mHow long had he been waiting before finally knocking on the door? How long sitting out there in the coffee shop opposite, how many cups of coffee, how many dirty looks from the coffee uncle, just the one cup getting cold and the grease rising to the surface whilst other customers came and went. "Can I get you anything else?" "No, thanks." How long before he finally saw me coming home from work and letting myself in, dodging the dog restless from being tied up all day; how long watching Danny arriving not long after and the dog knowing well enough to just wag, lick the offered hand, docile as a lamb.
Danny and I already knew he would be arriving today, although exactly at what time it was hard to say because of the traffic. The guest room had already been made up, the living room tidied up, the fridge stocked up; I've had the itinerary he sent to me pinned up for a couple of weeks now and knew his departure and landing times like the back of my hand.
Of course I haven't told him this but I'm deeply touched by how he has been handling things since the day I told him about the email I had received; that Mark would be stopping by in KL for just a little under two weeks and it would be nice to meet the both of us while he was here.
"Mark?"
"Yeah."
"Mark, the Mark?"
"Yeah. Just for two weeks," Here, I trailed off, uncertain of how much I could actually share with him without souring the mood.
"What's he here for?" he said, preoccupied with removing his shoes and then next on turning on the TV and flipping through to news that neither one of us pay any real attention to.
"The usual, I think," I said, making a split-second decision to err on the side of caution. No deceit in being vague. "Some conferences to attend in the region it seems. He mentioned dates in Kuala Lumpur, Bali, Manila, Taipei."
"What is he, like nearly 80 now?"
"Ha ha very funny." Although of course, I have wondered if only for just a moment how he could still be keeping up with this globetrotting even after all these years.
A quick mental calculation brought up an estimate of probably nearly 70; aged -sure- but what was it that was said about youth being wasted on the young. In the years after Mark and I had both gone our separate ways, I did try at first to keep in touch -as friends, I said, in the way that recently broken up couples might do to dull the
Danny and I already knew he would be arriving today, although exactly at what time it was hard to say because of the traffic. The guest room had already been made up, the living room tidied up, the fridge stocked up; I've had the itinerary he sent to me pinned up for a couple of weeks now and knew his departure and landing times like the back of my hand.
Of course I haven't told him this but I'm deeply touched by how he has been handling things since the day I told him about the email I had received; that Mark would be stopping by in KL for just a little under two weeks and it would be nice to meet the both of us while he was here.
"Mark?"
"Yeah."
"Mark, the Mark?"
"Yeah. Just for two weeks," Here, I trailed off, uncertain of how much I could actually share with him without souring the mood.
"What's he here for?" he said, preoccupied with removing his shoes and then next on turning on the TV and flipping through to news that neither one of us pay any real attention to.
"The usual, I think," I said, making a split-second decision to err on the side of caution. No deceit in being vague. "Some conferences to attend in the region it seems. He mentioned dates in Kuala Lumpur, Bali, Manila, Taipei."
"What is he, like nearly 80 now?"
"Ha ha very funny." Although of course, I have wondered if only for just a moment how he could still be keeping up with this globetrotting even after all these years.
A quick mental calculation brought up an estimate of probably nearly 70; aged -sure- but what was it that was said about youth being wasted on the young. In the years after Mark and I had both gone our separate ways, I did try at first to keep in touch -as friends, I said, in the way that recently broken up couples might do to dull the
