Spiral Bound Journal

Pivotal

When Felicia asked if she could bring a guest, I had no idea that she would be bringing over only one of the most well-known and well respected quarterbacks of the 2020s. Yet here I am still trying to wrap my head around the fact that Marlon freaking Patterson is standing in my backyard perusing the snack tables. I may be hosting this party, but I really want to take Felicia aside and ask her how she even knows Marlon, let alone has been hanging out with him in the city without getting noticed. As it was, I had a minute or so window where I could warn Felicia about Garrett's massive crush on Marlon. When I told Felicia about it, she cocked her head in confusion but otherwise said nothing. She had to shake herself out of it when Marlon rejoined her.

"I kind of want to get a picture to show Kayla what she's missing, but I'm pretty sure Felicia would kick my ass."

I look over and spot Oliver to my left.

"She might," I mutter. "Say, I've seen you and Felicia chatting. How do you know her?"

"We worked on the same team at Bionnovation for a couple years. She did support for the in-house ordering website."

"Oh really."

"Yeah. She was there for quite a while after I got my promotion. I was really surprised to hear she got a role in compliance, but she seems to like it well enough."

I quirk an eyebrow at Oliver. His assessment of Felicia strikes me as odd given how detached he can be from many of his co-workers. He may not have said a whole lot about his work relationship with Felicia, but what he has said so far makes it sound like he's closer to her than he may even know.

I start to say something when I spot Garrett make his way over to where Felicia and Marlon are standing. Felicia moves just enough so that I can see what happens at the drink cooler. For a moment, I watch as Garrett and Marlon bumped into each other after Marlon grabbed some La Croix. To my surprise, neither of them appeared to say anything for a moment before Marlon broke the ice. From there, the two of them kept talking, rendering Felicia a rather stunned third wheel. She even she drained her soda and walked off.

"Well," Oliver started, "I wasn't expecting that. Maybe I should go see if Felicia's okay."

I shake my head. "Let her be. She's probably trying to process something I told her earlier about Garrett."

"What? That he's gay?"

"Not quite. I mean, yeah, he is, but all I'm going to say is Garrett is probably having the time of his life right now. I'm not saying any more about that to anyone except Felicia right now, so please don't ask."

"Well...okay. Are you gonna go talk to her?"

"I should, actually. We can catch up later."

"Yeah, okay."

I step away from Oliver and walk back towards the door to the bonus room. I manage to catch up with Felicia before she opens the door. An empty Dr. Brown's bottle is in one hand, and she's clutching the straps of her purse with the other.

"Hey, there," I greet her. "I can take that empty from you if you'd like."

"Oh, sure," she mumbles.

"Walk with me."

I wave my hand to get her to join me, and we walk through the house. After dropping off the bottle in the recycling bin, I guide her through the front door and into the front yard where no one else is really around. True, there are a few people on the front porch, but their card game is still going strong. Once I make sure there aren't many people on the street, I focus on Felicia.

"Are you okay?" I ask.

Felicia shrugs. "I'm as okay as I can be given the sparks flying and wondering if I should just go ahead and find another way home. I mean, I was so worried about Marlon getting tired of entertaining multiple people that I never thought he'd end up sucked into a conversation with just one other person and not wanting it to end. "

"Wait," I say, "are you telling me that Garrett isn't the only one with a crush?"

"Nope, and that's not public knowledge. Don't go around repeating even a hint of it. I'm the only person Marlon has told, and if word gets out it's on me."

I nod. "Okay, that's fair, but you don't need to be his keeper all the time, unless you're going to change jobs again and become his manager."

"Oh, hell no! I like having hair."

"Ha! But seriously, don't worry about it. I can keep an eye on them for you so you can enjoy the party."

"Right. Aside from you and Marlon, the only other person I know here is Oliver."

"Say, about Oliver. What's the deal between you two?"

"That's a long story, which I also don't necessarily want to share within earshot of a bunch of people. Besides, how well do you know him?"

"We were friends in college, not quite as close now but still in the loop on each other's lives."

"Ah. Yeah, in that case I think I'll wait a while before giving you all the details. Let's just say that Oliver has made some rather sus comments regarding the fact that I have a pretty good relationship with my in-laws."

"Well, lots of people would kill for that experience."

"Perhaps, but there's far more to the story than that which makes me wonder if he wants a different set of in-laws (or perhaps a different parent-in-law)."

Felicia's comment makes me even more curious, but I figure I better not press her. I see her rub her face and stare across the street.

"I'll tell you what. I'll try to get Oliver to behave himself and introduce you to some other people," I suggest.

"Fair enough. But maybe I should grab a beer."

"Haha! I still have plenty of those, or at least I should. Let's go check the fridge."

With that, we turn around and back for the house.




Entry 10 in "The Bard's Hall Contest"  June 2022