Page 35 of Sebastian

They directed my attention to a younger man standing just behind them that I hadn’t even noticed at first. He had a slightly mousy look, with a mop of brown hair that fell over his forehead, and thick glasses perched on his nose.

“Hi,” he said, looking somewhere just over my shoulder rather than meeting my eye.

“Um, hi.” I reached out to shake his hand, but he didn’t take it, so I was left standing awkwardly with my hand in the air.

“Steven just moved to Baton Rouge,” Rosalind said when it became clear that Steven and I needed someone to rescue the conversation. “Since he’s new here, he doesn’t know many people in the city, so I thought it would be a good idea to invite him along.”

“All right,” I said, not knowing how else to respond. It was unusual. They didn’t usually invite other people on these little lunch dates, but if Steven was Dean’s cousin that technically made him family.

A waiter showed us to our table, where Rosalind and Dean ended up sitting on one side while Steven and I sat on the other. At least this time we’d managed to get a table by the window, so I had something to look at. The restaurant had a great view of a nearby river. Sunlight glinted off the water as people sailed by in small boats just below us.

After the waiter took our drink orders, Rosalind turned her full attention on me. “So, Newton, what have you been up to?”

There were plenty of things I could tell her about. The burned John Doe that we still hadn’t identified, everything with Sebastian, or even just an interesting call I’d gone out on the other day with Firehouse Twenty-One where I helped rescue a kid from a tree that was simultaneously on fire. We still hadn’t figured out how the tree ended up on fire at the same time the kid was stuck in it, though we suspected fireworks had been involved.

However, I’d attended enough of these lunches with my sister to know the script.

“Oh, nothing much. Work keeps me pretty busy.”

“I know exactly what you mean,” Rosalind agreed. “Between wedding planning and this new case my firm has taken on, I feel run ragged most days.”

As usual, most of the conversation became a rant about my sister’s work, punctuated by bits of info about the upcoming wedding. Rosalind was a lawyer at a fairly successful firm, and she never missed an opportunity to bring it up. I couldn’t be too mad. She’d worked hard for her career and should be proud. However, I did get tired of listening to the same topics over and over again.

Not to mention the little passive aggressive comments that inevitably slipped into the conversation.

“All those years of law school were hard, but I’m so glad I stuck with it. Have you considered going back to school, Newton? You really would make a great doctor.”

“We’re looking into buying a house, so we’ll be ready to start a family once we’re married. Are you still sharing an apartment with that roommate of yours? What’s his name? Frank?”

“It’s so strange. Wedding planning has been a nightmare, but also rewarding at the same time. I suppose that doesn’t make sense to you now, but you’ll understand when you’re planning your own wedding.”

Each little comment, said in a way that made it hard to argue, felt like a needle wedging under my ribs. My life didn’t align with what my sister envisioned for me. She meant well, but she had a very narrow view of what was “best”. To her, anything less than a high paying job, white picket fence, kids, and an arm-candy husband was a wasted life.

Well, that was an unfair description of Dean. I may not like the guy, but he was at least successful in his own way. He was an aspiring actor and had landed a few parts in several successful films. They were generic action movies, most of which I had never seen, but they did pay well. He’d have no problem keeping up with my sister’s financial goals for their future.

My sister had been talking for several minutes, and the waiter had already come by to take our orders, when Steven suddenly turned to me.

“So, Newton. You work at a hospital, right?”

He’d been so quiet up until now, I’d almost forgotten about him and wasn’t ready for the unexpected question. It was a generic conversation topic, but at least it was better than listening to my sister’s passive aggressive judgment of my life.

“Yeah, I’m a nurse, and I’m also a paramedic.” I flashed him a fake half-smile, trying to appear like I was interested in a conversation with him.

His hand shook slightly as he pushed his glasses back into place on his nose. “Oh, wow. Two jobs. That must be tough.”

I thought over everything my jobs had brought me recently, both the good and the bad. “Yeah, but it’s worth it. What about you?”

He opened his mouth as if about to speak, but immediately closed it again. After several moments, he mumbled something so quietly I had no idea what he said.

Rosalind interjected herself into the conversation and answered for him. “Steven just got a job at that cafe you like, Newton. You know, the one with all the weird decorations.”

She could only be talking about one place. Despite her unflattering description, a smile lit my face. “Oh, you work at Cool Beans. I love it there.”

The cafe held a special spot in my heart, especially since it had hosted my first and only date with Sebastian.

How could I not smile when thinking about it?

Steven’s fingers nervously twisted the straw of his drink into knots, but he managed a small smile of his own. “Do you go there a lot?”

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