Page 5 of Second Chance

“Yeah. I guess I’ll see how she’s doing in…” Daniel checks his phone. “Fuck. Soon.”

“Which brings me back to my original question. Do we need to go?”

“You’re the one who keeps to business hours,” Daniel says.

“Eh.” Tony grins. “The boss has a soft spot for me.”

“Well, I’d like him not to start hating me, so you should probably put on some pants.”

Tony sighs. “What a cruel world.”

Daniel squeezes his ass through the thin boxers. “I’d keep you this way all day if I could. Unfortunately, we are slaves to capitalism.”

As Daniel finishes his tea, Tony fishes his second-best pair of jeans out of Daniel’s dresser. He pulls them on then grabs his sandwich off the kitchen counter.

On the way downstairs, they stop at Colette’s door.

She takes a few moments to answer.

“Colette?” Daniel calls through the door. “My office hours start in—”

“I’m coming.” Her voice is loud, bare inches away.

The door flies open, and Tony jerks away.

Colette stands before him in her trademark black slacks with a blouse in a bright shade of aquamarine. Her long gold necklace has a pendant that reminds Tony of a wire whisk.

Her hair frames her face in a loose, hazy Afro.

“Nice,” Tony says.

She smiles tightly. “You think?”

“Oh, yeah.” Tony’s not about to start telling people new and drastically different haircuts aren’t working for them. He’s not an idiot, but he’s also not lying this time. The looseness of the hairstyle highlights Colette’s high cheekbones and lends her professional outfit a softness he only sees in her at the end of particularly long nights otherwise.

“What brought this on?” Daniel’s voice is weirdly high and tight.

Tony elbows him.

“I mean, uh, it looks great, Colette,” Daniel adds hurriedly.

She shrugs, resettling the strap of her bag on her shoulder. “I was due for a change.” She starts to walk down the stairs, reminding Tony they do actually need to get going.

“It does look wonderful,” Daniel repeats. “Um, this isn’t a post-traumatic hairstyle change or anything, is it?”

Colette glares at him over her shoulder as she pushes open the door and steps out into the early September sunshine.“Mario died ten months ago. My cosmetic decision-making is wholly unconnected.”

“Just checking. Any other big life changes I should worry about? Are you getting a pet? Or a new girlfriend?”

In the time he’s known her, Tony has never known Colette to express an interest in either.

She sighs, exasperated. “No, Daniel, and if I were, it wouldn’t be cause for concern. I just thought… I don’t know. I didn’t quite feel myself anymore. Anyway, there isn’t much to do around here these days; it seemed like an adventure.”

“That’s not true. You singlehandedly started a whole new advisee program this summer.”

The look Colette gives Daniel could kill a less oblivious man. “What an adventure. Offeringmoreoffice hours in my free time to students who couldn’t pass their classes last year.”

“I thought it was a cool thing to do.”

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