#pat johnson

Penelope Houston - (Going To The) Evergreen (1991)

In the Bay Area, Penelope Houston and her band (shout out to bassist Steven Strauss) were one the best things going in the late 80s -early 90s. This was always a live favorite, and the best version was to be found on a cassette only recording. It's somewhere in my storage, but more importantly, someone digitalized it. Evergreen, as some of you know, is a public liberal arts college in Olympia, WA.

Today was the day. For months, she’d been staring across the coffee shop, watching the quiet boy who always took the back booth. They hadn’t exchanged more than a few words, but in fairness, he didn’t exchange more than a few words with anyone. He kept to himself, worked on his laptop, and had a ridiculously complicated order but always tipped so much that no one minded serving him. 

But Clarke had been watching long enough. Today, she would introduce herself. 

Because the thing was, sure, he was quiet. But she saw him: saw the way he tidied up his table before he left, saw the half-smiles he’d give when little kiddos came into the cafe, and saw how he’d stop typing whenever some guy was being a creep to a girl in the cafe, clearly ready to step in (though it never actually came to that). 

Besides… He was cute. 

She took a deep breath, gathered her courage, and crossed the room, stopping in front of his table. He paused, looking up at her with an unreadable expression, and she smiled. 

“Hi! I’m Clarke.” She held out a hand, and after a heartbeat, he shook it. “We’ve both been coming here for awhile, and I thought I’d come introduce myself.” There. That wasn’t so hard. “Mind if I sit with you?” 

He shrugged, gesturing to the seat across from him, and she blinked. 

“Oh. Okay, thank you-I-let me just go get my stuff from over there.”

His brows furrowed, but before he could question it, she hurried back to her table. Wow, this was going… Better than anticipated, to say the least. Great. Now all she had to do was be friendly. She was good at that, at least. 

When she came back, laptop and coffee in hand, and settled in across from him, he cleared his throat. 

“Could’ve brought all that the first time. Would’ve saved you a trip.” There wasn’t a hint of judgment in his tone, just confusion, and irritatingly, her cheeks heated. 

“Right, I just-I didn’t think you’d say yes, is all. Not that I thought you’d be mean,” she hurried to clarify, “It’s just. Normally you sit over here alone, and I kind of thought you might-”

“You’re pretty,” he interrupted, so matter-of-fact she didn’t quite know what to do with it. “And I like that you’re nice to people. Seen you around, too,” he added, and she couldn’t have stopped herself from smiling if she’d tried. 

“Well, thank you.”

“Yep.” 

“You got tall!” She announced, looking up at him with wide eyes.

He was the exact same height as he was the last time she saw him (the exact same height he’d been since fifth grade), but he didn’t say that, just shrugged. “Guess so.”

Leslie chuckled, a bit awkwardly. “I’m sorry. Everyone’s been saying it to her lately, so I guess she just thinks that’s what you say to people.”

That made sense. “It’s fine.”

Jackie launched herself up suddenly, and he barely caught her in time. “What are we doing today? Can we go to the park? Oh! Can we go to the mall?”

... “Was just gonna play Mario Kart.”

“Can I watch?”

“Sure.”

He led her to the den, deliberately ignoring the gazes following him. He knew the others didn’t get it; honestly, he wasn’t sure why the kid had decided he was her favorite person ever either. But the thing was, she had. And she hadn’t pushed him to be anything but him: low energy, video games, and as few words as he could get away with.

Maybe that made her his favorite person, too.

"Wasn't really sure what you liked," he said with a shrug, tossing her the bag. It was nearly overflowing with Reese's, Almond Joys, Butterfingers, Snickers, and more.

She caught the bag, setting it aside with a smile. "I like you."

"Yeah, but like... What kind of candy?"

Oh, this ridiculous man. She closed the gap between them, pressing her lips to his, before drawing back. "Honestly, if it's chocolate, I'll eat it."

"Figured, but just in case, I got you something else." He reached into his pocket, pulling out a small velvet box.

It took several seconds for realization to dawn, and when it did, she wanted to laugh and cry all at once. "Yes," she murmured, holding out her hand. "I will."

He slid the ring onto her finger without ceremony, and she traced a finger over the stone. It was beautiful, of course; glinting in the light, tasteful but still lovely.

("What'd you get that girl of yours for her birthday?" She overheard Pat's buddy asking him.

"A rock."