You Bring Me Joy
(Like a Best Friend Should)
by Zaen
11. Belated birthday
From: Chavez, J.
To: Timberlake, J.
Security: Private
Time: 10:02 AM
1.
My second toe is longer than my big toe, which is either a sign of genius or
schizophrenia. I can never remember
which.
2.
I have this, um, thing about socks and underwear. It’s not a big deal, even if Joey calls it a
fetish! :-} If
you really want to know, call me
tonight!
3.
So…how was your date?
From: Timberlake, J.
To: Chavez, J.
Security: Private
Time: 10:14 AM
1.
In your case I’m sure it’s the former.
2.
Now I’m afraid to call! You’re a kinky
little f***er, aren’t you? :-)
3.
It was ok. Britney’s an old, well,
girlfriend, kinda. She wanted to take me
out for a belated birthday lunch. So,
who am I to say no? She’s hot!
p.s.
don’t forget to tell me about this fetish of yours
From: Chavez, J.
To: Timberlake, J.
Security: Private
Time: 10:16 AM
Joey
calls it a fetish, not me! It’s just a thing!
When
was your birthday?
From: Timberlake, J.
To: Chavez, J.
Security: Private
Time: 10:16 AM
Almost six weeks ago, January 31st.
From: Chavez, J.
To: Timberlake, J.
Security: Private
Time: 10:17 AM
Why
didn’t you say something, man? Happy
birthday for six weeks ago!
From: Timberlake, J.
To: Chavez, J.
Security: Private
Time: 10:18 AM
Thanks!
I
guess that was the week before you started.
Joey’s birthday was a couple of days before mine, so I guess I just
forgot to tell anyone. It’s not a big
deal.
From: Chavez, J.
To: Timberlake, J.
Security: Private
Time: 10:25 AM
Didn’t
you want a surprise party, with balloons and ribbons and party hats and naked
chicks in cakes?
From: Timberlake, J.
To: Chavez, J.
Security: Private
Time: 10:26 AM
Nah. I feel old! If I feel like this at 22, I can’t imagine
what Chris must feel like. It’s all
downhill from here, isn’t it?
From: Chavez, J.
To: Timberlake, J.
Security: Private
Time: 10:30 AM
Pretty much, yeah. :-}
Please, you’re making me feel old over here!
Btw, what was up with that impromptu, um, situation in
the parking lot Saturday night?
(Big Brother is always watching!)
From: Timberlake, J.
To: Chavez, J.
Security: Private
Time: 10:33 AM
Good
question. The, er,
situation, shocked the hell out of me.
I mean, you know, it was pretty funny and all. They haven’t said anything this morning, so I
guess I won’t either.
Did
that bother you?
From: Chavez, J.
To: Timberlake, J.
Security: Private
Time: 10:34 AM
NO!
No,
it didn’t bother me. Not one bit.
Did
it bother you?
From: Timberlake, J.
To: Chavez, J.
Security: Private
Time: 10:35 AM
Nope. I’ve grown pretty accustomed to the ways of
the world in my advanced age, you know!
From: Chavez, J.
To: Timberlake, J.
Security: Private
Time: 10:36 AM
How
accustomed?
From: Timberlake, J.
To: Chavez, J.
Security: Private
Time: 10:40 AM
You’d
be surprised.
From: Chavez, J.
To: Timberlake, J.
Security: Private
Time: 10:43 AM
So
surprise me.
Damn,
I forgot I have to go to this meeting with Joey now. I’ll see you at lunch.
And
for the record, if the aforementioned situation
comes out (cough) I’d be happy for them.
Ways
of the world, indeed! :- }
From: Timberlake, J.
To: Chavez, J.
Security: Private
Time: 11:15 AM
You guys were in Johnny’s office a while. Is everything ok?
From: Chavez, J.
To: Timberlake, J.
Security: Private
Time: 11:17 AM
Yeah. Next month Johnny’s sending Joey to the
From: Timberlake, J.
To: Chavez, J.
Security: Private
Time: 11:20 AM
You’re not unnecessary.
Was that a double negative?
Well, sounds boring, but at least you get a free
trip out of it. You and Joey will have
fun.
From: Chavez, J.
To: Timberlake, J.
Security: Private
Time: 11:22 AM
Yeah,
How ever will you fill your time if I’m not here to
constantly bother you with my emails and long-winded phone conversations?
From: Timberlake, J.
To: Chavez, J.
Security: Private
Time: 11:31 AM
I guess I’ll finally get some work done!
Well, my best friend Trace is coming to visit in
April, so I won’t be too lonely.
From: Chavez, J.
To: Timberlake, J.
Security: Private
Time: 11:33 AM
I’d
like to meet him.
From: Timberlake, J.
To: Chavez, J.
Security: Private
Time: 11:34 AM
Why, so you can find out all the juicy dirt on me?
From: Chavez, J.
