“What is he your Siamese twin or something?” Standing up Eva smoothed out the imaginary wrinkles in her faded jeans with a sigh.
“Eva-“ I grabbed for her arm but she pulled away.
“No, I’m not doing this again.”
“But-“
“Nick c’mon, we have to go.” Flipping off his hiking boots A.J. walked to his open suitcase lying on the table in the corner of the room.
“Nick?” Eva’s voice was soft.
“Nick?” A.J.’s voice, heavy with irritation, swallowed my name up whole.
At that moment there was no possible way I could have known how many times this same situation would play itself out over the next decade of my life. How many times I would be forced to choose sides between my friends and my destiny.
Standing there I looked back and forth from one to the other. Cringing at the look of disappointment in Eva’s eyes.
“Goodbye Nick.” She turned walking away.
“Can I call you?” I asked following her to the door, my hand reaching out for her and pulling back nothing more then air as she picked up her pace.
“I don’t think so.”
“Why?” Stopping at the door she turned.
“Because.”
“Because?” That hardly seemed like a good enough reason.
“Yup.”
“Eva-” I began. But she stopped me with a finger placed on my lips.
“I’ll see you around Dirk.” Turning she hesitated a brief second before opening the door and walking into the hall.
I moved out into the hall behind her, watching her go, trying to think of something clever to say to get her to stay.
I had never been good at being clever.
Stepping onto the elevator she glanced back at me once without a smile.
“Please don’t go.” I whispered as the elevator doors closed.
* * *
“I’m going to trust you to shut your mouth and look pretty.” A.J. pushed the backpack at me. “Can you do that?”
I was thinking about Eva’s kiss, the softness of her lips, the sweet smell of her perfume lingering in the air all around us……
“HELLO EARTH TO NICK.” A.J. screamed in my face the scent of garlic filling my nostrils quickly drowning out anything that was left of Eva’s presence.
“What the hell did you have for dinner?” I asked shoving him back from me, a disgusted look on my face.
“Okay so are you with me so far?” Stuffing the wigs in the backpack he grabbed for the other pack, quickly checking the contents before slinging it over is shoulder and walking to the door.
“Nick-“ He snapped his fingers twice at me like a dog. “Are you coming or what?”
“Yeah.” Leaning down I dropped my hand on my puppy’s head stroking it a few times before following A.J. out the door.
* * *
"Nick and I are going to see the sights.”
“When are you coming back?” Howie leaned against the doorframe to his room, looking very uninterested in what we had to say.
“I dunno, does it matter?” A.J. snapped.
“Not to me. I could give a crap less what you two do or for how long you do it for. Kevin is the one who will want to know.”
“Where is the old man?” The two talked back and forth while I leaned, in silence, against the wall outside of Howie’s room.
“He went clubbing with Marta.”
“Dude, does he even realize that she looks like a hooker?”
“No comment.” Howie said with a small smile.
“D, have you talked to Brian?” I asked bouncing my back off of the wall over and over.
“Yeah. He’s tired and still feeling shitty but he’ll be okay.”
I nodded.
“I guess he told Kevin that you guys were running from some fans and he tripped and cut his arm open.”
“Did Kevin believe him?” A.J. tried to seem uninterested as he bent down to tie his shoes.
“No. But Brian says that’s his story and he’s sticking to it, so I guess Kev will have no choice but to accept it.”
“Hey Howie can my puppy sleep with you again tonight?” My voice seemed small in the big empty hallway.
“I guess so.” Howie stepped out into the hallway running a hand over his bare chest as he tugged at the waistband on his pale blue pajama bottoms. “Where is he?”
“He’s in my room. Will you go and get him?”
“Yeah okay.” He started walking down the hall towards my room. “You know Nick you’re going to have to name that little guy eventually.”
“Yeah you know, I’m thinking of calling him Dirk.”
* * *
A.J. hailed a cab and we both climbed in, waiting while the old gnarled guy behind the wheel studied the address A.J. had slipped into his hand. Climbing into the car we zipped through the empty streets towards our destination neither one of us saying much as I gazed out the window seeing Eva everywhere.
My heart skipped a beat at the thought of what might have happened if A.J. had not come bursting through the door. Visions played in my head of the two of us rolling across the bed our legs and arms intertwined as she whispered my name in my ear.
“Oh Nick……Nick……Nick…….”
“Hey Nick.” A.J. elbowed me in the arm, Eva and I rolling off the bed onto the floor….the vision fading to black.
“What?”
“We’re here.”
Pressing a few bills into the driver’s hand A.J. signaled for him to wait down the street with the engine running.
As the compact car inched slowly down the road we were left in the inky darkness of night, our backpacks in our hands.
“Put your wig on.” A.J. commanded pulling both wigs from the bag. Following the now familiar routine I fixed my wig in place along with a pair of sunglasses that A.J. had handed to me.
“Now listen to me.” A.J. cupped a hand around my neck pulling me in close to him.
“Oh my god are you going to kiss me?” Pulling back from him I smiled.
“Yeah, you’re funny. Really, really funny. I’m serious Nick.”
“Okay.”
“You say nothing, do you hear me. Nothing. You don’t mumble, you don’t yawn, and you don’t sneeze. You just stand there with a straight face and keep your mouth shut.”
“Easier said then done.” I grinned again the seriousness of the situation causing me to act like I was five.
“Yeah for some reason I knew you’d be a whiz at doing nothing. Okay c’mon.”
Walking up the darkened path I could make out the outline of what looked like a home in the distance. A large home with a single light blazing in a small round window on the top floor.
Once to the end of the path we walked up three flights of flagstone steps before coming upon heavy dark wooden door with a tarnished brass lion head knocker that A.J. grabbed a hold of dropping down six times onto the door.
A full minute passed before the door finally opened.
“Vier Tage Laufend.” A.J. pronounced into the darkness.
Vier in der Hand.” The words drifted out the open door in a thick German accent before a hand appeared beckoning us inside.
* * *
Following the shadowy figure before us we walked through a formal entryway before coming upon a staircase. Peering over my sunglasses into the darkness I took in heavy chandelier overhead, the iron sconces on the wall as well as the intricately patterned rug below me, all of which I was certain couldn’t be found at the local Kmart back home.
Taking the stairs one at a time we made our way up to the second level where another figure stepped out of the shadows to lead us down an even darker hallway.
Stretching out my arms I ran my finger along the wall as we walked, bumping it off of framed artwork that tipped sideways at my touch. Once to the end of the wall we stopped quickly making me slam into the back of A.J. eliciting a sharp intake of breath from him as well as an annoyed sigh.
“Sorry.” I mouthed the words into what I hoped was his ear although it was hard to tell in the dark.
His response was to elbow me in the gut as a door opened before us.
“Come inside boys.” A voice called out. “And please shut the door behind you.”