He was about to go into the room when Teddy stopped him. “But if you go in there without making me my waffles, I swear to god I will peck your fucking eyes out.”
21
Hot Chocolate.
With Teddy fed, and himself relaxed they set out into the day. Today was windier than expected, but otherwise perfect. The air smelled sweet and there was a romantic feeling that followed them. Joe was sipping from his iced oat milk-accino which they had bought from a store- no spell infusions as far as Jacob knew- only the normal amount of mystical power that applies to coffee. The wildlife even seemed out in full force. So far, they’d encountered a few squirrels, too many bugs and a raccoon that may or may not have been the one from the bus stop.
Walking slowly, they made their way to the downtown core. They made the occasional comment on how nice the day was and the dreams they had last night. As they approached downtown, Jacob realised how close they were to a familiar apartment. He looked up to see a tiny disco ball spinning on an elaborately decorated balcony and smiled. He checked his phone quickly to see if Tic had responded yet, but still no word from him.
“Hey, you see that place up there?” Jacob asked.
“The one that looks like a pride parade?” Joe commented. “Exactly! That’s Tic’s place.”
“Oh yeah? Your strange friend from the bar?” Joe asked. Something
about the way he said ‘strange’ gave Jacob pause, but he didn’t dwell on it. “Yeah. I’ve had many a cocktail on that balcony.” Jacob chuckled..
“Mind if we stop by? I’d like to check on him after last night.” “Oh, that’s probably not a good idea.” Joe shrugged. “I don’t like
dropping by someone’s place without an invitation.”
“Oh don’t worry about that. Tic loves people. Especially me. Look, it
won’t be long. I’ll just drop by real quick, get the details about last night
and then we can head off. He hasn’t been answering his texts and I really want to ask him what he thinks I should be doing about this whole Thomas
situation.”
“Do you really want to bring this up with him today? Is there something
else that might be a better use of our time perhaps?” Joe shrugged. “Well, we’re already stopping at the church-” Jacob began. “But a church doesn’t need an invitation.” Joe pointed. Jacob frowned.
Something about this felt personal.
“Why don’t you want me to stop by Tic’s?” He asked.
“No reason I just-” Joe began- before Jacob cut him off.
“Do you have an issue with Tic? You weren’t very nice to him last night
and now you seem to be avoiding going there. If you have an issue with
my friend I’d like to know.” Joe’s eyes went wide- likely at the sudden
directness and sharpness of the question.
“I don’t know Tic, I just-”
“He’s one of my best friends. Can you just give him a chance?” Jacob
asked.
“I- I will try.” Joe responded. He grabbed Jacob’s hands and smiled at
him. “I’m sorry. I will give him a chance. But isn’t it rude to drop by
uninvited?”
