Chapter 1

In times of desperation, men will often turn to unconventional avenues to find what they need. In Amir’s case, that meant turning to the horoscopes in the local paper. He stood at the counter of the Summer Street Bike Shop waiting for the only current customer to come forward with a purchase. Amir was a rational and practical person, in his opinion. Horoscopes were for those who needed external validation, however vague, to assure them if they were on the right or wrong path. It was almost like a religion, but with fewer offerings and more blind faith.

Sadly, Amir had reached the point where he had nothing to offer and no idea where else to look. He was content with many aspects of his life. He lived in a nice house with the two other guys who ran the bike shop, business was good, and his social life was active enough that he didn’t feel like a hermit, but that was no substitute for a good relationship. Amir had had to admit he was starved for affection when he found himself hoping any cute male customers who gave him a cheery, “Have a good day!” after a transaction would come back and flirt with him.

At thirty-five, Amir had been through several boyfriends, some that seemed like they may become permanent fixtures before inevitable drama drove them apart, and some casual flings that had been disappointingly unfulfilling. It wasn’t that he needed someone to worship the ground he walked on or send him romantic texts a dozen times a day, but some tenderness and commitment would be nice.

Amir was aware of his star sign because some of his more New Agey friends often told him, “Of course you can’t hold down a boyfriend! You’re a Sagittarius! Few guys can deal with that kind of fire. Find yourself a Libra, or at the very least an Aries. You’ll be so much happier.”

The advice in the paper was no less vague. “You’ve been waiting for good things to come into your life, Sagittarius,” it read. “Fear not! The wait is almost over! This fall, indigo guides the way to your happiness.”

Amir read the small lettering over a few times, yet no amount of repetition could answer his one question. “What the fuck does that even mean?” he muttered to himself.

He skimmed the other horoscopes. The general astrological forecast called for a pleasant autumn, which wasn’t hard in New England, and good fortune. That is, with the exception of Libra, oddly enough. “Sorry to say, Libra, but there is heartbreak on the horizon. You hate being lonely, but sometimes you need to let go and do what’s best for you.”

“Are you sure that wasn’t supposed to be my horoscope?” Amir asked the paper. Not all his relationships had ended in heartbreak, but he had had enough “me time” to make him heartsick instead.

A testament to Amir’s track record was Ken, Amir’s coworker, roommate, and ex. They had lived together before and realized they were not going to work out as a couple. Ken had moved out for a while, which was when Amir had picked up Todd as a roommate, but Todd was straight. Then Ken’s landlord kicked him out with barely two weeks’ notice, and he wound up sleeping on Amir’s and Todd’s couch until the three of them moved out of the two-bedroom apartment into a little house outside of Taunton. Todd’s parents had owned the bike shop, but left it to him when they retired. Todd knew how to run the shop, Ken was good with intricate repairs, and Amir had enough experience with both retail and the bike trails of eastern Massachusetts that the three of them took over the business together.

Ken came out from the back room where he had been cleaning and tuning a bike for someone who had dropped it off first thing that morning. Though it was clear he had washed his hands, there were smudges of grease on his forearms.

“Slow day,” Ken remarked.

Amir nodded. The current customer was staring at their display of reflective accessories. Amir had offered to help them pick something out, but they had waved him off and spent the past fifteen minutes simply meandering. That was when Amir had picked up the paper to skim through it. The horoscope’s prediction, stupid though it sounded, had piqued Amir’s curiosity enough that he decided to show it to Ken in hopes that his ex could provide some insight.

“What do you think of this?” Amir asked, pointing to the section for Sagittarius.

Ken read it through squinting eyes, a smirk barely staying off his face. “I think I did repairs for a Mr. Indigo the other day. Should I give him your number?” He snorted at his own joke. It was one of the things Amir had found cute when they dated but grew to annoy him when they lived together; Ken considered himself witty and hilarious and therefore made himself laugh more than he did anyone else.