Page 25 of Isn't It Obvious?
“Hmmm… doesn’t your best friend live there? You go a couple of times a year.”
Yael blinks, surprised that Gina remembered. “A couple of times a year isn’t enough for a real relationship.”
“But itisenough for a hot-hookup-when-we’re-in-the-same-city, sexy-emailing-when-we’re-not fling,” Gina says.
Yael coughs. “We’re not sexy emailing!”
“Give it time. What’s his name?”
“Kevin.”
“Kevin?You sure he’s age appropriate?”
“Don’t be mean. He’s thirty or thirty-one, based on when he was in secondary school.”
“‘Secondary school’?” Gina says, and Yael can hear the scare quotes.
“He’s from Trinidad.”
There’s a glint in Gina’s eye. “Isn’t that where Hot Volunteer Ravi is from?”
“Yeah, well,” Yael says, feeling her face pucker. “Ravi didn’t invent the country.”
“I see,” Gina says, giving Yael a thorough scan. “It turns out you’re much more interesting than I gave you credit for.”
“You know there’s such a thing as too much honesty?”
Gina waves her off. “I liked you already. I just didn’t expect you to have a whole-ass secret identity.”
“Oh, you thought you were the only one, Ms. Maiden Oregon?” Yael teases.
“Speaking of,” Gina says. “There’s a show next Friday. Want to come? I can get comped tickets for you and a plus-one.”
Yael pauses. Talking to Kevin these past couple of weeks has made her acutely aware of her loneliness, like how on a summer day spent in her reading chair she never realizes how stuffy her room has gotten until she cracks open a window. She’d love to go, actually, and Charlie always loves a drag show. He says they’re like pizza—even when they’re bad, they’re still pretty good. “Yeah, I’m free then. I’ll check with my roommate. We’ll buy the tickets to support you, though.”
“Honestly, that’s a relief,” Gina says, scribbling down the time, location, and her phone number on a sticky note. “I broke up with the guy who works the door, and I’d have to talk to him to get your name on the list.”
Yael furrows her brow. “I don’t think I knew you were dating him.”
“That’s because I’d already told everyone I’d sworn off cis guys before that all started. Embarrassing. But I’m serious this time. I put ‘T4T only’ in all my dating app bios, so you know it’s real.” The bell rings, and Gina slides off the countertop. “Well, thank you, Yael. You successfully entertained me.”
“You’re welcome, I guess,” Yael says. “Am I being stupid, talking to this guy?”
Gina shrugs. “No idea. But you looked like you were having fun when I walked in here, and that’s a good thing. See you Monday.” She blows Yael a kiss, and Yael pretends to catch it and shut it in the book she’d been cataloging before she emailed Kevin.
Yael looks back at her phone—no response yet. She supposes she won’t get one, at least not in this thread. But tonight Kevin will probably message her in the Not Work Thread. And if he doesn’t, well, she’ll probably message him.
IN THE END,Ravi has a single beer at dinner, retreats to his room after Suresh puts Mia to bed, and decides to send the message that’s been kicking around in his head since this afternoon. Or, at least, a version of it. He takes a picture of Squirtle’s new leaf, pastes it directly in the body of a new Not Work Thread email as though it makes what he’s about to say less completely vulnerable, and writesYou’re right, I have no idea what goes on inside your head. But I want to.
Her response comes so quickly, he half believes she’d had the thread pulled up already to message him.
To:Kevin Kisson
RE:Not Work Thread
I’m not so sure you do. It can get kinda scary in here sometimes. Happy to see that Squirtle’s doing well—a few hundred more of those and she’ll finally be Blastoise.
To:Elle Rex
