CHAPTER 2
Wilson rubbed his temples while waiting for an epiphany on how to get rid of House, forty minutes had passed trying to do so but he had to make it at least before the return of Lilian. He sighed, staring at him: frowning and right hand committed to bounce the cane on the floor. Wilson hated when he did it.
"Ok, go ahead, House, but be concise".
The diagnostician growled angrily "They didn't ask Shakespeare to be concise".
"You're a doctor, not a poet, being concise is one of your skill".
House grimaced, focusing his gaze on the wall full of family photos...Too many to him: wedding, baptism of the twins, the twins on their first day of kindergarten, the twins wearing the uniform of the football team, the arrival of the little girl, the baptism of the little girl...
'God...I'm feeling sick...'.
"Tell me something, how long since you and your wife have had sex?".
He smiled, he was reaching the limit. He took a deep breath with his hands rubbing his temples, looked back at him again with a lollipop (or what was left of it) in his mouth. Wilson got up from the couch followed by the astonished gaze of his 'patient'.
"Ok House, I'd say we're done, you don't want to collaborate with me as usual. Quite frankly, I wonder why you keep coming to me".
"Oh, come on! Sit down like a good boy".
"House seriously, why do you keep coming?".
House relaxed and shrugged, grinning "My boss forces me to come to you. You know how the story goes: I'm a doctor unreliable from the human point of view...There was something bad on my emotional stability too but I can't remember what was".
Wilson sat down slowly without stopping to sigh "Ok House, but this is the last time you come to my house outside my office's hours".
House folded his hands, blinking rapidly, mouthing a 'Thank you'. The psychologist tried to smirk, relaxing against the back of the couch and pulling out his notes.
"Is that really necessary?". Wilson glared at him and removed the cap of his pen. "I'll take that as a yes...".
"Ok, why don't we start from where we left last time, will you?".
"Shouldn't we talk about my work?".
"Ok, do you want to talk about your work instead of your marriage?".
House was dumbfounded, with his mouth open. Wilson smiled, putting down his pen.
"Or we can talk about football or baseball, what do you prefer? I can't help you If you are the one who doesn't want to be helped".
A familiar click made the landlord turning his head around, smiling lovingly "Hey!".
"Dada!".
Wilson smiled at the little girl in the arms of his wife, skinny, blond hair held up in a bun, her hazel eyes like those of his children. She smiled as she slowly lowered the baby on the ground, but the smile disappeared when she saw the guest sitting in the chair. She glared at him with her hands on the hips, turning to her husband "Why is he here?".
"I know, I'm too gorgeous to kill, but Wilson is here and the coverage of the patient is still holding on. Let's not ruin everything...At least until after his birthday".
Lilian sighed in exasperation, trying to ignore him and waiting for a reply.
"House was about to get going...".
House thought about it and then nodded, grinning like an idiot. She relaxed, abandoning the 'interrogation' pose (which apparently didn't work), and she walked away towards the kitchen with a hideous noise of heels on the floor "Good, because we are at lunch to my parents'".
"Sure..." he felt him by his side, resting a hand on his shoulder heavily.
"If you want, I can teach you how to lie a little better. You know, for a possible future history of adultery".
Wilson turned to him, smiling irritatedly "Thank you House, but I have no intention of betraying my wife".
House shook his head, snorting, bringing his attention to little Katie who was tormenting the arm of her rag doll "What do you think If you and I and the little parasite rent a Cadillac and go get married in Las Vegas?".
"House! ?".
"What? ! I don't think she grasped the concept".
Wilson sighed, running a hand over his forehead "Thursday at four, House, ok? Come on, please, I still have a wedding to maintain".
"Gne! Gne! Gne!" he retrieved his leather jacket from the chair and went to the front door.
"Thursday, House. Don't forget!".
"I will not fail: 'tis twenty years till then!".
Wilson folded his arms across his chest, twisting his mouth, leaning against the railing of the stairs "Excellent use of Shakespeare, House".
House answered with a middle finger raised as he got out. Wilson smiled, closing the door and taking the hand of Katie.
"Let's go to mommy, Katie" and they headed for the kitchen.
"James, why those dishes are on the floor?".
