The robo-penis observation makes him laugh so hard Job drops his cigarette to the dirt; sort of a goofy-sounding, drawn-out hiccupy sound that he hurries to stifle at once by rolling both his lips inside his mouth and biting on them hard. He then bends down to pick up the discarded cigarette, blows on it; then proceeds to stick it back in the corner of his lips and take a few hurried steps to catch up with Hunter.
He carries himself the way too-tall people think they’re able to shrink themselves, shoulders hunched and neck craned forward, always just a few steps behind his new companion as the day’s travels and stress over Faith finally take their toll on him and he can feel that exhaustion weighing down on his shoulders. Still, he greets everyone introduced to him with a smile and a firm shake, simply watching Hunter bounce about with intrigue.
He’s sure to dispense of his cigarette butt in the appropriate receptacle before stepping inside the diner.
“Hey, Hunter, man —” hands wiping down the front of his jeans out of sheer habit, he cranes his back lower so he can speak to him quietly, standing beside him in front of the counter. “Uh, you wouldn’t know of someplace ‘round here I can hole up, huh? Someplace… affordable?”
Hunter’s enthusiasm doesn’t seem to slow, no matter what hour of the day, and he’s pleased that Job in turn can meet all his friends. He’d always loved people. Any and all of them. Someone he knew had once compared Hunter to some sort of amoeba, sticking too and amassing more and more and more friends. He’d fallen in love with that comparison, even though he was unaware that it wasn’t a compliment.
Not quite understanding Job’s need for discretion, the blond doesn’t change the volume nor tone of his voice to respond. “MY DUDE. There are like lots of places to crash round here if you’re strapped for the CASH. But like. Since you already know Thay, why not ask Nat? She’s a BABE, the babest of the babes. Let me hole up at the Laurent’s when I was goin’ through a rough patch, y’know? She’ll feed ya too. Just cause. And they’ve got the fucking CUTEST cat. It’s like a big, tubby, IRL Garfield, yo?”
“Hunter Jack Stolley, where is my hug?” A middle aged waitress, looking a little worse for the wear, but with a smile in her sunny eyes comes from behind the counter. Her apron is half off, like she’s about to leave, but she comes forward to embrace the smaller man. She fusses over him like he isn’t in fact almost 30, but a small child, licking her thumb to wipe a smudge of dirt from his cheek. “And skinny as the day I met you. My goodness. Sit down, sit down. And what’s this, you made a friend? Good Lord, are all the kids skinny these days?”
“LINDA! Hi! This is Job. He’s SUPER awesome..” Hunter grins widely, motions to Job like he’s a brand new car on a game show. “Uh… Sorry to catch you on the end of your shift, like. We just got off work too, y’know? Job is new in town. You think um. We can get some grub?”
Linda waves away the apology, hustles the two young men into a booth, then zooms back into the kitchen calling for two Waffle Extravaganzas. Which, when they come out steaming hot from the waffle iron, end up being waffles topped with whip cream smiley faces, strawberries, bananas and chocolate chips.
“Put your toppings on the side, honey. Not everyone likes diabetes much as Hunter does.” Linda teases and nods at Job’s plain waffle. She also drops off some water and two cherry Cokes at the table. Then she plants a big kiss onto the top of Hunter’s toque, and waves a goodbye to the two of them. “Enjoy, boys. Don’t be strangers.”
When her old beat up station wagon’s pulled out of the parking lot, Hunter begins to devour his meal at a frightening speed. In between mouthfuls, he gets out, “So mmmffff, like, Linda couldn’t have any kids of her own, yeah? She told me one day. And I told her I could be her kid if she wants, even though I’m mmmffnom too big to be anyone’s kid. She’s such a NICE lady. ANYWAY. EAT UP, bro. I’ll call Nat for you after.”
