Babe, You’re a Firework

“How do you just know how to tie ties?” Austin asked.

“Um, I’m exceptionally talented and full of worldly knowledge, that’s how,” Zach replied, reaching around Austin to tighten his tie in front of the floor length mirror in their bedroom.

Austin smirked. “Okay, sure.”

“How do you not know how to tie a tie?”

“I’m committed to forgetting about things that make me feel straight.”

Zach pursed his lips and nodded in agreement. “I support this, please continue to forget.” He pulled the tie tight and smoothed out Austin’s collar. “There you go!”

Austin had his first job interview in twenty minutes, and he was really nervous. He smiled at Zach through the mirror. “Thank you.”

Zach lowered his head to Austin’s shoulder and hugged him from behind. “You’re going to be amazing.”

“I hope so.”

Zach kissed Austin’s neck. “I know so.” He pulled away. “We better get going.”

They left the bedroom, Zach grabbed the car keys, and they were off.

---

The next day, Zach was visiting Austin backstage before his first show of the summer at the local outdoor theater. Austin was in costume and hair and makeup, and trying not to get sweaty.

“Now that we’ve been to New York, are you comparing yourself to broadway actors?” Zach asked.

Austin grimaced. Zach knew him so well now. “Yeah, maybe, a little bit.”

“Okay, so probably a lot of a bit. Don’t be too hard on yourself.”

In response, Austin gave Zach a light shove. “It’s so weird that you’re not running lights this time,” he said.

“I know, I’ll actually be able to only watch you tonight.” Zach replied, his face beaming.

“You look so nice all dressed up. Although, if I’m being honest, I kind of prefer you in your backstage outfit.”

“My black on black on black outfit? I prefer that too, it’s so much comfier.”

Later, in his seat, Zach reflected more on being at a show in the audience. He missed the days when he would run lights. Things were simpler then. He was a barista during the day, and a lighting technician at night, and he loved it. He liked his job now, but being an adult wasn’t nearly as fun.

Soon, the show began. Zach took it all in and tried to ignore the lighting as much as possible. He watched Austin every time that he was on stage, so much in fact that he wasn’t entirely following the storyline. He hoped Austin wouldn’t ask too many questions later.

At intermission, he headed backstage again, and grabbed Austin’s water bottle. He soon found Austin, changing into a new costume.

“Babe, you’re doing so good!” he said.

Austin was radiant. “Thank you! Thank you!“

“I brought your water.”

“You’re a doll.” Austin took the bottle and dramatically tipped it back.

“This is so out of character right now.”

“No it isn’t, I play Austin the famous stage actor during intermission!”

Zach laughed, and leaned in for a hug. “One of my favorite roles,” he said.

---

The following Friday, Zach and Austin were out to lunch. Austin had snuck Zach away from work for an hour, as he hadn’t been able to see him as much while the show was going on. Zach had been spending most nights alone, so he was happy to get some extra Austin time too. They were seated in a small café, each looking over their menus.

“What are you getting?” asked Austin.

“Hmm, probably a bowl.”

“What kind of bowl?”

“A bowl-y bowl.”

Austin’s face immediately portrayed his annoyance. “Okay, never mind.”

“Babe, I’m still figuring it out. Are you asking so that you can copy me?”

“No, I’m asking so that I can find out if I want to steal some of yours.”

It was Zach’s turn to look annoyed. “It’s a good thing that I love you, you’re so scheming.”

“I know,” said Austin, with a smug look.

“I think I’m doing a Southwest bowl.”

“Okay, interesting, interesting.”

“Is that something you were hoping to hear?”

“I was hoping for something with a few more vegetables in it.”

“Maybe you could order something like that for yourself?”

“I just don’t think you understand what I’m trying to do. This is so much more complicated than that.”

“You can say that again.”

Austin’s phone, sitting on the table, lit up with a new email notification. He grabbed it immediately, and let out a small yelp. “It’s the company I interviewed with!”

“What does it say?!”

“I don’t know, I can’t see, I feel like I’m going to pass out. Here, you look at it.” Austin held his phone out to Zach. “No, wait, I want to read it.” He took his phone back.

“Okay, deep breath, you got this.”

Austin blew out his breath. “Okay, I’m opening it.” He tapped on the notification, and began reading the email. His mouth fell open. “I got it. Oh my god, I got the job! I actually got it.”

