Bonus story : More than just colleagues : Part 17 : No Reason

Lucas: Anyone up for dinner together tomorrow?

Patrick: Good idea.

Karim: Yes.

Emma: I'd love to.

Aldric: I'm in.

Lucas: Well, that's settled then 😂

Emma slipped her phone into the pocket of her jacket.

"Lucas is efficient."

"Why?"

"He suggests dinner, and less than two minutes later, everyone agrees."

"Yes."

"Do you find that strange?"

"A little. No one asked why we should meet."

"Maybe because there isn't any particular reason."

They continued walking toward the metro.

"Patrick didn't ask what the occasion was," he continued. "Karim didn't check the time before agreeing. You didn't suggest another day. No one asked who would be there before answering."

"Neither did you."

"That's true."

"You said yes almost immediately."

"I was available. And that wasn't the only reason."

"What was the other reason?"

"You wanted to go."

They reached the entrance to the station. Emma had to take a different line.

"Do you remember when you used to ask me how to know if someone had become a friend?"

"Yes."

"You needed a precise criterion."

"I still haven't found one."

"Maybe this one's not bad. When someone suggests meeting up for no particular reason and you want to go, that's already a pretty good sign."

"So the absence of a reason becomes information in itself. That's paradoxical."

"A little..."

She started down the steps.

"Good night, Emma."

"Good night. See you tomorrow."

The next morning, Aldric arrived at the depot. The day promised to be much simpler than the previous one. After the particularly demanding client and the long job that had taken up almost their entire Monday, the schedule contained only two small moves and a delivery at the end of the afternoon.

Patrick was already standing near the truck with his coffee. The procedures concerning his father's estate were not finished, but Emma had helped him organize things enough that the situation no longer seemed completely out of control.

Lucas arrived a few minutes later.

"Good morning, people who accepted my invitation without asking where we're eating."

Karim fastened a strap.

"Because you still haven't chosen?"

Lucas shrugged.

"The details will come."

"You make the suggestion first and think afterward."

"It works."

"Participation has already been confirmed. All that remains is to determine the location and time," Aldric said.

"See? He understands my method."

Patrick looked at Aldric.

"I'm starting to worry."

The first job went with almost suspicious ease. The apartment was on the third floor, the elevator worked, every box was properly labeled, and the furniture had already been taken apart.

Lucas stopped after carrying the first three boxes.

"There has to be a catch. Everything is too easy."

"Enjoy it," Patrick said.

"The last time a client told us everything was ready, we found a cat in a box."

Aldric picked up another box.

"That incident does not allow us to conclude that every properly prepared move is hiding an animal."

"You know, sometimes I prefer my theories."

"They are less reliable."

The WhatsApp conversation started getting lively before their first break. Lucas took a photograph of the inside of the truck after the first load. The boxes formed several rows, separated by the furniture.

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He sent the picture to the group.

Lucas: Look at this. Art.

Patrick: Aldric loaded half of it.

Karim: And I loaded the other half.

Lucas looked up from his phone.

"Do you really have to point that out?"

Aldric looked at the photograph.

"It's well framed."

"Thank you, Aldric..."

"The lighting is also good."

"See? Everyone brings their own skills."

Emma: So Lucas took the picture while they were working? 😂

Lucas: Exactly. Teamwork.

Emma then sent a photograph of her desk almost completely covered in files.

Emma: My day.

Lucas: I'd rather carry a wardrobe.

Patrick: Me too.

Karim: Without hesitation.

Aldric: Are they all urgent?

Emma: Unfortunately, yes 😭

Aldric chose a thumbs-up.

Emma: I'm not sure 👍 is the best response 😂

Lucas, who had just received the same notification, burst out laughing.

"Did you seriously just congratulate Emma on her pile of paperwork?"

"I was expressing my support."

"Wrong emoji," Karim said.

"The thumbs-up does indicate approval or encouragement."

"Not always at the right moment," Patrick said.

