Ever since that night with the throat spiders, Ray had been exceptionally happy, even more cheerful and energetic than he normally was. He'd thrown himself gladly into everything, from work to friendships to his relationship with Miller. Everything in his life felt like it was dialed up to eleven and it had nothing to do with the parasitic arachnids and everything to do with the man he'd gone to see afterwards.
Ray normally called the used car lot in the morning to check on the status of his Christmas gift from Pete: the 1959 Cadillac Miller-Meteor Futura Duplex with his name on it. He had the receipt, he just had to wait for Night Vale to deliver. But today he didn't feel like calling. He didn't have much going on, so he thought... why not surprise Miller with lunch?
Ray decided on meatball subs and some chips, and spent the morning putting the subs together. He had his grandma's meatball recipe, and even if he did cheat a little with store-bought marinara he didn't think Miller would complain. He toasted the subs together and packed two six-inch subs each into the bag, chips and a few Cokes, and headed out for the used car lot.
He checked his hair and his breath and his general appearance before he got there; he wasn't sure if he was going to run into Miller out on the lot or if he'd make it to the office before he found him, hard at work.