In the spring of 2019, Val was feeling bored. She was tired of her old apartment with its moldy window frames and noisy baseboard heaters. She had been there since college, living with boyfriends and roommates and more roommates and more boyfriends and finally, she was on her own. No roommates. No boyfriends. Just Val and Topaz, the sweetest little kitty on the planet. And though she was feeling better about her world than she had in a long time, she needed a change. She needed a trip. She needed an Angie. That same spring, a few states and great lakes to the west, Nick had grown accustomed to his single-bedroom apartment. Nothing fancy, a kitchen, bathroom, laundry in the building, and a living room with a coffee table made of stacked car tires and cardboard (I know). But he too, felt the listlessness of modern life. Wake up, go to work, sleep, wake up again, work some more, try to sleep, ad infinitum. Unbeknownst to him, he needed a change, he needed a Nate. Angie and Nate Dean (Maid of Honor and Groomsman Extraordinaire) had moved to Michigan in 2016 and Val had not yet had the chance to see their home with its gardens and pastures and horses and chickens and dirty farm children. The flight was short and the reunion was everything that she needed, filled with hugs and brunch food and a squishy baby and a chatty five-year-old. Val and the Deans went to the beach, made art, ate cheese, got caught in a thunderstorm, drank wine, built fires, and went horseback riding. While Val was busy gallivanting across Michigan, Nick spent the week working several evening shifts at the hospital. Being a laboratory scientist, he was typically steeped in blood, pee, various other fluids, and an amputated appendage here and there. He had only an inkling of what the Dean clan had to offer. One night, he heard through the grapevine that Nate wanted to see him, it was something about a visiting friend and a party to boot. Prior to Val’s visit, Angie and Nate thought it would be fun to have a little gathering with the goal of setting Val up with one of two potential suitors who worked at the hospital laboratory with Nate; Alberto, the salsa dancer or Nick, the quiet boy who reads on his lunch break. Val had very little interest in either and did not believe that she could possibly fall for someone who didn't make art, play guitar, or write melodramatic poetry. Nick was pleasantly surprised and delighted to be invited to an informal get-together at the Dean estate. The possibility of meeting someone was frightening but exciting at the same time. He had his work cut out for him though, the other suitor was a salsa dancer? Really!? How could he possibly top that? He possessed no rhythm and could not dance to save his life. Nor did he create art, show any musical talent or inclination, or write, let alone, read poetry.

In preparation for this “casual hang-out with friends from work,” Angie and Val spent the day cleaning and decorating the hayloft of the barn to create a party space equipped with Christmas lights, a dartboard, and an 8-foot drop off of a ledge if you lost your footing. Val tried to be cool, but she was nervous. She also hadn’t been feeling physically well for a couple of days and was worried she was getting sick. “What do people do at parties these days?” Nick asked himself anxiously. He had not been invited to one in a long time and felt like he was likely to screw it up somehow. He had to at least be presentable he figured, so he put a button-up shirt on and molded his hair into a semblance of combed order. He couldn’t show up empty-handed either. At the local liquor store, Nick eyed the beer coolers and didn’t know what to get. He panic-bought some Blue Moon, it had been the beer of choice when he and his coworkers would go out after work. Alberto didn’t show. Nick was there right on time and when he arrived with a 6-pack of Blue Moon, Angie immediately pointed out that it was a red flag, but he was cute so Val ignored it. In her nervousness, she scooped up the squishy baby who would be a good distraction if anything was too awkward. The first thing Nick noticed about Val was that she seemed naturally confident which made him feel like he could let go of some of his nervousness and get to know her. Dinner went very well, there was a pretty solid connection over potatoes that made both Nick and Val feel relaxed. After dinner, the group climbed up into the hayloft to be party kids and they played darts and drank beer. Nick was having fun and feeling good and realized that had needed a cozy get-together all along. He and Val would talk between turns throwing darts and each turn he felt more eager to just hang back with Val. She was an artist, which opened up a world he knew nothing about. She also loved to travel to beautiful places. She was a good listener and had a warm and accepting nature. There was an affinity between them that Nick was not used to. He didn’t have to put on a face or try to be someone he wasn’t. He could let his guard down and be himself around her. Val started feeling a little sicker but noticed that Nick was different from what she had been used to in men. He was softer and sweeter and much less full of shit. She sat with him for a while and the pain seemed to dissipate. Their friends faded into the background, voices becoming a soft white noise that filled the space around them. They talked about places they had traveled and places that they would like to go. They realized they had both visited the Grand Canyon in the spring of 2018 and had hiked on the same trail, later discovering that they had taken nearly identical photos from the same spots on that trail. For a while, time seemed irrelevant until reality slapped Val in the face as it so often does when one needs to pee. She climbed down from the loft realizing that she REALLY did not feel well and needed to go to bed. Nick felt bad that she had to go, not just because they were having a good time talking but also because he didn’t like seeing her in pain. Shocked that she actually liked this scientist, Val felt sad at the realization that she would likely never see or hear from him again. She got in bed and thought about all the boys that she had fallen for through the years and felt lonely. She cried. Angie brought her some medicine and sat with her for a little while until she decided to go to sleep. She dozed a bit and then woke to a text message from an unknown number: “Hi, it’s Nick. We miss you out here by the fire. I hope you feel better soon. Would I be able to see you again before you fly home?”