All Things In Order
Soren
was late. He had a hard time getting moving this morning, and there
was an accident on the way to work. He attempted to walk
surreptitiously past Harold's office, but being surreptitious was
difficult for a fox who was 6'7'' and covered in reflective silver
fur. Just as Soren thought he had passed Harold's office door safely,
he heard it open. Soren stood still, bracing himself.
A
low and gravely voice called down the hall, "Soren, can I speak
with you for a minute?"Soren
turned around with apprehension. He was at least a foot and a half
taller than Harold, but he was still intimidated by his superior some
days. He looked down upon the Sableye and nodded. "Yes sir."
Soren gloomily followed his boss into his office. As Harold closed
the door, Soren began to stammer an apology. "I'm sorry sir, there
was a pile-"
Harold
cut him off. "I don't care about that." But then he smiled,
revealing his shiny, pointed teeth. "Sit down. You're not in
trouble. I can't remember the last time you were late."
Soren
sighed and sat down, holding his body pencil straight and his gangly
limbs tucked in. "How can I help you, sir."
Harold
rolled his sapphire eyes as he stuck his head under his desk. "For
Christ's sake, relax. You want some water?" He extracted himself
from the minifridge and produced two bottles of water. "I wanted to
talk to you about your future here at Luscus Labs."Soren's
frown only deepened. "You mean about the promotion?"
Harold
smiled again. "Not exactly. I had a talk with Sylvia. Care to hear
what we chatted about?"
"What
did you talk to her about," asked Soren, nodding his head but
having a fairly good idea about what Harold was alluding to."Sylvia
said you wanted to transfer. To San Francisco," said Harold as he
tapped a pointed finger on his desk, absently. "Has your time at
the Kansas location been bad? What's prompting you to want to leave
us?"
Soren
shook his head. "No. I've really loved working here. Especially now
that I've gotten a chance to work directly with the experiments. My
job here has been really rewarding for me."Harold
gave him a perplexed look. "Then why did you turn down the
promotion? And why transfer?"
Soren
hesitated for a moment, but then forged ahead. "I want to get out
of Kansas. If I accept the promotion, then that will tie me to the
lab here, and I really want to move. I shouldn't accept an
advancement if I'm going to leave soon."
Harold
nodded and smiled warmly. "May I ask why you want to move?"
Soren
hesitated again. "Well, the truth is... well... I want to get
married. And well... I can't do that here, in Kansas. You
understand that, right?
"Completely,"
said Harold. His wry little smile broke into a beaming grin. "I
completely understand. I'm glad for you. But if I were you, I'd take
the promotion anyway."
Soren
was visibly confused. "What do you mean, sir?"
Harold
pulled up a window on his tablet. "Sylvia and I did some snooping
around. The problem is, the San Francisco lab doesn't need anymore
techies." Soren's face began to fall, but Harold continued to talk.
"What they do need are data processors. You know how to
properly run tests and process data. They have plenty of people who
can run the machines and watch the mice. They need someone who knows
how to run the whole experiment properly, not just push buttons."Soren
nodded. "So what does that mean for me?"
Harold
tapped a needlelike finger at his tablet. "I had a little chat with
the manager there. I sent her your resume as well as all information
for all of the work you've done for us. They'd be glad to have you as
a lab manager. So what she wants me to do is to have you take the
promotion here. If you can hold your own for a month or so, show you
can keep up with your new responsibilities, she'd be glad to welcome
you to California." Harold stood up and offered a hand to Soren.
"Sound like a deal?"
Soren
beamed visibly. He shook Harold's sharp hand with both of his. "Thank
you, Harold. I... you have no idea how big of a deal this is."
Harold
nodded his head. "I hope you two are happy. I've been grateful to
have had you here working with me. But you aren't out of here yet. I
have some stuff you need to read by Monday." Reaching back into
his desk, he pulled our an enormous stack of folders.
"Jeeze,"
said Soren, scratching his neck as he took the pile of files. "What's
all this for?"Harold
smiled. "It's part of your new job. It's required reading for your
training classes. You're going to be dealing with people more. Also,
there's a project I need you to work soon on that involves some more
hard science than you're used to dealing with, so I have a pile of
journals that you need to read. This will probably be a regular
thing, by the way. We'd need you to to be more in tune with the
science theory of whatever experiment you're working on, rather than
the parts only relevant to you."
"Wait,"
said Soren, "You're paying me to read scientific journals? I do
that for fun."
"For
Christ's sake, do you ever stop working," frowned Harold. "If I
didn't know better I'd wonder if you slept in the office."Soren
looked sheepish. "I just love working here. I feel like I make a
difference here... if that makes any sense."
Harold
nodded. "Just... don't work yourself into the ground. I wish you'd
take a break from work every once in a while."
Soren
frowned, "I took a vacation recently."
"Only
because I was threatening to fire you," laughed Harold. "Spend
some time on yourself, or at least with your boyfriend. I mean it.
Work isn't everything. Now, this is all I really need you to be doing
until Monday, so you can do this at home if you like. There's no
point in you sitting in the office alone, reading."
"Thanks,
Harold. I'll get started when I get home." Soren turned to leave,
the stack of papers in his arms.
As
Soren reached the door, Harold called out to him. "Soren, I'd start
making moving plans if I were you. I have no doubt that you can
handle your new job."
Soren
walked to his car, elation filling his heart. Finally, his plans, his
ambitions, his machinations might come to fruition. If things panned
out the way he hoped, He and Eli could be in California in a month or
two. Soren was home in less than half an hour, letting himself in.
sneaking up behind Eli, he gave him a hug as he reached for more
paint. "Heya, sweetie."
