Chapter 2
After class on a study group day, Rodrigo's phone is going off even more than usual-- for someone who's not on social media, he gets a lot of notifications, Vivian's noticed.
It must be SMS.
He taps out a text with a fondly exasperated expression that might as well be issued to spouses along with the marriage certificate.
Meanwhile, one of the hair-checkers from the study group is idling nearby, giving Rodrigo the biggest pair of heart eyes Vivian has ever personally seen.
"You're married, right?" she asks Rodrigo.
It's a little out of the blue, but she feels for Heart Eyes over there, and she wants to pull the pin on this grenade before it gets any more destructive.
Rodrigo looks up, startled.
"Yes?"
"I thought so, but I wasn't sure, because your ring's on the right hand.
Do you wear it on the right in Celestia?"
"No, it's the left in Celestia also," says Rodrigo, "but my husband is Hesperian, and they, um--" he waves his hand, the ring catching the light.
"There it's on the right."
Heart Eyes now has a tragic pall on his face, but really, better to know.
He'll recover.
At study group that evening, it's obvious that word got around.
There's a wistful quality to the usual avid attention Rodrigo gets.
But people don't stop coming.
By the following week, study group is now doubling as the Rodrigo Yates Doomed Crush Club.
Whenever Rodrigo does something particularly attractive-- like breathing in or breathing out-- a shared forlorn look sweeps through all the hair-checkers and lip gloss appliers.
Vivian sees two girls clutch each others' hands under the table for strength one time when Rodrigo absently chews on a pen.
Rodrigo never really acknowledges the crush symptoms, but he tends to gravitate toward Vivian; she's not sure if that's because she's the one of the few who's never showed romantic interest in him, if he's more comfortable with her because she's older, or just because she's the first person he got acquainted with.
It's nice, though.
He offers her rides home and walks her to her door every time.
It's no mystery why half the class has fallen for him.
Things come to a head during an extra-long session to study for the final.
Over the months, Vivian has made a few unconscious assumptions about Rodrigo's husband based on the very little information she's picked up.
He's Hesperian.
He seems to text Rodrigo
a lot--
most of those notifications seem to be from him
.
He's bigger than Rodrigo, based on the time Rodrigo put on a hoodie and then fretted that it looked "sloppy" because he'd grabbed the wrong one and his husband's was too big on him.
Once when texting, Rodrigo asked her, "What's the word for, it's not balding, but the hair goes back...?"
"Receding hairline?"
"Yes!" Rodrigo tapped out a text with a stifled laugh, and added, "My husband is vain about his hair."
And one evening after study group when they both stayed to work on their term papers, Rodrigo tore a number off a flyer for a local North Pole Club and confided that he and his husband moved here for Rodrigo's grad school, and he worried that his husband hadn't made many local friends.
"It's hard for him," Rodrigo said quietly.
Vivian privately thought that if her sweet, cute, doe-eyed husband attracted hordes of smitten twentysomethings without even trying, she'd probably have trouble making friends too.
So without ever realizing it, Vivian sort of put together a mental picture of Rodrigo's husband as a big, balding, antisocial guy, not really in the same league as Rodrigo and struggling to hang onto him among the tides of admirers surging for Rodrigo's attention.
The study group for the final goes on so long that they decide to break for dinner and reconvene in an hour.
A few Doomed Crush Club members linger when Rodrigo doesn't leave-- "Too many afternoon snacks," he smiles, to a chorus of quiet sighs.
Still at the table are Vivian, Wendy, Tanner, Roy, and Seth.
Tanner-- formerly known as Heart Eyes-- volunteers to make a coffee run, and soon brings back not just Starbucks for those still here, but a full thermos and extra cups for the group.
"You're so thoughtful, Tanner.
Thank you," says Rodrigo.
Tanner looks like that just made his
year
.
Seth immediately jets off and returns in record time with a bunch of bags of chips and pretzels from the vending machine downstairs, to more words of gratitude from Rodrigo.
Wendy waits for her moment and tops them all by bringing out homemade cookies.
"These look delicious.
Split one with me?" Rodrigo asks Vivian.
They aren't big cookies, but she gamely snaps one in half and shares with him.
"Only half?" Wendy asks sadly.
"I have to be careful, I gain weight easily." Rodrigo rubs the back of his neck bashfully.
"I've put on almost ten pounds since I started school again, and it's only been a year and a half."
"You used to weigh less than this?
How?
You're tiny!" says Seth.
"I mean, you're built, but you're-- you know, lean."
Rodrigo blushes and laughs that off, ducking his head to sip his coffee, and his fan club exchanges the usual mournful looks.
The crush levels at the table are off the charts, considering half the group is off to dinner.
Vivian is facing the door and keeping an eye out for the others to come back, so she's the first to see the new arrival.
She didn't realize she had any opinions about what Hesperian men look like, but the moment Vivian sees a tall, fair man with light hair come through the doors, something about his bone structure and chiseled features just makes her think:
Hesperian.
And then:
this
has to be Rodrigo's husband.
And: wow.
Her previous assumptions crumble with a resounding
holy fuck
.
This guy is in Rodrigo's league, and he is batting a thousand
in
that league.
He's slim with broad shoulders, nicely dressed in crisp slacks and a sweater that shows off a classic V-shaped swimmer's build, and he moves with the same perfect posture and grace that Rodrigo has.
His hair falls over half his face in a style that should look ridiculous, but he's pulling it off and then some.