Kayla
She's at the back door when they come in, still warm from whatever she's been doing in the kitchen — there's a dish towel over her shoulder and she pulls it off the moment she sees them, already smiling.Oh my gosh, hi!Her eyes go straight to the wine bottle and she makes an immediate sound of appreciation.You did not have to do that. I'm Kayla, Cody's wife. Come in, come in, seriously — Wade and Tanya are already out back. Can I get y'all something to drink first? We've got beer, wine — obviously — and Cody made a thing with lemonade he's very proud of that no one has asked him about yet.
Cody
It's a good thing. The lemonade thing is good. Hey, man. Glad you made it. Both of you. C'mon out back when you're ready.
Wade
Hey, Brynn. And you must be the Canadian. Wade.
Reggie
Thank you, Kayla. And Wade, I'm Reg. Most people call me Reggie. It's nice to encounter you.
Wade
Reggie.He says it once, like he's filing it away, and puts his hand out — firm grip, the kind that's also a small measurement.Good to meet you, man. Brynn talked you into coming out, huh?
Tanya
She's already standing near the back door with a glass of something white, and she gives Reggie a look that's a beat longer than polite before she smiles.Hi. I'm Tanya. Welcome to Texas, if nobody's said that yet.
Kayla
Okay, I'm opening this tonight. What do you want to drink, Reggie — I'll get it.
Reggie
Well, the wine I brought is one of my favourites but may I try the lemonade thing? I'd like to sample what Texans drink.
Cody
He points at Reggie like he just said the right answer.That's what I'm talking about.He's already moving toward the pitcher on the folding table.Give the man the lemonade. I put mint in it. And something else. It's a whole thing.
Kayla
He's been waiting for someone to ask since four o'clock. Fair warning — it's got a little bourbon in it too, so it's not exactly county-fair lemonade.
Tanya
And what's the wine? I'm curious what you brought all the way from France.
Reggie
I didn't bring it from France. I brought it from Fort Worth. I had some errands to run there and one of the stores had it. And yes, Wade, Brynn was quite insistent but I'm happy to be here.
Brynn
She's found a spot near the edge of the group — not quite in the middle of it, which is where she usually lands — and she has that look she gets when she's deciding whether to let something sit or push it.He's modest about it too. He actually knew what he was looking for. He told me about this wine on the drive over. I didn't follow half of it but he seemed like he knew.
Cody
Okay. Verdict.
Reggie
I'm not a connoisseurPronounces it correctly, to the surprise and possible irritation of the othersbut I really like Côtes du Rhône wines.
Cody
He pauses mid-pour, just for a second, mouth doing something between impressed and mildly annoyed.Okay. Yeah. That's —He finishes pouring.Wade, you hear that?
Wade
I did. I was gonna say 'ron-yay' and call it a day.
Tanya
So what is it about that one? The Côtes du Rhône.
Reggie
Well, this exact bottle is from up north so it's a bit spicier than the southern stuff. Almost peppery. But really, I'm no sommelier. I try to find a decent bottle at a sane price, which is far easier here than it is back home. Prices are far lower.
Tanya
Spicier from the north.She tilts her head, actually interested.So it's not just a France thing — it's a where in France thing.
Cody
Here. Cleanse your sommelier palate with this first.
Reggie
Thank you.accepts a top up of the lemonade loaded with bourbonHave you all known each other a long time?
Wade
Long time.He settles back in his chair.Cody and I played ball for the same high school team in slightly different years. So that's what, eighteen years now?
Cody
Nineteen. Since you were a senior and I was in eighth grade and you thought you were already the man.
Tanya
I came in later. Wade and I met after college, so — six years for us.
Brynn
I grew up with Tanya. So that's longer than I want to admit.
Tanya
She takes a sip from her glass, easy and unhurried, and lets the question land as casually as she can manage.So how do you two know each other? Library thing, or —
Brynn
She doesn't miss a beat, but there's a fraction of a second in there if you're looking for it.Library, yeah. We both volunteer. That's where — That's how Cody knows him too.
Tanya
And you ended up riding over together tonight.
Brynn
He offered. Or I asked. One of those.
Wade
Long drive from the condo to Cody's place. What is it, six blocks?
Brynn
We stopped for gas.
