"Michelle…I have a problem"

Michelle and Gordie were going to go to Stuckey's bar near the UoM campus. But he looked withdrawn. Michelle felt that she and Gordie should talk about the issue, since usually he was chatty and bubbly with her. She took him to a nearby park, where it was quiet and white. She knew it wasn't because she was late from her job at Student Housing.

After revealing that his childhood best friend transferred to the UoM, Michelle was confused. "How is that a bad thing? Your best friend is here, I'd be happy if Maria Elena was here with us!"

"I fell in love with him and him with me." Gordie said with a wistful sigh.

"So? He is here. Maybe you both should make nice." Michelle said, noticing that Gordie missed him a lot. "If you can't be lovers or boyfriends, then be friends, i mean what you are telling me in a nutshell is you miss him, and seeing him, and feeling this way, means that you missed him."

Suddenly, the wind of the park was cold. Michelle felt like a frost came over her.

An hour later, Michelle found the extent of their relationship was complicated at best.

"Well", she said, "Love is like poison, a little goes a long way, but you have relied on each other for multiple kinds of love, brotherly, romantic, friendship, shit, he popped your cherry." Michelle said, picking her afro.

Gordie sighed and put his hands in his peacoat pockets.

"But, why can't I love him like all of that?"

"Poison" she said, gently pushing his head away from her, "you should know that too much love isn't good either, you gotta have trust. Both of you. I think you trusted each other, but were not sure how to believe it."

Michelle put her arm around Gordie and he cried as they sat on a bench, crying together.

—

"Rodger, take him home, please?" Michelle said in a whisper, as the guy at the jukebox played the Shirelles' "Will You Still Love me Tomorrow." She looked at Gordie, who looked like his face was about to spring a leak all over his pretty green peacoat.

Rodger was confused, but assumed that Gordie drank too much.

"Lets go big boy" Rodger said jokingly, picking up Gordie, who was a bit confused, and walked out of the bar holding Rodger as he lifted him up as Gord had been drinking (Gordie would always feel guilty, but Rodger was just a pawn of his.)

And unknowingly, in an ear shot of Chris, said "Let's get you in bed."

Michelle watched the two guys go out of the bar together, and stared at the guy at the jukebox. He slumped away, to a bar stool.

When she prepared to leave 20 minutes later, he was drinking like a fish, three beers down. Michelle felt bad for Chris, since she could see he was trying to get Gordie's attention.

Michelle approached him and asked him a question while he was asking for beer #4.

She knew him from earlier that day when he came into student housing. He had an expression on his face that went from contorted pain to a sense of bliss.

"Hey, didn't I see you earlier?"

Michelle took a swig of her beer as Chris received his. He turned to face her. "You are that stylish chick from the Housing department."

"I may have an opening for you tomorrow, but you may or may not like it." Michelle said, eyeing Chris from head to toe. He was a handsome motherfucker, she gave Gordie that.

"What's the situation? But first, the guy who was with you and Gordie." Chris said, thumbing the mouth of his beer.

"You know Gordie, I knew that because he told me everything about you." Michelle said, drinking the last of her beer. "Bartender, can I have a scotch on the rocks please?"

Chris took a swig. "That was Rodger, Gordie's soon to be ex-roommate. Not a boyfriend, or anything." Michelle said, patting Chris on the shoulder.

"Did you follow him, or what, Mac?" Michelle said, as Chris looked relieved.

"Nope, its all a coincidence." Chris said, sipping on his beer.

"Well, tell ya what…if you live with Gordie, that will be a coincidence too, won't it?" Michelle said, as she winked.

Chris put his elbows on the counter. "It would be the best fuckin coincidence ever."

Michelle laughed. "Gordie would love it, eventually. And if not, then he can cuss me the fuck out if it goes sideways."

She clinked glasses with Chris's beer.

For the first time, in a very long time, Chris's beer tasted really good.

"Come by the office around noon. Gordie should be in class at that time, and you can pick up the keys."

"Yes ma'am." Chris said with a smile that made even Michelle melt. "He's a dumb fool for letting you get away."

"No" Chris said to her, "I'm the fool for letting him go."