TONIGHT WE'RE GOLD

TWO

The alarm goes off again.

Here I go again, Frank thinks, getting ready, serving his coffee, and walking out with Lois. He's too tired from work, and is thinking about how good it'd feel to have a drink, but immediately shakes that thought off. He waves at Gerard when he walks by his house, and Gerard waves back.

Back at home, he takes a shower and makes himself breakfast.

He watches a movie, and gets ready for work.

The restaurant is packed when he gets there. Lunch rush, he remembers. A customer spills beer on his pants, and another calls him an idiot for bringing her the dish she asked for, and not whatever she thought she was asking for, so Frank has to bring her the right one. And yet, he barely makes any tips.

He goes home, still wishing he could have a drink, but lying on the couch instead, watching Netflix, Lois taking a nap next to him. He opens his dating app, and only swipes right a couple times, not really in the mood. He's mostly bored. He gets a notification from this Bruce guy. They start talking about Stephen King books and Italian food, before Frank falls asleep.

Wakes up.

Repeats.

A week or so after, he runs into Gerard by his mailbox, so he stops to say hi, and Lois begs for attention too. 'She likes you!' Frank says noticing. Gerard isn't so sure, but he scratches her head nonetheless.

'I'm more of a cat person,' he says.

'What? We can't be friends then.' Is he trying to make a joke? Why? 'Just kidding, she still likes you for some reason.' Maybe he's actually a wizard, putting a spell on both Lois and Frank, and that's why he's trying to be his friend. Frank doesn't have friends, all of them were addicts, so he had to put some distance between them, and hasn't made new ones in a while. How do you make friends in your thirties?

'Well, she's nice.' Gerard lets her lick his face. 'I like her.'

'She's the best.' Frank just stands there, not sure what to say. That's why you don't have friends, he says to himself. He can't just walk back home, but what now? 'She likes you, too, I think. She thinks you're a wizard.' Fuck, no! Why did he say that?

Gerard just laughs, and looks up at Frank. 'What?'

'It wasn't me. That's what she said. Maybe it's the hair.' He's afraid of opening his mouth again, because he knows something stupid will come out.

'That's nice of her, but I'm just a normal guy.'

'What? I thought you were a wizard, too, to be honest.' They both laugh a little, and when Gerard gets back on his feet, standing right in front of Frank, it gets a little awkward. 'Well, it was nice talking,' he says, not sure why he's so nervous. 'I gotta get back and get ready for work.'

'Thanks for letting me play with your dog,' Gerard replies. 'What's her name again?'

'Lois.' Frank loves when people enjoy having Lois around, so he thinks Gerard is cool. 'And anytime. It's just me and her, and she likes you, so – I'm sure she'd appreciate a new friend.'

'Me too,' Gerard says, and Frank can swear he's not looking at Lois, but at him. 'Thank you again.'

'Not a problem. See you.' He heads home as fast as possible, wanting to hide after that embarrassing moment. Why is he trying to be friends with him so bad? Why is Gerard kinda interested in being friends too? Why isn't that easy to make friends any more? Wait – does he just want to be his friend, or –

He stops himself before getting any further with his thoughts. He's probably married and with kids. Stop it, Frank, don't get too excited!

And yet, a couple days later, he still stops to talk to him, and lets him play with Lois. They seem to like each other. And Frank is thankful for that, that even though Gerard is a cat person, he plays with his Lois. Every morning, he waits for her by the porch steps, and Lois runs to him to greet him by licking his face. So, when he stops by the coffee shop – he treats himself to one of those expensive lattes once a week –, he buys another one for Gerard, as a way to say thank you.

When they cross the street to Gerard's house, and Lois runs to him, Frank notices a weird sensation in his stomach that he hasn't felt in ages, but decides to ignore it because he's too old for that, and it's stupid. But he's still nervous.

'Hey there!' he says, as casual as possible, walking behind Lois. Gerard looks up, and just waves. Frank hands him the paper cup, hoping he doesn't see his hand is shaking. 'Here. I didn't know if you like vanilla lattes, but – almost everyone likes vanilla lattes.'

'Oh, is this for me?' Gerard replies, a little excited.

'Yes. As a way to thank you for – playing with Lois.' He was stuttering! What the fuck? 'I didn't want it to be weird saying thank you for being nice, but I guess I already made it weird.'

'Not at all. And thanks for the coffee. I love coffee, no matter how it's served.'

Don't blush, don't blush, don't blush, Frank is thinking.

'You wanna sit? I don't bite,' Gerard asks, interrupting his thoughts, and offering the space next to him on the steps. Franks hesitates a little, but sits next to him. 'So – Frank, right?'

He nods.

They're both quiet for a while, not sure how to start a conversation, and Frank is already regretting having bought him coffee cause now they have to talk. 'So –,' Frank says, trying to come up with something. 'What is your favorite order of coffee?' What a dumb question.

'What for? I told you – I like all forms of coffee, this is good.'

'But next time maybe I can get you the right one.'

'You're bringing me coffee again?'

'That depends.'

'Depends on what?'

'How you answer this question.' Gerard listens attentively, facing him. 'Beatles or Rolling Stones?'

'I'm more of a Bowie person.'

'I can deal with that.'

They toast with their coffee cups, and keep drinking, asking each other random questions, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. 'Dragons or trolls?' Gerard asks, showing his nerdy side.

'Are you fucking kidding me? Dragons!' Frank replies. 'Okay, are you married?' He's not sure why he asked that, he's just curious. He hasn't seen anyone in the house or coming or going in the past couple weeks since they met.

'Nope,' Gerard says with a shy smile. 'I've never been very social so it's hard to – you know –'

'You seem pretty social to me.'

'Are you – married?'

Hmm. Frank is still uncomfortable around that topic. 'I used to. I was one of those kids who got married too young and then things got wrong, and –'

'I'm sorry.' Gerard seems genuinely sorry and Frank wonders why.

'It's okay. It's been a while.' Fortunately for him, when he checks his watch, he realizes he's gotta go, because this can either get too sad or too embarrassing. 'I'm sorry,' he says. 'I'm running late for my meeting.' He gets up, wipes his jeans off, and turns to Gerard. 'It was really nice.'

'It was.' He smiles at Frank, and offers his hand to shake, but Frank gives him a hug. He's just like that and hopes Gerard doesn't mind. 'See you tomorrow?'

'See you tomorrow,' Frank says smiling. Is that a... date?