Reggie
I'm just her plus one, Tanya. She made it very clear to me that after her divorce she wasn't looking to replace him. I know my role.Laughs
Tanya
She laughs, and it's a real one — surprised out of her.Okay. Fair enough.She takes a sip of her wine, and the look she gives Brynn over the rim of the glass is not entirely neutral.
Brynn
I did say that. I stand by it. Don't make it weird.
Reggie
I noted to her that she had to balance showing up alone, which she hates, against showing up with a foreign stranger who doesn't fit in, which has its own issues. She chose the latter tonight.
Wade
He looks at Reggie for a second, reassessing something.And you laid that out for her ahead of time.
Brynn
He did. In the library parking lot, basically.She says it with a dry flatness that isn't quite complaint and isn't quite praise.Very thorough risk assessment.
Wade
Foreign stranger. That's a hell of a way to introduce yourself, man.
Tanya
To be fair, he introduced himself that way. That's either very honest or very Canadian.
Reggie
It's just reality. I'm not self-conscious about it. Actually, wait, that's a lie. I'm acutely aware of it but I'm not ashamed of it, and none of you are making it a thing so it's fine.
Wade
He points at Reggie with his beer bottle, not unkindly.That's a better answer than most people born here would give you.
Cody
Has it come up a lot since you got here?
Kayla
Cody.
Cody
What? It's a real question.
Reggie
No, Cody, not at all. It never comes up. I keep to myself. My goal is not to disturb anyone for two years and disappear without anyone noticing.Laughs
Wade
Disappear without anyone noticing.He says it slow, like he's turning the phrase over.That's the plan? Just — slip out the back of the whole town?
Kayla
Two years though. That's not nothing. That's — how long do you have left?
Reggie
Twenty-one months left. I've been here three months. I started volunteering at the library a month ago just to have something to do.
Kayla
Twenty-one months.She does the math out loud without meaning to, then catches herself.That's still almost two years. You could — a lot can happen in two years.
Brynn
He's very committed to the plan. I've heard the plan. It's a good plan. Very tidy. Doesn't always work like that though, does it.
Reggie
I'm not sorry for myself at all, and neither should anyone else be. I'm doing fine. I'm just in a place that has very strong local culture and customs, and I don't fit in perfectly so I do things that don't require fitting in. The librarians don't care if the guy reshelving the philosophy section looks good in a cowboy hat.
Wade
He laughs — a real one, chest deep.The philosophy section. Of course.
Tanya
He's not wrong though. The library doesn't care. The library is the one place in this town that genuinely doesn't.She says it like she knows it from somewhere personal.The rest of it — the Square, the church parking lots, the football boosters — that's where the hat matters. You found the right exemption.
Wade
I'm not gonna pretend I don't think about what it's like walking around as the only — whatever you are to people here. Brown guy, Canadian, whatever box they're putting you in. But I will say. You talk about it like it's weather. Just — conditions. I don't know if I could do that.
Reggie
The library's not the only place, Tanya. There's a shelter with a soup kitchen. I've talked to them about putting in a shift here and there. And sometimes when Brynn has nothing better in her Bumble, she calls me.Laughs
Brynn
She turns to look at him with an expression that is completely flat and completely deliberate.I don't have nothing better. I make a deliberate choice to call you. There is a difference. And I'm not apologizing for the Bumble comment because you walked into that one.
Wade
The soup kitchen though. That's — you went looking for that on your own?
Reggie
The soup kitchen surprised me. I donated some stuff there the other day. They gave me a tour. I asked if they needed help and they asked what I could do, which honestly isn't much. They don't need software. But I mentioned I speak a bit of Spanish and they told me almost all their homeless were white and that the Mexicans all work and have places, which stunned me. But they said they always need help putting out the chairs and tables and so on, and to help handle the aggressive ones, so I'll put a shift in next week and see if it's a fit.
Brynn
You didn't mention the soup kitchen to me. The Spanish part especially. You speak more than a bit, don't you.
Reggie
I speak enough Spanish that I could survive in a Spanish country without starving, but not enough that anyone would ever mistake me for educated.
Tanya
Survive without starving is a real bar though. Most people can't even get there. What's the background — how'd you pick it up?
Wade
And don't say Duolingo.
