Traffic Jam in Aisle 5 (Sean)

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean shook his head, not in disagreement but to demonstrate that he took no offense to what the other man had said. “I know that there are a lot of holes in our education system. It’s something that I could talk about all evening.” In fact, he had, when conversing with Josh or with some of his coworkers. Hammel provided a first-class education, and so, with notable exceptions, his students would do well, but not every student was served as well as they were.

He nodded again, demonstrating that he understood. “It is different. This is my second career as well.” He had always been a psychiatrist, but once upon a time, he had had a private practice.

Sean wished that he could say that this was the first time that anyone had ever backed away from him upon learning of his profession (or his powers), but unfortunately he could not. With society’s less than enlightened view towards mental health as a whole, revealing that he was a psychiatrist often created paranoia within other people, fleeting as it could be. For the most part, the older man was used to it and drew no negative inferences on that reaction alone, particularly when it was minor and obviously reflexive as opposed to conscious, drawn-out, and deliberate.

What he found more interesting than Simon’s reaction was that this was a revelation at all. He remembered when Josh had dated Simon, although his friend had never formally introduced them for...reasons that he and his partner had never discussed either at the time or in the decades since then. Simon was the same age as Josh, which meant that they had dated when they were thirty, and when Sean had been thirty-three. The telepath had been a psychiatrist since he was twenty-six, which means that it had never come up. For some reason, while dating, Josh had never seen fit to discuss his career with the blond man.

That was a topic for him and his partner to discuss, not in this grocery store and certainly without an audience.

“It’s always been interesting, and I love the work.”

[Simon Fournier]

“Good,” Simon said, glad that Sean understood what he meant. “I mean not good about the wholes. But it’s nice to know I’m not the only one who sees it.” Why was this small talk thing so hard to do? Of course Simon had less practice with it these days. Talking with his students or his co-workers was easy since he could always steer the subject to the next assignment or some other classroom subject. But talking with old…friends?...well that was more difficult. And complicated. Not for the first time Simon wondered if maybe having a shared history wasn’t the best thing.

“Well I’m glad you’re second career is working out as well,” Simon added. He’d never considered himself to be teacher material. When he was in college he’d looked at the old men and wondered how they could stand it. Surely they’d wanted to move on just as bad as he had. But he’d found it was different now that he was actually sitting on the other side. He liked the element of repetition. Sure, he never had the same classroom of kids twice, but there was a sense of safety that he had lost in the courtroom.

Simon wasn’t at all surprised. Well he was a bit surprised at discovering Sean’s occupation. Somehow he’d always assumed that Sean was a lawyer, like Joshua. But he had never really cared to ask. He worried enough about living up to filling the hole that Sean had left in Joshua’s life that he had tried not to think about how well or badly he was doing that. Besides, it had seemed that Joshua was trying to forget Sean at the time. And Simon was happy enough to aid him in that endeavor.

“So do you…shop here often?” Simon asked, uncomfortable with any silence. He almost smacked himself in the face when he realized the question sounded like a line. He couldn’t wait until this was all just a memory that he could (hopefully) laugh over with Saul.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

“I know what you meant,” Sean replied, his voice gentle and as non-combative as he could make it. Simon’s anxiety and discomfort with this conversation was obvious to a non-powered layman, let alone Sean, with his telepathy and his decades of experience as a mental health professional, and his observational skills. The least that he could do was to try to set the younger man at ease to what degree he could.

That included smiling at applicable sentiments, as he might with his students. He was not a threat, and he would illustrate that through facial expression, through tone, through body language, and through word choice. “So am I. I love where I work.” Which was true. As frustrating as some of the students could be, as much as he might disagree with certain policies, he approved of Hammel as a whole. Moreover, he remained indebted to Hammel for saving his sanity.

...and so quickly they were back in awkward territory. Truly, the telepath felt for the younger man. Perhaps a focused conversation would ease some of the tension, particularly since Sean wished Simon no ill-will. He had wished Simon no ill-will when the blond had dated Josh.

“I do. This is my default grocery store, although I like going to the Farmer’s market in good weather. It’ll open next month. You can’t get better produce than from them.” He lowered his voice, so as not to be accused of inhibiting the grocery store’s business with his remarks.

[Simon Fournier]

Simon smiled at his old friend...or whatever Sean was. He wondered for a second if there was a term for 'the guy currently with your ex who was probably part of the reason your ex was now your ex.' He figured 'old friend' would have to do. After all, even though Simon wasn't exactly besties with the psychologist, he tended to group most of his acquaintances and most of the general population under the 'friend' title.