“That’s amazing!” Zach got up from his seat and Austin stood up too, and they enveloped each other in a big hug.

“What does it say?” asked Zach. He looked over Austin’s shoulder at his screen.

“It says that they really liked me and that they’re excited to offer me the job.”

“Wow, that’s awesome. That was so quick!”

“Yeah, I didn’t think that I would hear so soon. I just had the second interview three days ago.”

They both sat back down, giddy with excitement.

---

It was the day before the Fourth of July. Zach had been waiting for this date for weeks. Not for any sense of patriotism exactly, but because the Fourth was their first anniversary. One year before, he and Austin had gathered with all of Austin’s cast mates around the lake, and it was there that Zach had asked Austin to be his boyfriend.

Zach knew that Austin’s expectations for their first anniversary would be high. He hadn’t said anything about what he wanted, but had casually mentioned that it was coming up. He knew that Austin’s way of downplaying the occasion was also a way of playing it up. Zach, after all, was just as much a fan of theatre.

In preparation of the day, Zach had been gathering supplies for a picnic in the park, which he was going to surprise Austin with. He had meats and cheeses for a charcuterie board, Austin’s favorite kind of pie, and sparkling fruit drinks. He planned to tell Austin the next morning.

There was only one problem with his plan. Zach and Austin’s apartment wasn’t very big, and Zach had chosen to hide the picnic supplies in an unused cabinet in the kitchen. What he didn’t know was that Austin was working on a surprise of his own, and had purchased Zach’s favorite cookies. That afternoon, needing a place to hide them, he picked the same unused cabinet.

Austin had suspected that Zach was planning something, but he didn’t put two and two together when he found Zach’s supplies. Instead, he stashed the cookies in a different cabinet and went to ask Zach about what he had found, who was on his computer in the bedroom.

“Hey, babe, what’s this stuff in that cabinet we never use?”

Zach froze. “What stuff?” He knew what stuff. He desperately hoped that he could play it off.

“There’s like crackers and drinks and stuff in there, did we buy that and forget about it?”

“Oh yeah, we must have, maybe it was for that party we were going to go to.”

“What party?”

Zach cursed his horrible lying skills. “The one on Memorial Day weekend.”

Austin thought for a minute, then made a very doubtful look. “No, we went to that one. Remember, you fell into the pool? Wait, are you lying?”

Zach let out his breath. “Oh my god, yeah. I was going to surprise you with a picnic.” He held his hands over his face.

Austin was quiet for a moment as he put everything together. ”Oh no! I ruined it! I’m so sorry!”

“It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s tomorrow anyway.”

“For our anniversary?”

Zach smiled. “Yeah.”

“Oh no. Well, I guess I might as well ruin my surprise too. I made us dinner reservations at the Yacht Club.”

“The Yacht Club? Whoa, fancy! I’ve never been there.”

“I’ve only been there once, but I sort of worked something out. My dad knows some people.”

Zach got up from his computer and took Austin up in a big hug. “Babe, that’s amazing, that’s so much better than my surprise.” Zach was realizing that he’d been thinking a little too small with his plans.

“We can still do yours! What were you planning?”

“I wanted us to have a little picnic in the park, and then watch the fireworks from our spot on the lake again.” Zach said, while holding Austin’s hands.

“Okay, let’s do both!”

Zach smiled. “That would be great.”

“How long have you been stashing that stuff in the cabinet? There’s so much stuff in there!”

“Just a little while. I might have gone overboard.”

“Maybe, we could throw a whole party with that!”

Zach was so relieved to hear that Austin had been planning a surprise for him too. He leaned in for a long, deep kiss. His worries in New York seemed silly now. His insecurity about his relationship with Austin was just that, insecurity. He felt a little bad for thinking that Austin could be having second thoughts.

---

The next evening, Zach and Austin arrived at the Yacht Club in their very best outfits. Zach recycled his look from New York, and Austin was wearing a bright orange and white shirt. As they walked up to the building, Zach marveled at the architecture. It felt like they were in a different city, the style reminding him of a New England town. He’d never been to one before, but this was how he imagined them.

Inside, Austin checked them in at the host stand, and they were promptly led off to a table for two along the windows facing the lake. Zach couldn’t help looking around to take it all in as he sat down.

After the host left, Zach asked, “How did you get this table?”

With a smirk, Austin replied, “Like I said, my dad knows some people.”

