original - untitled or something - pg13 - july 08
I actually spent like, fifteen minutes reading about "gate" in the OED before writing this.
***
original - untitled or something? I don't know. - asher gets fired.
***
Asher had never heard someone say "given the gate" before he came home from the U with the contents of his desk in a box.
"Given the gate, huh?" Jeff asked him, glancing up from his computer screen just long enough to smirk. Asher flipped him off and prepared to storm off to sulk until he realized he had no where to storm off to. He was essentially living on Jeff's couch now that Mark had dumped him and skipped town, and without a job, finding his own place was going to be nearly impossible.
"Fuck," he muttered, and dropped onto the couch with a thump. He was still holding the cardboard box on his lap, staring blankly down at his few personal belongings--some books, some disks, a photo of him and Mark with Mark's face blacked out and a photo of him and Eddie.
He didn't consciously dial Eddie's number, but he wasn't entirely surprised to find himself holding his phone to his ear and listening to Eddie's distracted, "Hey, Ash," either. He gently placed his box on the couch next to him and headed back out to the porch.
"Have you ever heard the phrase 'given the gate?'" he asked Eddie without preamble.
"Um, I think so," Eddie said. "Fired, right?"
"So I would assume," Asher said.
"Why are you even calling me?" Eddie asked. "It's like, eleven o'clock. Shouldn't you be at--" Asher could nearly see the gears in Eddie's head clicking into place. "Oh. Oh. Shit."
"Yeah," Asher said. The bench that was normally on Jeff's porch had disappeared sometime in the past week, so Asher lowered himself right to the ground, back against the side of the house. He was suddenly bone tired. "Fuck."
"Ash, I'm so sorry," Eddie said. "I know that--well, with Mark and all, your job..." He trailed off, unexpectedly at a loss for words. Eddie always knew what to say.
"Yeah," Asher said quietly.
"Yeah," Eddie replied. Asher tipped his head back and closed his eyes, just breathing in time with Eddie until he heard the phone connection cut off. He wasn't concerned, though, just like he wasn't surprised when he heard Eddie's car pull into Jeff's driveway. He didn't open his eyes until he felt Eddie slide down next to him.
"Hey," Eddie said.
"I'm so royally fucked, Eddie."
Eddie didn't say anything, simply put his arm around Asher's shoulder and sat with him until the school buses showed up, dropping high schoolers off at the corner.
With his head on the window of Eddie's car and Ohio blending into Indiana in an endless expanse of highway, Asher couldn't stop thinking about gates, about that stupid, "When one door closes another one opens" bullshit that people had been spewing at him since he was a child. He glanced at Eddie out of the corner of his eye and wondered if maybe being given the gate by the U opened him up to a world of infinitely better possibilities.
***
original - untitled or something? I don't know. - asher gets fired.
***
Asher had never heard someone say "given the gate" before he came home from the U with the contents of his desk in a box.
"Given the gate, huh?" Jeff asked him, glancing up from his computer screen just long enough to smirk. Asher flipped him off and prepared to storm off to sulk until he realized he had no where to storm off to. He was essentially living on Jeff's couch now that Mark had dumped him and skipped town, and without a job, finding his own place was going to be nearly impossible.
"Fuck," he muttered, and dropped onto the couch with a thump. He was still holding the cardboard box on his lap, staring blankly down at his few personal belongings--some books, some disks, a photo of him and Mark with Mark's face blacked out and a photo of him and Eddie.
He didn't consciously dial Eddie's number, but he wasn't entirely surprised to find himself holding his phone to his ear and listening to Eddie's distracted, "Hey, Ash," either. He gently placed his box on the couch next to him and headed back out to the porch.
"Have you ever heard the phrase 'given the gate?'" he asked Eddie without preamble.
"Um, I think so," Eddie said. "Fired, right?"
"So I would assume," Asher said.
"Why are you even calling me?" Eddie asked. "It's like, eleven o'clock. Shouldn't you be at--" Asher could nearly see the gears in Eddie's head clicking into place. "Oh. Oh. Shit."
"Yeah," Asher said. The bench that was normally on Jeff's porch had disappeared sometime in the past week, so Asher lowered himself right to the ground, back against the side of the house. He was suddenly bone tired. "Fuck."
"Ash, I'm so sorry," Eddie said. "I know that--well, with Mark and all, your job..." He trailed off, unexpectedly at a loss for words. Eddie always knew what to say.
"Yeah," Asher said quietly.
"Yeah," Eddie replied. Asher tipped his head back and closed his eyes, just breathing in time with Eddie until he heard the phone connection cut off. He wasn't concerned, though, just like he wasn't surprised when he heard Eddie's car pull into Jeff's driveway. He didn't open his eyes until he felt Eddie slide down next to him.
"Hey," Eddie said.
"I'm so royally fucked, Eddie."
Eddie didn't say anything, simply put his arm around Asher's shoulder and sat with him until the school buses showed up, dropping high schoolers off at the corner.
With his head on the window of Eddie's car and Ohio blending into Indiana in an endless expanse of highway, Asher couldn't stop thinking about gates, about that stupid, "When one door closes another one opens" bullshit that people had been spewing at him since he was a child. He glanced at Eddie out of the corner of his eye and wondered if maybe being given the gate by the U opened him up to a world of infinitely better possibilities.