When Best Friends Kiss

The Changes - Part 4

I loved the smell of grilled cheese. Taking a deep breath, I flipped the sandwich on the stove. It wasn't the fanciest dinner, but Alex probably wouldn't mind. There were ways to jazz it up, though. In our fridge and pantry were apples, peanut butter, cucumbers, and salsa.

We seriously needed to go shopping. Just as I pulled out an apple, the doorknob twisted. My boyfriend was home.

"Hey!"

He was beaming as he tossed his work bag onto the couch then stepped into the kitchen. Growing up, he'd always dressed pretty simply. In university, it was more stylish with slender button-ups, cardigans, and slim leg pants. Now that he'd started work, he was still wearing dark colors but prints we're making an entrance as well as pointy-toed shoes. I guessed he was trying to fit into the yuppie scene.

"Welcome home."

We exchanged grins. "I love this," Alex finally gushed, speaking my thoughts.

"Do you love my apron?" I held out my arms so he could get a clear view of the text on the front: Kiss the Cook.

He did just that. "It's dorky. I love it."

"What else do you love?"

Onto my hint, he twisted his face, but the smile was still there. "Burnt grilled cheese?"

"Shit!" The sandwich I'd forgotten about was charred on one side. "If I stick some apples inside, it will cut down on the bitterness," I suggested while transferring it to a plate.

"So, how was your psychiatry appointment?"

"It went fine. Dr. Roman said he doesn't want to change my meds if they're working for me."

"Are you sure you don't want to schedule a therapist too?"

"I don't need one anymore." I kept telling everyone that therapists weren't necessary if you were doing well. "How was work?"

"Like usual." Alex shrugged. "As an editorial assistant I'm literally just assisting, but it's going well. I give it a year."

I glanced over as I prepared the cucumber grilled cheese. "Give what a year?"

"The position before they promote me."

Alex always knew his strengths and his confidence was beautiful. "You think they'll promote you in a year?"

"I'm good at what I do. They'll soon realize my talents go to waste just being an assistant..." He put a cucumber slice into his mouth. "What about you? How's work?"

"Fine." That was maybe an overstatement. When I'd started applying to jobs in Toronto, I made sure they all dealt with photography. Getting my degree was hell so no way was I going to make it all go to waste doing something like retail or a call center. I was working with an online gift seller who wanted very specific photographs. There wasn't much room for creativity so the job wasn't exciting. But at least I was getting paid and contributing to the household. "We need to go grocery shopping."

Alex looked at his phone. "Do you want to go tonight?"

"But we don't get paid until Friday."

"Yeah, so we can use the credit cards today."

"Uh, sure."

"And we need to finish filling out our financial planner... That was a heavy sigh."

I didn't even realize I'd sighed. "It's okay. I'm just a little tired."

"You weren't tired before I started talking about money," he remarked.

"Try this cucumber one."

Alex gave me a look for changing the subject but bit into the cucumber grilled cheese anyway. His expression perked up as he chewed. "That's not bad at all."