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DREAM
“You hear anything back?” There was a touch of worry in Evan’s tone.
“Nothing so far.” My eyes were on the text conversation with Jay. When we’d realized he’d left, leaving his truck parked in the driveway, all of us began wondering where the hell he’d gone off to.
Hey! Just wanted to make sure everything was OK. That had been my message. Knowing Jay, knowing he wasn’t the kind of guy to just dump his feelings out, I understood that asking him if he was OK had been a risk. But what else could I do?
He hadn’t responded. It’d been clear from the first minute I’d seen him that day that he’d been preoccupied with something. And as much as I wanted to respect his desire to keep things to himself, I hated knowing that he was suffering in silence.
Right as I began to get really worried, however, the noise of an incoming text sounded out and a message appeared.
Hey. Sorry, just needed some fresh air. And I’m not being very good company today. Didn’t want to put a damper on the celebration. I’ll be back in a bit when my head’s right.
Relief moved through me like a cool wave. I read the text to the group, and it was clear they were as relieved as I was to know Jay was OK.
“That’s just like him,” said Duncan. “Always vanishing when he’s got something troubling him. I understand needing some time to process…but I wish he’d get that his brothers are there for him, you know?”
“More than his brothers,” said Clarissa. “We’re all here for him.”
Evan reached for another slice of pizza. “Well, Jay would also hate to hear that we were all sitting around talking about him, right?”
“No kidding,” said Duncan.
“How about this instead,” suggested Evan. “Dream, why don’t you tell us about the website? We went over a ton of stuff when we last met up. I bet these two would be great to bounce ideas off of.”
“Yeah!” said Clarissa. “Let’s hear the business plan!”
“Well, it’s not much. But…”
Evan went in to grab the notebook we’d put together and I walked Duncan and Clarissa through it. There wasn’t much done, and plenty more work ahead of me, but it was a good way to change the subject. Another hour went by, and right as I could sense we were all starting to think of Jay again, another text arrived.
Stopped for a drink – I’ll be there in twenty. Tell the guys not to wait up for me.
I read the text to the group.
“I hope he’s doing alright,” said Clarissa.
Duncan’s brow was furrowed in thought. “Well, we all want to know what’s going on with him. And I can tell you this much, that if he comes back here and all of us pounce on him with questions, he’s going to lock up tighter than a bank vault.”
“What’re you saying?” I asked.
“He’s saying,” Evan jumped in. “That it’s probably a good idea for us to peace out. I’m thinking I need to get going anyway – got to be well-rested for the party tomorrow, right?”
He stood up, putting together a pizza box made up of the various kinds of slices.
“A little midnight snack, you know?”
I smiled as he and Duncan got up. “Thanks again, guys. For the moving and the support and the everything.”
“Happy to do it,” said Duncan. “We’ve always got your back. Never forget it.”
There were hugs all around, and I made sure that the boys would be the first ones to arrive for the party. The guest list was huge, and I couldn’t wait.
Once Clarissa and I were alone, we started the work of putting away the pizza. But it didn’t take long before Jay showed up.
“Hey,” he said as he stepped through the door. “Guys gone? Didn’t see their cars out there.”
“Yeah, they’re gone,” I said.
