All our lives

Chapter 26

It was already the second time on that day that Jon felt his eyes were about to pop out of their orbits. His defense system tried in vain to shut them close, bring the rope in the forefront, kick himself to whatever past moment he could find accessible at first try, and simply foot it from there. But no matter how hard he wished to divert his attention to some other place, his eyes remained glued to the improbable and unexpected couple in front of him.

"Well, hello to you too," Dot chuckled and stepped inside without an invitation. She put a friendly hand on his right shoulder and kissed him on both cheeks. The bewilderment left some room for a good dash of nervousness to creep into Jon's mind. He might have used Bobby's name in a song about forever lasting friendships, but in real life they had lost contact a long time ago. Not under the best of terms and he couldn't really blame the man. He didn't repent in any way for what he had done, but the facts remained. He had kind of stolen Dot from him.

"What...what are you doing here?" he mumbled, keeping an alert eye on Bobby.

"Sticking to the plan?" she asked, equally amused and confused. "What the hell is wrong with you? You look like you just saw a ghost," she frowned.

"Bear with him!" Nick chimed in and cut off Jon from agreeing loud and clear to the presence of a ghost. "He's been like this for a month and he'll probably get even worse in the next few hours," the brunette advised her.

"Oh, hey Nicky!" Dorothea chirped happily and repeated the greeting.

"Hey, Dotty!" Nick reciprocated the friendly kisses. "Long time no see. How have you been doing?" he launched into an interrogatory that consisted more of questions than of answers. Jon stood no chance of keeping up with him, but even Dot, who wasn't out of step with this reality, seemed to have a hard time with Nick's verbal abilities and curiosity.

"Amazing..." he heard Bobby amusedly whisper and Jon winced at the proximity of the voice. He turned cautiously and was met by a stretched out hand that he shook reluctantly. "Hey, man!" his childhood friend accompanied the hand shake with a manly pat on Jon's left arm.

"Hi..." Jon's answer came out high pitched and unsecure. He coughed and cleared his throat. "Hi!" He repeated the greeting with more confidence.

"I heard you the first time," Bobby laughed. "Jeez, Jonny, you need to relax! Surprise parties are meant to be fun, you know?"

"Fun..." Jon whispered. He wasn't so sure that anything with a surprise factor involved could be fun anymore.

"Oh God! I have to run!" Nick exclaimed. "Bobby, looking good, old dog!" The chatty brunette fist bumped one of Bobby's shoulders. A jovial gesture that was met by a restrained smile which Nick didn't take to heart and continued talking. "It was nice seeing you. Guys, have a good time in New Jersey and please, for the love of God, please, Jonny! Come back as normal people, ok?"

"I'll make sure of that," Dot assured him with a mischievous smile and gently pushed the brunette towards the exit. Nick finally got out of the house and she shut the door in his wake. "Don't!" she pinned Bobby with a fierce gaze as she turned to them and cautioned him with a pointed finger. Both men winced simultaneously, out of a habit Jon realized a second too late that he probably shouldn't have in this universe. "We've known him for fifthteen years. He didn't start talking like that two days ago. When will you stop complaining about it?" she asked, losing most of the initial wrath.

"I'm not complaining...I'm just always amazed," Bobby defended with a shrug, making Dot roll her eyes. And crack a smile, nonetheless.

Jon watched the scene blank-minded. The unusual affectionate domestic dialogue didn't make any sense to him. "Right..." he finally spoke. "Whiskey anyone?" he asked and turned on his heels. He didn't expect an answer. He needed a fucking drink and he needed it right then.