Concern

Debbie wasn’t at all surprised to see Brian at the diner for the sixth night that week.  She wasn’t shocked to see that he was eating alone.  He’d been doing that a lot lately.  She also wasn’t even remotely shaken by the fact that he was still in the suit he’d been wearing that morning.  All week he’d been coming to the diner straight from work for dinner.  She wondered what was going on between Brian and Justin that had Brian so willing to be away from the loft for such a long time after work, but that wasn’t what was bothering her.  What was bothering her was what Brian ordered. 

“Double cheeseburger, fries and a chocolate shake,” Brian said without looking up when Debbie walked over to the table.  Debbie simply nodded and wrote the order down, then went to fill it.  She noticed the questioning look on Brian’s face when she turned to look at him.  She simply shrugged and waited for the order to be filled, then brought it over. 

“Kiki, I’m taking my break,” she said and sat across from Brian.  He’d been about to take a bite of his burger.  He sighed and put the burger down, then looked at Debbie. 

“Well….” he started. 

“Well, what?” she asked, sitting back in the booth. 

“Well, get it over with,” Brian said, leaning back and crossing his arms over his chest. 

“Get what over with?” She tried to play innocent.  It wasn’t working. 

“I know that look, Debbie.  Get the third degree over with so I can eat.” He picked up a fry and popped it into his mouth for emphasis.  “I’d rather deal with your concern on an empty stomach.” 

“I’m just wondering what’s going on,” she said softly.  Brian sighed.  He wasn’t really mad at Debbie.  In fact, he was kind of happy that she actually gave a shit.  It was definitely more than his own mother showed. 

“Nothing’s going on,” Brian said, grabbing his burger once again and taking a bite. 

“I’ll let you know when I believe that,” she said, smacking her gum.  Brian couldn’t keep from smirking. 

“You’re one of two people on the planet who can actually see right through me,” Brian said, putting the burger down and wiping the corner of his mouth. 

“I’m guessing Justin is the other one,” she said more than asked.  Brian simply nodded.  “So….” 

“So….it’s none of your business.” Brian was starting to lose his appetite but he knew he needed to eat. 

“Will you at least tell me why you’re trying to give yourself a heart attack?” She eyed the food in front of him. 

“I’m not trying to give myself a heart attack,” Brian responded, though he did take another bite of the burger. 

“Brian, you come in here breakfast, lunch and dinner.  You’ve ordered this four times this week, the turkey meatloaf, waffles, pancakes, bacon and eggs…”  She paused. 

“You keep a record of what I order?” he asked with a raised eyebrow. 

“I do when you go from eating salad and the occasional plate of fries to eating your weight in fried food,” she replied, concern in her voice. 

“Funny you should mention weight….” Brian said, though he refused to meet her eyes.  She reached across the table and took his hand.  He looked up at her. 

“What is it?” she asked. 

Brian felt himself tearing up at the amount of worry in her voice and cleared his throat to keep the tears at bay.  Just because he was short one testicle didn’t mean he was a lesbian.  “I just realized that maybe I need to gain some weight after….what happened,” he said softly.  She looked at him a minute.  “My doctor is a little concerned.” 

“How much weight are we talking?” She eyed his plate again. 

“Well….enough to get back to where my pants fit properly without retailoring them.”  He smiled sweetly, hoping she’d leave it at that.

“How much weight have you lost, Brian?” He heard that tone in her voice that said he’d better tell her the truth or she’d have his other ball. 

“I don’t know exact numbers in pounds, to be honest, but I’ll admit that my twenty-eight inch waist is now down to about a twenty-four inch waist.”  He tried to avoid eye contact of any kind with her.  She stared at him in complete shock.  In a flash she was up and at the order window, shouting something at the cook that Brian couldn’t quite understand.  A few minutes after that, she came over with two more plates full of food.  Brian could only shake his head.  He knew he shouldn’t have said anything to her.

“I’ll get more…” she said after looking over the contents of the table.  He reached out and grabbed her hand, stopping her from moving away. 

“I’m just trying to put back on the weight I lost, not get fat,” he said with a smirk.  She looked at him and moved to stand next to him, pulling his head against her stomach in a hug.  Brian resigned himself to the moment and wrapped his arms around her waist, hugging back.  “I appreciate the concern but I have to do this in moderation or it’ll be too much.  My doctor gave me a diet and I’m following it.”  He managed to get his head free enough to look up at her. 

“Promise?” she asked, moving a hand to touch his cheek.  He couldn’t keep from smiling. 

“I promise, ma.”  He chuckled when she patted his cheek.  “Can you do me a favor?”

“Anything,” she said. 

“First, let me go,” Brian said with a chuckle, to which Debbie moved back and nodded.  “Second….box all this shit up.  I might not eat it now but it’ll be good to have around the house in case I get hungry later.” 

“You got it.” She nodded and kissed his forehead before going to get some to go boxes.  Brian smiled as he watched her move around the diner.  Fortunately, he was off the hook.  For now.  He wondered how long it would be before Debbie found out that Justin wasn’t talking to him at the moment.  He shook his head and decided to leave that for another time.  He wanted to finish his burger in peace and take the other food home before getting another third degree and many possible slaps upside the head.

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