Page 74 of Mr. February

“We signed up for the escape room.”

“That sounded fun, but my team lead thought it was lame. He claims to be great at pool, but he’s the boss’s nephew. It’s very different working for someone who got their job due to genetics than skill.”

Brian spoke with his usual deadpan, but the strain was evident in his voice. He took a long drink and closed his eyes. Wade looked more closely and saw that his old friend and mentor looked to have aged considerably in the last year. His salt-and-pepper hair was grayer than it used to be, and his face bore more grooves.

“Ugh, that sucks. Sorry, man. Is there anything I can do?”

“Let me know if In-Tech is ever hiring. I never should have left. Turns out I had to put my mom into a home anyway for round-the-clock care, and she doesn’t even recognize me anymore. I fucking hate my job. My boss is a joke who’s threatened by my skills, but I’m too old to start somewhere else because people automatically assume I’m a dinosaur who can’t learn anything new because I’m Gen X.”

Wade had never heard Brian say so much at once. It also put his insecurities into perspective, so he was glad to give his old friend some positive news.

“We’ll likely have an opening coming up soon. Howard is thinking of retiring and moving to be closer to his grandkids. I’ll let Elizabeth know you’re interested. She’d be thrilled to have you back.”

Brian perked up before his expression smoothed out again.

“That’s cool. Here.” He dug around for a business card and scribbled his personal email address on it. “You can contact me away from the office.”

Wade pocketed it.

“What time is she out?” Brian asked in an abrupt change of topic.

“Who are you talking about?”

Brian rolled his eyes and scoffed.

“You’ve looked at your phone five times. I assume her workshop ends soon.”

A sheepish expression crossed his face, and Wade laughed at himself.

“Busted. Yeah, it’s supposed to finish in about ten minutes.”

“Why don’t you head over there early?” Brian asked with a casual shrug. “I need to make a phone call before pool, so I need to run anyway. It was good seeing you, but I’m late.”

Brian tossed back the last few swallows of his beer before he stood. He threw a few dollar bills down and walked off without another word.

Wade shrugged. His old friend wasn’t an easy man to know, but he was loyal and brilliant. He entered Brian’s contact information into his phone and then messaged Elizabeth with the good news. Maybe knowing that Brian was available to step up would help Howard make the decision they all knew he’d make.

He didn’t worry that he’d overstepped or misrepresented his boss’s thoughts. At their weekly staff meeting, Elizabeth had confided that she dreaded hiring someone to replace Howard since their team worked so well together.

When faced with the closed doors to the workshop room, Wade hesitated. Perhaps he should sit on one of the benches that lined the hallway. He didn’t want to advertise his insecurities. On the other hand, he was done pretending his focus was on anything besides Jenny. He turned to walk towards one of the benches.

As he dithered, the noise in the room rose, and he whipped his head around. The sound of scraping chairs and chatter exploded as someone pushed the door open. In the few seconds before the door closed again, he saw groups of people clumped together around various tables.

He stepped into the room and sought Jenny. Her laughter carried to him, and he smiled. She stood chatting with a group of people. Wade could watch her talk all day because she glowed with excitement. One guy hovered a little closer than he liked, but he tamped down the insecurity that rose in him.

When the group broke up, the guy didn’t leave. Wade maintained his easy smile as he moved towards them. His jealousy reared its ugly head as he came within a few feet of them.

“—I was thinking maybe we could grab a drink and talk about it further,” the guy said as Wade drew alongside them.

“Wade, you’re here.”

Jenny ignored the guy and wrapped her arms around Wade’s waist.

“I missed you today,” she whispered as she leaned into him.

The feeling of her body pressing into his chased away all his lingering insecurities. Her smile lit up his whole world.

“Me, too, baby. You ready to go? We have a few minutes to drop our stuff off in the room before we need to head out.”

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