not like all the travel though.

"So once the pets are all sorted, and Teddy has someone to cover for him at the library, I guess we leave. Drive from east to west and back? If we're driving anyway. I don't have a car, but we could also rent one for the trip if he doesn't want to run down his own car on a trip like that. Check out places to stop for some groceries, so we aren't eating out every time. See about hotels or campsites at different points, if he is alright with that. As for the three locations... library of congress, a pretty beach... and Teddy picks the third place."

Titus looked down at the paper, writing for a moment, and then looking back up in consideration. Am I allowed to let Teddy pick? He should be able to pick...

The moment passed. "That is acceptable. Thank you for your time." He gestured to the door. "You are free to go."

"Just... go?"

"Just go."

Uriah stood, scratching his neck lightly. It seemed too easy. If that was it though, he would take it. He walked to the door, and found himself stepping into his own bedroom. Dark, quiet. Two kittens curled up on his bed snuggling. Really? That wasn't a dream... what... wow...

He sighed. Maybe he was just that crazy. That wouldn't be the most shocking thing in his life lately. He found his phone near his bed and pulled it out. Sending a text.

"Just thinking about you. What are you doing?"

Hopefully it was well received. He could use that company.