Flowers from 1970

Chapter 11: the first domino

Chapter 11: the first domino

George woke up the next morning to the sunlight shining through his curtain.

It was almost the end of August, but the weather seemed to have been colder than usual in contrast to the bright sunlight.

He planned to stay in his room for a bit in case Dream called, but after a while he got hungry and walked outside to make himself some toast and butter with tea.

He then went back to his room to eat there, and the phone rang as he walked through the door. He shuffled quickly, putting down the mug with tea and toast on his work desk to answer the phone.

"George!" Dream greeted, "I just got home. How are you?"

George took a bite of his toast, "Fine. I went to the park yesterday and that was pretty fun. I met up with Wilbur and his family again, and his brother Dave, but they call him Techno."

"Dave?" Dream repeated, "I have a close friend named Dave."

George drank some of his tea, "That's a cool coincidence, but I don't know if your Dave is as outlandish as the Dave here."

Dream laughed, "Oh yes he is." He said, "Not lately though. He's had cancer for a while but he's fighting."

George frowned, "I'm sorry. I'm sure he'll do okay."

"I am too." Dream smiled, "Anyway I interrupted a bit there, how was the park?"

George thought for a moment, "Well I didn't stay for long, but I do think they're a fun bunch of people I'd consider friends."

Dream smiled, "I'm glad you're making friends, I know you said you hardly had any."

"Well you're my friend." George reminded him.

Dream was silent, "Well, I mean a friend from your time, you know?"

George sighed, "You're right."

"I didn't mean it like that," Dream softened, "you're one of my most important friends. The only other friend I feel a connection with other than Sapnap."

"You said you went to the park yesterday?" Dream asked after a while to break any tension.

"Yeah."

"The 29th?" Dream asked to make sure.

"Yes." George replied, "Why do you ask?"

Dream was silent, "Uh- I don't know. Just to make sure that we ares still in the same month and day."

"Yeah but," George let out a breath of a laugh, "we're a bit off on the year."

Dream shook his head with a smile "'A bit.'"

George heard scribbling from Dream's end of the phone. "Are you drawing?"

Dream hesitated, "N-no. I'm writing."

"What are you writing?" George asked, intrigued.

"Just some stuff." Was all Dream could say, and George just hummed in response.

"So how was helping your sister?" George wanted to hear all about Dream's day. Especially since they didn't get a chance to talk the night before.

"It was pretty fun," he admitted, "she gets quite annoying but she's like a mini-me, so I can't blame her."

"Wow. A girl Dream." George pondered, "Scary."

"She can be scary." Dream said gleefully, "She was going to punch me in the face for holding her diary and asking what it was. She does karate, too."

"Well then, you shouldn't touch diaries." George said sassily.

"Ha ha." Dream went quiet, "I missed you. It was only a day but I missed talking to you, if that doesn't sound weird."

George's eyes widened a bit, unsure how to respond. He thought it best to just be honest, "I missed you too."

"Yeah well me being gone got you out of the house right?" Dream brought up with a smile. He noticed how much more open George was to be less isolated lately. He knew how much he was committed to work more than the simple things in life, so it was a nice change.

George leaned against the wall, finishing his last piece of toast, "Yeah. I haven't done that in a while."

"Are you saying I should disappear more often?" Dream joked, in a trying voice.

"No!" George answered loudly, then cleared his throat, "I just meant it's good to get a bit of sunlight every few days, and I only went outside because I didn't have any more work to do."

"Mhm, you just want me gone." Dream was pushing jokingly, "I'm an old man anyway, what can I do for you life."

"Stop joking." George said seriously, "You've done much for my life. More in one month than most people have in years."

Dream was taken aback at the serious and heartfelt response to his stupid joke. "So have you, George. You don't even know."