A typical business card measured nearly two inches by three and-a-half inches. Thumb and middle finger gripped the short sides, as he flicked the card with a snapping sound. Since it was just him in their family room, Raymond kept doing it. Until Jakob showed up. Perhaps investigating the somewhat offensive noise. Or at the very least, wondering why.<br/><br/>“What’cha doing, Dad?” Jakob asked, while casually slinking closer to his couch-hogging father.<br/><br/>“Not a damn thing, Jake,” he answered. “Not a damn thing, apparently, as long as you don’t count lying here on the couch as actually doing something.” He grinned at his son.<br/><br/>Grinning back, Jakob clarified, “No, I meant, what’cha doing with that card?”<br/><br/>“Oh, that,” he said, refocusing on the business card. “Not a whole lot. Just thinking.” Another flick.<br/><br/>And just like that, Jakob was on him like a combination of Jedi Knight, Stealth Bomber, and Ninja. The flickable card was now in his possession. Raymond grinned, but did absolutely nothing where card retrieval was concerned. He remained in his prone position, watching with a mixture of wonder and amusement as his son flipped the card over, and then back again. He did this twice more.<br/><br/>“It’s Dr. McCallington,” he stated with a huge smile, compelled to enlighten the uninitiated. This, of course, meant no one, since Raymond already knew whose business card he was holding. “So are you gonna ask her out?” Jakob asked enthusiastically. A little too enthusiastically for his own liking, to be honest. But, his son’s question lingered, nonetheless.<br/><br/>Prior to answering, Raymond reflected on his encounter with Dr. McCallington in the grocery store’s parking lot. Noticing she was without her own bags, he wondered if she’d ever decided on the succulent grapefruit. He remembered not quite bristling as she called him Mr. Sanheim, but he also reminisced on not calling her out on such a minor detail, too. She was just being respectful, just as he was always sure to put Dr. before her surname when addressing her.<br/><br/>More than she could ever know, he cherished the doctor’s words about Olivia and hearing how strong she was on the operating table. Once she decided to segue to Jakob, however, Raymond more or less tuned her out, with only key words striking a chord. He didn’t need, nor did he wish, to hear a synopsis about his loved ones. She wasn’t telling him anything he didn’t already know, after all.<br/><br/>What she said and asked next, however, caught his exclusive attention. “I'm new to town," she explained. "Do you know of a local music scene?" Raymond never commented on either at the time, though he also remembered an odd comment of hers about playing a little. Playing a little of what? Was this one of those kinky doctor things? In the end, he was glad, and even more so, relieved at not answering her right there and then. Yeah, who knew what she did with that stethoscope?<br/><br/>Just preceding the pair going their separate ways, he recalled how she motioned to his bags, her slight smile broadening into a grin. "A celebration dinner?" Dr. McCallington asked. Never one to be rude, not only did Raymond respond in the affirmative, but he also filled her in on why. In telling her, he believed he wasn’t bragging about Jakob. It’s just that he was super giddy with pride and happiness for his son’s awesome news.<br/><br/>“So, you think she’s as pretty as Mom?” Bless his son for bringing him back to present day, but why was he so obsessed with who was more attractive?<br/><br/>“This again, huh?” Raymond replied with a sigh. “Outwardly? Very much so. Dr. McCallington is just as beautiful as your mother. But inwardly, Jake? I don’t know the good doctor like that. Your mother, on the other hand, is like the brightest of beacons in pea-soup-like fog.” For now, he stopped there as his son digested the current incoming information. When nothing seemed to be on his immediate agenda as far as replies went, father inquired of son, “Anything else?”<br/><br/>“Well, yeah,” he stated. “You still haven’t said whether you’re gonna ask her out or not.”<br/><br/>“Y’know, Jake, you keep asking me who’s better looking,” Raymond said, while simultaneously skirting the accusation and just getting warmed up. “Who do<i><u>you</u></i>think is more attractive? I mean, you’ve seen enough pictures of your mom to figure this out.”