The Green River

Jordan took out their phone, slid their backpack under the seat in front of them, and buckled their seatbelt with practiced fluidity. Another conference, another day of flying. They scrolled through their emails while waiting for the passengers in Groups 4, 5, and whatever else to trickle onboard. Bzzz went their phone, reacting to a text from 'Em - Partner - ICE.' They tapped it and saw,

Hey babe, just heading into a meeting, but I wanted to tell you to HAVE FUN on this trip! Download that app again, and maybe you'll meet a cutie. :)

Jordan sighed. Em was always trying to support them, but dating was just so inconvenient, and conference flings were sooo grad school. Jordan hated the swiping apps, but meeting new partners through work or acquaintances was out of the question. Em was right, they knew, so Jordan begrudgingly opened the app store and downloaded ENMeshr again. Better get this before airplane mode, they thought, wishing that they could get a cheap data plan for traveling to the US. The app downloaded quickly, and Jordan opened it. They saw that their profile was still there, glanced at it to make sure it didn't need updating (it didn't), and closed it. Maybe, they thought. Maybe if I'm bored.

----------

As Jordan pressed the lever on the coffee dispenser once more, the telltale sound of a liquid-air mixture filling a cup could be heard by everyone in line. They heard a few groans and exasperated sighs as people wandered off to other parts of the hall looking for caffeine.

"Great," said a voice behind them, "another break where the coffee can't keep up."

"You could always try tea," replied Jordan without looking. "They always have hot water and tea bags."

"I'd rather go without caffeine than drink tea," said the voice with a chuckle. Jordan looked at the person the voice belonged to. He was about their height and was wearing a gray sport coat over a blue V-neck T-shirt with khaki pants. His outfit gave them the impression of practiced nonchalance which his slightly mussed brown hair reinforced. His chubby, clean-shaven face and blue eyes made him seem friendly, warm, and approachable, but Jordan couldn't tell how much of this was a mask he adopted for the conference setting. "I thought that we as a country made our thoughts about tea very clear in 1773." The person speaking came alongside Jordan at the refreshments table. "Never fear, I always keep some instant coffee packets in my bag for just such an emergency." A quick flourish and the person retrieved two packets. "Do you want any?"

"Maybe your country threw a bunch of tea into the ocean, but mine certainly didn't," replied Jordan. "I'm more than fine with orange pekoe." They were unsure of how to process the stranger's remarks and proceeded cautiously. They were always cautious when traveling in the States, especially Texas.

"Suit yourself," said the stranger with a wink, emptying both packets into a souvenir travel mug from another conference. "I need to get to the next session anyway."

The next morning, Jordan sat alone at a large table in the hotel's ballroom eating the complimentary breakfast and scrolling on their iPad. The first business meetings of the day wouldn't start for another 45 minutes, and the first sessions of the day were two hours away - Jordan normally didn't make such an early appearance at conferences, but the timezone change meant their body was waking up two hours before it ought to. While they preferred to sleep in, more time to themselves in the morning - with no dogs or children competing for their attention - was nothing to be wasted. This morning they intended to catch up on reading a backlog of webcomics that had been accumulating. Suddenly, a voice broke their focus-

"Hey, Orange Pekoe!" It was the stranger from the previous day. And they were walking right toward Jordan holding a plate of food. "I don't really know anyone at this conference, mind if I join you?" Jordan motioned toward an empty seat. "Thanks. I'm David, by the way," he said while awkwardly gesturing toward the name badge on his lanyard.

"Jordan," they said while extending a hand. It was too early in the morning for pleasantries.

David sat down, took a few bites of food, and pulled out his phone; Jordan kept scrolling and nibbling absentmindedly. Jordan and David were separated by only two seats, but they passed the rest of their breakfasts in silence. As Jordan went to read the next comic, they clicked and saw Network connectivity error. Ugh, they thought, not now.

"Hey David, did your WiFi just go down?" they asked. David made a few gestures on his phone.

"Yep, sure did," he said with a slight frown. "Looks like I don't get any bars in here either. Guess we'll just have to talk to each other until it comes back."

