4

4

Dakota

"It's Mr. Diaz, isn't it?" Dakota approached his target in a way that made him turn away from where Seth was accosting the man in the suit.

Mr. Diaz looked startled. "How on earth do you know that?"

"You probably don't remember me, but I took an art class from you a couple of years ago. At the community center?"

Mr. Diaz glanced at Dakota's nametag. "You look familiar but my memory isn't what it used to be. Have you kept up with the art?"

Dakota shook his head. "I enjoyed the class, but I don't have any talent."

"Talent isn't everything. It's persistence that matters."

"Yeah, well, I didn't have that either." Dakota watched Seth and his guy start for aisle seven. He hurried on. "I was wondering if you could give me some advice over here."

Mr. Diaz looked perplexed, as well he should have—this was not how one expected store employees to behave—but he followed Dakota toward the cereal aisle. Now that he had Mr. Diaz in tow, Dakota was wracking his brain for a plausible excuse for dragging a customer halfway across the store.

"It's about marketing," he threw over his shoulder. "I could use your professional artistic opinion about the display." God, that was lame, but it was the best he could do in the moment.

"Of course," Mr. Diaz said.

Dakota turned the corner and pointed at the top shelf. "I've been thinking of centering the generic brands, rather than leaving them down on the bottom shelf, sort of a statement about corporate greed, but maybe that's too obvious?"

Mr. Diaz smiled. "Are you writing an artist's statement for every section or just this one? And, speaking of the obvious, why is your friend trying to cajole Michael into this aisle?"

Dakota glanced toward the end of the aisle, where only Seth was visible, talking to someone standing at the endcap . He looked sheepishly at Mr. Diaz. "I guess we weren't as subtle as we thought we were. It's just that he was looking at you with so much longing."

Mr. Diaz sighed. "Michael never was good at expressing his emotions. I keep hoping he'll get over himself and speak to me, but he's not ready for that yet."

"What happened between you two?"

"It was a very long time ago. He went away. I would have gone with him, but then he said some really hateful things about my art, and my pride wouldn't let me. It turned out well in the end. I met someone, and we had twenty-five wonderful years together until he died a few years ago. Still, I always wondered what would have happened if I'd followed Michael to New York." He shrugged. "What can I say? I loved him even after everything."

"Then let's go find him. You can't waste something like that."

Mr. Diaz shook his head. "I deserve an apology. If Michael isn't man enough for that, then he's not man enough for me."

Dakota looked toward where Seth had been. He was gone. He turned back to Mr. Diaz. "Not every love story has a happy ending, even here at the Pick and Grab. Have a nice evening, sir. Thank you for your help."

Dakota left Mr. Diaz mournfully contemplating the generic cereal and went to find out what had happened on the other side. He found Seth by the meat department, considering the tuna.

He looked up as Dakota approached. "I'm sorry. I got him to the aisle, but he wouldn't go in it."

Dakota shook his head. "Not your fault."

Seth sighed. "I thought people got wiser as they got older."

Dakota shuddered. "All I know is that I don't want to grow into someone as stubborn as that."

"My guy was stubborn, too. Maybe they deserve each other. Except they may never get together again."

Dakota met Seth's gaze. Seth's eyes were a striking green that shifted in the light. With great effort, Dakota looked away. "I got the sense that what they had was special, to still feel that way after all these years."

Seth straightened. "I can tell you one thing. If I met the right man, I wouldn't let anything as trivial as a job get in the way."

"Where do you work?"

Seth's posture slumped a bit. "I'm in tech, so I can work from anywhere. But still, love has to be more important than employment, right?"

"I think so," whispered Dakota, his gaze lingering for a moment on Seth's mouth.

A harsh voice cut through the moment. "I don't care, Mother. Just pick what you want, and we can get out of here."

A tall woman loomed over an older, smaller version of herself. The older woman ignored her and kept peering at the steaks while an elderly man looked on from a distance. Dakota started forward, hoping to diffuse a volatile situation.

"Oh Jesus, Mom. I give up. I'll be waiting up front whenever you're finished." She glared at Dakota, "Gay nineties night. You should be ashamed of yourself for preying on old people like this. Look at her, mooning after some geezer when everyone knows at her age all she'll be is a nurse or a purse."

Seth said quietly, "It looks like she's picking out a steak."

"What if she is interested in someone?" Dakota said, wondering where he'd left his bland, professional demeanor. "Love is love, and everyone deserves a shot."

"It'll just end in tears," she muttered, pushing past him.

Dakota turned to Seth, who was looking at him with unexpected tenderness.

"What?" Dakota asked.

Seth shrugged. "Nothing. That was just nice, what you said."

From by the steaks, the woman's mother said, "Don't mind her. She's going through a divorce." She turned and smiled at the man behind her. "Life is too short to be angry, don't you think?"

He smiled and stepped forward. "You're absolutely right. What kind of steak do you recommend?"

Dakota nudged Seth. "I think that's our exit line."