Isn't it funny

21 years since that day

*Tom is a 6 foot 2, 33 year old with one ex wife that he's best friends with he also has dyed blonde hair with black roots the only place he couldn't be bothered to dye. He also has golden brown eyes and his usual look includes a messy man bun and an unbuttoned suit with no tie*

{Barney's P.O.V}

'What is this meeting even about' I think to myself as I twiddle my thumbs playing out the day Talia was born "What do you think Mister Doe" says my boss awakening me from my trance like state "Uhhh sorry what?" I say confused, man i wish i'd been listening "looks like ol'Barn here wasn't paying attention" chuckles my best friend of 29 years,Tom "No i was listening umuhh, i think that...whatever you think is right and that..uh you should go with the flow" I say shuddering every once in a while my boss smiles and ends the meeting, man that was a close one now that the meeting's over I head back to my office.As soon as I start to get comfortable in my brown leather chair Tom comes bursting into the room "That was a pretty good save back there" says Tom as he leans onto my desk I laugh as I open up my weekly newspaper, Tom comes over my shoulder mumbling as he reads through the lotto numbers when he whispers right in my ear "So how have the ladies been, no ones pregnant right?" at that I spin my head around so fast I bump heads with Tom sending him flying onto the floor "Jeez I was joking" says Tom rubbing his nose. "You've got one hell of a humor" I say handing him a bag of ice from the fridge, "but really how have my biggest fans been" Tom says in a muffled voice while holding a bag of ice on his nose "I don't know who these fans of yours are but the ladies are just fine" as I say that Tom gets up and starts to play with my hair, "Are you ever going to tell me why your hair's blue" Tom says while staring intensely at the pieces of hair that he could fit in his free hand.

He's always been like this even as kids he was the first person to ask about my hair and no matter how many times I give him the same answer he always ask "I don't even know how my hair's blue so how could I tell you" I say for the 100th time, as Tom strikes  (what he thinks is) a manly pose he yells loud enough for everyone on the floor to hear "JUST YOU WATCH I'LL LEARN YOUR SECRET ONE DAY" as soon as I'm getting ready to hit him in the nose again the expression on his face goes from arrogant and cocky to blank almost as if he were in a daze "a-are you OK bud..didn't hit you that hard did I?" I say as I go to check Tom for a fever but before I can he turns around and heads towards the door before I can stop him he's left the room ''what just happened" I say to myself in my now empty office the silence is almost sickening. "I knew I still had it" Tom says bursting into the room waking me from my shock "what are you taalhhk" before I can finish my sentence Tom rams his hand into my chest knocking all the air out of my lungs once I catch my breath I see that he's holding a old ripped up picture of two kids with a bunch of writing on it "and what the hell is this" I say yanking the picture from his hand as soon as I get a good look at it I realize those kids are us looks like we were in 8th or 9th grade, I must have looked confused cause out of nowhere Tom starts talking "that picture was taken 1995 February 11th Mr. Hoskins grade 8 class at exactly 12:43pm, I can still remember everything that happened that day" Tom sits down and continues staring at the picture "and everything we saw that day...21 years and I can still remember the smell of that room man I almost puked hell you did puke, I mean I'd puke too if I saw my mom like that" Tom looks away from the picture probably to check I'm not crying "I was hoping that...she passed out or something i don't know what I was hoping but I never thought she was...you shouldn't have seen it" before I knew it I was crying 'why-why am I crying' I haven't cried like this since that day, Tom walks up to me and bury my head into his chest while combing his hands through my hair "You're right I shouldn't have seen that...you shouldn't have seen that I mean..no one should ever see their own mother like that, and I'm glad I was there because if I wasn't you would have had to go through that alone and I honestly don't know what you might have done" of course Tom has to say something like that he's always been the one to keep me in check, to make sure I don't blame myself for everything that's ever happened to anyone I know that's always been a habit of mine.

Now let me layout the scene for you me and Tom are on our knees I the middle of my office forehead to forehead while I'm crying, now I can see how someone can mistake this for something else but I think that this will be a popular subject for the woman on the 6th floor during coffee breaks but being the main subject of gossip is nothing new believe me if it's not about my hair it's about my druggie mom or my drunk dad but my favorite one yet is the unbelievable rumor that Tom and I are going out, I mean we are/were both married with kids but no matter how many times we tell people that we will never nor have ever dated the rumors stay. Man I hate this floor but I love my job...'I can't help but feel like I'm forgetting something....."I FORGOT TO GO SHOPPING RIVER'S GOING TO KILL ME" I scream running out of my office grabbing my keys and heading to the parking lot as fast as I can I hope the supermarkets still open.~.