Late-lunch in late-july (updated 01/21/22)

Chapter 2 - part 2: backyard bbq

A couple weeks passed and life continued on as usual for the most part. I spent my mornings driving David to and from his internship. From what I could parse through the jargon he was settling in well and even got along great with his Supervisor, Marcus. Most afternoons, I’d take myself down to the beach, order myself some milk tea and people watch from the pier. As far-fetched as it sounds I kept an eye out for the man I’d seen at Chicken Maniax awhile back. I have no idea what a businessman would be doing out on the sand at 3pm on a Tuesday, but I’m a sucker for longshots. Admittedly I even went back to the restaurant a couple times, but even when I dragged my dine-in meal to an hour I never had the luck of running into him again.
It was Friday afternoon, and David was debriefing me on the events of his workday.
“-okay so today they had me run a few net present value calculations to gauge ROI on a small project they’re thinking of adding me onto…” he paused briefly
“-And I knocked it out of the park! So we’re going to talk more about it Monday”
I fist pumped in solidarity for his accomplishment.
“Oh and by the way Marcus invited me along to this BBQ one of the other guys is throwing. Since you’re my ride, I asked and he said you’re welcome to come too. So you in?” he said while presenting his surprisingly effective puppy dog eyes.
I simply groaned “sure why not,” and that was immediately followed up with cheers and general excitement from my dear passenger.
“Do we need to bring anything?” I asked.


