Chapter 8: And Then There was Walter

When Walter, Marian’s friend, came over and joined them, Harley had to do a double take. He looked so much like Jonathan that it was distracting. They had the same jawline, the same eyes - blue with flecks of hazel - and even similar builds. The only difference was that Walter was smiling, something Jonathan never did.

Never with any joy behind the smile, anyway.

It wasn’t like they were identical; that’s why she did the double take. He looked like Jonathan, but not enough to be confused for him. More like they were related. And maybe they were.

It had been a very, very long time since Jonathan, or whatever he was calling himself these days, was alive. If he had children before he was turned, or even siblings who survived, then it was entirely possible that Walter was descended from him.

“Hey,” he said. His voice had a tiny hint of an accent, but it was a generic European accent, not heavily French like Marian. “I’m Walter. I see you two have been hitting it off.”

Harley smiled at him, pulling her thoughts together and focusing on the world around her. “Yeah, well. I’d rather talk to her than random strangers.”

“But isn’t she a random stranger?”

Harley shook her head. “Doesn’t feel that way,” she said.

The smile on Walter’s face spread wide, and his eyes quickly glanced toward the bar, where Marian had gone to order some food.

“I’m happy to hear you say that,” he said. “I think she likes you too. It’s been a while, and I worry about her.”

“You two are friends?”

“She’s like my sister,” he told her. “And despite what she thinks, she deserves to be happy. If you’ve made it this far, you probably aren’t put off by anything she’s said so far. Hopefully, she can keep reigning it in.”

“What do you mean?”

“Marian has a tendency to drive people off,” he said. “It’s not on purpose, but I think she tries to see how much she can rely on a person for, and that seems like she’s dumping her emotions on you way too fast. It scares people sometimes. And if not, well, there’s always the physical.”

“The physical?”

He blushed. “I’m not looking to talk out of turn, but when Marian gets into someone, she can be kind of … demanding. In her affection, I mean. Some people can’t handle it.”

“Does she know you’re hyping her up like this?” Harley asked.

“You seem like a nice girl, Harley,” Walter said. “I don’t want to see you get hurt. But more to the point, I want to make sure you’re not going to hurt her.”

“I’m not here for a hookup,” Harley said.

“Good.” Then he sighed. “I was. But I don’t think it’s going to work out. Too many alpha male types at these things. Masculinity so toxic the EPA might shut this bar down.”

“I saw one guy who seemed just charming. Looked like Marian was trying to will his head to explode.”

Walter nodded. “That would be Steve,” he said. “I talked to him, too. Well, he talked at me is probably a more apt thing to say. He had no interest in anything beyond seeing if I could help him make more money. Like it was a marketing get together instead of a dating thing.”

“Maybe they should screen to make sure that people have matching sexualities?” Marian suggested as she walked closer. “It seems strange that they would send someone like Steve to talk to you.”

“It’s a tough call,” Walter said. “Either you don’t discriminate, and end up forcing good-hearted and wonderful men like me to talk to closed off hyper-masculine d*ck bags like Steve, or you start excluding people based on sexuality. It’s not an easy choice.”

“Did you order food?” Harley asked, wanting to plan how she could pretend to eat in a way that wouldn’t scare either of them into thinking she was a vampire.

“Just nachos,” Marian said. “For the table.” She gave Walter a look. “Though knowing him, that means that Walter will eat most of it, and we will be lucky to get a chip or two each.”

He gave her a glare that told Harley this was an old argument that they had, and had with love. “You two are adorable,” she said, though she hadn’t intended to say it out loud.

“Yeah, if not for an accident of biology, we may have made the perfect couple,” Walter said, nudging Marian a little. “But not only was she born a woman, she absolutely refuses to transition for me.”

“Careful, ami, you are dangerously close to suggesting that you have a magical penis that can convert a woman’s sexuality.”

Walter laughed, and around then the nachos arrived. The plate lay on the table between the three of them, steaming. Harley smelled all the individual flavors, picking out the type of onion, the spices in the salsa, even how fresh the sour cream was. She looked at the melted cheese and missed eating.

She reached out and grabbed a chip, using it to punctuate her next point. It was a trick she’d learned to help distract from the fact that she wasn’t actually eating. “So are you two roommates, or what?”

“We share an apartment,” Walter said. “But we have our own rooms. Plenty of privacy; no need to worry about that.” He then looked over at Marian again. “And the walls are soundproof. So you won’t have to worry about bothering me.”

Marian said something in French that sounded chastizing, and slapped him on the arm. Then she turned to Harley. “My apologies for him,” she said. “He is more crass than a gentleman should be. Please do not feel like you are being pressured.”

Harley lowered her hand, ditching the chip in her lap to help the illusion that she was eating, and smiled. “It’s okay,” she said. “I know better than to listen when a roommate tries to embarrass someone.”

“Merci bien.” Marian sighed and took a look around the room, watching as the speed dating fell apart around them, people either giving up and going home or settling in to have conversations like the three of them. “I wonder sometimes why I put up with him.”

“You’d be lonely without me,” Walter said. Then he gestured at Harley. “She gets it.”

Marian gave him a smirk. “Oh, I am quite sure she does; she has pets of her own.”