They finished their burgers with comfortable, pointless conversation, and Tyler and Precocious both watched as Linda sketched an elaborate landscape with three moons and a row of crooked houses. When Tyler got up to leave, he was startled by the quick kiss on the cheek that Precocious gave him. “Um…” He wasn’t quite sure how to respond to the kiss. “Thanks for the burger.”

“You’re welcome.” If Precocious thought that he was acting out of sorts, she didn’t say anything. “I’ll see you on Thursday.”

“Thursday?” Tyler couldn’t recall any conversations about Thursday coming up during the meal.

“You have lunch with Zachary.”

“Oh, yeah. That.” Tyler nodded quickly. “Of course. I’ll see you Thursday.” He turned his head to smile at Linda, who was still drawing on the table. “It was nice to meet you.”

“You, too.” She gave him a quick, distracted smile and a small wave.

When Tyler turned back towards Precocious, he suddenly found himself at a loss for words. “I…” He trailed off and briefly considered making the whole thing as professional as possible. “Thanks, again. I really appreciate it.”

“It was fun.” Precocious rocked back on her heels and smiled at him. “Be careful driving home. I know a couple of first timers who come in here for a burger and leave feeling sick.”

“I’ll be okay, but thanks for the warning.” Tyler stepped around Precocious with a smile and walked out of the restaurant to his car. His heart was pumping hard in his chest, and he realized as he got into the car and glanced in the rearview that he had a grin on his face that could only be described as ‘goofy’. ~Where the hell did that come from? Good God, man, it’s been so long since a woman’s been nice to you that someone buying you a burger makes you grin like an idiot? Get a grip.~ With a shake of his head at his own reactions, Tyler started the car and drove off.

*

Linda kept an eye on the newer model black car as it pulled out of the parking lot and worked its way into traffic. When it was out of sight, she turned to Precocious with a smirk. “You didn’t buy me my first burger when I came here.”

“You’re not as good-looking as he is.” Precocious pushed her hair off her forehead. “You also didn’t just move back to town.”

“Ah, so you only show that kind of hospitality when it’s a good looking man who may be a little lonely.”

“Don’t say it so it sounds so dirty.”

Linda grinned. “I use the tone that seems appropriate.” She shook her head at Precocious. “You really have the most disgustingly preppy taste in men.”

“I do *not*!”

“You do so.” Linda grinned at the indignant squeaking noises Precocious was making. “Have you ever even *looked* at a guy who doesn’t wear a T-shirt under his V-neck sweater?”

“Eric!”

Linda waved the name off. “Eric was an experiment in how completely you could try and ruin your own reputation as a prep whore. He doesn’t count.”

“A ‘prep whore’?” Precocious was silent for a few seconds. “Nice phrase. Can I steal it?”

“Go right ahead.” Linda finished a sketch of a kitten with huge, anime-like eyes and pocketed her pen. “You ready to go?”

“Sure.” Precocious stood up and let Linda lead the way to the door. “Am I really a prep whore?”

“Yes, but it’s kind of cute.” Linda unlocked the driver’s side door and pushed the button to unlock Precocious’s door. “Although, this one is older than you usually go.”

“I’m not “going” anywhere. I bought the guy a burger because I think the only friend he has right now is Zachary. He’s a nice guy.”

“And he’s attractive.”

“I’m not saying that it hurts that he’s nice to look at, but it’s not the reason I talked to him tonight.”

Linda grinned. “You mean it’s not the *only* reason.”

Precocious shook her head and watched the streetlights as they drove under them. “You know, I think I like you better when you’re moody from painting.”

*

Tyler let himself into his house and paused for a moment to listen to the sounds of the old boards settling on the foundation. He closed the front door and eyed the room, wondering if unpacking a few boxes would be a good idea. The room looked like the back end of a warehouse, and he finally sighed in defeat before prying open a box labeled as ‘Random Stuff’. He cursed at the sight of his wedding album staring him in the face. He didn’t even remember packing it and immediately placed the blame on his mother. She was still determined to believe that his marriage could be fixed if he and Julia just talked. Tyler had tried to explain the concept of a divorce being final, but she hadn’t listened. She never listened.

Against his better judgment, Tyler picked up the wedding album and flipped it open. He was surprised when the anger and he was expecting didn’t hit as he looked at the pictures of he and Julia standing before the altar. He was also surprised to notice how happy she looked in the picture. He wondered when it had gotten so bad that she would only talk to him through her attorney. The phone rang before he could wallow any further, and Tyler reached for the cordless on the piano. “Hello?”

“Hey, it’s me.” Zachary sounded mildly worried.

“Are you okay?” Tyler dropped the wedding album back into the box and walked over to sit on the couch.

“I’ve been trying to call you for the last three hours. I had dinner plans, but I got stood up, so I was going to see if you wanted to grab a movie and get a pizza or something.”

Tyler looked at his watch when Zachary gave his time frame. “Three hours? I wasn’t out that long.” His watch said nine thirty-seven. He’d gone into the burger joint at a little before six. “Or maybe I was.”

“Trust me, you were. Also, you need to get an answering machine.”

“It’s here somewhere.”

Zachary chuckled on the other end of the line. “You haven’t finished unpacking, have you?”

“I hate unpacking.” Tyler gave the closed box nearest him a dirty look. “And I found my wedding album.”

“Why in the name of fuck do you have your wedding album?”

“Because my mother doesn’t get the concept of divorce.”

“Please tell me you haven’t answered your phone in the last three hours because you’ve been gazing at your wedding photos wondering what went wrong.” Zachary sounded genuinely worried that it might have happened.

There was no way Tyler was going to admit how close to the truth Zachary was. “Actually, I stopped at a burger place in town and got talked into a burger the size of my head by your assistant.”

“You ran into Precocious?”

“Yes.”

“Must have been the Heart Attack place she and Linda are always going on about.”

“Linda has purple hair.”

“I’ve noticed, trust me.” Zachary laughed. “You got talked into a burger, huh?”

Tyler looked down at his stomach, which he would swear was distended beyond hope from his dinner. “I think the thing from ‘Alien’ is going to pop out of my stomach and do a dance along the counter top.”

“That was the thing from ‘Spaceballs’.”

“I don’t care, the picture stands.” Tyler laughed with Zachary. “I’m not up for pizza, but if you want to grab some beer and a movie, I’d take the company.”

“Give me forty minutes.”

“See you.” Tyler clicked off the phone and placed it beside him on the couch. He looked at the mess of boxes and crumpled newspapers that was his living room, and hefted himself off the couch to start clearing a little space for he and Zachary to sit down and watch a movie. He’d just finished stacking a few boxes against the wall when the doorbell rang. He grinned at Zachary when he opened the door and relieved him of the six pack he was holding onto by the barest bit of luck. “Hey.”