Externalizing [mxm]

Chapter 5

“Thanks again for coming over.” Marc figured like it was a fair trade anyways.

Brendan lived closer to the school, in a house that looked worse for wear and small. There was one light already on. “My roommate,” Brendan explained briefly as he got out with all of the school projects. “I’ll see you at school I figure,” Brendan added.

Marc nodded and glanced to check back on Ariel, still laying like a log in the backseat with a seatbelt awkwardly stretched around her. “See you, Brendan.” It really felt awkward to say something like that to someone, but Brendan lit up anyways.

Marc made sure he got inside before driving home and setting Ariel up in her bedroom again. With that, he collapsed into bed. He was exhausted but he still couldn’t make his eyes close right away. Part of him was still worried about what would be there for him in the morning at work—how much of the computers they could actually save. He never usually worried about backing things up.

He also wondered some about Brendan. Marc still thought about the camps and what it was like to be in something like that. He couldn’t imagine being in a place like that. In reality it had never been a far off possibility for him.

***

“Hey, Marc, do you want to go out with us tonight?” One of his subordinates asked, popping his head into Marc’s office.

Marc looked up from his work. They asked him every Friday, even though he had been saying no each and every time. Maybe that’s why they kept asking, because they were being polite even though the answer wouldn’t change.

But then he could just think about Brendan giving him a hard time for not going out with other adults. Marc sighed and gave in for once. “Sure.” He would just have to call Terri and see if she could babysit again.

“Oh,” he said, seeming surprised. “Okay, sweet. We can just meet up in the lobby, unless you want to stop at home or anything, we usually end up at the Drunken Monkey.”

Marc snorted at the name of the place, but figured it had to be suitable. “I’ll probably just meet you all there.” He always left early anyways to go pick up Ariel.

He texted Terri so that she could reply when she got a chance. He could pick her up along the way too, and stop to get them something to eat before he left. He would feel bad if Terri tried cooking again and there was nothing to cook with.

Marc left the office around three-thirty so that he could get to Ariel’s school before it let out. Terri had replied by then that she was good to babysit that evening and just wanted to stop at home to change out of her uniform.

Marc went inside to stop and see Brendan again then. He was feeling quite proud of himself for agreeing to a social outing that wasn’t Brendan coercing him into anything.

Brendan smiled at him quickly when Marc stepped into the room. Brendan bounded over from the windows and came to a short stop in front of Marc. “Hey, how has your week been? Did it all turn out okay at work?”