Say When

T W E N T Y - O N E

"Okay, try this one."

I was standing behind the counter surrounded by the scent of wings. The tang and spices of the sauces drifted to my nostrils. My senses were heightened by the loss of my sight. My large purple pashmina scarf was tied firmly around my eyes. I felt the rough skin and slick sauce of a wing on my lips and took a bite. I chewed slowly, coating my taste buds in the flavor.

"Asian Zing...and a little Jerk Delight?" I said.

"You're a wizard. I only put a tiny dab of the jerk!" I pulled off the scarf to see Yuri staring at me incredulously. The wing shop was quiet. The chairs were turned over on top of the table as the floor dried from its recent mopping. We'd locked up about twenty minutes ago and were getting ready to leave but not before we conducted our weekly blind tasting.

"I told you. I know my food. Food and books, it's all I do. Can't you tell?" I grabbed at the stubborn pouch of fat on my belly that would not go away no matter how much running I did.

"You gotta stop that." His tone grew serious. "There's nothing wrong with you."

"I guess." I waved him off and cleared the last of the wings off the counter. I kicked myself for even saying it aloud. I usually kept my self deprecating shtick in my head. It was a knee jerk reaction to make fun of myself before other people had the chance to. Two weeks removed from my birthday and I was learning that turning eighteen didn't come with a new found confidence. That insecure little girl still lived just beneath the surface.

"You guess but I know. Listen to this." Yuri pulled out his cell phone, dialed a number and put it on speaker phone.

"Hey man!" The male voice on the line screeched through the phone. I recognized it immediately as one of the guys who works here part-time too. He's polite but talks way too much and believes he's God's gift to women.

"Yo, Steve, what's up man? Listen, I think I may have a game tomorrow. You think you can cover my shift?"

"Is Bri working tomorrow?" Steve asked. I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Yeah, I think so."

"Count me in, Bro. I gotta get next to her! I'm there. You want me to come in early? I'll come early and stay late if you know what I mean!"

My jaw dropped open. Yuri clapped his hand over his mouth to stifle a laugh. It took a moment for him to regain his composure. Meanwhile, Steve continued to talk openly and empathically about how into me he was. I listened in horror, occasionally mouthing "no" and "hang up" to Yuri. He eventually collected himself.

"Oh damn, you know what? I'm looking at the calendar wrong. My bad. No game tomorrow. Thanks though!" He quickly ended the call and doubled over in fits of laughter.

"He's so fucking gross! Don't ever put me to work with him."

"Never. But it proves my point."

"Point taken." I counted out my drawer as Yuri closed the back office and locked up. After my final count, I noticed he was lost in his phone. His fingers glided swiftly across the phone screen. He smiled.

"Who's got you smiling like that?" I teased. He shook his head and then crossed over to me. He flipped his phone screen toward me. The screen showed a looped video of a younger boy with Yuri's skin and eyes set up for and make a three-point shot. The way the boy turned toward the camera with disbelief after the shot went in was adorable.

"My little brother. He wants to ball so bad," Yuri said. That smile still dancing on his lips. When he spoke of his brother his tone was tender.

"He looks good! The kids got promise."