"I'm not sure that's what it means," replied Jordan with a chuckle, "but I could be convinced otherwise."

David smiled. "Well, maybe the WiFi will come back and save you from this conversation." Jordan figured that leaning into the conversation would likely be less awkward than sitting near a stranger in silence with new electronic distractions to avail themselves of.

"Okay, David," Jordan began. "You said that you don't know anyone at this conference - what's your usual scene then? How'd you end up here?"

David sighed and settled back into the padded dining chair. "Well, I drew the short straw in a sense. I work at Nebraska State University in the mathematical sciences department, and we've made equity, diversity, and inclusion a guiding priority. I'm new and don't know that much about it, but I'm trying. Two of my senior colleagues are really spearheading the initiative, and one was supposed to come here - but the one who was supposed to be here had to fly out to take care of a sick relative last week and so we needed an alternate. The other person leading the initiative is actually out on parental leave right now though, and so our chair basically just started asking people to go. And to make a long story short-" ("too late", Jordan whispered) "-I was the first person the chair found who didn't have a big conflict, so here I am. How about you? I'm guessing you've been to a few of these."

Jordan looked at David. "That's an accurate guess - how could you tell?"

"Oh, that was easy. You're the only person I've noticed using your own badge lanyard instead of the one from the conference swag bag. Plus you've got all the lapel pins with your pronouns and the like on them, while most folks here are using the stickers. In short, you seem equipped for this in a way that I very much am not."

"That... a fair assessment, yes," Jordan smiled. They always liked when people noticed the little details that they had spent time on. "I do go to quite a few conferences like this one, but I've actually never been to this one before. But I have all of my conference accouterments and the like in my carry-on so I don't forget anything."

"What is it that you do that you go to a lot of conferences like this," David asked. "Even my colleagues who are spearheading our EDI push only go to 1 or maybe 2 conferences per year and 'quite a few' sounds like, well, a lot."

"Hah, when you hear it, it'll all make sense," replied Jordan. But just then David's phone rang; he picked it up and glanced at it.

"Ah, shoot. It's the airline," he said, visibly dismayed. "I've gotta take this - been having issues with my return flight. See you around later?" He answered the phone. "Hi, yes, this is David."

Jordan nodded in response to David's question, and David walked off. When he'd left the ballroom, Jordan noticed that the WiFi had returned, and they had an email from their wife with the subject "Facetime?". Jordan smiled, but then noticed that the WiFi was still not working great. Probably best to go back to their room to properly say good morning to everyone. Jordan packed up their things and left the ballroom, too.

-----------

By the time Jordan reached the ballroom for lunch, most of the attendees had already staked out their claims at tables and were queuing for food. They didn't particularly want to be in such a crowded space, but the food options outside of the conference-provided meals were limited by their travel budget. And besides, Jordan reasoned, the food at this hotel has been pretty good. They resolved to get a plate of food, find a seat anywhere, and then head back to their room for a break before the afternoon sessions began. Jordan picked the line that appeared shortest and walked quickly toward it. Once there, they followed the flow of the line and let their thoughts wander. This morning's sessions had not been particularly inspiring, but they were trying to process what they could to glean something useful from them.

"Orange Pekoe!" came a voice, snapping them back to the ballroom. Jordan looked around, then saw David seated at a table a few feet away from where they were standing in line.

"Oh, hi," Jordan replied, unsure of the situation.

"It's funny - I didn't think you'd actually respond to 'Orange Pekoe', but after you didn't answer to me saying 'Jordan!' a few times I figured it was worth a shot."

"You - wait, what?" Jordan replied.

"Yeah, you just were sort of off in your own little world I guess. But I figured I'd try getting your attention because you also said you hadn't been to this conference before. I saved you a seat if you wanted," he said, gesturing. "But totally fine if you have somewhere else to sit," he added with a smile.

"No, that's-" Jordan inched forward in the line, away from David. "Yeah, I'll be right there, I need to get some food first."

A few minutes later, and Jordan was zigzagging through the tables back toward the seat David had saved for them. When they arrived, David removed his bag from the chair and Jordan sat down to begin eating.

"How were your sessions this morning?" asked David.

