Chapter 20

The next day started pleasantly. The lack of a hangover made the sun seem especially dim, instead of an angry ball of flame in the sky that rousts me from bed with the accusation, "You got drunk last night, didn’t you?! DIDN’T YOU?!" Thus, Lori’s Sunday morning visit wasn’t all that uncomfortable, aside from the fact that Dan and I were both very tired and she knocked on the door at nine-thirty in the morning.

"Are you determined to never allow me to get any sleep on Sunday?" I asked her as I came to the door. Dan had answered it and announced her arrival to me.

"Your friend doesn’t seem to have any problems getting any," she informed me.

I turned around to see Dan face down and spread-eagle on the floor with his legs on an area rug and his head on the hardwood floor. I looked at him for a second before I announced, "Normally, I would find that funny." Then I turned back to Lori and told her plainly, "But I’m too jealous of the fact he’s asleep to laugh."

Lori just gave me a smile and told me, "Oh, you’ll be fine. Do you boys want to join me for breakfast?"

I gave a weak little smile, "Love to. Shall we plan on a day about town?"

Lori smiled coyly back at me, "Oh, I think that might be arranged. I’ll come back around eleven, how’s that sound?"

"Love it," I told her. We gave each other a "See you later" and I closed the door. I sat down in the foyer because the bedroom seemed too far away.

#

I awoke, still sitting up, to a light being reflected into the room. It was quite rudely bouncing off a window across the street, though it did serve the handy purpose of getting my day started on a more permanent basis. Dan was sitting in the kitchen with a cup of coffee and a magazine.

"Glad to see you’re awake," I told him.

"Mmmpph," he replied. He was not a morning person, either. I got up and looked over his shoulder to see that he was staring intently at a two-page cigarette ad. It was obvious that cognizance was not moving past his eyes. I poured myself a cup of coffee.

"So did you find the rhinoceros in the picture yet?" I asked Dan ironically.

"Hm?" he responded before the question and its meaning registered in his head. "Oh," he said as he started paging through the magazine.

"Lori’s picking us up for breakfast around eleven."

"Oh, yeah. I seem to remember her saying that. What time is it?"

"Quarter after ten. I thought you fell asleep while you were lying on the floor."

"I sort of faded in and out. I couldn’t quite fall asleep as well as I would have liked, so I got up and made coffee."

"You seemed to be dozing a bit while you were sitting there," I told him.

"I guess I was. You want to go first in the shower?"

"Depends on how much java you’ve got left in that there mug."

"Eh, I’m pretty well done," he said as he tilted the cup toward him, examining the quantity of its contents, "I can go first."

As he showered, I looked out the front window. The day was sunny, but a good frost had formed on the cars in the street. It was, undoubtedly, going to be another cold day. I wasn’t sure when it would start snowing in the city, but I knew it would be soon. After a slow motion shower, I walked out of the bathroom to see Lori sitting on the couch with Dan.

"Good day, young man," she told me with a jolly little grin.

"It appears that people are waiting on me," I observed aloud.

Lori responded, "Well, I’m a little early, but it gave me a chance to chat with Dan here; he’s telling me all about his illustrations for that storybook. It’s really quite fascinating."

Dan informed me, "I was just telling her the story and everything. I tried to describe the pictures I drew, but, unfortunately, that isn’t so easy."

"Oh no, you’ve done an excellent job," she told him, "I can picture them as surely as I can picture that coffee table sitting in front of me," to which Dan smiled.

"Shall we grab some food?" I asked. "I don’t know about you folks but I’m starving."

#

After breakfast, we toured the Guggenheim Museum, though I was even more baffled by the artwork there. Lori and Dan both seemed perfectly within their element, however, and discussed some of the artwork they were admiring. I learned a few things from listening to them talk, but I could not help but be confused, nor could I help but be jealous that Dan and Lori were getting along so well.

It was striking how much attention Lori paid Dan. Instead of holding on to my arm, as she sometimes did, she held onto Dan’s almost constantly. It was hard to not occasionally mistake them for a couple, despite the fact I knew they were nothing of the sort.

We left the museum at closing time, ate dinner and Lori joined us for the trip to the airport. Lori and Dan continued chatting about everything and nothing. He certainly seemed to be enjoying the attentions paid him though, when she excused herself to buy a drink from the concession stand, he confessed, "This is so damned frustrating."

"How do you mean?" I asked him.

"I’m going crazy here. She keeps talking to me and smiling at me and I can’t help but want to hit on her. It’s the conversational equivalent of blue balls."

I chuckled knowingly.

"I imagine this has happened to you too?"

"Yeah," I admitted, "I’m actually kind of jealous at how much attention she’s paying you."

"Well, don’t worry, I’m gone in about another thirty minutes."

"Still and all, it’s been good having you visit."

"Well, I had a great time once again. Though I’m sure some part of you is looking forward to having Lori to yourself."

Lori returned with a Coca-Cola emblazoned cup. "Looks like we’re not going to have you for much longer, Danny." That was the first time she had ever called him anything except "Dan".

"Danny?" I asked aloud.

Dan shrugged his shoulders at me as Lori asked him, "What? Do you not like that name?"

"No, it’s perfectly fine," he lied. He hated the name "Danny" and had told me as much on a few occasions.

"Okay, Danny," I said in a cajoling way.

He replied ironically but accusingly, "I like it a lot better when she says it."

"So, Danny, when are you going to visit us again?" Lori asked him as she sat down next to him.

"I can’t say as I have a date picked out right now, but I’m sure I’ll work my way over to this part of the country again."

"I’ll be looking forward to it."

The boarding announcements started and Dan’s row was soon called.

"Looks like it’s time for me to go," Dan observed as he stood up from his chair.

Lori and I agreed as we stood up to walk him toward the gate. Lori gave him a hug and I gave him a handshake before he turned in his boarding pass. With a smile and a wave, my friend was gone again.

As we walked away from the gate, Lori told me, "I really like your friend Danny."

"He’s a likeable guy."

"He’s the sort of guy you feel like you’ve known for a long time."

I smiled as I said, "I suppose he does."