It had taken several minutes, but Lou finally found an empty space in the crowded gravel parking lot. She hopped out of her truck in her high heels and shut the door behind her. The sun was too hot for it to only be 11 a.m. People were moving pieces of furniture and carrying random knick knacks while wearing floppy hats and shades. She thought of grabbing her own sunglasses out of the truck as she shielded her eyes with her hand.
"Lou! Lou! Over here!"
Lou took a few strides forward at the sound of Ravi's voice and searched for him. She spotted him by the entrance of the warehouse that served as a flea market on the weekends. Lou was familiar with the area because she drove past it on her way to work every morning. That was one of the reasons why she was only slightly annoyed instead of completely annoyed with Ravi for texting her ten minutes before her date. She figured that at least now that she was on this side of town, she could stop by the community center where she worked and pick up some things for a project she was working on.
Lou walked up to Ravi. She had a habit of hugging him in greeting, but she purposely held off today because he was making her spend part of her Saturday morning in the heat. "One day I'm gonna ignore your text," she said.
"You haven't yet," Ravi replied as he raised his eyebrow above the rim of his sunglasses and shrugged his shoulders.
Lou sighed, "Mama warned me not to bring my truck when I moved here. She always said don't be the friend with the truck."
"Must you use that line every time," Ravi said with a grin. He was wearing a floppy hat like most of the people at the flea market. He was also dressed like he was heading to a bingo game after shopping.
"Must you keep crowding your house with junk every other weekend? You need to buy a truck, Mr. Trust Fund."
"Why would I do that when you already have a truck," he smirked. "And you know I can't resist a good rummage sale."
Lou rolled her eyes and smirked. She knew that was true of her friend. They'd been living in the same city ever since he finished his doctorate; And whenever Ravi wasn't working or visiting his family in New York, he was flea market and thrift shop hopping. The only exception to that was when he was hanging out with her.
"The armchair isn't far. And it will go wonderfully in my parlor," Ravi said as he turned into the warehouse.
Lou sighed. He insisted on using the technical terms for the rooms in the renovated Victorian house that he owned. She was there more than she was at her own apartment, so she had to learn all the terms too. She said, "Lead the way, fancy pants."
She followed him through the crowd of families and individuals shopping in the warehouse. There must have been a popcorn vendor nearby because the entire place smelled like kettle corn. Finally, they arrived at a grey wingback armchair that was already propped up on a dolly. Lou watched Ravi take hold of the dolly and thank the elderly woman who was the vendor. The woman winked at Ravi, which caused him to give her a shy smile and wave.
When they were out of earshot, Lou said, "Bet she'd let you use her truck. Is that why you're dressed like you're on the way to the senior center?"
"Ha ha," Ravi said flatly as he pushed the dolly. "And you're wrong. She was going to charge me fifty bucks to store the chair here if you didn't show up within twenty minutes. And I thought this shirt was snazzy."
"It's not." Lou pointed at the dolly. "And this is getting out of hand, Ravi. You're bringing moving equipment with you now?"
Ravi paused to lift his shades and balance them on his forehead. "Like I'm trying to throw my back out in front of all of these people," he scoffed.
"You're so dramatic. You're barely thirty."
"You know I'm fragile!"
Lou couldn't help but smile at how ridiculous he could be. She led him to her truck and then helped him load it into the back. It was a nice chair, but she knew for a fact that Ravi had two of the exact same chairs in his home office. She had been over there four evenings ago, sitting in one of the chairs and working on her laptop while Ravi complained about one of his colleagues.
As they stood beside the truck, Ravi tilted his head slightly. "That's a new dress." He gave her a bright smile. "You look nice."
"I know. You ruined my brunch date," Lou replied as she smoothed the fabric of her dress. She had hoped he would notice her dress. She thought she looked good, but she always liked when he complimented her.
"Oh! I'm so sorry, Lou. I didn't realize you had plans this morning. You could've told me no," Ravi apologized in a worried tone.
Lou teasingly narrowed her eyes at him and smirked, "Well, you're just lucky my date is very understanding."
"Good. Good. Well, don't worry about dropping this off. I wouldn't want to take up any more of your time," Ravi said sincerely. He rocked on his sneakers. "If you don't mind me asking, who's the lucky guy?"
"Me!" Lou grinned. "I'm trying this new thing where I date myself."
Ravi slowly nodded like he was unsure. "Uh, that sounds...empowering?"
Lou frowned at his tone. "It is, thank you. And don't get all judging with me, fella. Or you can pop that armchair right onto that wimpy thing you call a vehicle."
"It's electric and I'm not being judgey, Lou. You should do whatever makes you happy… I suppose." Ravi adjusted his sunglasses so that they covered his eyes again. "And if that means talking to yourself while eating eggs and fries, then good for you."
Lou shoved his shoulder, but not enough to tip him off balance. She glared at him. "You can sound so condescending sometimes, Ravi! And you shouldn't be judging me when you're the one filling your house with crap because you're lonely."
She regretted the words as soon as she said them. Even with the sunglasses, she could see the pained expression on his face. His shoulders sagged and he tucked his hands into his pockets.
"I didn't mean it like that," Lou said softly. When he didn't respond she reached out to hold his hand. He didn't take his hand away. She added with a small smile, "And you're not lonely. You've got me."
"Sorry," he said, squeezing her hand. He used his free hand to remove his sunglasses. "You're right. I can be condescending at times. That didn't earn me a lot of points back when we were counselors."
"No, but it earned you a lot of rats under your pillow," Lou said. "Mostly from Griff and Jorge."
"And quite a few from Zuri, Emma, Tiffany…" He gave her a playful glare. "...And you!"
Lou chuckled and nodded at the memory of their Camp Kikiwaka days. She remembered when he was a CIT and she thought he was a bit uptight, but over time she had grown to accept that part of his personality and pushed him to loosen up as often as she could. She herself had control issues; she had always been a bossy counselor. The campers had put their fair share of rats under Lou's pillow too.
"And just so you know," Ravi said, lightly squeezing her hand again, "You're not alone, either. You've got me."
Her eyes were full of admiration as she smiled and nodded at him. Someone honked their horn in the parking lot, causing Ravi to jump slightly and Lou to look around. It was somehow busier than it had been before.
"Did you park close?" Lou asked as she let go of his hand.
"Don't you see this madhouse? My car is definitely blocked in by now. But don't worry about me. I want you to go enjoy your brunch," he said, taking hold of the dolly. "I'm just going to look around."
"Oh no you're not," Lou said, snatching away the handle of the dolly. She picked it up and put it in the back of her truck. "What I said was harsh, but you're really packing too much stuff into that house. In a minute you'll be worse than my Uncle Terry." She opened the driver's side door and motioned for him to get in the truck. "Come on, we'll come back for your car later when this place empties out. Let's get brunch."
"But what about your date?" he asked as he approached the passenger's side.
"Meh, turns out I'm not that great of a date. I have to pay for my own food and no matter how nice I dress no one tries to kiss me," she joked.
Ravi chuckled. "Well, I've got eggs and potatoes at my house. I made a farmer's market run yesterday and bought way more organic everything than I need."
Lou shook her head as she started the truck, "We've got to get some dates. Or you're going to be cooking for me and I'll be driving for you the rest of our lives."
He nudged her with his elbow and grinned, "At least your meals will be free and I'll have access to a truck. What's your favorite pattern for an armchair?"