Male Bonding

It started out good. Don finally did it. He gathered up his courage and asked Annabel out on a date.

“Sure,” she said. Don gave her a blank stare.

“Wait… Are you serious?” he asked.

“Yes,” Annabel said. Don felt like flying away. It had been so long. Until now, she wouldn’t even give him a second look.

“Okay! Great!” Don shouted. “Pick you up at six on Friday?”

“Sure,” she said. Don pinched himself in the cheek. No. This was real.

“Wow. Okay. Cool,” Don said. That could’ve gone smoother. It didn’t matter.  He was finally on a date.

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Don should’ve known it was too good to be true. They went to a steakhouse. His treat of course. He got all dressed up. The man smoothed down his hair. Don went out of his way to buy flowers. He was ready. Don checked his breath and headed out the door.

Oh boy…

Toshiki made it to work early the next morning. By now, he had his own set of keys. The veteran went over what he was going to do for the morning. Unlock the doors, turn on the lights, boot up the two computers, check the messages, and let everyone in. Toshiki shook his shoulders and took a breath.

“Okay,” he said. The man unlocked the door. He got right to work. It wouldn’t be long before the others showed up.

But he wasn’t expecting this.

“Okawa?” Toshiki heard behind him. The man froze. Oh no, what did I do now? He turned around and was greeted by a shocking sight. Don stood inches away from him. He looked ready to cry. His eyes were so empty. Toshiki gave him a strange look.

“Boss?” he asked. “Are you feeling okay?” Don didn’t answer at first.

“Boss? Boss?” the veteran asked.

“Do you have a moment?” the older man asked.

“Huh?” Toshiki asked.

The man sat in Don’s office. Toshiki sat nervously. He had no idea where this was heading. His boss looked disheveled. Did he sleep in those clothes overnight? And… were those bags under his eyes?

“Are you okay? What happened?” Toshiki asked. Don let out a heavy sigh.

“She brought her kids,” he said. The veteran stared at him.

“What?” he asked. Done buried his head in his hands as he groaned.

“I should’ve known!” we wailed. “She didn’t see it as a date! It was too good to be true!” Toshiki didn’t know what to think.

“Oh… I’m sorry. I guess…” he said. Don started wailing.

“I thought we had something!” he said. He dropped his head onto his desk. The veteran had an awkward look on his face. He looked around for help. Only Miyukizi stood in the doorway. She had a worried look in her eyes. Toshiki waved her off. She slowly backed away. The veteran turned back to his boss. Something told him that he needed to stay. Toshiki sighed.

“Now what I am supposed to do?” he asked himself. Don kept crying on his desk. But it was about to get worse.