Aldric looked at the conversation again, then replaced his reaction with a worried face.

Emma: Much better 😄

Aldric put his phone away.

"This form of communication remains unnecessarily ambiguous."

"You're improving, though. Soon we'll have you sending GIFs," Lucas said.

"Sending what?"

"Another mission for later..."

They finished loading, and between pieces of furniture, someone always seemed to find a reason to send a photograph or a comment to the group.

During their lunch break, they sat down in a park near their second address. Lucas opened his sandwich before returning to the subject of that evening.

"All right. Where are we eating?"

"You're the one who suggested it," Patrick said.

"Yes, but I'm open to suggestions."

Karim took out his phone.

"There's a restaurant near République I've been to before."

"Is it good?"

"Yes."

"Is it expensive?"

"No."

Lucas nodded.

"That's already two good criteria."

Karim shared the address in the group.

Emma: I've been there before. It's really good.

Lucas: Approved.

Patrick: 7:30 p.m.?

Emma: Works for me.

Karim: Perfect.

Aldric: Present.

Lucas looked up from the other side of the bench.

"You can also just write 'yes.'"

"'Present' conveys exactly the same information."

Lucas started talking about his football match the previous Sunday and announced that they had lost four goals to two.

"That's not too bad..." Patrick said.

"We were winning two-nil..."

"Ah."

"Your defensive organization probably deteriorated after you took the initial lead."

"You weren't even there."

"The score suggests that possibility."

"We mostly just stopped running."

"That also qualifies as a deterioration in defense."

Patrick burst out laughing, and Lucas rolled his eyes.

The second job began shortly afterward. A woman was moving with a German Shepherd that seemed to consider every box a potential threat. For almost fifteen minutes, the dog followed Lucas around, sniffing every object he carried. Lucas eventually turned toward it.

"Do you want to take my place?"

The dog wagged its tail.

Karim took out his phone and snapped a picture.

"Don't do that."

"Too late."

A few seconds later, the group received the picture.

Karim: New team leader.

Emma replied with several laughing emojis.

Lucas: He talks more than Aldric.

Patrick: And he listens better than you.

Lucas looked at Patrick.

"Even you?..."

"I'm adapting."

A particularly strange chair sparked another series of messages that afternoon. Its orange fabric was covered in green and brown geometric patterns.

Lucas took a picture of it.

Lucas: Anyone want it? Free.

Emma: No.

Patrick: No.

Karim: No.

Aldric: It still appears to be perfectly functional.

Lucas: So that's a yes?

Aldric: No.

Lucas burst out laughing inside the truck.

"I think this is the first time you've rejected a useful object just because it's ugly."

"I didn't say it was ugly."

"You don't want it."

"I don't need an extra chair."

"All right. Your logic remains intact."

The workday eventually came to an end. The last piece of furniture was delivered shortly before five, then they returned to the depot to put away the blankets and prepare the truck for the next day.

Patrick placed the keys on his desk.

"Seven thirty."

Lucas looked at his dust-covered T-shirt.

"I'm still going home first."

"Me too," Karim said.

Aldric picked up his bag.

"We have more than two hours."

"Thank you for that essential information."

They parted ways outside the depot, and Aldric returned home. After taking a shower and changing his clothes, he realized he still had plenty of time before he needed to leave again. He decided to sit down and read a few pages of the novel The Café of Quiet Days.

However, his concentration did not last long. After a few pages, his gaze left the book and moved to the time. Five forty-nine. He resumed reading, but a few pages later, he checked his phone again. Six oh-eight.

A notification then appeared on his phone.

Lucas: I'm already hungry.

Karim: No one is surprised.

Emma: I'm leaving in 20 minutes.

Patrick: Same.

His phone vibrated almost immediately.

Lucas: Aldric, you're still coming?

Aldric: Yes.

Lucas: Perfect. I need someone to stop me from ordering three desserts.

Karim: There's nothing he can do for you.

A smile appeared on his face.