And it was nice to have someone come right out and clear away Simon's concerns that he was being misunderstood, no matter what their relationship might be. And while some may have felt that Sean was treating them like a scared child and taken offense, Simon had no problem with the other man going out of his way to show he meant no ill will.

"I love where I work too," Simon said. "Though I'm still learning some of the ins and outs of the college. Like what department oversees what and all." True, Simon had been a lawyer and was used to jumping through hoops sometimes to make the system work for him, but he hadn't expected a college to be as bureaucratic as he'd found it.

Simon shifted nervously, looking anywhere but at Sean's face after his last awkward comment. At least the other man wasn't drawing attention to his slip-up.

"Really? That sounds wonderful. Saul and I will have to check it out sometime." Even though they had lived in the area for a couple of years now, they were still learning about Pilot Ridge. And while Simon had never exactly been a health nut, he did enjoy local produce. There was no denying that it tasted batter. And it would be nice to have something in addition to steaks on the grill.

Then again, going to the Farmer's Market might lead to more awkward conversations like this one if there was a chance he was going to bump into Sean there. And if this was Sean's default grocery story as well, maybe it would be a good place to avoid. At least when he was without the comforting presence of his partner by his side. Though hopefully a second conversation wouldn't be quite as awkward and hard as this one.

"So what are you picking up?" Simon asked, taking a look into Sean's basket. He immediately hoped he wasn't being too nosey. But after all they were in a grocery store. What else would they talk about if not about food?

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean smiled gently, as he did with the students who came to his office under pressure from their families, or because he had flagged their files for one reason or another. Patient, gentle, non-threatening, affecting an aura of calm. It was what he could do to get the blond man through this encounter. If, for some reason Josh actually consented to supper with Simon and Saul, then all bets would be off; the telepath was sure that he was the only person who would get through such an encounter without an anxiety attack.

“The bureaucracy can be the most difficult part,” the telepath said sympathetically. He had attended Hammel as a student for six years, and he had the benefit of telepathy, both as a student and when he began working there as an adult. Even with that, adjusting to some of the Hammel bureaucracy had taken him longer than to adjust to being in a position of authority at his old school, or adjusting to his increased responsibilities with each hat they added to his job title. He had a handle on that now, but he had also been working at Hammel for nearly twenty-four years. That was quite the steep learning curve.

He nodded, pretending that he had not overheard Simon’s consideration of avoiding the market lest they run into each other again. Most people were not quite so skittish around him, but most people lacked Josh as their focal point for interactions. “You should. One of the stands always has freshly made fudge, and the market as a whole has some of the freshest produce I’ve ever seen.” Not that he disliked the grocery store, but there was something special about the farmer’s market.

Sean didn’t consider the question to be nosy, as this was part of small talk, and the contents of his grocery basket remained in public view. He gestured at each item in turn. “A few staples: eggs, brown sugar, vanilla extract, pineapple.” The pineapple was pre-sliced and in season; Josh had received a recipe from Riley for pineapple upside down cake that he had wanted to try. “I’ll grab a couple of cleaning products on the way out.”

[Simon Fournier]

Simon smiled, glad that they seemed to have found some common ground that didn't involve Joshua. And that didn't make Simon feel that he was creating more of a gap between them. Of course it helped that Sean was going out of his way to make him feel comfortable.

"Yes!" he said, perhaps a bit too enthusiastic. "I was so surprised. I didn't remember it being like that when I was a student. Though I guess I had other things I was paying attention to at the time." Like Joshua. Though the other man had not been the only thing he thought about back then, it was the first thought that popped into Simon's head right now. And he outwardly blushed at the inward thought.

"We'll keep it in mind," Simon added. It sure did sound tempting, even with the possibility of awkward meet-ups. That again, he would have Saul by his side at the market.

Simon nodded along as Sean listed his items. "I'm just here for pie," he said, laughing a little nervously. "Thought I'd pick up a treat to add to dinner. But I can't seem to make up mind."

He felt a bit ashamed, seeing as he had caused this meetup by blocking Sean's way with a cart he didn't really need in the first place for just one item. But he'd grabbed it mostly out of habit.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

“Students rarely notice,” Sean remarked. He had realized that when he had taken the faculty position at Hammel. Despite not working in higher education, he was sure that the University of Vermont operated along similar principles. The students had to concern themselves with making grades, with extracurricular activities, with their social lives, and with planning for the future. They had no reason to notice the bureaucracy, as it did not impact them in a tangible way.

Then Simon explained what had brought him to the grocery store. Like the telepath, he had not come to do his weekly shopping, but instead to supplement for the night.

