Kevin cornered me on the balcony of the events center the second I got out of the trauma-informed witchcraft meditation. “Are you and Smokey dating?” he asked.
Kevin is my Minos, or high priest, in the Minoan Brotherhood, and he is just the right combination of encouraging and protective. And he was asking a perfectly valid question, one which deserved a valid response.
“I have no clue,” I replied validly.
Smokey and I have known each other for ages and have always had a connection, but we’ve also never been in a place where we could feasibly be anything more than just friends. Now, though, both single and living in the same city for a change, the dynamic has shifted. We’ve been hanging out a lot, and when my current Austin Witchfest emotional support human had to bow out due to scheduling conflicts, Smokey volunteered to come with me.
“I really like your friends!” Smokey announced as we headed home Sunday morning.
“They really liked you, too,” I said.
“Oh, really? What did they say about me?”
Bracing myself for potential awkwardness, I swallowed a wayward lump of anxiety and said, “Well, Kevin asked if we’re dating.”
“And what did you tell him?”
“I said I didn’t know.”
“Have you done a reading about us?” Smokey asked. And I admitted that yes, I had, and that it revealed we would make an excellent couple, provided we didn’t get into a huge fight during the trip.
“Oddly specific,” he said. “But interesting.” Then, excitedly, “Ooh! Let’s stop here.”
So we pulled over, purchased some snacks, and continued the conversation. Which is how we ended up officially dating in a Buc-ee’s parking lot.
Having settled the matter at hand by literally shaking on it, we hopped in the car and got back on the road. And a while later, as we were chatting about our jobs, Smokey mentioned that he was thinking about a career change, which might include looking for work outside of Texas. He winced as soon as he said it and started fumbling his words, so I decided to take the big, gay bull by the horns.
“Listen,” I said. “You’re great, and I think we’re going to be great. But at this point, we’ve been dating for…”
I checked the clock on the dashboard.
“… Forty-five minutes. If a good opportunity presents itself in the next couple of weeks, I should be, like, your third or fourth consideration. Not your top priority.”
He agreed with a sigh of relief, and any hint of tension immediately diffused. And then I asked, “So… was that our big fight?”
Smokey thought about it for a moment. “Yes,” he finally said. “I do believe it was.”
“And hey, we’re still dating!” I said.
“We are! Hooray!”
“Best argument ever.”
We made it back to my apartment mid-afternoon, and as I dug into my briefcase to fish out my house key, I realized that the Two of Wands print was missing. I poked through my suitcase as well, but it was good and gone.
“I must’ve left it at the hotel,” I said, prompting Smokey to whip out his phone.
“I’ll call them right now and see if they can mail it to you,” he said, but I told him not to bother.
“Look, if losing the print is the worst thing that happens this weekend, we’re doing pretty well,” I said. “Totally worth the sacrifice. Plus, the Two of Wands is all about, like, creativity and taking risks and new beginnings, which definitely sums up the past three days. But it doesn’t give any insight into what happens next. We get to decide that. So we don’t need the card anymore.”
“That… weirdly makes sense.” Smokey said.
“And so do we,” I replied.
Once again, he agreed.
Kevin will be no less than thrilled.
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