Before I knew it, it was Saturday. David and I hit up the grocery store on the way to grab some refreshments for the party. I was a little annoyed at being mandatory DD, but there was no way I was letting David ever drive my car again. For a boy so hyperfocused on stuff like margins of error and calculated risks, it was impossible for him to learn the boundaries of a moving vehicle. At that moment it suddenly became clear why his parents never shelled out for a car. Though he did have his license, scarily enough. Anyways we got a six pack of some local IPAs and a few hard seltzers for me. I figured if we spent 3 hours at the party and I skipped lunch I could have maybe an hour of a light buzz before dousing it off with a belly full of ribs and bread rolls just in time to drive home. A foolproof plan with almost no margin of error. (note: the main character of this story is not anything close to a math or business major.)
We pulled up to an absolutely huge house. The nicely manicured lawn with small topiaries framing it screamed, “I can afford a gardener and/or a stay at home spouse with a green thumb!” Was it too late to change my major over from liberal arts? David gleefully led me along the side yard to the back of the house. I casually hid behind the drinks I was carrying while searching for a cooler to place them into. The backyard was similarly opulent with enough room for a built in swimming pool, more yardwork, and a covered patio space where someone was grilling. I joined David in making his rounds after we both grabbed a drink. He was cheerful and charismatic as always and casually introduced me to the host, Eric, who welcomed me warmly. He motioned to the poolhouse in the corner in case either of us felt like swimming. It was an offer David had no intention of passing up and he ran off to change. While I went to grab myself another drink, I needed to shake the social anxiety quickly. I leaned down and rifled through the cooler for a third seltzer when a booming voice called for my attention.
“Any chance you reckon you could grab me one of those while you’re down there?” the voice surrounded me from above.
I nodded in acknowledgement and rose up with 2 cans in hand “I took the last lime so all that’s left is grapefruit, hope you-” I paused observing the large hand reaching out; my eyes followed up its sturdy frame and froze at the politely grinning man before me. That voice, those arms, that face! Barring a very elaborate hallucination I was about 95% sure I was face to face with the stranger from the restaurant a few weeks back!
Suddenly all the alcohol in my stomach hit my bloodstream at once and I desperately tried to maintain a calm and collected cover. What was he doing here? Would he remember me? Did I want him to remember me? All those thoughts culminated in the realization that I hadn’t actually released my grip on the can he requested. And his puzzled face suggested things were going to get awkward real quick I didn’t pull myself together.
“Sorry, zoned out there for a second there. You’re alright with grapefruit right?” I said.
The man smiled and said “Well sure! Anything’s fine with me, I gotta cut back on IPAs for a minute,” while absentmindedly patting his stomach. I seemed to have recovered this interaction. I scanned the backyard for David in case I needed an easy out.
“So I’m real sorry about this, I know we’ve met before-“ he continued on.
Panic coursing through me. The jig was up. “-I’m terrible with names…heh…so which one of Eric’s cousins are you again?”
“…cousins??” I was lost. Wait, he didn’t recognize me. This was perfect.
“Ah I’m just here with a friend, I’m Riley” I wanted to lie, but looking at the host over at the grill I imagined it would be just my luck if these two struck up a conversation. I spied David over by the pool I could catch him in time if I walked just slightly fast enough.
“Wait, David’s Riley?” the man said.
I stopped in my tracks and turned back “David’s what now?”
“Ah we’ve been wondering about you! Riley, you’re Riley. David never shuts up about you,” I smiled that David appreciated me more than I knew, “he’s always talking about how you’re gonna get after him when he spills food on his shirts or how he needs to leave because you’re waiting out front for him” and just like that the smile faded from my face, but the man continued on, “-we sorta thought you were his mom!” he broke out into laughter smacking me on the back as if he was laughing with me. Kill me kill me kill me. Was I really that overbearing?
“Oh man! Haha, I guess we haven’t met. I’m Marcus. Pleased to meet ya!” he outstretched his hand to me again this time with a name attached to it. Marcus. I shook it with a renewed calmness. I’ll admit the possibility he worked in the same building crossed my mind, but I never suspected he was the Marcus David similarly hadn’t shut up about for weeks. In a roundabout way Marcus and I sort of knew each other already. Standing next to him I realized how much taller he was. Even with him slouching against the snack table I still had to look up to meet his gaze.
“So I guess David has failed to mention I’m staying at his parent’s beach house for the summer? I just grocery shop and run errands with him” I explained
“Sounds like a mighty fine arrangement. Are you from around here or?”
“I live upstate, so closer to campus. Whereabouts are you from?”
“I hail from the bustling metropolis of Pocono, Indiana” he humbly nodded.
“Well I’m honored, what could have tempted you away from home?”
“Elevation. I was a bit tired of being able to stand on a fruit crate in the center of town and being able to see eight miles in any direction. Y’all don’t know how good you have it with these mountains. The pays not too bad either”
“Well allow me to welcome you to the golden state, You’ll get over the natural splendor soon enough. But I hope you’ll stick around anyway”
“I’ll tell ya I hope that day never comes, but if it does I’ll ask for a raise”
“In any case, I’m glad you’ve settled in with little to no issues”
“So here’s the thing, the only thing I don’t love is the wide range of food you got out here. I’ve never had this much variety every single day. I could have Mexican, Chinese, and sushi all in the same day if I want, and I have! I guess my problem is I love the food here too much HA HA HA That and the damned lunch stipend. It seemed awesome at first, but now it’s costing me way more in new clothes”
“I take it you won’t be donning a swimsuit this afternoon”
“Nah I figure no one wants to see my ass hanging out of my trunks”
“Don’t be so sure” I took a sip of my drink and saw Marcus look at me with a raised eyebrow. Dammit, I said the quiet part out loud.
“Heh It doesn’t matter anyways, I don’t have a pair that I can do up right now. Got any suggestions of where I could go?” he asked.
I thought for a moment and said, “There’s actually a nice board shop not far from where I’m staying. If you give me your number I’ll text you the address.”
“I’d really appreciate that actually” I handed him my phone and he began entering in his contact info.
“Ah so you finally met Marcus, I was hoping you’d show up dude!” David cut in freshly toweled off from getting out of the pool.
‘David! Yeah Riley and I are getting on great.” Marcus said as he handed me back my phone. I quickly texted over the address.
“You hiding out over here eating all the snacks again?” David teased smacking Marcus’s stomach with the back of his hand a couple times
“You better get some before I do!” Marcus laughed while trying to bat away David’s hand.
I’d never get over how brazen normie guys are with each other. Just completely oblivious to the things they say and do in plain view.
“Ah I know where I know you from!” Marcus caught my attention, “you’re the one who gave me your leftov-“
I shoved Marcus (or tried to) to cut him off before David overheard, “yes I was hoping you forgot, but if you keep quiet I’ll take you to the Mongolian place near the board shop”
Marcus nodded and dropped the subject, a smile on his face like he’d won a prize or something. Odd. The rest of the afternoon proceeded less eventfully save for one part. David accidentally belly flopped off the diving board and started looking nauseous soonafter. He and I ended up quietly leaving before I had a chance to say goodbye to Marcus, but when I got home I found a reply that read,

Marcus: Just so you know I’m holding you to your word. I never turn down a good meal. I’m free any weekend.