It's Complicated

"Thanks again for the 'fit, dude." Beau says as he shrugs on his new jacket that Everett got for him recently. Everett wanted to make sure that his temporary roommate has nice clothes for church and work, so he took him to a shop in town to fill up his closet a bit more with the necessities: blazers, jeans, slacks, button-ups, etc.

Grabbing his keys from the counter, Everett smiles at him and says, "Stop thanking me. It's really no problem at all."

Beau raises his hands in the air, signaling that he surrenders the non-fight that the two of them have been having since they went shopping the other day. Feeling guilty about Everett spending so much money on him, Beau has been continuously apologizing and thanking him for his help. Meanwhile, Everett just wants him to stop bringing it up—buying clothes is really no big deal. Everett insists that it's no issue at all and that he knows Beau is thankful for his help.

"Fine, fine—I'll stop," Beau concedes before a sly look makes its way onto his face. "I'll actually start demanding that you buy even more shit for me now," he jokes as they make their way down the stairs and into the garage.

Everett plays along as he hops into the drivers seat, "Jeez—way to do a one-eighty on me. I guess I need to buy your company from now on."

This shocks a laugh out of Beau who, Everett realizes, has never laughed at anything Everett has said. Smiling at his passenger's chortling, Everett backs the Lexus out of the garage and begins the journey into town for church.

"The wifey leaves so now you're 'paying for company'? Didn't think you were like that, bud." Beau is smirking as he leans back in his seat and throws his right arm behind his head looking effortlessly cool in a way that Everett secretly envies.

Shaking his head, Everett still has a small smile on his face as he responds, "You weren't supposed to figure out my plan so soon. Now you're gonna expect diamonds, or something, from me so you'll stay."

"Shit, that sounds like a win to me. I'm gonna be iced out bunking with you." Pulling down the sun visor to shield the rays from his eyes, Beau then settles back in his seat again.

Everett is surprised at how much he's been enjoying Beau's company these last couple of days. It's pretty much the complete opposite of what it was like living with Charlotte. Beau is funny, but can be.... not the brightest at times. He is loud and makes his presence known anytime he is anywhere in Everett's vicinity. His jokes and vocabulary tend to be more vulgar and juvenile, but he never fails to put a smile on Everett's face. It's honestly very refreshing being around him.

The two of them banter back and forth until they finally arrive at the picturesque building that looks to be filled to the brim with well-dressed families.

Beau recognizes several faces right off the bat when they enter through the front doors. Steve, the deli owner, is at a pew with his wife and their teenagers. The bartender and some of the people he drunkenly ran into that first night at the bar are also in attendance. Sticking close behind Everett, Beau continues to scan the crowd of people talking before mass begins. He runs into his shorter friend's back when he suddenly comes to a stop to talk with a group of people.

"Sorry, Beau. You remember Mrs. T—this is her granddaughter, Elizabeth. And this is Sinting's mailman, Rodger. And this is-" Beau greets everyone that Everett excitedly introduces him to. The guy seems so genuinely happy to be catching up with the townspeople before church.

A part of him wishes that he was as social as Everett. Well—he supposes that he is a social person, but the difference is that he's usually not very well-received. The same cannot be said for Everett who seems to be absolutely adored by the vast majority of the church-goers. They hold his hand or touch his shoulder as they speak to him with wide smiles on their faces. Beau, however, finds himself wanting to punch them when they ruin the moment by asking his cheerful host about Charlotte.

"Is she still in Boston?" Mrs. T asks Everett curiously.

Beau notices Everett's shoulders tense at the question and his smile looks a bit strained now.

"Yeah. Something came up, so she's staying with her parents in Boston for a month," he informs everyone gathered around them.

"I hope she's alright. We will definitely miss her while she's gone," the mailman's wife says with a frown on her face. Beau wants to put an arm around his sad friend and steer him away from this conversation. He, instead, practices restraint.

Clearly wanting to wrap up this discussion, Everett uses his thumb to gesture behind them and says, "Well, we're gonna find seats now before they're all taken. It was great talking with all of you!"

Beau offers a silent wave at the group and, once again, follows behind Everett like his shadow to their seats.

Everett seems zoned out during mass and Beau wishes he could talk to the guy. The lost look on his face is worrying Beau and he wants nothing more than to leave this place and help bring his friend out of his own head.

When church finishes up, Everett seems to have tunnel vision as he rushes the two of them out of the building. Beau struggles to keep up with the guy as he barrels his way through the crowd, managing to avoid side conversations this time around. Back in the car, Beau is cautious as he speaks.

"You alright? They obviously couldn't take a hint that you didn't want to talk about Charlotte."

Running a hand through his—normally neat—hair he responds, "Yeah. I mean.... they, like, have the right to ask about her. It just hits me at times like this what's happening between the two of us."

