“Remember,” G said, “if he gives you trouble, let me know.”

  Ever held the door open, regarding the old woman. “How will I be able to reach out to you?” Ever asked.

  “You’ll find a way,” she said. She took his other hand and gave it a brief squeeze. “Chances are, I’ll bump into you again.” He watched her shuffle away, turn the corner and disappear from view.

  “Hey Ever,” Logan said.

  “Yes?” He closed the door gently behind him.

  “Heard anything from that Chaos guy?”

  Ever breathed in, sent out one more pulsing beacon into ether. Seconds passed: nothing. It’s almost like he never existed. “Nope.”

  “Hm.” Logan tapped rapidly on his phone. “That’s OK. We haven’t really needed a third person here. Every year when Fall comes, the business starts tapering off. Besides, Tayzer might…” he cut himself off, a little too late.

  “Taylor might?...” He didn’t want to - didn’t dare to - complete the sentence.

  Logan rubbed the salt and pepper 5 o’clock shadow on his face. “Nah, nothing is set in stone. She’s waiting for some responses to her applications. You know how these things go."

  “Actually, I don’t know how these things go.” Ever stopped abruptly. Did he just think that, or had he said that out loud? Logan was looking at him. One of his strands of black hair flecked with grey fell across his forehead and he automatically raked it back with his hand. Might as well keep going. “So she still doesn’t know whether she’s going or not?”

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

  “Oh I’m pretty sure she’s going. That was never in question. It’s more so just a matter of when.”

  Ever nodded. He glanced at the pot in its new home. While G was here, the sun was still scattering its warm rays all over it. It had since climbed higher, its warmth cut off by the overhang at the front of the ice cream shop. He then idly looked towards the serving area. The seats at each round table were still neatly tucked under and unsat on, even though it was past 12. A dog barked outside; for some reason, Logan hadn’t put on his music today.

  “Go grab lunch,” Logan said. “I should be alright here. If we suddenly get a million customers, I’ll give you a call.”

  —--

  Ever walked aimlessly up and down Lygon Street. He didn’t feel like noodles today or pizza or sandwiches or anything he usually had. He wasn’t even that hungry. He found himself back in the park where he arrived on Earth.

  There was someone new here: a man wearing an apron and standing by a little cart. The cart had two wheels either side of it, with long, shiny spokes. Written in bright red, heavily seriffed typeface on the side were two words: ‘Hot Dogs’. A line of about five people waited. Ever went and joined the queue. He watched as one person after another got a long piece of bread with an equally long, red tube in it. He’d squeeze yellow and red sauce on the tube, weaving the two colors together.

  “Hi there,” the man said. “What can I get for you?”

  Ever looked into the cart, where he saw the tubes rotating in place along metal rods.

  “One of those in a bread, thanks.”

  “Sure. Five bucks.”

  Ever pulled out his bank card and held it against the EFTPOS machine.

  “That’s a hot dog yeah?” Ever asked.

  The man chuckled. “Sure is. Never had one before?” Ever shook his head. With his pair of tongs, he grabbed one of the rotating hot dogs. “Hey, first time for - oops!”

  The meat tube fell onto the ground, bouncing and jiggling. Then, out of nowhere, a snout popped out, sharp teeth closing around it.