Through a knot-hole in the fence, he can see that Sean – an artist and sculptor – is working on something, and almost jumps out of his skin when Sean starts talking about it. But sometimes, just occasionally, he’s discovers his need to be outside is greater than his fear of stuff – and on one particular evening, he ventures out there and hears sounds coming from the other side of the fence that tell him someone – probably Sean – is outside, too. Anxiety has been a lifelong problem for him, but the death of a beloved pet around the same time as the break-up of a long-term relationship hit him really hard and almost without his realising it, three years have passed and he’s gone no further than his back yard.

Kelly Jensen does a great job here of exploring Robin’s situation. Kaleb runs errands for Robin and he and his dad have joined Robin for Thanksgiving for the last few years Robin likes Sean – maybe he even has a little bit of a crush on him – but like Dan, Sean exists in the outside world, and if Robin wants to get to know him and see if maybe there’s a chance for them to be more than friends, he’s going to have to walk through his front door. He’s online with his colleague and best friend Barrett frequently, as they work through and test the latest developments in their current projects, but otherwise, the only person Robin sees regularly is Kaleb, the teenaged son of his next-door neighbour Sean. Robin works from home as an environment architect for video games. Let’s Go Out picks up Robin’s story shortly after Dan told him he was in love with someone else (his long-time crush and best friend) and they agreed to stay in touch as friends. The men chatted regularly and went on a few virtual dates things were going well between them, and Robin hoped that maybe there was a chance of his having a real relationship again, but he also knew that his anxiety about going outside was going to be a big obstacle and that he just… wasn’t ready. In it we met sweet, quirky Robin and Dan – a just-turned-fifty divorcé having trouble moving on with his life – who met each other online via the Let’s Connect dating app. Let’s Go Out is the sequel to Let’s Connect and, as with that story, was originally written in instalments that were sent out with the author’s newsletter.

Best in Show by Kelly Jensen