“Yeah. That was a great game,” Bernard agreed.
“Hey, Sean.” A voice came from behind them.
They turned around to see a man dressed from head to toe in San Francisco Giants gear. His round glasses matched his build. His goatee was dyed a bright orange and his hair a jet black.
“Hello, Hugo,” Sean said. Bernard noted his stiffened posture and polite greeting. Sean refused to meet Hugo’s gaze.
Hugo had a smile that reached his eyes. He looked over at Bernard. “Hugo Janssen.” He held out a hand.
“Bernard Silva,” Bernard said. “Nice to meet you.”
“You too,” he said. “How do you know Sean?”
“I work with his brother-in-law at an insurance company,” he replied without skipping a beat.No reason for him to know we went on a date.
“Sounds fun,” Hugo said.
“Well, it’s a lot of paperwork.”
“I see.”
“How do you know Sean?”
“I teach music at Gilroy High School,” Hugo said.
“Oh, so you work with Sean,” Bernard said.
“Yes, we don’t get to work together much, but my band plays all home games.” Hugo changed the subject. “So, are you on a date?” He frowned, looking at each of them in turn.
“No,” Sean blurted. “We’re just hanging out.”
Bernard made eye contact with Sean. Beads of sweat formed on his forehead. His eyes widened as he stared at Bernard. Fear covered his face.
“Sean had tickets and his brother-in-law, Mark, asked if I was free so the ticket didn’t go to waste,” Bernard said. “I thought it’d be fun to get out of the house and to a game.”
“That’s great.” Hugo didn’t smile. “Did you enjoy it?”
“Yes, I haven’t been to a game in a while. It was fun.”
“I’ll see you at the staff meeting on Monday, Sean. Have a good night.”
They watched him walk away.
“What’s going on?” Bernard looked at Sean. “When he asked if we were on a date, the tension intensified.”
“Let’s get to the car, I’ll tell you there.”
Bernard struggled to keep pace with Sean. While Sean was chubby, he was in much better shape than him.
They rushed to Sean’s car and jumped in.
“He seemed like a pleasant man,” Bernard said. “What is going on between you two?”
“He’s my ex.”
“Wait, he’s what?”
“He and I dated in college,” Sean said. “I broke it off before graduation. We both ended up at the same high school and he asked me what happened.” Sweat dripped down Sean’s face.