“Well, I’d say so, this is crazy.”

Austin was glad that Zach was enjoying it, but he started to feel a little guilty for not appreciating it as much. He was used to dining out at nice places. He didn’t think about it very often, but Zach hadn’t always been afforded the same.

Zach picked up his menu and looked over the options. Austin left his menu closed, as he’d already picked out what he was going to get. He’d planned the entire evening weeks ago, even down to his outfit.

“Are you getting the salmon?” asked Zach.

“You know me so well.”

“I think I’m going to get the chicken.”

“The chicken?”

“Yes, the chicken. The one and only.”

“Marvelous.”

They ordered, and while they waited for their food, Austin started his preplanned story time.

“Do you remember when we first saw each other at the coffee shop?”

“Of course.” Zach leaned forward and rested his chin on his hand, smiling.

“I was there to study and I kept getting so distracted by one of the baristas who was incredibly cute.”

“And I was trying really hard not to stare at one of our customers who was so hot.”

Austin blushed. “You could have stared at me for hours if you had wanted to.”

“I wish I had known that then, because I would have. I would have been pouring steamed milk into a cup, overflowing it, and then still been pouring, not paying any attention to anything but you.”

Austin exhaled through his nose and smiled. “I still remember how excited I was to see that you were on the crew of my show that summer.”

“I was probably more excited. I was waiting for you to come back into the coffee shop. I watched the door like a hawk, everyone probably thought that I was losing it. But you never came back in. And then I saw you up on stage, getting your orientation. I wanted to put all the lights on full blast so that I could see you.”

“I did go back in one day after that on a Tuesday afternoon, but you weren’t there.”

“I didn’t know that! Ugh, that’s so annoying. I’m kind of glad I didn’t know that, I would’ve been so mad. They usually put me on the morning shift so that I could do theatre stuff in the evening.”

“Well, I’m glad they did, or else we wouldn’t have met.”

“I think we would have anyway,” Zach said confidently.

“Yeah? I hope so, I would be so lost without you.”

Soon, the food arrived and they dug in. The sun began to set over the lake as they ate, purples and oranges filling the sky. They each reveled in the deep peace that came over them. They had each other, and life had never been better.

After they finished eating, they realized that they were running out of time to make it to their spot before the fireworks started. They paid the bill, and rushed out of the Yacht Club.

They made their way around the lake, and parked as close to the spot as they could. It was a generic looking spot, forgettable to most, but they knew right where it was. A crowd was already gathering, so they made their way through groups of people. Some were grilling out, others were playing games, and some were just setting up blankets to sit on.

Zach had packed all of his supplies into a basket, and held Austin’s hand as he led them closer and closer to the lake. At their spot, they got out a red checkered picnic blanket and spread it out.

Out of the basket, Zach pulled the pie, Austin’s cookies, and bottles of juice. They cut up the pie and filled their glasses, and settled in next to each other.

“You know, maybe we should have brought a change of clothes,” said Austin.

“Yeah, I’m already getting sweaty.”

They took off their blazers and placed them in a stack in the basket, and then rolled up their sleeves. They ate their pie, had a cookie each, and sipped at their drinks, taking in the atmosphere.

“I can’t believe that it’s already been a year,” said Austin.

“I know, it feels like time is moving so fast.”

“That day was so magical. The show was over, the whole cast was here, and there was a really cute guy to sit with.”

“Oh yeah? Who was that?”

Austin laughed. ”You, silly. I didn’t know that I would be so in love then.”

“I didn’t either. You’re a crazy little guy.”

“Crazy? I guess you’re silly and I’m crazy.”

“Yeah, crazy, you changed my life. I wouldn’t have been able to do any of this without you.”

“I’m sure you could have.”

“No, I mean it. You helped me get a job. And you helped me get an apartment and you’ve made it feel like home. I’d probably still be living at home and making coffee if it weren’t for you.”

“Aw, babe, that’s so sweet, I’m so glad I could be there for you. I would do it all again.” Austin set down his pie and continued. “I’m so glad that we were able to move in together, I love being able to spend so much time with you. I love my parents but it’s so nice to feel like an adult.”

“Let’s not get carried away.”

“Hey! I’ll get carried away if I want to.”

Zach leaned in and gave Austin a kiss. At the moment that their lips touched, the first firework launched across the lake and exploded in the sky. They smiled into the kiss and then turned to watch the show.