Page 27 of Husband of the Year
“Completely,” Ruth adds. “If you looked up ‘adorable’ in the dictionary, there’d be a photo of you two—right next to a picture of a kitten trying to climb into a teacup.”
“They are,” Kent says. “I’m still trying to steal Marvin from Pelletier, but Tori would never speak to me again.”
“Please,” Ruth says. “Come to Lear. We need more queers. Can we replace the entire staff with homos? Olan, do you teach?”
Olan shakes his head, wipes his mouth, and says, “No. I’m an aerospace engineer.”
“Of course you are,” she replies.
“Dr. Knorse would survive,” I say. “But honestly, I’m very happy at Pelletier. My bestie Jill would be more likely to take issue with my leaving.”
“Oh, is she your work wife?” Ruth asks. “I’m Kent’s.”
Vincent takes a tiny bite of chicken, and the light over the table hits the spices coating it. He laughs and wipes his clean face with a napkin folded within an inch of its life. “Oh yeah,” he says. “Ruth certainly is Kent’s work wife. I had to get her approval.”
“Not technically,” Kent says. “I knew she’d love you.”
“And I did. Do,” Ruth says. “I mean, look at him. You know I have a thing for bald heads.” Ruth runs her palm over Regina’s dome.
“And what do you do, Regina?” I ask.
“I’m a school social worker at Otis.”
“Otis? Do you know Kristi Brody? We used to work together at Pelletier.”
“Love Kristi,” Regina says. “Salt of the earth. Although she’s a little too fond of running for my taste.” She takes a bite of beans. “Sweetie, these are your best yet.”
Ruth gives her a wink. “It’s the lemon pepper.”
“Right?” I ask. “The woman loves her races. Anyway, yeah, we were friendly before Kristi was transferred to Otis. Please say hello to her for me.”
“Of course. Happy to.”
Like tiny buds on a tree, the elementary schools in Portland dot themap. The city has managed to keep the community school atmosphere by not merging into one or two larger, centrally located buildings as they did with the middle and high schools. Unfortunately, resources are stretched thin, and schools such as Otis desperately need additional support. In education, we all know fair isn’t equal, but sometimes making that a reality, especially when it comes to funding, can be tricky.
“Vincent says you have a daughter?” Ruth asks Olan.
“Illona is part of the reason I decided the STEM position would work for me,” Vincent says before Olan can reply. “She’s one in a million.” Vincent beams because Illona has a special place in his heart. When I met him, he was not a fan of children or pets and now he teaches and lives with what has to be the largest domesticated cat on the eastern seaboard.
“She has that ability,” Olan says, resting his arm behind me. “Our Illona has a way with people.”
He massages my shoulder when he says this, and I blink a few extra times.Our Illona. The closer that comes to becoming a reality, the more my emotions swell.
“Well, we need to meet her sometime,” Regina says. “Maybe we can have you all over? We have a basset hound. Does she like dogs?”
“Cats, dogs, ponies, unicorns, Komodo dragons,” I say. “Anything with four legs.”
“I’ll get your number,” Ruth says. “Let’s make it happen before the wedding.”
Olan nods, and his lips pull into a smile. I know being around new people can sometimes overwhelm him, but Ruth seems to put him at ease. I’m really glad we came.
“And how is the planning going?” Vincent asks. “August will be here before you know it.”
“We have the venue!” I say, maybe a little too enthusiastically. “The Ocean Inn.”
“Oh, out near the edge of town. Right on the water… okay, Mr. Fancy Pants,” Ruth says.
“Mr. and Mr. Fancy Pants,” Kent says. “Well, soon enough.”
