This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance between the characters and real individuals is coincidence. All characters are over age eighteen.
*****
The subconscious mind is a vast reservoir of hidden feelings. When finally revealed, they can be a rare gift.
Free food. That's what brought Brent to the new hire welcome party. Otherwise, he wouldn't have bothered. This was just a job and he wasn't into the propaganda about the company being some kind of big family. Please.
But this time, there was a pleasant surprise. Kyra was joining the same team as Brent and they got along right away. Perhaps that was due to the lack of any sexual tension. The thought that Kyra was a lesbian popped into Brent's head as soon as he laid eyes on her. Cute as hell, but with short, boyish hair, flat tennis shoes, nerd glasses, and the lack of earrings and makeup, his lower brain passed judgement, not waiting for higher order brain functions to intervene. He loathed judging books by their covers and he reprimanded himself for making assumptions. What mattered was how comfortable he felt talking to her. Couldn't tell why; he just did.
Kyra's liked Brent too and like him, couldn't explain it. He was married and old enough to be her father, and maybe that was enough. Or maybe it was because he just didn't seem to be ogling her the way a lot of men do. No matter how much she tried to dress down, men usually hit on her.
As it turned out, Brent was half right. Kyra was Bi, but committed to Daz, a strict lesbian. They had an agreement. Kyra could dabble with men on those occasions when insanity was the only other option. As long as Kyra kept it all out of her face and as long as their commitment remained, it was all cool. That was the agreement, but it had never been tested.
Kyra and Brent began their work relationship with clean slates. Without the sexual tension, they developed a kind of fondness for each other. Kyra liked that Brent was nice, respectful, valued her input, and didn't treat her like a piece of meat. She grew to respect him for it and where she usually had an instinctive need for distance from men, she felt comfortable in Brent's presence. They began to shoot the breeze more around the office about movies, books, issues of the day. As for Brent, he liked that Kyra wasn't uncomfortable about his size. At over six feet tall and a good deal north of two hundred pounds, Brent always felt that many women feared him. Besides, their age difference didn't seem to matter; Kyra was far more mature than her years.
One day, everyone was talking about the election and sexual abuse of women. An ugly part of American culture, like the rest of the world, was now not only in full view, it seemed as if it had just been given a big green light and normalized. The richest and most powerful men on Earth were all but openly advocating groping and harassment, if not rape. Women around the workplace openly asked what they should teach their daughters. Kyra arrived that morning frightened and angry, those emotions stuck together like two sides of a coin. As she got her morning coffee, she heard a guy in the break room say to someone, "It's not that big of a deal. I'm sick of trying to be politically correct all the time."
Kyra's felt she had to say something. "It is a big deal. You don't know how it feels, what it does to women. If it had happened to your wife or daughter, you'd understand. Besides, it's not about being politically correct; it's about basic manners and..." She cut herself short. Everyone was looking at the newbie taking on a manager that had been with the company for many years. Kyra walked back to her desk, angry, hurt, and now worried about her job. She didn't see that Brent was nearby and heard the whole thing.
An hour or so later, Brent came by Kyra's cube. She looked at him with her inner turmoil evident in her eyes. He gulped and said, "Hi, Kyra. How are you doing?" Right away, his tone indicated this wasn't about work.
She managed to say, "Hi" rather bluntly and turned toward her coffee.
Brent thought his timing might not be right, but risked it anyway. "You're right," he said. She turned to him with a question on her face. "I heard what you said in the breakroom, and you're right. To speak up, I mean. I thought you should know that."
Kyra didn't know where this was going, but she appreciated what he said. "I was just so pissed off about all this. I made an ass out of myself. Sorry, I just lost my cool. "
"It's a good day for losing one's cool. The whole world is losing it's cool. I hear it's trending."
She managed to smile at his soft joke, but it didn't last. "It's just that guy doesn't know what it does to people. He doesn't know how damaging it is."
"Absolutely. I've seen the damage myself."
She looked up at him, wondering, and feeling, what? Trust? "Oh, so have I..." Kyra began, then blurted out more than she intended, "First hand."
Brent looked at her, nodded, and said, "I'm sorry. That's awful." Those words were lame, he knew. What does one say in such a situation? How could mere words suffice? He resisted the urge to put his arm around her. That couldn't possibly go over well. Still, Brent felt he could trust Kyra. She knew things. She was real. She had feelings and they were out in the open. Then he knew what to say, "You're not alone, you know."
Kyra thought he was talking about other women survivors. "I know. Men just don't understand," she added awkwardly. The words were out and too late she regretted the overgeneralization.
Before she could retract it, he said, "Some do. Some of us understand." He leaned closer, just enough to prompt her to look in his eyes. When she did, he said, "It happens to little boys too, Kyra. I do understand."
Kyra sat back, shocked. "Oh, Brent! I'm sorry. I didn't mean..."
"I know you didn't. It's okay," he replied with a friendly smile. "I only mention it so that you know you're not alone. Even right here, right now."
"I do know. I appreciate it."
The conversation had to end; both Brent and Kyra had meetings coming up.
Days passed. Kyra felt she had made a good friend at work, and thought that with all the shit going down in the world, friends mattered. Brent felt the same about Kyra.
People often don't notice the feelings that lurk down in their mental cellar. Certainly neither Kyra nor Brent noticed them. Trust and friendship mingled and grew the more they worked together and the more they hung out during breaks.