Jordan glanced up at him with a bite of food in their mouth - they raised their eyebrows and rotated their hands outward as if to say 'Seriously?'.

"Oh, sorry, I guess I did the waiter thing," David said, chuckling. "I don't think I got much from mine - I never know how to pick the sessions to go to at conferences. They always sound great when I read the abstracts, but then when I actually see the presentation it all seems a little too abstract, if you catch my meaning." Jordan did catch the meaning, but gave no reaction - if it was a joke, it certainly didn't merit one. David seemed unphased by this. "Maybe I'll ask my colleagues to suggest some sessions for me to go to."

Jordan had finished the bite they were eating and said, "I liked mine overall, though I'm not sure yet what I'll take away from them. I tend to choose panel discussions because even if I don't feel inspired afterwards there are usually enough perspectives shared that there's something that either resonates with me or makes me think."

"Huh, I like that idea," said David. "Maybe I'll go to one if they have any scheduled this afternoon. Do you have any picked out?"

"Uhh, I need to check the app," said Jordan, taking out their phone. They started tapping and swiping, trying to navigate another clunky conference-app interface. David pulled out his phone and began to do the same. "Looks like the next session I have picked out is for tomorrow morning."

"Ah, okay. Guess I'm on my own then," said David, taking his napkin and patting his brow. "A bit warm in, ya think?"

"I mean, this is kind of what I expected," said Jordan. "It is Texas. There's kind of a reputation to maintain."

"Okay, now wait a second. We're indoors - they should have air conditioning, the good stuff. Texas-is-hot is a stereotype for outside: southern hospitality is the stereotype that should apply here, and they are clearly failing at that." David winked. "I guess I'm partly to blame, though: I've still had my jacket on," he said, standing. He removed his blazer, slung it over the back of his chair, and returned to sitting. He reached out to grab his glass of water.

"What the fuck is that?" exclaimed Jordan, pointing to a tattoo on David's forearm.

"Oh," said David laughing and visibly excited. "Nobody's had quite that reaction before. It's my modified Chi Rho. I got it when I graduated with my master's in statistics. I was raised Catholic, and there's this Chi Rho symbol that the Church uses to represent Christ but most people don't seem to know it. I'm probably closer to an atheist these days, but it is still meaningful to me in some ways. Well, in statistics we also use the letters chi and rho to represent some concepts, but they're usually lowercase. So I had the lowercase letters combined to be an homage to my focus on evidence and a tribute to my past."

Jordan was bouncing in their seat, smiling. "Look!," they said, rolling up their sleeve and pointing to their forearm. "I got my Chi Rho when I got accepted to seminary!"

"Twinsies!" came the reply. They both laughed. "Oh, so does that mean you're a... reverend? Minister? Oh, and look at me trying to explain Chi Rho to you," he added smiling.

"Exactly right. I just got ordained last year, and now I'm with a congregation in Hamilton."

"Oh, where's that?" asked David.

"Ontario," said Jordan. They quickly remembered Americans' geography skills and added, "Canada."

"And so you are. Your tea party comment makes a bit more sense now," added David with a wink. "My fiancé's family is from Canada, but they moved down here when he was a kid. We haven't even gotten to take a trip up there ourselves yet. How about you? What's your family situation?"

"Well, I live with my wife and kids in Hamilton now, but we're all originally from Saskatchewan," said Jordan. Then, feeling a bit bolder, they added, "from the city that rhymes with fun."

David stared at them, unsure what to make of their comment. "Uh... what you said felt like a joke, but one that I don't get."

Jordan smiled and thought, Americans really suck at geography. "Regina. It rhymes with a certain body part." Jordan decided to try winking.

"Hah, you Canadians, y'all are pretty funny," said David. "John Candy, Catherine O'Hara, your Kids in the Hall, and now the Reverend Jordan."

Jordan smiled and felt warm. Wait, am I blushing? they thought. "Thanks." A few moments passed in silence. "So, are you going to the poster session? I think it's starting soon."

"I actually am going to skip this one," said David. "I've got a virtual meeting I need to be at soon, so I'm just going to go back to my room and get ready for that. I'll be back for the afternoon sessions though... so, see you around?"