Reggie
I lived in Colombia for a few years. I'd still be there if Covid hadn't messed with my lifestyle.
Wade
Colombia.He sits back, reassessing again — it's becoming a habit with this guy.That's not where I thought you were gonna land.
Cody
And Covid pulled you out. Like — you left because of the lockdowns?
Reggie
Not because of the lockdowns. Because my whole life was in Canada, and I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to return again if I didn't go in 2020 when the government arranged emergency flights. So I went. And I never got back. I miss it.
Wade
Man. That's not —He shakes his head slowly.You didn't leave because you wanted to. You left because you were afraid the door was gonna close.
Brynn
What was there? In Colombia. What was your life?
Reggie
My life wasn't anything spectacular. It never is. I'm not a very spectacular guy. I wrote software during the day online, and at night I tried to fit in. Sort of like what I'm doing here.
Brynn
Trying to fit in.She says it like she's reading it back to herself, not to the room.You make it sound like a character flaw.
Cody
And did you? Fit in?
Reggie
Not really. Even worse than I fit in here, although my race isn't a thing in Colombia. They come in all colours. But when I was in Medellín...they have an orchestra. The Orquesta Filarmónica de Medellín. All their concerts are free. And they go to the most dangerous barrios in Medellín and play for the poorest people and the criminals. I became a groupie. I would follow them all round Medellín. Whatever barrio they'd play that week, I'd be there. And then I'd hang with the poor people and answer their questions about Canada in my broken Spanish. It was beautiful.
Brynn
She's been still since he said barrios, and she stays still a moment longer.You followed an orchestra into the worst parts of the city. That's the part you buried in the middle.
Tanya
That's not a man trying to fit in. That's a man who found the one room in the city where it didn't matter whether he did. The orchestra was the cover. The barrio people were the point.
Brynn
What did they ask you? The people. What did they actually want to know about Canada?
Reggie
They wanted to know what life was like. How cold it was. Do people like Latinos there. How much money do I make. All the usual things. And then I moved to Cartagena which is an amazing city on the sea. Parts of it look like Miami Beach, full of skyscrapers on the ocean, but they have a big old town area which is all cobblestones and they ban cars after 2pm so the only way to get around is your feet or horse-drawn carriages which are everywhere and cheap to hire. It's like walking into a time machine.
Kayla
Cartagena.She says it like she's tasting it.Horse-drawn carriages after two in the afternoon. That's — I didn't know that existed.
Brynn
Do people like Latinos there. That one's not about Canada. That's someone asking if there's a door.
Cody
And what did you tell them?
Reggie
I told them that people like Latinos in the big cities, generally. And most people like them everywhere. But in some small towns, people see immigrants as a threat. But it shouldn't affect their daily lives. Same as here, really.
Cody
He's quiet for a second, turning his cup in both hands.Same as here.He says it back flat, not defensive — just letting it sit there.Yeah. I mean. Yeah, it is.
Tanya
Small towns see immigrants as a threat. You're sitting in one right now telling us that. And nobody's flinching.
Reggie
I'm happy to be here but I'm extremely conscious about the fact that the conversation is revolving around me when I was quite determined to sit quietly in a corner and do my quiet plus-one duty without saying anything.laughs
Cody
He laughs, loud and immediate.You were gonna do what? Sit in the corner? At my party?He points around the table.This is like eight people, man. There is no corner.
Brynn
I told you. This is what happens when you're interesting and you don't want to be. The room doesn't cooperate. You gave us a lot to work with. That part's on you.
Kayla
We can talk about something else if you want. I just — have one more question.
Reggie
What is your question, Kayla?
Kayla
She grins, a little self-conscious, knowing the room is going to have opinions about this.Okay. So. Colombia, Cartagena, orchestra in the barrios —she ticks them off on her fingers— and you ended up in Granbury, Texas. On purpose. Like, you read the offer and said yes to this specific place. Did you know anything about it before you came? Like — did you Google it and think, yeah, that's the one, or did you just close your eyes and take the contract?
Reggie
Well, my internal discussion went something like this. I said to myself, "You love Vancouver but do you love your life in Vancouver? No." "Do you want to live in the USA? No." "Do you have any better offers? No." "Will you miss anyone if you leave again? No." "Do you have anything else to do? No." And I signed.
