'Tis confusion!

Sal the drama queen

As Q and I stepped into the sunlight, I realized just how much the weather had changed from yesterday. For the past few weeks the days had been incredibly hot, with temperatures in the mid eighties and above. But today, for the first time in what felt like months, it was cool. A slight breeze , similar to the one we'd felt last night, was waving the leaves on the trees outside Q's yard.

We got in the car. "So, what's your address?"

"Seventeen-sixty-three North Bay Drive."

He raised his eyebrow. "Seriously? That's like, half an hour from here. That's nothing. You work at that mall, I figured you'd live way out."

I mirrored Q's expression back to him "Yeah, I'm serious..are YOU? Is it really that close? There's no chance. I don't recognize a thing around here."

"That's probably because I took the back roads," Q suggested. "I thought it'd be quicker. But I swear, I know right where that street is."

"Ok then" I replied as I settled back in the seat. "Onward, chariot!" We took off.

Q was a man who knew what he was talking about. Half an hour later we'd arrived in my neighborhood- albeit via a route I'd never, ever taken before. I was a little amazed.

"You doubted me, didn't you?" Q asked teasingly as he pulled into my driveway. "Thought the Q-man didn't know what he was doing?"

I smiled. "Maybe just a little."

"Ah, I'm hurt."

I grabbed my key and unlocked the front door. The instant we stepped inside, Java came shooting out from her normal hiding place under the couch. She made a beeline for Q and circled him a few times, sniffing cautiously and biting at his shoelaces. I picked her up.

"Play nice, Java. You know this isn't how you behave around guests."

Q reached out to scratch Java's head. "She probably smells Benjamin on me..then again, she probably smells him on you too. Little punk didn't even touch his food while you were in the room."

I smiled and shrugged. "Hey, it's not a bad thing if your cat likes me." I handed Java off to Q. "I'm going to hop in the shower if you don't mind. Make yourself comfortable, I think there's still some iced tea and a couple Snapples in the fridge."

Q nodded. "I'm good for right now, but thanks. Go get cleaned up, Java and I will be waiting right here."

I rolled my eyes and shook my head. "Or, you know, you could go sit in the living room. I promise, you really don't have to stand in the entryway."

Q nodded again. "Well, maybe I'll do that, then." He carried Java into my living room and sat on the couch. I headed to the bathroom and got in the shower. Once I got out and dried off, I realized Q had made the move from the bedroom to the kitchen. He had a glass of iced tea on the table in front of him, and Java was snoozing in his lap. "Hey, I think your cat likes me. We may be even now."

"Haha. Yeah, it does look that way. Java has good taste."

"So does Benjamin" Q smiled. "So it's just you and the animals here?"

I grabbed a Snapple from the fridge and sat down next to him. "Yep. And they're all asleep right now, the lazy lumps."

He laughed. "It's a nice place."

"Thank you! I love yours, so much more. That couch alone...I would move in and never leave, if it meant I got to sit on that thing whenever I wanted." I took a sip from my drink. "What do you want to do with yourself today?"

"Well-" Q's phone began to vibrate, almost angrily. He looked down at it and frowned.

"Everything ok?" I asked.

He shook his head. "It's a text from Sal, and it just says 'SOS EMERGENCY'. When I get one of these it means either something wonderful has happened, or something terrible."

"That seems awful."

"Yeah, it's a terrible system. I don't know how many times we've told him to use two different reaction texts, but the man doesn't listen." Q picked up his phone and dialed, presumably Sal. He hung up after a minute and shook his head. "He's not answering. I'm really sorry, but I need to go find out what's going on. I'll be back as soon as I can."

I nodded. "That's fine. I'm gonna go take a nap. I'm still kinda sleepy." I carefully lifted Java out of his lap and shifted her to the empty chair on the other side of me.

Q stood up and shook his head. "Sal, Sal, Sal. One of these days he's going to be the death of me."

I pouted. "I certainly hope not. Though honestly, Murr may be the death of Sal before Sal gets to you."

Q grinned. "Yeah, you're probably right." He gave me a kiss on the cheek, then handed me a slip of paper. "My cell number. If you want to call me or text me later to see what's going on. Just..please don't give that out to everybody."

"I promise, I wouldn't." I replied.

Q sighed, and headed for the door. "Here we go..." He turned and faced me again. "Enjoy your nap."

"Thank you. Good luck." I shut the door behind him.