"See you around."

----------

The afternoon passed without Jordan seeing David again, and after the afternoon sessions they retired to their room to rest. When they got there, they tried to Facetime home, but there was no response. Right, thought Jordan, time zones. Em was already out for her date, so the kids must be with their grandparents. Jordan sighed, laid down on the bed, and took out their phone. They idly scrolled on their social media for a few minutes, and then felt the pang of boredom, loneliness, and arousal that they'd come to associate with travel for work.

They opened the ENMeshr app and began swiping. Huh, thought Jordan, swiping. There are more people on here than I expected for Texas. Swipe. Lots of cute queers... swipe, swipe, swipe-ding! Right, conferences, big city... swipe... all to be expected. I need to stop going to conferences in small towns I guess. Jordan remembered the last conference they'd been to - well, not a conference, more of an event - in Miramichi. Swipe-ding!. They remembered opening the app and thinking that it might as well have been laughing at them - the closest person they'd seen on the app that night was in Moncton. Swipe-ding! I guess San Antonio is my kind of town. Swipe. Swi- wait, is that David?

Jordan looked at their phone and saw David's face smiling back at them. "Pan, poly, & partnered," read the profile. "Preferred: pleasure-people & platonic pals." Jordan felt their heart begin to beat faster and a smile cross their face. Swipe-ding! Oh! Jordan wiggled in the bed as the app's animation played. What now?

Ding! David had just sent them a message, and Jordan realized that putting their phone on silent was probably the right move now.

D: Did you hear about the three holes in the ground?

J: No?

D: Well, well, well...

D: Fancy seeing you here! A wonderful surprise to be sure lol

J: Haha, same. It's so hard to find ENM people anywhere besides the internet.

D: Yeah, causally sliding it into conversation is... fraught with challenges. ;-)

D: I had thought about mentioning Marc (fiancé) and him going on a date or something, but then the whole you-being-ordained thing came up and I figured that the balance of probabilities was that you probably weren't open to poly.

J: Honestly that's a real struggle for me in meeting people.

J: I haven't been at this long but meeting people is tough.

J: Because of work I have not been trying to meet people back home, so it's just when I'm traveling and the like.

J: So far anyway.

D: Ah, that would very much complicate matters. I mostly date locally.

D: Or did until moving to fucking Nebraska

D: (Or should I say 'lack-of-fucking Nebraska'?)

J: Hahaha

J: Are you going to the banquet thing tonight?

D: Nah, I hate those.

D: They're just going to give out awards to people I don't know and talk about the organization's goals or mission. No thanks.

J: So what are you doing then?

D: I was going to go find some food on the riverwalk and then come home and maybe watch Netflix or work on grading tests. Marc does actually have a date tonight, so I'm flying solo as it were.

D: How about you?

Jordan felt themselves getting tingly and knew that they wanted to see David. But they also didn't know what to say.

J: I don't know. The other people I know at this conference aren't going, but my congregation is pretty strict with the travel budget - it's a provided meal, so I don't get a per diem.

D: Ah, I didn't even buy the ticket, so I do get my per diem.

J: Wait, it's like

J: A separate ticket?

D: Yeah it was like $80 or some nonsense

J: Oh I missed that, I thought it was like the lunches

J: So

J: I guess I don't have plans after all haha

D: Want to go walk the riverwalk and grab a bite with me then?

D: To eat I mean ;-)

J: Sure :)

D: How about the lobby at 7pm?

J: See you then!

----------

Jordan and David were slowly walking along the green river under the cypress trees and enjoying the cool evening air. Crowded restaurant patios, souvenir shops, and hotels enclosed the river on both sides, a self-contained world for tourists and conference-goers. They'd been walking in comfortable silence for a minute or two since leaving the hotel, and Jordan spoke first as a small boat passed them.

"I'm not gonna lie," they said. "This isn't exactly what I pictured when I thought of Texas."

David let out a short laugh, "Yeah, I felt the same way the first time I came here. I thought of deserts and tumbleweeds and cowboy hats and bolo ties... not green trees and rivers."