Wade
Five no's and a signature.He turns the beer bottle in his hand, slow.Man. That's — I don't know if that's brave or just clean thinking. Maybe both.
Brynn
You answered no to every question that would've given you a reason to stay. And then you picked a place that didn't give you a reason to come. I'm not sure that's the same as not caring. I think it might be the opposite.
Reggie
I will miss...um...you know, adult stuff. But I won't miss any individual. Not enough to stay.
Brynn
She doesn't look away from her glass for a moment.Adult stuff.She says it quietly, not making it a thing, but making sure it landed.
Wade
No individual. That's the kind of thing that either means you've got it figured out or you've given something up. I can't tell which from here.
Reggie
I just meant...look, I don't mean to make anything weird or prurient. I just meant that I'm a healthy male and that I had choices in my home city that I don't have here. That's all I meant. I lived there for 30 years and I've lived here for three months. That's all.
Cody
He stops.Prurient.He looks at Wade.
Wade
Nobody says prurient. Not in this zip code. Not once in my life have I heard that word out loud.
Kayla
I thought it was a wine term.
Tanya
You can just say women, Reggie. We're all adults. We understood what you meant the first time.
Reggie
Ok, I admit, I tried to think of an alternate word but nothing popped into my mind. Except salacious which is no better than prurient. And it's not a complaint. I knew I'd probably be celibate for a couple of years coming here, and that's not how I prefer to live, but I'm fine with it. Truly no complaints.
Cody
He puts his cup down with a small thud.Salacious. You had salacious in the chamber and you went with prurient. That's a choice, man.
Wade
He shakes his head slowly, a grin spreading.Celibate in Granbury. There's a country song in there somewhere. Probably a sad one.
Tanya
You say 'fine with it' very quickly for a man who just used two separate SAT words to avoid saying the thing.
The night carries on for two more hours. They talk and talk until it's late. At about midnight, they disperse.
Cody
He's the last one standing near the back door, hands in his pockets, as the group starts pulling jackets and keys together.Same time next week. Wade's place.He looks at Reggie.You're coming. That's already decided.
Tanya
It was good to meet you. The real version, not the corner version you had planned.
Brynn
See? Nobody noticed you. Completely invisible.
Reggie
No no, thank you, but Brynn was quite clear. No repeat outings. People might think we're dating. Thank you so much for having me tonight. It was really a pleasure.
Brynn
She opens her mouth, then closes it.I — did say that.She says it carefully, like she's checking the weight of every word.I think I was trying to manage expectations at the time. I'm not sure the rule still applies the same way it did when I made it.
Tanya
You were managing expectations in the library. This is different. We've all been sitting here for five hours. And I'm going to go ahead and say — if Brynn is rethinking the rule, that is not the worst thing that has happened tonight.
Brynn
What they said. Come next week. I'll make new rules in the car on the way home.
Reggie
No really, you're all very kind, but I don't fit in here and we all know it, and I'm not trying to make it weird. You've all been very kind. But I think we all know your gatherings would be much more comfortable with everyone sharing the same culture. Granbury is small. I'll run into you all around town.
Wade
He doesn't move. Doesn't reach for his keys or make any gesture toward leaving.Reggie. I'm gonna say this once and I mean it straight. You fit in just fine. Not because we're being polite. Because we just spent five hours talking to you and nobody wanted to stop. That's the data.
Tanya
You keep saying we'd be more comfortable without you.She tilts her head, and there's an edge in it now — not unkind, but done with the deflection.Speak for yourself. You don't get to decide what our comfort looks like.
Cody
And 'run into you around town' is the saddest sentence anybody said tonight, and we had the whole celibate-in-Granbury conversation. Come next week or I'm telling the library you're a bad reshelver.
Brynn
You told me in the library that you'd come if I needed you there. I'm telling you I need you there. You can decide what to do with that. But don't dress it up as doing us a favour by staying home.
Reggie
I look a long time at Brynn. So long it's a bit uncomfortable.Okay. Thank you. I'll be there.
Cody
Good. That's settled.He pulls the back door open, jerking his head toward the yard where jackets are being gathered.Don't make me threaten the library thing twice.
Wade
Seven o'clock. Don't bring anything.A beat.Bring wine.
Tanya
See you next week.
Kayla
Yes. Both of you.