“You got this in the mail this morning, Roark.” Looking up from my phone as I sauntered into the kitchen, I frowned at the small, stiff envelop on the island. Sam leaned over it, a grimace painting his face, and I slid my phone into my pajama pants pocket before snatching it. “I read it. You’ve been invited to a funeral for a guy named Luca-“

“Yeah- yeah, I know who he is…” After all, I only know one Luca. Slowly opening the flap, I pulled out the thick card inside with stiff fingers. Scanning the elegant script, my eyes narrowed as memories drudged up from the depths of my brain.

Luca had once been a great business partner, but I hadn’t seen or heard from him since my accident. Why I was invited to his funeral was beyond me- I had only met him a few times, and we’d only conducted business. We weren’t friends in any way.

But I still have to go.

“… So, who is he?” Breaking me from my thoughts, Sam’s curiosity couldn’t be disguised, and I sighed absently. The funeral was on Wednesday, in two days, and it was at a cemetery less than half an hour away. There was no way I could get out of going.

“He was a business associate. I haven’t heard from him since waking up, though. I did hear through the grapevine that he was having some trouble at home, but I don’t know how that could lead to him dying.”

“I see. Why would they invite you if you two didn’t know each other?” Shrugging carelessly at the question, I set the card down to pull out my phone. Navigating to the calendar, my thumbs moved swiftly as Sam started to rattle off theories. “Maybe it’s just for support? You know, if more people show up to a funeral, the better the family will feel. Or, it could be that you had a closer friendship, but you can’t remember. Or, maybe they’re just inviting everyone whoever Luca had more than an association with. I mean, the guy was moderately wealthy- not like you, but you know what I mean. There could be unexpected additions to his will or something pertaining to businesses he owned.”

“I mean, any of those is plausible, Sam.” Searching Luca’s name on the internet, I grimaced and narrowed my eyes from under furrowed brows. “It says here he went missing for over a year and a half. There’s no reason why, but then he showed up at a hospital where he OD’d on heroin and died on Thursday.”

“The guy must’ve been stressed and turned to drugs. It’s too bad.” Closing the browser, I moved to my texts and tapped on Ally’s name. My gut churned at the idea of having to reschedule our date, and my thumbs hovered over the keyboard before my gaze flickered to the time.

She’d be at lunch right now… I should just call her.

Pulling the phone to my ear, I walked around the island to open the refrigerator as Sam watched me intensely. He was always looking for a brain to pick, and I ground my teeth together as I searched for something to eat. Sleeping in until 11 on a Monday wasn’t a habit I wanted to cultivate but pulling an all nightery on Sunday gave me extenuating circumstances.

“Hello?” Ally’s voice filtered through the speaker, chipper and upbeat, and I smiled before grabbing a carton of eggs.

“Hey, Ally. Listen- I need to cancel our date on Wednesday. I just got an invitation to a funeral, and I really should go.” Getting straight to the point, I cleared my throat and set the eggs on the counter before grabbing the bacon. “I’m sorry. I was really looking forward to it.”

“Oh- oh- no… it’s okay. You should go.” Ally tried so hard to mask the disappointment in her voice, and I couldn’t help but chuckle. Holding my phone against my ear with my shoulder, I grabbed two pans and worked on washing my hands as she continued. “Was it someone you knew well?”

“Not particularly. We’d only met a few times, and we were strictly business associates. I thought about not going, but if I got an invitation, maybe I just don’t remember anything else. I haven’t spoken to this guy since before my accident.” Sparing Ally the details of Luca’s death, I shuffled my phone to my other ear absently while I worked on my breakfast. “I’ve never been to a funeral before.”

“It’s not that bad when you don’t really know the person. You just feel sad for all of the people he left behind. When my college roommate died, that’s how I felt.”

“Yeah? I was afraid it’d be awkward since I might not remember what warranted an invitation in the first place.” All the while Ally and I spoke, Sam’s eyes bored into my back, and I turned on a burner before slicing some butter off its stick.

“You probably received an invitation just because you were business associates. It’s pretty common to have a public wake and a private funeral. I doubt you’ll be expected to stay for the entire thing, Roark.” The line crackled, and I breathed a short sigh of relief before Ally’s voice reached me. “My lunch is almost up, but if you want, you can come over tonight?”

“I can’t. I’m leaving for New York in… an hour and a half. I won’t be back until tomorrow night. I actually just woke up- I spent most of last night going through prospective company merges and terms and stuff. Thankfully it was all organized well, but no one else can make the decision. That’s why I’m going to New York.”

“Yeah, uh- no problem. So… text me when you’re available, then, okay? I have to go.” Saying my goodbye, I set my phone down when Ally hung up on me and sighed heavily.

Grabbing the handle of the pan I’d designated for bacon, I adjusted it on the burner before opening the package that sat on my right. A frown plastered itself on my face, and I slapped a few pieces of bacon in the pan so the sizzle could drown out how crappy it was to hear Ally’s downtrodden voice. I couldn’t have anticipated needing to cancel our date; even though it wasn’t for no reason, I didn’t begrudge her for feeling the way she did.

“… So, you really like this girl, Ally?” Stiffening at Sam’s question, I glanced over my shoulder to scowl at the amusement painted on his face. “Your body language tells me you do. Don’t you think it’s a little early to be considering getting into a serious relationship with her?”

“Yes, I do- fuck off- and no, I don’t. You wouldn’t understand since you haven’t dated since high school. And one night stands don’t count, Sam.” My response only caused Sam to grin widely, and I rolled my eyes.

“You just can’t stand the idea of emotionless sex, Roark. Everything needs to have meaning with you.” Carefully cracking open an egg, I set it in the hot pan as Sam’s voice took on a thoughtful tone against my eardrums. “You don’t love Ally- obviously- so it has to be something more profound. Maybe it’s the fairytale idea of having a soul mate?”

“Why are you pushing this, huh? When did you get such a vested interest in my love life?” Irritation bled into my tone, and I jerked slightly when melted butter splattered onto my wrist. Pursing my lips together, I exhaled through my nose and frowned even as I grabbed a second egg. Cracking the fragile shell easily, I kept my hands up before leaving the stove to stuff bread into the toaster.

“Since you managed to get a love life, Roark. I’ve been an expert in this chemical brain shit for nearly two decades and let me tell you one thing I learned- people are more than what hormones they secrete. I can see it in you… even during your short conversation, you acted like rescheduling this date caused physical pain. I, for one, happen to believe in soul mates because I study the brain. Chemicals help, sure, but there’s something more to humans that science can’t explain.” Sam had to be the most backwards scientist I’d ever met, and I scowled at him over my shoulder.

“That makes no sense. And anyway, I definitely wouldn’t put Ally and I in that category. She already mentioned the pace, and if I threw that bullshit at her, she’d disappear from my life like… that.” Snapping my fingers to prove my point, I moved back to the stove to poke my eggs gently with a spatula. I was under no illusions that Ally wanted a fast, volcanic romance, no matter how much we reacted to the contrary. We’d hold back, take it slow, until it blew up like the bomb it was, and I was surprisingly okay with that. “Ally and I have both had shitty relationships. I’m not going to mess up by dropping the ‘L’ word after the first date.”

“Technically, this would’ve been your fifth date, Roark.” Huffing a ghost of a chuckle at that, I nodded absently, and Sam came up next to me to crowd in front of the bacon with wanting eyes. “If it makes you feel any better, I’ve never even gotten to a third date… so there’s that.”