roll tide

“Oh, I know almost everythin’ about you, Bear. Your middle name, your birthday, your favorite color. Your grandmother gave mine a pretty impressive dossier,” Annie laughed as she took her seat opposite him. “Why have a first date when your grannies can compile more information than a round of 20 Questions?” She smiled, but inside, her nerves were a jumbled mess. Annie wasn’t particularly good at the whole dating thing. “I do, indeed. Flowers are always welcome. I love ‘em,” she offered. 

bear laughed. “yeah, that sounds about right. yours about to set a dowry to get you off her hands, too?” he shook his head. “but i have to say, i got some of the finer points, too. your favorite movie. a story about the time your nana had to pull your head out of the stairs railings.” he thanked the waiter as two glasses of wine got flown in, though he looked a little confused. he certainly hadn’t ordered yet. “...i used to help my dad with a booth at the county fair,” he said. “for the boy scouts. uh... you won... it was a teddy bear. bigger ‘an you. you were eight? probably? definitely don't hold not remembering me against you.” mostly, he was proud of himself here for not already having started talking about the importance of bald-faced hornets to the local ecosystem.

“I guess that’s fair. But I wish they’d stick to canning and bingo and leave the animals out of it.” He noted, reaching a hand down to pet the dog beside Bear. “I see your guy is still trying to beat the heat. I feel you, brother.” His last words were directed to the retriever as he gave one final pat to his head. “If you do end up dressing him up, I’d go with a hanging chad – feels right up your alley.”

“hey, you know, life doesn’t just end when you hit sixty-five. or at least that’s what i’m hoping, anyway.” he was halfway there, and he felt like he hadn’t even started yet. what he did have was radar, who was chasing after xavier’s hand with his tongue. “a hanging chad?” he had to laugh. “haven’t heard that one in years. am i that big a nerd?”

She focused on dipping her fries into her chocolate milkshake, a habit she couldn’t kick when she was back home at the diner. “What girls?” Her curiosity sparked because beside herself and Remy, she couldn’t think of too many that would be as passionate about getting something together. “So why aren’t you in the big game, huh? Sittin’ it out ‘cause dad can’t play too?”

it was hard for bear not to pull a face at the condiment choice. years ago, he would have teased her, slapped them playfully out of her hand. now, he didn’t feel like either of them had the right to tease each other, even if he was fighting impulse. “all these farmers’ daughters. the ones that were pissed they never got to play on a team.” his face changed, though, his jaw set. “you don’t know how hard that’s been on him. so we’re gonna just watch it together.”

“The one and the only.” Annie held our her hand –were you even supposed to do that on a date? She’d been raised to be too polite for her own good. “Annie Fisher.” Her cheeks flushed. Of course they’d met before. Everyone knew everyone in Frostford, especially when their grandmothers were friends. “Well, that’s embarrassin’. For what it’s worth, it’s nice to formally meet’cha. Guess our grannies thought we’d be a good match,” she laughed.

bear didn’t seem fazed by it, or he was too polite to show it, and he shook her hand before re-taking his seat. “bear aldrich. but if your family’s anything like mine, i’m sure that you know that.” his hand was fidgeting on the tablecloth, not sure what to do with it. “yeah. i’ve heard a lot about you. you work down at the busy bee’s, right? i didn’t know if bringing flowers would be... weird.”

go-to karaoke song?

m'i tryin' to impress someone? brick, by ben folds five. doin' this for fun? senorita, by justin timberlake.

favorite frozen custard flavor from custard’s last stand?

maple spice. don’t know why anyone would get anything else.

favorite wing flavor at bootleggers?

half orange-glazed and half thai-glazed. mix all that up.

bama or auburn?

i know my name’s bear bryant, and i’ve got a stick ‘n’ poke of big al, and i went to bama and i go to every game i can, but, you know what? i think auburn put together a great line up this year, and-- oh my god, could you imagine, though?

middle name?

don’t have one. bear bryant is fully my first name.

drink you order at the bars around town?

rum and coke, and then i get made fun of for not drinking straight liquor like it’s water.

movie do you wish the galaxy would play?

i trust the staff they got down there. there’s a good circulation.

what position do you sleep in?

flat on my back, but splayed like a starfish.  only complaint i’ve gotten in bed.   

favorite mary kate & ashley movie?

the one where they’re soccer players who switch teams? what was the point of that one again?

celebrity crush?

“tessa thompson is... the perfect person.” 

harry potter patronus?

probably ambystoma bishopi. they’re really cool, semi-aquatic, flat-headed...

biggest bargain you’ve ever bought?

i got my arc'teryx bora ar 63 pack secondhand for $60. best thing i own.

high school superlative?

i didn’t get one, but i was most improved between ninth and tenth grade.

prospective name for your first (or next) child

you know, it’s time to break the cycle. just a normal name. tim. darla.

pop, soda, or coke?

when libby heard the firm knocking at the door she was half expecting it to be a few neighborhood kids trying to sell some cookie dough or maybe even raffle tickets for a school fundraiser. imagine her surprise upon opening the door to find a man and his dog, no cookie dough or baked goods in sight. “yes, this is libby- ”. before she had time to finish her sentence he was already going on about some sort of petition that ended up going right over her head. waiting patiently for him to finish, libby furrowed her brow. “i’m sorry, what did you say your name was again? and what’s uh, section 42-91?”

bear laughed a little, and he glanced down at the clipboard. “yeah, sorry, i got a little bit ahead of myself there. my name’s bear. and this here is radar.” radar, realizing that they weren’t immediately going to be turned away, was already lying belly up on the porch, little paws curled in the air. “section 41-9-291 concerns the exploration of our public waters. basically, anything that’s found in the water becomes the property of our state’s heritage foundations under the proposed legislation, and our county is looking to block that, and keep the found objects the property of their discovers.”

She’d take whatever in she could get and the easiest transition was to bring up this weeks’ festivities. Unamused, she had to stop herself from the normal quip knowing she was always one slip away from having a foot in her mouth. “QB? I’m more of a free safety,” she corrected, only feeling mildly insulted. “Yeah, for the students. Unless, I mean, do you think they’d let anyone do it?”

bear took a drink from his coffee, unable to deny that she would be right. both about her position and about how it was unjust that they didn’t have a powderpuff game. “...’f you gotta champion a cause, you could probably get pretty far with that one. i know a coupla girls that’d be all over it. ...don’t know if you could talk Coach into a quasi-alumni ladies’ game, though.”

“Been sayin’ it for years. I’m all for this alumni game, well– for the most part ‘cause I swear, some of those guys never give up and end up walkin’ off the field lookin’ like they’re about to have a Billy Bob/Lance Harbor kinda situation, but hear me out. We’ve gotta be the only school in the state without a powderpuff game.”

bear had agreed, reluctantly, to meet his sister down at the star diner. it was a soft open, he knew it, one that stayed away from anything heavy. even seemingly designed around a common interest. “for the students? or is your ancient ass gonna q.b.?” he wasn’t smiling, but it was a concerted effort to hold it back.