The rain timidly knocked at the window, asking for permission to come in which he had no intention of granting. He sat on the old squashy couch, which he realized had a lever on the side to make it recline. Mimi was as amazed as he was; presumably Mary had never used it. Right now, she was snuggled up to Ever in the space between the arm rest and his leg, snoring peacefully.
Ever had started checking out the other apps on his phone and discovered short-form videos. After getting the hang of it, he found himself scrolling mindlessly, taking a liking to cat videos much to Mimi’s chagrin. A pop up slid down from the top of the screen.
“Hey watchu doin?"
He smiled and tapped it straight away.
"Hey nm, just watching cat videos."
He tapped. It swooshed up, sitting below and opposite Zoe’s first message. Ever felt particularly proud that he started understanding ‘text speak’, starting to use it himself.
“I’ve got a better idea.”
“Yeah?”
“Yep - let’s play 21 questions.”
“What’s that? Never played it before.”
“Really? OK it’s fun. Rules are simple: all we have to do is take turns asking each other questions.”
“OK… how do I win?”
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
Ever watched the bouncing message balls, absent-mindedly scratching the back of Mimi’s ears. She sighed and if possible, settled even deeper into the couch.
“That’s the thing, you don’t.”
“Well then why should we play?”
“It’s just fun, not everything is about winning ??.”
“It just sounds like you want to interrogate me.”
“Fine, we won’t play then.”
“No, I want to play!”
He watched the screen for five minutes; no bouncing balls. He shifted slightly in his seat. ^Mary…^ a doggy sort of murmur. Ever gently squeezed her paw, stroking the top with his thumb.
“OK I’ll start. Tell me where you are now.”
“That’s not a question, ice cream boy. ??”
“But I’m at home.”
A photo came through: it was Zoe like Ever had never seen her before. Her hair was down, slightly damp as if she’d just come out of a shower. She wore an oversized, maroon T-shirt and had her bare calves and feet tucked in underneath her.
Ever sent one back. His first selfie felt a bit awkward, but he didn’t care too much.
“Ah Mimi! She looks comfy.”
“She is. OK, my turn.”
“No, it’s mine!”
“Mine wasn’t a question, remember?”
Before she could get a reply in, he asked:
“when were we going to meet this week?”
The message bubbles came and went quite a few times. Ever looked at the time on his phone. Bedtime soon.
“We might have to postpone it til next week, had a few urgent pets come in. ??”
“Oh OK. It’s your turn.”
There weren’t any bouncing balls this time. Maybe she’d already gone to bed. Ever eased himself off the couch, heading to the bedroom. The phone buzzed and he looked at his hand, the screen illuminating his face.
“Do you believe in ghosts?”