Every Little Thing by Chad Pelley

want?”He loved how Allie could be around people. Her humour and compassion never separate from each other.
    â€œWe’ll make that call at lunch,” Lee told her. “He’s not too chatty or anything, is he?”He looked at Cohen, nodding again, “I swear I literally stuffed a sock in her last boyfriend’s mouth once, to shut him up. A dirty sock too, right off my foot.” He laughed and tapped at his right boot. A sprinkle of dust fell to the ground. His shoelaces untied. “Kidding, of course. But her last boyfriend was so boring I had to call an ambulance one time; I told them to come quickly because I was being bored to death.” He paused, waiting for them to laugh at him. He was that type. “Jesus! I mean, who dominates lunchtime conversation with the details of some chemistry thesis he’s writing?” He waved a hand through the air and Allie laughed, almost embarrassed for having exposed him to her ex. “You don’t talk science, do you, Colin?”
    He didn’t know if that was a joke or if he was being asked, and he didn’t know if he should correct him about the name. Cohen, not Colin . “No. Not as a rule. Or at length. And I’d use layman’s terms and not be boring about it—”
    Lee looked at Allie with faked shock, “Did he just call me a lay person!”
    â€œNo, I meant if—”
    â€œHe’s joking,Cohen.”
    Laughing, “Tell him to work on his sense of humour and he can join us for lunch. Now go on, get, you’re blocking off my table!”
    â€œOkay, we’ll get, but make sure you sell at least one of my photos, so I can buy some lunch, hey?”
    â€œAh, go on, your boyfriend is buying lunch for us. Isn’t that right, Colin?”
    â€œCohen.”
    â€œWha?”
    â€œNever mind.”
    â€œJust kidding, kid. Lunch is on me. Any days you two come out and visit my lonely ass.”He nodded a lot as he said it. Always nodding as if someone was constantly asking him yes or no and he hated to disagree.
    â€œSo what is it you do, Colin? You’re not a boring-job-for-the-good- paycheque kind of guy, are you?”
    â€œHe’s a birder, like you! He works at a bird…museum. You’re like, best friends, and you don’t even know it yet! Cohen wrote a masters’ thesis about seabird conservation.”Allie turned to Cohen then. “And Lee here has protested against the gillnets set out for fish. Because they kill deep-diving seabirds.” She turned back to Cohen, in case he didn’t understand. “The birds dive deep for fish,” she enmeshed her hands together, “and then get caught up in the nets and drown. They never come back up for another breath of air.”
    â€œGood man,” Cohen said.
    â€œI don’t know about that.” Arms crossed, looking down, shaking his head diagonally. “No one listens to me bitching. And the frustrating part is no one should have to protect a supposedly protected area like Bird Rock. Anyway, like I said, go on, get, you’re blocking off my table.”He waved his hand around to insinuate a mob of people were trying to get a look at his goods. The street was empty. Entirely empty. Tumbleweeds in Western movies empty.
    â€œC’mon, Cohen.” She tugged at his arm. He went soft whenever she touched him. He felt pathetic about that. Like she could sense that inner trembling. He bent to tie a shoelace as Allie stepped into her car.
    With Allie out of earshot, he said to Lee, “We’re not actually together together,Allie and me.”
    â€œWha?”
    â€œYou keep calling me her boyfriend. A little awkward.”
    Lee raised an eyebrow. Just one. His eyes were the colour of blue Bic pens. “I think she’s waiting for you, kid.” And when Cohen turned around to walk away,Lee said, “You mean to tell me you’d say no to a girl like that?” He nodded to