Page 26 of Head Over Feels
Hesqueezed my shoulder and said, “Iput the food out if you’re ready to eat.”
Andwe were fine again.OverdinnerMalcolmshowed me the client agreement form he’d made for me, which not only included a liability waiver but also check boxes for the items the client was paying for and the prices, all with a signature line at the bottom.Hemade some suggestions for how to present it to the clients matter-of-factly, so they couldn’t weasel out of signing.Iwas excited, andIthanked him profusely.Sure, it was tedious paperwork, but having it made me feel a lot more professional.
Whenwe were done with the form,IaskedMalcolmabout his work.
“Iwork for a security firm.Weprovide bodyguards and security systems.”
“Huh.Iknow a guy who owns that kind of business.”Orat least,Jasonused to own it.Nowhis brother ran things soIwasn’t sure.Imoved the remnants of my kung pao chicken around my plate. “So, like, you do finance stuff for them?”
Hegrunted in agreement.Malcolmtended to communicate via grunting.Inever thoughtI’dfind that sort of thing endearing, butIkind of did.
“Financeand operations,” he clarified.Whateverthat meant.Idecided not to ask anything else about his job.
Butonce again, it was up to me to carry the conversation.Mentallygrasping at straws,Idared to ask. “Youdon’t have to tell me, but what happened to your leg?”Iwas guessing either car accident or some childhood injury.
“Oh, uh, well.”
“It’sokay.Noneof my business.”
“I... yeah.”Hedidn’t stand up but he started stacking the plates.
Fuck.Ican take a hint.Anothernew topic needed, stat.Imentally groaned.Thisconversation was painful.
Nothingto lose by going with the other potentially dangerous question. “I’vebeen meaning to ask, how do you knowGregoryShawatBark&Purr?”
“Oh, right.”Malcolmrelaxed, so at least this didn’t seem to be a stressful topic.Forhim at least. “Craig, his business partner, have you met him?”
Icould feel myself turning red. “Um,I’veseen him a couple of times.”
“Yeah, soCraig’smy landlord.”Hewaved his hand around to indicate the house. “WhenImoved toBentOak, he’d just started dating my best friendFoster.I’dbeen planning to stay withFoster, but all the bedrooms in his house are upstairs, so, you know, that wasn’t going to work for me.”Hegrimaced and shifted in his seat.
“Gotit.”
“Right.SoCraigwas, um...” he cleared his throat. “...kind enough to let me stay here in his guest room, and then when he moved in withFosterIrented the house from him.”
“Wow, that was super nice of him.”Craigsounded like a good guy.MaybeGregwas too?Strangerthings could happen.
Iended up leaving around 9pm, and we scheduled another session withMariposafor the followingTuesday. “I’llmake dinner,”Malcolmvolunteered.Um, yes, please.
Itried not to look too closely at why spending more time withMalcolmwas so tempting.
Friends,Iinsisted to myself.Wewere becoming friends.
ON THE SCREWFELICIA DISCORD SERVER
TrentTFebruary20, 3:16pm
@everyoneBecausebuying the glitter bombs from vendors onEtsyor wherever has been really pricey,Idecided to learn how to make my own!Here’smy first effort –Ithink it went pretty well.Abouta third the cost, too!
[link to video]
CHAPTER8
MALCOLM
MAY
Lisa, my therapist, tapped her pen against her notebook as she regarded me with an approving expression.