"Um—do you want to talk about it?" Beau asks, feeling way out of his element with the seriousness of the conversation.

They are on the road again, but not driving in the direction of Everett's house. "There's nothing else to talk about. I'm hungry, though, so we're going to the diner for brunch."

"Okay...." Beau knows that his voice sounds hesitant as he says the single word. They sit in silence for the short drive from church to the diner.

The others must have the same idea as them because the diner is packed with people from mass by the time the waitress comes over to take their order.

"So you're a pretty religious guy?" Beau makes small talk as they wait for their food.

Everett is folding the paper wrapper from his straw when he responds. "Don't tell anyone, but I'm agnostic. I only started going to church because Charlotte and her family are really devout Christians."

"Oh, cool. I was gonna say you don't really give off a super Christian kind of vibe." This makes Everett smile a little which Beau counts as a win.

"I hope the others can't sense that vibe," Everett laughs lightly. "Church here is nice, though. I like the sense of community it provides and I really enjoy talking to everyone from around town there."

Beau nods along to this explanation. "For sure. Everyone was, like, creaming themselves trying to talk to you." Everett lets out a slightly louder laugh at that making Beau smirk victoriously.

"My folks used to tell everyone that we were hardcore Christians. It was all just for show. Mom and dad would only ever go to church on holidays and we'd leave early every time," Beau expounds bitterly while recalling the memory.

Everett stares at him sympathetically. "You don't have to go again next weekend. I hope I didn't pressure you into going."

"You didn't peer pressure me into going to church, dude," Beau chuckles at his worried friend. "I promise I honestly wanted to go. Not for, like, religious reasons or anything—it's just fun hanging out with you. Or whatever."

Beau sees Everett's eyes widen slightly at this statement, but the waitress is placing their food in front of them before he can reply.

"What's your name again?" The waitress asks Beau, leaning in a little closer than necessary. Beau can recognize when he's being flirted with, so he puts on his best panty-dropping smile as he responds, "The name's Beau, sweetheart. It's nice to meet you.... Amelia." Beau reads the simple name written in a large and bold font on her name tag.

Amelia giggles at his obvious flirting. "Will I be seeing you around Sinting more often, Beau?"

"You can see me anytime you want, darling," Beau says with a wink.

The waitress giggles again before double-checking that their food looks good and then saunters off with a wave thrown over her shoulder.

Beau turns his gaze from the pretty woman to Everett who was quiet during the interaction. His pancakes, bacon and eggs are nearly half gone. The guy must've been pretty hungry.

"She's kinda hot," Beau smirks at him as he cuts into his chicken and waffles.

"Amelia is very nice," Everett responds shortly while shoving another bite into his mouth.

Beau eyes him for a second warily at the vague reply, then shrugs and takes a large bite of his food.

They eat without speaking for a bit. Beau is so focused on his meal that he is surprised when Everett asks, "Have you dated recently?"

Wiping syrup from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, Beau leans back in his chair and says, "I haven't been able to pull much since I left Columbus. You know—I don't have money and my hygiene isn't the best on the road."

He has a thoughtful look on his face like he's really contemplating his last couple of hookups. "There were a handful of times where I would go to a bar and left with a chick. It was nice because we'd fuck and then I could take a long shower using their soap and shit—y'know? Sometimes I'd convince them to cook for me too."

Everett can't imagine living life like that, but he doesn't want to judge his friend for his lifestyle.

"What about you?" Beau asks. "You date anyone other than the wifey? I don't remember you being in a relationship in high school."

There are some eggs and one pancake left on Everett's plate. He now sits with his hands in his lap as he waits on Beau to finish his food and inevitably ask to eat the rest of Everett's as well.

"Charlotte was my first real relationship." Everett sees that Beau looks a bit incredulous at this information, so he offers up some more context. "I, um, kind of had another relationship freshman year of college, but I wouldn't say it was serious enough to classify as a real relationship. Not like mine and Char's."

"Maybe it's a good thing that you guys are taking a break. I think you need to see more of the world. It's honestly crazy you got married so young. That commitment shit scares the fuck outta me," Beau says with a mouthful of fried chicken.

Everett crosses his arms indignantly at this. "Twenty-three is a reasonable age to get married.... Sure, maybe we should've been better about communicating our plans for the future, but I had no problem committing to Char."

Beau throws his hand up in the surrender gesture again. "Hey, man—to each their own. I don't doubt that you love her, or whatever. I'm just saying that I think you could do well playing the field if she ends up dumping your ass. I'll personally help you out when it happens. I can be your wingman."

A wave of anxiety runs over Everett hearing this from Beau. He does his best to suppress it and reluctantly agrees before changing the topic.

"You excited for your first day of work tomorrow?" He asks the man who is stabbing at Everett's remaining food on his plate.

Beau smiles confidently at him as he responds, "I'm ready to stock the shit out of those books."