Spectrum

11

"Second. They have a son. He's about five." He tells me.

"That's awesome. So you're an uncle." I say with a smile.

"I am." He nods. "And you're going to be an aunt." He adds.

"Yeah. I probably won't see them too much, though." I shrug. "You know, because they're halfway across the states." I laugh.

"Oh yeah." He says, taking another bite of his food.

"So are you close with your siblings?" I ask.

"My sister and I are. My brother and I aren't really." He shrugs.

"Why?"

"We're just different, I guess."

"Well, at least you have your sister. Does she live in LA?" I ask.

"No. She's in Wisconsin for school." He tells me. "She comes to visit sometimes, but she won't be home for awhile. School is busy right now."

"Wisconsin. America's Dairyland." I say awkwardly. America's Dairyland? What in the hell is wrong with me.

To my surprise, Grayson laughs at this and it's the first time I've heard him genuinely laugh at something I've said. I laugh in reply, still cringing at my stupid comment.

"That's what I tell her all of the time." He says, taking another bite of food.

Just as I'm about to speak, Jose comes up to the table.

"Let me get you some more water." He says, lifting my glass and pouring more water quickly. "Hey, I'm really sorry for whatever Ivan said to you." He says, shaking his head.

"What?" I ask.

"You know...about the date." He says.

"Oh, no. We're not on a date." I say, quickly. "This is my boss." I say.

"Oh, no. I knew that...I meant about you and me..." He says nervously, grabbing Grayson's glass and pouring the water.

"Oh." I say, feeling the flush rise to my cheeks.

"He didn't even say anything did you? God, I'm sorry." He says, quickly shaking his head.

"No! He did...I just didn't know that we were talking about that." I say, mentally cringing again. When I look over at Grayson, he's staring at Jose intently. He almost looks...upset?

"I'll leave you two alone then. But...it would be really nice to catch up with you sometime." He tells me.

"Yeah, of course. I know I haven't been around as much ever since I quit...but, I'll shoot you a text sometime and we can go and get drinks or something." I offer, knowing that there is no way I'm going to go through with it.

"Yeah, for sure." He says. "Anyways, I have to get back to work. I'll see you later, Nat." He says, waving goodbye as he walks away.

The table is silent once again, but it isn't the calming silence that has been happening lately. This silence is tense and awkward.

"He seems nice." Grayson says as he sets his fork down on his plate.

"He is." I say quietly. "But I'm not really interested in him." I say.

"Why?" He asks.

"He's not my type." I shrug.

"Oh." He says, nodding his head.

We are silent for a few moments longer as we both take slow bites of our food.

"And what is your type?" He asks after what must be a two minute long silence.