“I love pie,” Sean replied, stating a fact that most people realized after spending more than a couple of hours in the telepath’s presence. His sweet tooth and love of baked goods was notorious among his friends, coworkers, and acquaintances. “If you want something seasonal, they have a delicious key lime pie, and also a chocolate cream pie. One can’t go wrong with chocolate.” Such was the mantra at the Neville residence.

All things considered, their grocery store had decent enough baked goods. Nothing that could compare with home, or with his favorite diner, but which could easily do in a pinch.

[Simon Fournier]

"True, I'm just happy if I can get them to notice what time the class starts," Simon joked, laughing awkwardly. Really it was a pet peeve of his when students walked in ten minutes late and acted like that was okay. Still, he tried to give them some leeway the first few classes, especially the freshmen.

"Who doesn't?" Simon asked. "I mean I'm sure some people don't...there's nothing wrong with not liking pie...just most people do...I guess." He attempted a smile as if that would erase his rambling.

"I've never been good at making desserts," Simon admitted with a sigh. He had tried. He had failed. So he stuck to the grill and depended on Saul or the grocery store to satisfy his sweet tooth. Though if given the option Simon would always pick steak over pie.

"Thanks for the suggestions," Simon continued, turning his attention to the key lime pie. Since green was his favorite, he felt drawn to the color of the little lime wedge. Chocolate might be sweeter, but now that he had the other in his mind, it seemed the perfect fit.

"Well I'd better pay for this and head out if I want to beat Saul home," he said, picking out a pie. "Uh...it was...nice, bumping into you. Guess I'll be seeing you around...at dinner perhaps?"

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean nodded in agreement. Although he did not teach formal classes, aside from his sexual education seminar, which was, fortunately, not for another four months and hardly qualified as a typical class or lecture, he still dealt with students on a daily basis. Some arrived late to sessions because they overslept. Others arrived late because they did not value his time or prioritize their meetings. Others tried to hide, which was when security became involved. “At least most of them grow out of it,” he offered. Most of them did.

“Making desserts is a science and an art,” Sean remarked, and that came from an understanding of baking, rather than his sweet tooth. He could bake, in part because it was important to him, and in part because it was an extension of his cooking skills and always proved useful. Not everyone could bake well, although he believed most people could master rudimentary lessons. Contrasting Josh’s acquired skills over the past two years with Felicity, his ex-girlfriend who had always been appallingly bad at baking. A science and an art. “Thankfully, we live in an area with lots of baked goods to compensate.” One was never without options in and around Pilot Ridge.

“It was nice bumping into you too,” the telepath replied. He offered his hand for a handshake, as that was etiquette, and he thought that such a humanizing touch might further set Simon at ease. Beyond that, it would serve as a definitive end to this interlude, and he was sure that the attorney would appreciate that. “And I’ll be sure to pass the invitation on to Josh.”

[Simon Fournier]

Simon nodded and smiled. 'A science and an art.' It was a good description and he would have to tell that to Saul later as a compliment to his husband's skill in the kitchen. And though he preferred Saul's backed goods, he was bias probably, Simon agreed that there were several wonderful places in Pilot Ridge to satisfy anyone's sweet tooth.

"Agreed, I was pleasantly surprised to find that out," he said, thought of course, Sean probably had a better knowledge than he had. But Simon had worried that living in a smaller town would have meant having to give up having multiple good options.

Simon shifted his pie to his other hand so that he could shake San's. "Thanks. Enjoy your shopping," he said, offering one last awkward smile before he turned towards the check outs, trying not to literally run in his eagerness.

(((wrap for Simon))

[Dr. Sean Neville]

After the handshake, Sean bade the younger man farewell with a parting wave. He watched as Simon disappeared down the aisle, turning to the front and the closest available checkout line.

Simon was more nervous than Sean remembered from NYU, although it had been three decades since he had last seen the younger man. Josh had kept them apart, when his partner had dated Simon, something that the telepath had realized, in retrospect, came from insecurity about his friendship with Sean, mixed with some internalized and projected jealousy that led to assumptions and fear of hurting the telepath by having a new relationship.

No matter, everything had worked out in the end. Simon’s thoughts and expression had both radiated happiness at mention of Saul. That was what mattered. Just as Sean’s and Josh’s rekindled romance was what mattered.

Although the notion of a double date caused the telepath to shake his head to himself. Turning down the aisle, to resume his shopping, he began to mull over how he could keep his polite promise to Simon while conveying to his partner that there was no obligation to accept the offer.

After all, Sean was sure that he would be the only one present with some degree of comfort. Comparatively, Josh’s break up with Simon had been a bed of roses compared with the drama and hurt feelings, and aftermath, of his relationship with Saul.

They could discuss it tonight, after Josh’s baking homework.