I Love You, Always

Chapter 2

Derrick's keys clang loudly against the kitchen table as he tosses them seconds after we walk through the door. The apartment is cool, but not freezing. It's definitely welcome compared to the sweltering heat outside. The end of summer in Texas isn't any better than the middle of summer. It's still just as gross and sticky and humid. It'll be nice once it starts to cool down, but that probably won't happen for another couple of weeks.

Slowly, I've been working on getting around the new apartment without my cane, memorizing the floor plan and where all the furniture is. This apartment is a little bigger than our old one, which is nice. That means it's more spacious, but it's not so spacious that it's difficult for me to get from room to room. The kitchen table is on the other side of the wall right past the front door and the kitchen and bar are a straight shot past that on the same side. Across from the bar stools is the couch, with a good couple of feet in between them, giving me plenty of room to use my cane should I need or want to.

The couch creaks as Derrick wanders over and falls onto it, letting out a sigh. "This job is not what I'm used to," he says.

I drop my bag on the kitchen table and make my way over to the couch, reaching my arm out. "You never were cut out for any job dealing with people," I answer. My fingers make contact with the soft cushions. I trail them down to the arm of the couch and walk around it, stopping once I bump into Derrick's knee. "Maybe it wasn't such a good idea taking this job. You would've eventually found something back in Austin."

"We needed money and I couldn't keep looking for jobs hoping I'd eventually get hired somewhere. I'm just glad Nick could get me this job or we'd be in a crappy situation right now." Nick is one of Derrick's old friends, someone he's known since high school. He basically hired Derrick without question. It's probably the only way Derrick could manage to get a job as a waiter in such a fancy restaurant with how many piercings and tattoos he has.

Hiding the piercings and tattoos is one of the things Derrick dislikes most about this job, he complains about it a lot. "Not only am I not used to dealing with so many people in a day," Derrick continues, "but it's annoying as shit taking these piercings out and putting them back in every day." See, I knew this was coming again. Derrick isn't used to having to always cover them up, especially his piercings, which he's attached to more than anything. I don't know how many he has, but I know it's a lot and that he has twice as many tattoos as piercings. "I'll eventually get used to it, I guess. Gonna have to."

"Unless you find another job," I suggest. "You don't have to keep this one if you find another."

Derrick sighs again. He slumps against my shoulder. "I think I'm gonna have to find another one regardless. The tips are nice. Better than the tips I got workin' anywhere else, but you can't always count on that."

"You mean you're gonna get a second job?" I don't like the idea of Derrick having to get a second job for a couple of reasons. He's worked more than one job at once before and during those times he's barely at home, which Devyn doesn't have an issue with, but I like it when Derrick's around. Maybe that's because growing up I was always much closer to Derrick than anyone else. He spent so much time teaching me how to read braille and how to use my cane and lots of other things along the way. He would always sing to me if I got upset over something and he'd let me crawl into bed with him after waking up from a bad dream. So maybe that's part of why I don't like him not being around a lot. I just know that when he works a lot it makes me feel like it's my fault that he has to work so much and I don't like feeling that way. Derrick knows this.

"Maybe," he says. He pauses for a moment and it grows really quiet except for the constant humming noise of the air conditioner. "I mean, only if I have to. We're lookin' good for right now, so don't worry about it just yet."