Chicago ophthalmologist Patrick Holt wants to move to the suburbs, but his partner, marketing manager Clayton Teal, doesn’t. The two men, who share a condo together in the city, are having a hard time coming to an agreement about their future living arrangements. An argument ensues and Clay storms out of their home and heads to the gym to burn off steam.<br><br>While he’s running on the treadmill, he listens to a playlist Patrick recently made for him. The playlist contains nine songs and each one reminds Clay of times, both happy and sad, that he and Patrick shared over the years. Is this all that’s left of their relationships? Or can they work things out?

The Playlist

When I gave him the watch, I could tell right away that he hated it. His first question was, “How much did this cost?”


“Don’t worry about it. I wouldn’t have bought it if I couldn’t afford it. You know I got that bonus at work.”


“I didn’t get you anything like this.”


Patrick had given me a nice down coat that Christmas because he felt the coat I had wasn’t a “Chicago coat” and didn’t keep me warm enough. He also added a matching cashmere scarf and gloves.


“I didn’t expect you to get me anything like this. I bought the watch for you because I wanted you to have it.”


“Thank you,” he said with an uneasy smile before giving me a kiss.


A week or two later, Patrick came home with a new watch, a stainless steel Movado.


Chapter 5