To: Timberlake, J.
Security: Private
Time: 11:35 AM
Yes!
Unless you don’t want me to. I’ll understand if you don’t.
From: Timberlake, J.
To: Chavez, J.
Security: Private
Time: 11:45 AM
You’ll definitely meet him.
**********
That night, Justin is removing a
frozen meal from his microwave when he hears the doorbell. He fumbles with the hot plastic for a few
seconds before going to the front door.
When he opens it he finds a medium sized padded envelope stuffed in his
mailbox. He looks around briefly before
grabbing the package and going back inside.
As he lets his Salisbury steak cool to a palatable level, he inspects
the package. No stamps, but it’s
addressed to “Justin, Programmer Extraordinaire by Day/ Sexy Singer by
Night.” The return address simply reads,
“Mr. Chavez,
“Aw, man,” Justin squeaks as a huge
grin spreads across his face. He fumbles
to open the envelope. An
adorable brown puppy and the words “Silly me! I missed your birthday…” adorn the
cover. Justin laughs when he opens the
card and reads the inside: “…but what
do I need brains for? I’m adorable!!”
Underneath, in barely legible
handwriting, Josh wrote:
I know it’s late, but Happy Birthday, Justin!
I hope you enjoy this album.
I know you will. It’s unique and
uncompromisingly beautiful.
Kinda reminds me of you.
Your friend,
Josh
Justin swallows the lump in his
throat as he rereads the card. After a
few seconds of just staring at Josh’s signature, Justin gets up and loads the
compact disc into his stereo. He
immediately recognizes the soft sounds of Sherry Bocknovitch’s
voice. It’s her very rare first album, Muliebrity.
Josh must have recorded his vinyl record. He even included a scan of the original album
cover art. Justin sits down on his
couch, listens, and swoons.
“Hey!” Justin plops down on Josh’s desk the next
morning. Josh smiles up at him and sips
his coffee. “Thank you, Josh. You didn’t…you didn’t have to get me a
birthday present,” Justin says lowly, but with a genuine smile.
Josh shrugs. “I wanted to, and I know you wanted that
album.”
“Why did you just leave it? Why didn’t you stop by?”
“I didn’t want to disturb you,” Josh
answers, and a sarcastic smile covers his face.
“In case you had another hot date.”
“Jealous much?” Justin nudges Josh’s knee with his toe. He’s surprised at how flirtatious he’s
being. Josh looks surprised, too.
“Um…what?”
“I’m kidding!”
“Oh.” Josh looks a little confused. He gets that way sometimes. Justin thinks perhaps that, growing up, Josh
was always the last person on the playground to get the dirty joke. That makes him smile.
“Josh, what did you think I meant—”
“Did you listen to the CD yet?” Josh
cuts in, looking away so that Justin can only barely make out the pinkness in
his cheeks.
“Yeah, I did. It’s just as amazing as I thought it would be.” Justin stands up and gently touches Josh’s
arm. “Thanks, man.” Josh looks up, and his silvery blue eyes seem
to shimmer. Justin squeezes Josh’s right
shoulder and heads back to his desk.
When he looks up, Josh is looking intently at his computer screen. But his left hand is on his right shoulder,
just absently stroking the fabric of his shirt.
Justin watches him for a few seconds, then returns to his computer. He forces himself to think about Josh’s
recent ex-girlfriend—girlfriend—and then heads to the
vending machines for a high-fat, high-carb,
nutrition-less Tastycake breakfast. He’d sworn off of the stuff a few months ago,
but he needs a treat today.
**********
“Working overtime?” Josh asks as he
pulls a chair up to Justin’s desk. He
points to the clock on the wall and says, “Johnny pulled the pterodactyl’s
tail, man. Time to go
home!”
“Pulled the—man, Josh, you are too
corny,” Justin laughs as he looks at his watch.
Josh laughs, too. “I’m this close to finishing this
project. I just want it done already.”
“Ok.” Josh sits back and rests his feet on the
corner of Justin’s desk. He smiles
lazily and stretches.
“Are you waiting for me?” Justin
asks, still looking at his computer.
“No…just…um…resting my
feet…um…because…um…no?” Justin smiles at
him. “If I’m bugging you, I can leave—”
“No, stay. I’m almost done.” Justin tries to concentrate. It’s hard with Josh’s eyes on him. After a few minutes of hemming and hawing in
his head he mumbles, “Wanna go get something to eat?” He doesn’t hear an answer, but when he turns
around Josh is grinning from ear to ear.
The next week goes by too fast for
Justin. It’s not enough time for him to
get ready—to clean his house for Trace’s visit, and to prepare to be Joshless for two whole weeks. To compensate, Justin tries to spend as much
time as he can with Josh. They go out to
dinner three nights in a row, and hang out until way past their bedtimes. Justin worries that it’ll be too much, that
Josh will get sick of him. Josh never
complains.
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