Ring…Ring…

  Ring…Ring…

  Ring..Ring..

  John rolled over and looked at the caller ID on his phone. It was his mother. He debated on whether or not he should answer it. Jayne would certainly want him to. Groaning at the time of morning, he sat up and waited for it to ring through. Deciding to meet his sister half way, he shot their mother a text message instead. Nothing crazy, just a simple “Good morning” and that was that. It seemed like he had barely hit send when his phone started to go off with the usual bombardment of questioning.

  “Where are you?”

  “What are you doing in town?”

  “Have you heard from your brother?”

  “Let me know if you see your uncle.”

  “For god sake, you could at least answer me.“

  “I bet you'd answer if that harlot was texting you.”

  Deciding to not engage with her and her bait tactic, he sent back “Love you too, mother.” Today was going to be busy. He needed to try and contact Jason's friends, however few there were. He got dressed for the day and checked in with the security guards. Thankfully nothing happened overnight, and he would have the security footage sent over as soon as possible. He mosied over to the kitchen and made himself some breakfast. Scrambled eggs and Spam were a delicacy in the Divine house. A traditional staple he was glad Jason continued. As he let his food settle, he remembered the card from the previous night. Pulling it from his pocket, he dialed the number and waited. He didn't get an answer so he left a voicemail. “Hi there, this is John Divine. I'm looking for my brother, Jason. I found your card at his place and I would be thankful if you had any information as to where he might be or who he might be with. Again, this is John Divine. Give me a call back, Thanks bye.” He sent a text with similar wording and set the phone on the counter. Running his fingers through his hair, he sighed. Hopefully he would be able to make some progress today. He got up to rinse his dishes and his phone went off again. This time it was Sylvia.

  “Go for John”

  “Hey, so a little bird told me you made a friend out there in the sticks?”

  John smiled. She was obviously referring to Dawn. He wasn't surprised news had reached Sylvia, it likely came from Jayne after he texted her about his sudden departure from La Creuset. “A little bird, huh?”

  “Hey, I'm not judging. Did you have a good time?”

  John walked into the parlor. “I actually did. I took her to go see some old friends of mine. I'm supposed to meet up with her at some point later today.”

  “Oh? Seeing her again are we? Is she cute?”

  “Hey now, you are married.”

  “I'm going to go ahead and take that as a yes. Anyway, I called to get approval to move forward on the house plans? Blueprints all look good and the contractors are ready once we get your confirmation.”

  “Yeah that's fine, just make sure they don't sneak anything in. I'd like a copy of the contract in my email for review if there are any issues.”

  “You got it. Hey, let me know when you hear something ok? I don't want you having to deal with this alone.”

  “I will. Thanks, Syl.”

  “Anytime. Let me know if you need anything else.”

