My email informed me of several more rejections and two possible interviews, but they weren’t ones I was sure I wanted to take.  One of them wasn’t for the job I’d applied for, but instead another position that was at minimum wage.  Minimum wage – ha.  “Minimum” couldn’t even cover rent, let alone food, bills, and saving anything for college.  I couldn’t really understand how it was called minimum if it wasn’t even above the poverty line.

     That job was out, I couldn’t live on that.  And the other interview was also not for the job I’d applied for – apparently they’d filled that – but instead for a part-time position.  Again, part-time wouldn’t cover my expenses.  So both of those options were a wash.

     I was feeling a bit discouraged by the time I looked at the clock and realized I had to rush to head outside and meet Ren for lunch.  He was already outside, waiting for me, but he didn’t seem at all bothered by my slight tardiness.

     I found myself thankful again that this fairy, despite being one of them, was being so kind to me.  Every time I interacted with him, I found myself just a centimeter closer to actually believing he really wouldn’t ever hurt me.  Probably.

     “So, where would you like to eat?”  Ren asked cheerfully.  “There’s a nice little place around the corner from here, food is awesome.”

     That worried me, I doubted I could afford anything other than fast food, but his expression looked so hopeful that I didn’t feel like I could say no.  That, alone, surprised me – I wasn’t agreeing just because I was afraid to say no, but I didn’t want to disappoint him.  That was…unexpected.

     The moment we stepped into the restaurant, though, I realized I made a mistake.  It wasn’t a high end place but it was clear that it was way out of my price range.  A panicked look at the board confirmed that – nothing was under $5, except for a couple of drinks.

     My heart plummeted and I felt my throat close up, trying to figure out if it would be rude to just have a drink for lunch.  It wasn’t like it would bother me to not eat lunch, but would it be impolite when eating with someone?  I hadn’t eaten a meal with someone in so long, I wasn’t sure anymore.  But it seemed like it probably would.

     “So the food here is awesome,” Ren chattered on, oblivious to my growing panic, “their chefs have training from all over so the food has its own taste.  If you’re feeling more in the mood for French cuisine, some of the menu focuses on that.  Italian, Japanese – pretty much all the major world food styles are represented.  Honestly this place should be much bigger and get more press, but they say they don’t want it to grow too much or the quality might go down as they have to hire more.  They like it small, where they know most of their customer base.  And…” his voice trailed off as he finally looked down at me and noticed how I was fidgeting very uncomfortably.

     A long pause.

     “Oh, Riven, I’m sorry.  This is probably not your comfort zone, is it?”  Ren sounded chagrined.  “I really should have asked first where you wanted to go rather than drag you along to where I wanted.  I just thought you’d like the food, but it’s fine.”

     Before I had a moment to process it, he put his hands on my shoulders, spun me around, and escorted me back outside, where he apparently remembered he was still holding onto me and let me go.

    “Let’s go someplace else.  Err, where would you like to go?  Where would you pick if it was just you?”

     Stumbling over the last few seconds to try to process what just happened, I almost blurted out that I wouldn’t eat anything if it was just me, before remembering that I’d agreed to have lunch with him, so that would just be rude.  “Um, fast food, probably?”  I wondered if he even ate fast food.  For some reason I was pretty sure his family was well off and probably ate only organic stuff.  Not stuff I’d ever see in my lifetime.

     But he seemed unperturbed by this challenge, probably because he had no idea what he was getting himself into.

     “Then let’s go!  I think there’s a place nearby.”  Ren opened his phone to look on the map.  “Hmm, yeah, looks like there’s one around the corner.”

     As we approached, I realized there was a new problem.  From what Ren had said last night, I gathered he – and fairies in general – were likely vegetarian or vegan.  But fast food dealt mostly in cheap meat, right?  There probably wouldn’t be a lot of vegetarian/vegan options, and while something like a burger was probably the cheapest item on the menu, I’d feel bad eating meat in front of him if that wasn’t his thing.

     I was beginning to really regret agreeing to lunch.  This seemed like a disaster in the making no matter where we went.

     Ren held the door open for me, smiling, but I caught the brief face he made as the smells of the fast food restaurant hit him.  Whether it was the grease or the smell of cheap meat, I wasn’t sure, but my heart sank some more.

     This was such a bad idea.

     A thought dawned on me, an idea that might salvage both our lunches, and I stopped.  “What if you got what you wanted from that restaurant and I meet you with my food and we just ate outside somewhere?”  It wasn’t too cold for that, and this way he could eat what he wanted and I could eat what I could afford.

     Ren seemed startled at my suggestion.  “That’s not – I mean, this is fine, don’t worry about it.”

     But I did worry about it.  “You’re vegetarian or vegan, right?  They won’t have good options here for that.  So go get something you can eat, I’ll get something I can eat, and we’ll both be happy.”

     He opened his mouth to argue with me, then shut it, opened it again, and then groaned.  “Okay yes, yes I am vegetarian, my whole family is.  And you’re right, the options here aren’t great for that.  But you’re sure you’re fine with this?  It’ll probably take me longer to get food from there than from here, so you’ll probably be waiting around for a bit.  And I wouldn’t mind covering it if you’d rather eat at the other place – I did invite you, after all.”

     I blanched slightly.  “No, um, this is fine.  For me.  And I don’t mind waiting.  Please, go get something you’d eat.”

     He grumbled a bit about it, but agreed to meet me at a nearby bench as soon as he got his food, then left me to go back to the restaurant.

