Danny woke up feeling like crap. Not too unusual, that had been the case since he realized his marriage was going downhill. He was not quite six feet tall, about 170 pounds, with a well trimmed beard, in his fifties, hair graying and receding though he was still reasonably fit. Running probably helped with that. He ran three days a week, which helped him keep mind and body together. He was a bit lacking in upper body strength, because he wasn't a gym rat, but Danny didn't care much.
Now he and Jennifer were divorced, and while he didn't have the aggravation, he felt isolated. Danny told their friends they didn't have to choose between him and Jennifer, at least not on his behalf. It seemed like nearly all those friends either sided with Jennifer, or dropped both of them.
Danny had never had much of a social life before he met Jennifer, so her friends became his friends. Now that they were apart, he felt like he had even fewer friends than before he met Jennifer. At one time he'd had some work friends, but that group went their separate ways, and he never seemed to find another group to hang with.
Of course that was back in the day when he regularly went in to an office to work. After some twenty years with a company, he had been laid off. That gave him some severance, which held him until he landed a consulting job. He tried for some regular full time jobs, but never seemed to get them. He didn't want to think it was his age, but he suspected it might be.
Back in the old days, he went to the office in a long sleeve shirt and khaki style pants. Now, on those occasions when he went to his consulting employer, it was pretty casual. He wore jeans, a tee shirt, and old running shoes, and was pretty decently dressed. Danny worked out of his apartment a lot though, and just to feel more 'business-like' wore about the same thing as he wore to their office.
The consulting company he worked for didn't need him in there very often, though he went in now and then anyhow. They seemed happy with his work and had a steady stream of projects for him. The other employees and partners all had families and often worked remotely as well. They didn't even open the office every day. On the other hand, they also didn't socialize much after work, which didn't help Danny's feeling of isolation.
After their divorce, Jennifer had gotten the house, but then she had the better paying job anyhow and could afford the place. Danny got a one bedroom apartment with decent internet access and set up a remote office area there. If he wanted to pretend to be social, he'd go to a coffee shop with wifi and work from there for a while, but mostly just worked from his flat or the consulting office.
So, another day of the same old shit, after which he figured he'd go out for a burger and beer by himself. Danny could cook, at least well enough to feed himself, he just didn't always feel much like it. This felt like one of those days. Some days, after you spend the whole day at home working, you want to get out of the house at night.
After he was done with work, Danny went to one place he visited occasionally. It was kind of an eclectic restaurant in a somewhat bohemian neighborhood. It was one of those neighborhoods that had once been thoroughly middle class, then shifted to working class, then got a bit seedy, but had been rediscovered by millennials who found it interesting and affordable. They shunned chain restaurants and typical theme restaurants, but enjoyed a mixed cuisine, like this place.
Danny found a seat outside near an area where folks just loosely congregated. He ordered a cheeseburger, fries, and a beer. As he ate he noticed he was facing a group of women that seemed to ebb and flow as people joined and left the group. All the members of the group were female, but none were particularly feminine. A few looked rather butch. He found his attention drawn to one woman in her thirties, with red shoulder length hair in a bob.
She had a slim figure and a cute face, and wore jeans and a tee shirt. What caught his attention was her smile. It was warm and relaxed and constant -- she always seemed to have that smile. Danny tried not to stare or even look that way too much. He didn't want to be some sort of creep, but he found himself fascinated by this woman and her smile. He couldn't help but project a bit on her and her smile made him think she was kind and intelligent -- not a bad combination.
Now she wasn't the prettiest or most beautiful woman in the place, or maybe even in that group. But her smile elevated her above the others. Danny thought about the woman and about the group she was hanging with, and realized that he probably had zero chance with her. She was likely lesbian or bisexual, and if that weren't enough, throw in a twenty year age difference and Danny's awkwardness with women and it wasn't going to happen. Besides that, she seemed to be surrounded by her group, so he wasn't likely to even be able to get close to her.
Danny finished his burger and fries and sipped his beer, glancing occasionally at the red haired woman. He paid his tab, and was down to half a beer, when he noticed that most of the group around the woman had evaporated. Maybe it was the beer, maybe it was just longing for a little companionship, but Danny got up and walked over to her.
As he got there, her smile wavered just a bit, and she looked right at him. He thought he saw kindness, with perhaps a little pity, as he looked into her blue eyes. She had a few freckles that danced on her cheeks as he was swallowed by her eyes. He stood stunned and rapt for a few seconds before she spoke.
"Yes?" she asked.
He hesitated a second, then half stuttered as he started, "I just wanted to tell you that you have one of the most beautiful smiles that I've ever seen." Danny realized that anything he said would be interpreted as trying to hit on her, and while what he said was quite true, it was perhaps the most benign and unthreatening way he could compliment her.
He saw a flash of surprise in her face, then she softened a bit and coolly but sweetly replied, "thank you." She looked just a bit wary, waiting for what he'd say next.
Danny was still lost in her eyes, but took a deep breath. "Look, I didn't want to bother you, but just felt I had to tell you how wonderful your smile was." She did a little half nod. Danny continued, "I... should go. Sorry if...".
"I'm not looking for anyone." She said. "And I'm certainly not looking for anyone for tonight."
"No, I didn't think..."
"As long as you understand and accept that," she said, stressing the word 'accept', "we can talk a bit.
"I..., thank you."
About that time, a butch woman, about Danny's size walked up. "Is everything okay here?"
The red haired woman smiled. "I think everything is fine, Lil" then paused before more slowly saying "for now."
The butch woman looked at Danny, then looked at the redhead. "I'll check back later."
"Thank you. I appreciate it."
The butch woman walked away, going to another group of women and talking. She took a glance back at Danny, and nodded in his direction while talking to them. One woman snorted, another chuckled, and a couple of others just shook their heads.
"Would you care to have a seat?" She gestured towards a chair adjacent to where she sat.
"Thanks." He sat down. "My name is Danny."
"I'm Rebecca, or Becca, or Becky, depending on who you talk to".
"What do you prefer to be called?"
"Becca works, for now. So what do you do, Danny?"
"I'm a contract programmer."
"I can see that. You spend a lot of time focusing on your code and your computer."
Danny reddened just a bit. "I also work with people who need the programming."
"But the code is lot easier to deal with."
"What do you do, Becca?"
"I'm a medical technician."
"Machines... patients?
"Both. So are you single, divorced, married?"
"Divorced, about a year ago. And you?"
"Single, recovering from my most recent relationship. In fact she's over there. We're still friends, it just didn't work out as a couple." She looked at him closely. "It was a woman. You aren't shocked are you?"
"No, I kind of suspected..."
"I don't dislike men, it just isn't the same. I mean, you seem kind of sweet, for a guy, but you don't make my heart beat faster, the way some of the women in my life have."
"I kind of get it. Men don't really do it for me either."
From the group of women, there is a gale of laughter, followed by some chatter. Only one thing comes through the din clearly, "Hasbian".
Becca looks at the group and frowns, then turns back to Danny.
"Hasbian?" Danny asks.
"A lesbian who starts having relationships with men."
"But we aren't... you aren't..."
"They're having fun at my expense -- my ex, in particular is."
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make problems between you and your friends."
Becca looks over at the group. One of the women looks over, smiling. Becca frowns and the other woman drops her smile, and turns quickly back to the group.
