Episode 10 - The "Date"

"Can you grab the flour, mon chou? Largest canister on the first shelf." Cate was dancing around the kitchen, grabbing ingredients as she hummed some unknown song to herself. "Just place it with the rest, hein?"

Amari set the heavy container near the bowls and other utensils she had collected, then sat on a stool at the end of the counter.

"Why're you suddenly baking?" he asked, propping his head up in his hands. "You aren't even open today."

"Je sais pas, là! I suppose I was just in the mood."

Her voice was sweet, but not the same as her brother's. It was the soft, honest sweetness of a mother or older sister, and always comforted Amari. The two weren't necessarily close, not like he was with Ziggy, but she was always there if he needed her. He usually did his best to keep away from her, though. To him, she was an angel, too pure to be around for any length of time, as if his issues would spoil her and drain that purity away.

It was a ridiculous idea, especially considering she was Ziggy's older sister. If she wasn't tainted by that relationship, there wasn't much Amari could do to ruin her. But insecurities weren't always rooted in logic. He had long ago decided to just give in and do what made him comfortable, rather than take any chances.

"Once everything's baked, what're you gonna do with it?"

His nostrils were filled with chocolate and cinnamon, and a multitude of other sugary sweetness he couldn't distinguish. It made his stomach grumble.

Cate giggled lightly. "Feed mon chou, of course." She was clinking and clanging, adding and mixing ingredients together. "Maybe I'll freeze some? Qui sait! I'll decide when it's finished!"

Back to humming, she occasionally flitted to a cabinet or the refrigerator.

"Qui sait?" Amari cleared his throat. "Well, if you don't know, could I maybe take some to shūshu and āyí?"

"Mets-en! What a wonderful idea! Are you visiting your uncle and aunt today?"

"I haven't called them yet." He scratched his head, still not sure he wanted to go that far. "But, I haven't been in a while. Bringing them something sweet seems like a good excuse to visit."

"I'm certain you don't need an excuse to visit them. No one needs an excuse to visit family."

Amari smiled softly and laid his head down in his arms. "Yeah." A bowl and utensil - a whisk by the feel - were pushed close. "What's this for?"

"If you're going to bring treats to family, you should help make them, hein?" Cate went back to her own place on the counter. "Stir that up well, until it is light and fluffy."

With a nod, he grabbed the whisk and the edge of the bowl, stirring fervently. Every once in a while, he stuck his pinky into the mixture, and after a few minutes, it had doubled in size, filled with air. He traded the bowl for a mallet and nuts, smashing them into pieces, then the nuts for sifting flour, trading back and forth until there was nothing left to help with.

"How much're you making?" Baking wasn't a skill of his, but there was too much going on in the kitchen for a simple batch of cookies. "Are you sure you're okay? Are you stress baking?"

"Je vais bien, mon chou. Just fine. By the time the oven dings, everything will be back to normal. Works every time."

"Really?" If only problems went away that easily. "That seems too good to be true."

Cate giggled lightly. "Everyone has their own method. I'm sure you have one too. Maybe you just haven't found it yet, hein?"

Still unconvinced, he nodded anyway, not about to argue with the woman. "Is everything done?"

"Oui, c'est tout! Nothing left to do." She was loading trays and pans into the large, industrial oven. "Just baking and cooling. That'll take... maybe an hour?"

Standing and brushing the flour from of his hands, Amari tilted his head toward the door. "Then I'm gonna take a short walk."

"Okay chéri," said Cate, cleaning the dishes from the counter. "You probably should change your clothes, and maybe shower, hein? The white fingerprints are quite obvious on the black."

"Oh." He looked down at his clothes but couldn't tell a difference. "Thanks."

After a quick wave, he headed out to the dining area, then out into the sun. Without his sunglasses, he had to walk fully blind for a good while, feeling the warmth on his face and letting his eyes adjust beneath his eyelids.

When he finally squinted them open, he let out a long sigh. His sensitivity continued to worsen and a constant, dull headache was just expected at this point. He rubbed his temples as he checked for traffic, then raced across the street, stepping into a small, twenty-four-hour convenience store. The owner knew him well and greeted him at the door, and after a few minutes and an offhand comment about his dusty appearance, he exited with a small bouquet of flowers.