  As they hung up the phone, John almost felt normal.It had been awhile since he had someone like Dawn in his life. He smirked. Upon further reflection, he didn't think he ever had someone like her in his life. “Thank God for that” he said to himself as he began his way to his brother's bedroom. This house was quite eerie when it was empty. The silence in the halls was deafening. They were bare, for the most part. A few scattered paintings and family photos here and there. He made his way to the room and opened the door. It looked as he expected. Bed made, floor clear, a few Monster cans in his wastebasket. Nothing that signified a struggle. Taking note of some other smaller details, he went towards the walk in closet. He scanned the shelves and rods that lined the walls. Something was off in here. There were gaps in the hangers, and it looked like a large piece of his luggage set was absent. Could he have gone somewhere? He wasn't the kind to take a vacation without telling someone. Even if he had, he would have said something days ago. He hated Jayne having to worry almost as much as John did. He took a few photos to show Jayne later and went to the desk next. Opening the drawers, he was hoping to find something with a friend's contact info on it. Nothing. Taking a moment to think, John stopped. When was the last time he heard his brother mention someone? He sat in his desk chair, coming up empty. Right as he was about to get up and check somewhere else, he noticed a headset. John moved the mouse to the computer and the screen lit up. Jason's Steam library was pulled up. John clicked on the friends tab, looking for anyone that said “online now”. One name stood out. It had a picture of the dog from Pocahontas as the profile. “Percy, you beautiful bastard.” He clicked his profile and shot him a quick message. “It's John. Jason is missing. Call me.” Percy was a friend of theirs from years back. Rumor had it he joined the Marines at some point. Solid guy, if not a lil quirky. Jayne always kind of had a thing for him, but then she met Blake and the rest was history. The computer dinged. Percy had responded.“I'm on my way. 337-555-1920 ” JOhn saved the number in his phone and got up to get ready to go pick up Dawn.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  For the last time, Aunt Dee, I am not wearing your pleather skinny pants!” Dawn shouted out of her bedroom door. The entirety of her wardrobe was on the floor of her room. Fully aware of the cliche of the situation, she tried to make the best of her options and come up with something cute. The only thing to break the silence was Dees' phone going off in the other room. “Phone!” She shouted, in case she was at the front of the store. It had been a busy day today. There were all sorts of people outside and the shop was pretty busy. Dee would pop in to take a breath but then be right back out in it, She would complain, but she loved mingling with people. It gave her a chance to hear their stories. Folks would come in to mend blankets that their grandmothers had made, select fabric for baby blankets, or to commission memory quilts from passed on loved ones clothes. Though accepting those was rare. Dee always got quiet when she worked on them. The phone continued ringing. She was about to go answer it when she heard the shuffle of her aunt's crocs across the floor. “Who is it?” Dawn asked, settling on a nice skirt and light jacket combo.There was a pause. She popped her head out to see if everything was ok. “You good out here?” she asked. Dee was standing still with her phone in her hand. “Dee?” Dawn came out of the room and walked over to her. “You ok?” She raised a hand to her shoulder to get her attention, causing Dee to jump. “Oh my goodness, you startled me.” Dawn looked at her with concern. “Who was it?” No sooner than she said it, Dee put her phone in her bra. “Nothing, just another bill collector. You know how relentless they are. Tell me about this guy you are meeting up with?”Not missing the deflection at all, Dawn took the hint and backed off. “You don't have anything to worry about. He's a nice guy.” Is it the same guy from the other night?” Dawn nodded. “And no issues? He doesn't have cloven hooves or anything?” Her niece laughed at the peculiar question. “No Dee, no hooves, no horns.” Dawn went back into her room to choose accessories for her ensemble and get an ETA from John. “Be safe will you? Come home tonight. I don't like how many people are walking around outside when it gets dark. “ Dawn emerged dressed and ready. She gave her aunt a kiss on the cheek and a hug. “Thank you for caring about me. I love you, and I promise I will be home tonight.” Dawn got the feeling there was something her Aunt wasn't telling her. Knowing her to be the kind of person that wouldn't say something unless they wanted to, she let it go.

  John pulled around back per Dawn's instructions. He noticed the crowd out front and was almost positive it had something to do with him. He recognized some of the people. His mother probably offered a reward for anyone who could get her pictures of him and anyone he was with. Wouldn't be the first time. She did it to their father all the time, convinced he was cheating on her. He parked the car and let her know he had arrived. She came out the door off the garden, closing it behind her. He watched her with a smile on his face as she headed his way. She was wearing a light jean jacket, black chuck taylor low tops, a mid length sage colored cotton skirt, and a camisole. Gorgeous. He got out of the car and went to get her door. As she neared him, he gently pulled her in for a kiss and hug. “Hello beautiful,you look amazing. I like your skirt.” Dawn smiled. “Thanks, it has pockets.” They both laughed as he helped her into the car and shut the door before returning to his side. They began to pull away. “So, where are we going?” She asked. “This little hole in the wall arcade bar. It's nothing massive, but we went there all the time as kids and it is a blast.” John kept on hand on the road as Dawn wrapped hers around his forearm. “How did things go at the house?” John mentioned the garden, his mom reaching out, and getting ahold of Percy. “Honestly not much else other than that.” He sounded slightly disappointed. “What time do we need to be at the arcade? I don't mind helping. Maybe a second set of eyes would come in handy? Pick up something you guys missed?” John debated it. “Are you sure?” He asked. “I don't want you to feel like you have to. I just wanna spend time with you. You've legit been one of the few things I've looked forward to lately.” Dawn smiled. She rubbed her thumb along his forearm. “I'm sure. Besides, when I spank your ass at Pacman, I don't need you saying you were distracted. A-Game or nothing , Divine.” John laughed out loud. “Ok, fuck it, lets go.”