Page 93 of Against the Odds
Roy led the way toward the cashier. “Hey, Koda, I don’t think you’ve met Zeke, our next-door neighbour.”
“And my boyfriend,” Callum added.
I turned to stare at him. I mean yes, the only customer in the store was a little old lady choosing a breakfast cereal, and her hearing might not be great, but that still was a public declaration. Callum grinned at me and moved closer to my side.
“Zeke, this is Koda,” Roy concluded.
“Good to meet you.” Their handshake was quick and firm. They glanced at Callum, smirked, then asked me, “You sure you want to take on this guy? He’s a lot.”
Callum snickered. “Says the person whose kitchen doubles as a walk-in closet.”
“What can I say? I like clothes.”
I clocked what Koda was wearing— a “Nina’s” green polo shirt and basic jeans— and figured the clothes must be for their time off.
The old lady came up to the checkout and we stepped back to let her unload her little cart. Koda rang her up and helped her fit her purchases into two fabric bags. “Wait, here you go.” They reached under the counter, then slipped a couple of strips ofcardboard into one of the bags. “Keep the glass bottles of oil and vinegar from clinking against each other.”
“Thank you,” the woman said. “I do like shopping here. The supermarket is nothing like this. You know, the other day, I was in there buying something for eight dollars and eighty cents. I handed the cashier a ten-dollar bill and a nickel and she looked at me like I’d stripped naked in the aisle. Then she held up the nickel and said slowly and loudly, ‘This isn’t eighty cents.’ I despair of Canada’s education system these days.”
Koda grinned. “While here in Nina’s, you’d get your dollar and a quarter change with no back-talk.”
“Right?” She tested the weight of her two bags. “I’ll be shopping at Nina’s until these old knees won’t let me.” She nodded to Roy. “Good to see you, Roy.”
“You take it easy getting home, Mrs. Miller.”
“I will. And you hang on to that nice young man at the counter. He brightens up the place.”
When she’d stepped through the doors, I asked Koda, “Does it bug you when people get your gender wrong?”
“If it’s someone who knows and is doing it on purpose? I’ll stuff the heel of my stiletto up their nose. But random folk? Nah. I could wear a pronoun button or work the androgenous look if I wanted to, but I know who I am and so do my friends. I don’t need to perform the part for strangers. Not casting shade on those who do, but I’m fine with letting it go.”
Callum said, “Grandpa, you heard what she said about hanging on to Koda. Better make your move.”
“Move?”
“The shares?”
“Ah. Yes. As soon as—” A woman with two small children came through the door and Roy turned aside to greet her.
Koda said to Callum, “You and me and Zeke should go out sometime. Have fun.”
Callum nodded. “It’s tough with my schedule and his shift work, but I’ll text you.” He turned to me. “Come on, Grouse Mountain awaits. Bet I beat you to the top.”
“You’re climbing Grouse?” Koda asked. “In March? For fun?”
“Yep,” I told them. “Can’t wait.”
“Maybe you and Callum do belong together after all. Both nuts.”
Callum gave them a middle finger, discreetly behind his elbow, and grabbed my sleeve. “Come on. Stairs to climb. Sweat to sweat.”
“Should I be rethinking this?” I followed him out into the overcast morning.
Callum spun in a circle. “Nope. Perfect weather. Not too hot, not too cold, and the rain is staying up in the clouds where it belongs.”
“For now.” I popped the locks on my pickup. “You’re in a good mood.”
He swung in on the passenger side. “I’ve decided to come out all the way.”
