A Friend for a Funeral

10. Recovering In The Room

     Adam woke up to the ringtone that made him groan in displeasure as he got out of bed to answer the call. He left the cell phone on the dresser on the other side of the room, but had forgotten to put it on vibrate. Adam grabbed the cell and answered the call, already well aware of who was ringing him up.

     "Hey Dad," Adam said, looking at the bright sky outside his window. "At least you're not calling in the middle of the night this time."

     "For a guy who only went over there for a funeral," his father barked back, "You sure are having a gay ole time over there, my boy."

     "No longer on your dime," Adam reminded him, "And things are great, thanks for asking!"

     "If you plan to stay there," his father continued, "Give me an address and I'll ship all your stuff over to you. Well, what's left of it."

     "Don't tempt me," Adam chided back, "I really like it here."

     "What's her name?" his father then asked.

     "What?" Adam said, trying to act shocked.

     "There's a woman, there has to be." His father repeated, "What's her name?"

     "That's none of your concern," Adam said, refusing to budge but he knew that was all his father was going to need.

     "Ha!" his father said, giving out a bellowing laugh. "How did I not see this coming. You're in Paris and were always a bit of romantic!"

     "Dad, give it up." Adam asked as politely as he could, resisting the urge to just hang up on the old man.

     "Alright, alright." The old man said, taking a deep breath. "Just give me an update when you find out what's going on out there."

     "I will, but forcing the issue might not be the right path," Adam said, rolling out of bed. "I'm in a good place, but I need to be careful. Just give me more time."

     "Alright," his father finally conceded, "But if you're there for another week I'm moving your stuff to the basement."

     Adam paused for a moment. "It's already in the basement, isn't it?"

     "Gotta go," the old man replied, "Bye!"

     Adam left the main room and strolled into the bathroom to inspect his eye. It was still bruised, and despite all the ice he used to take the swelling down he was stuck with that shiner for at least a week. He sighed as it was something that just couldn't be avoided. He told Fiona that he was tired and crashed early to avoid her seeing the eye before it swelled down. Adam knew this was the moment of truth as he was sure that Fiona had heard his phone ring and suspected he was awake.

     There was a loud knocking at the door.

     Adam slowly walked over to the door and opened it. It took Fiona only seconds to see the shiner and gasped in surprise.

     "Adam!" She called out, "What happened to your eye."

     Adam sighed. "Do you want the truth or a lie?"

     Fiona crossed her arms and gave him a stern look. "What do you think?"

     "Alright, come on in." Adam said, as he watched her slip by and jump onto his bed to make herself comfortable. "I had a small run in with George."

     "What?" Fiona said, shocked. "You got into a fight with my brother!"

     "I wouldn't say that," Adam corrected her, "It hardly qualifies as a fight, just two hits really. Him hitting me and me hitting the floor."