     I breathed a sigh of relief when he left.  I didn’t want to deprive him of good food just because I couldn’t afford to eat at a place like that.  This worked better for both of us.

     I nervously headed to the counter, hoping there would be something I could afford that wouldn’t feel rude to eat in front of Ren.  Salad – yes.  $3.99.  Relief.  Perfect.

     I quickly ordered, paid, then headed back outside into the chilly air to head to the appointed bench as soon as I had my food.  Then I sat, my head tilted back as I watched the clouds in the sky while I waited.

     So I completely missed when Ren arrived and nearly had a heart attack when he dropped onto the bench next to me.

     “Okay so I got this spinach quiche thing that is awesome, you have to try a bite.”  He glanced sideways at me, frowning a bit when he saw my small salad and nothing else, but didn’t say anything.  “I also got some tortellini and some onion rings – their onion rings are amazing, you need to try them.”

     He was right, the onion rings were fantastic.  I didn’t think I’d ever tasted anything like them before, so crunchy and spicy but would almost melt in my mouth.  It was delicious.  I was halfway through my second one when I saw the smile on his face which he tried – unsuccessfully – to hide, and I realized what he’d done.

     He’d deliberately bought extra food to try and feed it to me.  He’d probably realized I wouldn’t get much even at the fast food place and since I wouldn’t let him buy my food outright, instead he had just bought extra to “share” with me.

     Ren interrupted my realization by handing me a wrapped plastic fork.  “You have to try the quiche.  And the pasta, too, if you like tortellini.”

     I had no idea if I liked tortellini or even what tortellini was.  I wasn’t sure if I should refuse the offered taste test, but…his food looked mouthwatering and he was offering to share, just a bite, it didn’t have to be much, so…it was okay, right?

     By the end of lunch, I realized Ren had somehow convinced me to eat several bites of the quiche and about a third of the pasta, plus several more onion rings.  I hadn’t even realized how much I was eating because he was too busy talking to me about his university courses this semester and I was busy just listening and automatically doing as he said when he told me to take another bite.

     Now I was stuffed, having eaten more in the last hour than I usually ate in a day.  But Ren was still talking and seemed happy, so it was all good, right?  Hopefully?

     “So there’s this contest at the end of the semester and I have to pick a piece before then.  Actually, we have to turn in our submissions by mid-November, then they have a couple weeks to judge before all the pieces will be on display for the whole month of December.  I can’t decide what to pick.  If I can place in the contest, my parents might come by, and maybe, maybe if my photo is something amazing, they’ll finally get why I want to pursue this.  Like, I mean, not just a great picture by objective standards, but something they would understand.  Something that would appeal to my parents.

     “The problem is,” he waved his hands in the air in a frustrated manner, “I can’t figure out what it is that would appeal to them.  They’ve seen some of my photos before and they just don’t get it.  So it has to be something extra special, something that just screams…I dunno even what exactly it should scream.  So I’m completely lost.  I mean I have a couple months to figure it out but I have no idea yet and I have even less of an idea of how to make it perfect so my parents could understand.”

     I picked at the hem of my shirt, not sure if this was one of those things where he just needed to vent to someone or if I should offer my two cents worth.  “Um, sounds like a lot of pressure.”

     He groaned and put his head in his hands.  “It is.  We get a grade for it, we’re all required to enter, but that’s not even the problem here.  I can’t figure out what would appeal to my parents so they can see what I see through the camera lens.  They don’t even like all the same stuff – I mean sure, we all like nature, but Dad’s more into flowers, that’s his thing, while Mom is more into water.  That sounds weird, but, see, she likes how it’s quiet, gentle, malleable, but slowly erodes even the toughest of stones.  She sees that as her role.  Gently guiding and sometimes, when necessary, storming like ocean waves.  So if I do a flower, Dad might be happy, but Mom may not have that ‘ah-ha’ moment, and the reverse with a waterfall or something.  I’m stuck, I just can’t make up my mind.”

     Given his obvious turmoil, I decided this was probably one of those situations where he was okay with my opinion.  For what my opinion counted.  I hoped he wouldn’t think I was being presumptuous but I dove in anyway.  “It sounds to me like you’re more focused on what you think your parents would want to see than what you enjoy yourself.  Didn’t you say you like photography because you can show people things they wouldn’t normally see and appreciate?  They can see water and flowers normally and appreciate them, but you’re trying to show them something new that they wouldn’t appreciate without your photography.”

     Ren had turned his head towards me, listening, while I gave my little speech.  We were both quiet when I finished, me nervous that I’d overstepped my bounds, and him – well, he just seemed thoughtful.

     “Yeah,” he said at last, “that is why I like photography.  To show people a new way of looking at nature.  I think I just forgot that applies to my parents, too.”  He straightened up abruptly and stretched, a determined look on his face.  “Okay, new plan.  I just submit whatever I like the best and if they still don’t get it, they probably never will.”  He turned to fully face me, a slightly shy smile on his face.  “Thanks, Riven.  I really appreciate it.  I was getting too stuck in my head and you’ve helped me get back on point.”

     I caught a flash of his teal blue eyes before I ducked my head, feeling embarrassed – and super glad I didn’t blush easily.  “Um, you’re welcome.”

     I wasn’t used to giving advice to anyone, much less to them taking it, and I wasn’t used to feeling like someone really wanted to hear what I had to say.  It was…nice.  Scary, but nice.