Chapter 2: Chapter 2
While Zach unloaded the pallets with the assistance of the overnight crew, Moira pulled Dustin aside. She signed, “Details. Now.” Her face and motions were intense.
Dustin struggled to explain things with the basic ASL he knew. “Me to him feelings,” he signed, wondering if he actually used the sign for “feelings” or got it confused with the sign for “like” again. He realized it didn’t matter. “He not know. Say nothing. Please.”
“Straight or gay?” Moira asked, her fingertips drumming mischievously against her chin as she exaggerated the sign for “gay.”
“Straight,” Dustin replied with an emphatic gesture. He spelled out, “F-o-o-t-b-a-l-l,” and added, “had girlfriend.”
Moira gave him a pointed look. “That not equal straight.”
“Say nothing,” Dustin repeated.
Moira rolled her eyes. “We will talk more,” she signed. She clapped her hands together. Out loud, she addressed the night crew. “Okay, grab a jack and a partner and get ready. We don’t want to be here until past opening, again.” She grabbed Dustin by the shoulder. “C’mere, partner. We’re going to have a good chat tonight.”
Dustin was uneasy. There wasn’t much more to say. Zach had been the object of most of Dustin’s hormonal teenage fantasies, along with one or two other cute guys at their school. Now he was back, still well-toned with a confident walk and bright eyes that made Dustin’s stomach flutter. However, he wasn’t a boy anymore, he was a man, more defined and rugged. Dustin wished he could sit down and hear about Zach’s life, but he and Zach had been acquaintances at best, never really friends. It wasn’t as though Dustin could ask him out for coffee to catch up.
“Hey, Dusty,” Zach said as he passed by with another pallet. “It really is good seeing you. I take it you’re here for the rest of the night?”
Dustin nodded. “Until six, maybe later.” Trying to sound more impressive than he looked, he added, “I’m the night supervisor, so depending on how things go I could be here a while.”
Zach nodded. “That’s rough. I’m only scheduled on this route until five, but if I get lost again I might still be driving when my next shift starts. We should hang out soon, though. Maybe we could grab coffee some morning when we’re done with work?”
This was too surreal. Dustin glanced around the room for hidden cameras or someone waiting to deliver the punchline. “Uh…maybe. I usually sleep when I get home, but I could do breakfast someday, yeah.”
“Great!” Zach beamed. “I’m back on this route on Wednesday. What about you?”
“Oh, I have Wednesday off.”
“Aw, too bad. We’ll come up with something. Be right back.” Zach went to retrieve another pallet, giving Dustin a little wave on his way.
“Okay.” Dustin stood there, dumbstruck. Moira popped open her soda and cleared her throat, which did little to snap him out of his confusion, but it was enough to get his attention.
“You sure he straight?” Moira signed to him before taking a sip.
Dustin could do nothing but shrug. He pinched himself and didn’t feel much. He wasn’t sure if that meant he was dreaming or he simply pinched a piece of fat instead of a nerve. “Hit me,” he signed.
Moira gave him a quick hard slap on the arm. He winced and hissed through his teeth. “Satisfied?” Moira asked out of the corner of her mouth.
“Yeah…” Dustin had run into old classmates before. It was almost unavoidable when he still lived and worked in his hometown. Most of them said they should “totally catch up” or “hang out sometime,” but they never did. Guys like Zach had never even offered. He wanted Zach to have meant it so badly, but doubt weighed on his heart and he knew it was probably nothing more than a polite gesture with no real intent behind it.
“You okay?” Moira signed.
“Confused,” Dustin signed back. “Fantasy come true, but I don’t think he’s honest.”
“Why?”
Zach was bringing in the next pallet, so Dustin was more subtle as he signed, “Look at him. He never like me. He not want friend me.” He slumped his shoulders and signed, “Sad.”
“Maybe you wrong,” Moira signed with a hopeful expression. She put her hand on his shoulder and said out loud, “Come on, partner of mine, we’ve got work to do.”
Moira grabbed a pallet jack that had just returned from the floor and hauled out their workload for the night. Dustin followed, drinking his own soda while he made sure nothing fell off the top of the plastic-wrapped mass. It was a mix of things from different aisles, which was annoying because it meant they would have to find a middle ground place to park it and either sort things into carts or carry things individually by hand. If it were the latter, at least it meant Dustin had more time to himself to think.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone