Not This Time

Nina: January 30, 2009

     Jon Bon Jovi and I were co-starring in a television show I'd been watching too much of recently. His character, Victor, had just figured out that my character, Valarie, was his estranged childhood sweetheart and, after a long argument about whose fault it was for our separation, we had determined that his mother was to blame. He was holding me, apologizing for all the years apart when Valarie's son, Tony, called out to his mom from the front door of their apartment complex.

     Victor's surprised expression fell from the child to me. "You had a kid?" he scoffed.

     "It was in the letter," I explained with a shrug, "Did she not even tell you I'd sent one?" Victor shook his head as the boy came down the stairs leading up to the door. Victor didn't let me go, but we both turned to face him.

     "Is this him?" Tony asked me, still frowning slightly at Victor.

     "Yeah," I replied with a slight nod. He mimicked me and then pressed a pointer finger against Victor's chest in what might have been an intimidating manner had it not been coming from a thirteen year old.

     "Listen," he said, "If my mom gets hurt again, you'll have me to answer to!"

     "Anthony Michell Anderson!" I laughed, shaking my head at him with an amused grin. I slapped his hand away from Victor and told him to go back inside. He glared at Victor, but reluctantly did as he was told.

     As he started to climb the stairs once more, Victor and I turned back to each other. He leaned toward me, but, as scripted, I peeked over to make sure Valarie's son was going inside. Tony was almost to the top of the stairs when he turned around. He was supposed to say 'I mean it! I'm watching you!' but instead, when he opened his mouth, Matt's voice came out.

     "Happy birthday!" he declared. The enthusiasm in the voice didn't match the child's expression in the least.

     The spell was broken. Suddenly I was awake, sitting up in bed, hugging my pillow, and wondering why I was awake at 12:02 in the morning. I tried to get my eyes open all the way, but there was too much sleepy.

     "Am I the first to say it?" Matt asked eagerly.

     "Say what?" I groaned, tossing my pillow aside and rubbing my eyes.

     "Happy birthday!"

     I scowled at Matt and let out an exasperated sigh as I fell back onto my bed. "You woke me up for that?" I complained, "I was having such a perfect dream! Valarie would have fit so nicely into the show!"

     "What show?"

     "Ally McBeal," I explained, "It's a TV show from the late 90s. I've been watching a lot of it recently."

     Matt raised an eyebrow. "So much that it's in your dreams?" he snickered, "Seriously, that's kinda sad."

     I stretched, shaking my head with a silly grin. "But no," I protested, "Jon Bon Jovi's in it! He plays literally the perfect man." I hugged my pillow again, thinking about the scene in which Victor reveals to Ally that he can cook, and likes to.

     "I'm not even going there," Matt chuckled, shaking his head. He sat down on my bed, next to my legs. "I brought you a birthday gift!"

     When I sat up again, Matt held a poorly wrapped bottle in his hands. I reached over to turn on the light as Matt held the bottle out to me. I took the bottle with a yawn, examining the snowflake wrapping paper and boisterous red ribbon.

     "It looks like a wine bottle," I observed.

     "Well, open it!"

     I smirked at him and tore off the wrapping paper. The blue bottle underneath was bare, excluding the glossy, gold cork seal around the lip. I turned the bottle in my hands, searching for and engraving or something. Upon finding none, I looked up at Matt with a questioning expression.