Eli
gave a little yip of surprise. "You're home early. What's up."
"Eli,
have you given more thought about moving," asked Soren, his arms
still around Eli.
Eli
nodded. "Did they decide on transferring you?"Soren
made a noise of assent. "They wanted a new lab manager at the San
Francisco office. They thought I'd be a good choice."
"I
think they thought right," said Eli, stroking on of Soren's arms.
"and I told you, there's nothing that's really tying us here.
Vincent knows a few California galleries that would take me, and all
of my family is on the west coast anyway, except my parents."
"Are
you OK with being so far away," asked Soren. "California and Iowa
are pretty far apart.""I
can read a map sweetheart," said Eli, playfully. "But it's an
eight hour drive from here. Flying isn't much worse next to that.
Besides, I can take you to see my other family when we move there.""So
you're OK with moving?"
Eli
nodded. "Yes. If you think it's going to happen, we should start
packing more than we have been. When do you think we'll actually
move?"
"In
a month or two," said Soren, rubbing Eli's slender shoulders. "They
wanna see if I can handle the new work before moving me. They may
even pay for us."
"So
why are you home early then," asked Eli. "Not that I mind, but
wouldn't you be starting your new job now?"
"My
new job has some reading to do. Harold gave me a bunch of stuff to
read by Monday. He said I could read at home if I felt like it.""Well,
you know where I'll be," said Eli, picking up his palate again.
Soren
went and got his stack of papers, returning to the loft with a
cushion under his arm. Sitting down by Eli's stool, he leaned his
head on Eli's leg and began to read. Eli growled in pleasure and
continued to paint as Soren stroked a tail with an unoccupied hand.
Soren was moving through the stack of papers quite quickly. None of
this looked too bad. Soren closed his eyes for a minute, anticipating
the end of the month. It felt like, for once, things were going
completely right.
Eli
and Soren were walking through the park close to their place. It was
dusk, and the two were holding hands. They had been walking in
silence for a minute, absorbing the nice night. They were dressed
nicer than normal for a Friday night. Soren had taken them out for a
nice dinner, and polos and cargo shorts felt too casual.
The
two passed by the spot where Eli first taught Soren to dance. It was
getting close to two years now. Soren tugged Eli gently and brought
them to the bench they had used as a music stand. He kissed Eli on
the cheek before talking. "Harold told me that I was officially
cleared for the transfer. It looks like we'll be headed to California
now. Two weeks or so.""That's
wonderful," smiled Eli. "I'm glad that they're treating you right
for all the work you put in.""And
you're still OK with the move? You're OK with just packing up and
leaving Kansas?""Soren,
darling," said Eli, still smiling but concern in his voice, "If I
wasn't OK with it our house wouldn't be full of boxes. What's
bothering you, love? I can tell something's nagging at you."Soren
smiled back, looking genuinely happy. "No... it's just I wanted to
be sure. It's a big decision, and it's because of me that we're
moving."
Eli
leaned in for a kiss. They held each other there for what felt like
ages, breaking apart with a sigh. "Soren, I'd follow you anywhere.
San Francisco included."
Soren's
heart jumped a little bit, his hand fingering the box in his pocket.
Now wasn't a time for hesitation. Why was he even hesitating? He had
been planning for this. He rationally wanted to do this. But this
wasn't a thing you could learn or practice. "Eli... Can I ask you
something?"
"Go
for it, dear.""We've
been together for a bit more than two years now. Have you been
happy?"
Eli
looked a bit bemused as he smiled. "What, is today the ask obvious
questions day," teased Eli. "You've made me incredibly happy. I
love you. I love you so much, and I have loved living together. Can't
you tell?"
Soren
kissed Eli. "I can tell. You make me feel exactly the same. I...
I'm just having a hard time getting to the point today, I guess."
"Then
get to the point, dear. Just ask me. I promise I won't be angry, or
laugh, or anything like that. You can always talk to me, sweetheart."Soren
took a deep breath. Just get on your knee. It's a simple motion.
The more you hesitate the more it looks like you aren't really sure.
And Soren was sure. He had been
planning a moment like this for months. Soren took another deep
breath. Just keep it simple. He
got up off the bench and turned around, looking Eli in the eye, his
hands in his pockets. Slowly, he got down on his left knee, producing
the tiny box from his pocket, opening it with one hand. "Eli, will
you marry me?"
Eli
moved in a blur. Standing up, he reached down and pulled Soren up to
him, kissing him on the muzzle, his eyes closed in passion, his arms
gripping them tightly together. "Yes, Soren, yes. A thousand times,
yes. I was hoping you'd ask me for weeks now.""Weeks?"
asked Soren, surprised at what his fiance had said (his
FIANCE!).
"Of
course sweetie." said Eli. "I thought that maybe you had asked
for a transfer, to get us into a state that would let us get married.
But I knew you'd ask me when you felt ready."
Soren
kissed Eli, holding him tighter. "I'm sorry for the secrecy, Eli. I
didn't want to make a promise I couldn't keep." He sat them down on
the bench again, holding the ring out and slipping Eli's finger
through it. The
white gold band gleamed in the dusk; the uncut fire opal catching the
final ghosts of sunlight.Eli
ran a thumb over the ring. "It's beautiful, Soren... I understand
completely. Can we go home? I want to tell Mom and Dad."Soren
cupped his love's face in his hands, kissing him tenderly. "Let's
go, sweetheart. I can't wait to meet my in-laws."