"You brought me flowers!" Ziggy exclaimed from the kitchen table as Amari entered the apartment. "How sweet."

"Yeah, right." He set the bouquet on the table next to the door and hung up his keys. "Don't touch those. I'm gonna shower."

"Franchement... You are so grumpy. Who are you buying flowers for? Are you finally seeing someone?"

Amari snorted at the idea. "Like that's gonna happen."

There was a laugh in agreement, and the boy pulled his shirt off, heading into the bathroom. Ziggy leaned in the doorway as Amari finished undressing.

"Who are they for then? I don't think I've ever seen you buy flowers. En fait, now that I think about it, you have been strange the past few weeks, tsé? Très suspect..."

"What's suspicious?" He waved a hand under the water, waiting for it to warm up. "And why're you standing there watching me? You're such a perv."

"Well, you're not kicking me out, tsé?" His friend chuckled, then let out a short breath. "Don't change the subject. This is the third Monday you haven't gone to the park. Now flowers. Did something happen?"

Amari grabbed a clean towel, hanging it on the bar next to the shower, then turned and pushed Ziggy into the hallway. "I just haven't felt like it. Décrisse. I don't need you to watch me shower." He shut the door hard in the man's face.

"Ayoye! Telling me to get the fuck out... Franchement, I think the only French words you know are the nasty ones!"

With a sigh, Amari stepped under the water, scrubbing ingredients out of his hair and picking batter from under his fingernails.

He hadn't been to the park in three weeks, not since that Monday. Usually it was a relaxing trip - something that centered him and helped him release any stress from the previous week. That morning, he couldn't stop his mind from wandering, bringing back memories that should have stayed buried. There were more things on his mind now, and he knew if he sat alone on a bench, he wouldn't be able to keep his thoughts contained. Better to just avoid it.

Instead, he had spent more time with Ziggy and Cate, or wandered around Brooklyn, or drowned the world out with music. He found some older releases from Yin and Yang and listened to those. They were amazingly good, just as they had been at the club that night - a mash-up of pop punk, alt rock, British rock, and other influences. They didn't have a single sound, and didn't mind experimenting with a variety of styles.

Shutting off the water, he grabbed the towel and quickly dried himself. Ziggy hadn't been wrong. His hair had become wild, and though he had the man fade his sides regularly, he hadn't had a real haircut in a while. As he smoothed some anti-frizz serum through the curls, he thought about getting it shortened, but immediately decided against it. He liked the length, and the messy chaos of it fit his personality. It wasn't like he had anyone to impress.

How would he look if he was trying to impress someone? Running his finger over an ear, he felt each piercing, moving to the other ear, then his nose and eyebrow. They were all just little studs or hoops now. For a while, Ziggy had fun playing dress-up, switching them out for wild colors and shapes, but the excitement soon faded. Only during Pride Month were they changed to a colorful rainbow, since his friend insisted he should be "loud and proud." He wasn't really that type of person, but he couldn't see it anyway. He couldn't see any of it.

Wrapping the towel around his waist, he gave his teeth a quick brush and headed into his room to throw on a t-shirt, a button-down shirt over it, and the first pair of pants he could find that weren't jeans. Grabbing a clean pair of socks, he shut the bedroom door behind him, hopping down the hall as he covered each foot.

"You sure you're not dating?" asked Ziggy, now seated on the couch. "What's with the nice shirt, hein?"

"I'll leave you to guess." With a smirk, he took a mug from the drying rack, pouring himself a cup of coffee. "Did you know your sister's downstairs, baking enough to feed an army?"

The man groaned and joined him in the kitchen, stealing the coffeepot away to fill his own cup. "Our father called earlier. She gets lumped in with me and my poor life choices, and it usually isn't pleasant." He sighed and gulped the bitter liquid down in one breath. "I don't know why he still bothers, tsé?"

"Well, you should do something nice for her," said Amari, throwing his mug into the sink. "Since you've ruined her life and all."

Ziggy chuckled. "Thanks for the advice. C'est magnifique, that I have such a wise roommate to set me straight."

"I'm leaving. I might be back late. Call me if you need anything."

"Ah, your phone was buzzing while you were in the shower." The man slouched into a kitchen chair. "Be careful, wherever you're going."

Amari nodded and put an earbud in. With a quick wave, he took the flowers and headed out.