<br/><br/>Jakob hesitated and lowered his eyes. His father quickly sat up with faux displeasure on his face. “Jake, buddy, is there something you care to tell me?” His son gradually met his dad’s gaze.<br/><br/>“Ithinkthedoctorisprettier,” he swiftly spat.<br/><br/>“Jakob Winston Sanheim,” he scolded, holding back a grin. “I . . . I can’t believe what I’m hearing. I’m just glad your mother’s not around to hear it, too. I’m gonna go lie down. Oh, wait, I’ve<i>been</i>lying down. Who knew?” He slowly shook his lowered head. The hidden smile inside of him? Far, far brighter than the lights at a Madonna concert.<br/><br/>“C’mon, Dad, it’s not like that, and it’s nothing against Mom,” he replied in his defense.<br/><br/>“Oh? I’m all ears,” Raymond responded.<br/><br/>Fidgeting, and once more avoiding eye contact, Jakob eventually confessed, “Well, it’s because, uh, I like her, well, I like her red hair! Okay?!” Poor guy, his father cruelly thought. The katana through the heart soon followed.<br/><br/>“By the Locust Queen’s head, ain’t that a relief?!” Raymond exclaimed. “And here I thought it might be on account of her touching your winky.”<br/><br/>“Dad!”<br/><br/>Hands held up with palms facing him, Raymond tortuously continued, “Hey, ya got me beat, champ. She ain’t never touched my winky. Not likely to either.”<br/><br/><b><i><u>“Dad!”</u></i></b><br/><br/>“Okay, okay. Sheesh, keep your shirt on,” Raymond finally surrendered.<br/><br/>Jakob glared at him, with a more than noticeable blush to his cheeks, which kinda defeated the strength of the glare, in his opinion anyway. But he kept that part to himself. Raymond knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that if Olivia was here to see her son in this state, she’d surely pinch his cheeks, and say something annoying like,<i>You’re so cute</i>! Perhaps waving a white flag of his own, Jakob quietly retreated from the family room, and his father immediately regretted his somewhat needless needling.<br/><br/>That only lasted for as long as it took Jakob to return, holding and gently shaking side-to-side a very recognizable household item. Yeah, so much for regret.<br/><br/>“Touché,” Raymond said in an appreciative tone of voice.<br/><br/>Like tennis, it was now his turn to lob a return glare at his son. “Gimme that,” he said, grabbing their land line from his grasp. Out here, it was always best to have both types of phone. One, more often than not, backed up the other.<br/><br/>Entering her number on the keypad, Jakob cheekily interjected, “Uh, on speaker, Dad. Please,” he added with a subtle, but still perceptible shrug. Little shit, Raymond thought. Olivia would be so proud. Again. Appropriate numbers engaged, along with the correct, requested button pressed, and the sounds were now for all to hear.<br/><br/><div style="text-align: center"><i>ring . . . ring . . . ring . . . ring . . .</i>​</div><br/>Blessed be for her not being home, Raymond triumphantly thought, about to put thumb to the<i>OFF </i>button. “Voice mail, Dad,” a Sith voice (at least to Raymond’s ears) knowingly instructed. As expected, Dr. McCallington’s voice filled the room with instructions of leaving her a message, personally as well as medically speaking. And then, the dreaded, cursed<b><i><u>beeeep</u></i></b><br/><br/>“Uh, yeah, hello, Dr. McCallington. This is Ray, er, Raymond McCalling- I mean, Ray Sanheim. Raymond Sanheim. This message is to, uh, answer your question from the parking lot earlier today. About the local music scene. Yeah, well, there’s an awesome, intimate venue in town known as<i>The Backstage. </i>An awesome band from Wisconsin will be playing there this Friday night, calling themselves BoDeans. Think Springsteen, but minus the E Street Band. These guys are a foursome. Yeah, real good harmony, too.”<br/><br/>Fuck, he so sucked at this! Only reason he’d been married to an amazing woman like Olivia was because of Olivia!<br/><br/>“I mean, there are other spots for live music, but you really can’t go wrong with<i>The Backstage.</i>So, um, g’night, Dr. McCallington, and thank you again for your words about Olivia.”<br/><br/><div style="text-align: center"><i>click</i>​</div>