doppelgänger --> there's never just one {sequel}

dennis

The day after the next, around late-morning to afternoon time, Dennis stood there behind the front window of the recording studio, and sighed. It was a dreary day, to say the least. He watched the trees in the parking lot sway back and forth in the wind, and the sky was dark while sleet fell from it, ominously dark, and it made Dennis feel like something bad was going to happen there that day. And it was Monday after all, so that brought everything down some from the start of the day. 

Bex got there a couple of minutes later with Wolf and Mavis in her arms, and when Dennis saw them, he lit up, forgetting completely about his previous thoughts right away. "My babes are here," he said, smiling. He knelt down and kissed Wolf and Mavis both, and when he stood back up, he leaned towards Bex and put a gentle hand on her arm as he kissed her, too, for a good long moment before letting go. 

"I haven't seen you since this morning, Dennis, it's been a while," Bex said, laughing a little. Dennis smiled. "It has felt like forever, though."

"It has," he admitted. "What am I going to do when I go to leave for tour again and I have to live without seeing you guys for months at a time?" he wondered while he looked at all of them. 

Bex made a sad face. Wolf whined and fell to the floor in despair at the thought of not being able to see his father for that long at a time. Mavis just observed her brother's and her mother's reactions and then looked at her dad, starting to cry, her puppy dog eyes on. 

"Aww, don't cry, sweetheart," Dennis sympathized with his daughter as Bex lifted Wolf and held him against her, kissing his head. "It's alright. I'm not going to be leaving for a while," he told her, also directing it towards Wolf and Bex when he looked at the two of them. Bex smiled. 

When the kids calmed down and were convinced that everything was fine, Bex asked Dennis, "So, what's been going on today? Anything particularly interesting or out of the ordinary so far?" They headed down the hallway and walked into a recording room, where Dennis took a seat on the tall stool that sat in front of the microphone that hung from the ceiling. Dennis sighed. "Nope."

They sat there for a moment in the quiet, Wolf pointing to things and showing Mavis around the room since he knew the whole studio so well and Mavis was now old enough to understand and observe. Dennis watched them along with Bex, both happy to see thier children getting along and interacting, and feeling blessed. Dennis sometimes thought about how lucky he was to have such an amazing little family. A lot of times he thought about how he probably didn't deserve it. 

"So," Be started, pulling him away from his thoughts. 

"So," he said back, grinning. "Please don't tell me you're about to propose another one of your crazy ideas to me."

"Well," she smiled, "that's just it..... so, I was thinking I might bleach my hair again and then dye it over a light brown color." 

Dennis made a face. "Where did that come from all the sudden? You've had your hair all different kinds of colors of the rainbow for years." 

"Exactly," Bex responded. "I just..... feel like a change. And I want to feel more like a mom. And a good one, too. What would you think of that?"

Dennis widened his eyes and raised his eyebrows a little. "What would I think? How about, what do I think? I think someone or some people said something to you on social media, something bad or negative having to do with that, and you feel bad about it. You're feeling bad about yourself."

"That's not --"

"I know you, Bex. Well, everyone would hope so because of how long we've been together. And you don't want to feel more like a mom. You want to look more like it to other people. They said something about how your image including the color of your hair affects your social status, and makes you look like a druggie and a troublemaker and a criminal, didn't they?" Surprisingly to Bex, he remained calm, but he was trying his hardest to do so. Especially around Wolf and Mavis. He had to set the best example he could for them. But he had to let this final part slip.