Jason. J. Grey

( — “MY PARENTS WANT ME to go back to university for an alumni homecoming. Trouble is I wouldn’t know half of the people there. It’s not like they treated me well too. Maybe if I showed up with you, they’ll be more compassionate.” He replied, an unintentional offer. 

   “I have been ignoring my parents phone calls for years now” he replied with a shrug. “If you need someone to go with you, then I would” he added with a warm smile as he looked at friend. “I know it always helps having someone you know and trust at events and stuff where you don’t know more than half the people there.” 

“Really? Have you ever asked them why they feel that way?” he asked. “I’m not judging or anything, but I’m curious.”

   “Honestly not really” he answered. “I know I don’t care for my birthday. Never cared for it since I was like ten or so”

+ “That’s what I’m saying, bro!” Rafe exclaims, punctuating his point with an enthusiastic point of the finger, as if Jason’s words were a bubble he’d popped. “I’m just a distraction,” he says with a shrug. “I can’t help how I look though, can I? Just like you can’t help looking like Thor.”

          “We all do, man, we all do—” He chuckled, patting his stomach. “I ate an entire ham over the holidays, nobody else wanted it.” It wasn’t a hardship, but he didn’t do anything except eat which had helped him to put on a few pounds. “Right? My niece is almost seven, my nephew four. I remember when they were tiny, now they’re two actual mini-humans. It’s terrifying.” Jamie nodded, “Yeah it was cool thanks. Missed it around here though, I ever tell you about Adrienne?”

   “So far I just need to lose the five pounds I got over the holidays” he replied. “I know. I remember when he was just a day old and now he is a little trouble maker just like his dad” he added smiling. “I don’t believe you did”

“My mom use to tell me that while I was young, I’d be excited for my birthday because I was young and when I got older, I’d start to resent it…but I don’t know man, I’m hardly feeling festive. All I can think now is I’m old.”

   “Yup, that’s the sign that one is getting old” he joked. “I know some people who are older or around my age that look forward to their birthdays”

                          “Well, I honestly hope I don’t have one either,” she said, chuckling lightly under her breath. “I’m sure I don’t though, so no need to worry, Jase—- I promise I’m fine.” Out of the two, he was probably more qualified to make such a conclusion, but she didn’t want to inconvenience him. “No, no, not sick or anything. A little lightheaded maybe, but I guess that would be normal, right?”

   “As a doctor and your friend, I can’t help but worry” he replied as he looked at his friend. “It should be expected since you fell.” 

( — SHROUDED BY NATURAL LIGHT stemming from his position just beside a window overlooking a clear-cast sky, Alfie could not help but feel annoyed and stumped. He’d thought the breakfast diner’s warmth and soft clatter of silverworks would better his mood, but as he began to do another do-over through his notes, they did anything but. The corner of his lips twitched as he whipped his journal with his pastel pink highlighter, saying to himself stubbornly, “but I don’t wanna go back to New Jersey…”

Poppy gave the male a smile when he answered, taking a bit of a breath in before speaking again. “Would you mind if I tagged along then? Not super familiar with Lanford yet.” 

  “I don’t mind at all” he replied with a warm smile. “I remember when I first came here. I kept getting lost a lot. How long have you been in town?”

       Easy pace, easy company, there wasn’t any other way to start the weekend than a job around Lake Munroe. At this time of year it was stunning, ice frosting the grass and water  making the path almost empty; nobody came out here this early during the winter months. “Yeah, right?” He chuckled, “That’s okay buddy, I wasn’t here for the holidays—” Or New Year, but that wasn’t unusual. “Hard to believe but it’s warmer here than it was back there. Had a good few weeks?”

  “I really slack off over the holidays and I should get to my workout schedule” he replied. “I did, spent time with my best friends and my godson who I can’t believe is growing up so fast. What about you Jamie?”

“Chicken.” Ryder found himself joking once more. Then shrugged. “Eh, I think you would be better at this sort of thing then I would. So take the reigns, Grey.”

   “I could be calling you that” he said with a chuckle. “Why would I be better at this sort of things Ryder?” 

+ “Shut up, man,” he whacks Jason in the arm. “I’m not above Trump. Everyone fucking cheats these days. It’s not like I was married to her.”

+ “Oh, c’mon…” He groans out loud, as he reads the front page of a magazine. Half amused and half irritated – they could’ve used a better picture. Cheating on the country’s most loved woman, and the ordeal publicized for everyone and their dogs to comment on, resulted in Rafe becoming the country’s most hated man, according to this journalist. “I’m above Trump?!” A laugh escapes him. Unsurprisingly, it doesn’t affect him in any way. “Incredible…”

   Jason had made way too much, Jason always made extra food to put in his fridge and freezer because he knew by the time he got home from work most days he would be too tired to cook. This was a system that had helped him and that also worked for him as well. Jason decided to head over to Emil’s place, he made something Emil and his son Lucas would like. Jason had been Lucas pediatrician for a long time and he and Emil had developed a friendship. Jason knocked on the door as he waited outside with the food. @emil-gabor 

                           “Oh, Jason…” Ophelia blinked a few times, his silhouette illuminated by the sun behind him. It sat low in the sky, but she barely noticed. “Um, does anything hurt?” She repeated, needing a second to actually figure out if anything did hurt. “Well–-” she touched the back of her head with a couple of fingers, an absentminded action. “My head hurts a little, but it’s really not that bad,” she promised and sat up straight with his help.

   “I honestly hope you don’t have a concussion” he said as he slowly helped her up. “Are you feeling dizzy, confused or sick?” he asked Ophelia making sure that she was indeed okay and fine.