The Chosen — 2026-01-21 (Patreon)

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Chapter 53: THE SAME BUT NOT by Merritt Gray

I’m with one of the engineers, David Stewart, who’s in Will Robertson’s Department of Re-engineering, and we’re doing an assessment of the bid area.

About 90% of this space is not much more than a junkyard for early-and mid-twentieth-century machine shop equipment. The building was bought by a company that wants to bring in CNC cutters and robotic fabricators to create furniture for hotels. They’re forecasting massive remodeling in the hospitality industry as hotels worldwide and motels age and need to be updated.

But that is not why I’m posting. I’m posting about pancakes.

Specifically, about pancakes back at the apartments this morning. It’s Wednesday and Addison works the evening shows, Emma has an afternoon class, and Izzy goes in late so she can meet clients when they get off work. Hence, per Addison’s edicts, Wednesday is pancake-and-omelet day.

Lately, Emma and I have been on pancake duty. If you read her post yesterday, we’ve dropped back on our relationship to being friends. Nevertheless, I put on an apron—don’t judge—and reported for duty.

Last night I asked about our relationship, “So, how do things look going forward?”

“Well,” she replied, “let’s just go on with hanging out when it’s convenient, but no more kissing and cuddling.…And we split the bill when we go out. Starting tonight.”

And that idea actually felt fine. But the fact that it felt fine was the part that stung.

Essentially, we just go on as normal without pretending we’re heading toward something neither of us actually believed would ever happen.

Pancake duty felt a little strange for a few minutes, but then… it felt normal. By the time we were done, it felt fine.

And I guess Emma felt the same way—she just sent a text: “Hey… thanks for doing pancakes with me. It wasn’t too weird, was it?”

I texted back: “Not at all. We’re good, right?”

Emma: “Absolutely.”

So with that, I’m single—though if I really think about it, we both knew we were marching in place. And that’s not really what we should have been doing.

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