He turned to the little girl who was using the doll to clean the floor "Ok Katie, why don't we go playing outside in the garden, would you?".
James Wilson, sitting on his beloved couch, closed his eyes, rubbing his temples wearily.
House was really a strange man, perhaps one of the strangest he had ever had to take care...And he had had to deal with a lot of crazy patients, so he knew what he was talking about.
While he was thinking about how to prevent the diagnostician to come to his house again, in particular on Sunday, he watched Lilian coming down the stairs, slightly breathless. He wondered for the umpteenth time how he had found someone like her...
She was fantastic.
She was a few years younger than him, they had met on the subway. She was tall and slender, and at that time she wore a simple white dress with short sleeves able to highlight curves that many women at her age no longer possessed. Her hair was of a delicate honey-blonde, not too long and straight, always in order. Eyes big and blue, like those of the twins, they were definitely the thing he liked most...
Lilian smiled, shortly after Jimmy felt her usual cinnamon scent and realized that she had to be behind him.
She began to massage his back and he felt her sharp breath near his ear.
"Hey...".
Jimmy, keeping his eyes closed, his hand away from his temples, assumed an expression much more relaxed.
"I put Katie in bed, I think she won't have trouble falling asleep. This morning with her mother was hard for her".
Jimmy smiled "Sorry, Lily, I'm so sorry for what happened this morning. I hadn't invited him...House is really...".
"A rude bastard, I know. No problem but...please Jimmy, next time, at the cost of calling the police, can you prevent him from entering?".
Jimmy couldn't help but smile at the thought of House knocking with his cane against the door of his house..."Yes, Lily, don't worry".
Lilian removed her hands from his shoulders and rounded him, only to sit in his lap. Jimmy greeted her with pleasure, putting his hands on her hips.
Looking at her fresh face, he realized how lucky he was to love the woman with whom he had been married for eight years as If it was the first day...or even more.
Lilian laid her head on his shoulder and began to play with the buttons of his shirt.
Jimmy chuckled, his nose between her clean hair "Lily...We have to go...".
Lilian shook his head, amused "No, I told my mother that we would have been there in the late afternoon, the lunch was just an excuse to get rid of that crazy man...".
Jimmy was pleased of his wife "Perfect...".
After a knowing look, Jimmy put her gently on the couch. Lilian started to laugh, while he, on top of her, kissed her ear, sliding his hands on her belly and tickling her.
"Jimmy...stop...".
He kissed from her ear to her lips, touching them gently, leaving them for a few seconds and then immediately returning to them.
"Stop..." this time her voice was fainter, less secure, probably because of the hands who had begun to creep under her sweater.
"I love you, Lily".
Lilian's lips curled upward. She circled his neck with her arms and kissed him, ruffling his hair "So do I...".
Jimmy began to fiddle with the fastening of her bra.
"But remember that there are...".
At that moment they heard the mighty noise of something that was shattered, then the noise of running feet, childish laughter, and finally the slamming of doors.
"Children...".
Lilian reluctantly pulled away from his mouth, putting her hands against his chest, allowing them to get up. She adjusted her dress and then passed a hand through her hair.
Jimmy, sitting on the couch, with dissatisfaction printed on his face, wondered If it had been a great idea not to use condoms then.
"You really have to go?".
Lilian turned to the green couch, smiling sweetly "Do you want to let them destroy the house?" she leaned toward him, kissing him on the lips, then moved away, heading upstairs. Perfect as always "Be right back...".
Jimmy, still not quite resigned, turned on the TV, looking for some nice channel to watch while waiting. But when he began to watch a new program about cooking, he heard his wife yelling.
"Jimmyyy!".
Turning off the TV, snorting, he went upstairs. The scene that stood before him would have been funny If that hadn't been his family.
"I have to potty".
He felt the hand of little Katie pulling the cuff of his shirt, and he realized that it would not be appropriate to ignore her pleading eyes for much longer.
"Just a minute Katie, I'll take you right away and then we can go to bed, ok?".
Katie made a grimace of disappointment "No, can't. J and J are bad".
Actually, Jimmy could clearly hear the screams and the noise coming from the bedroom of the twins. He shot a questioning glance at his wife, who was holding the broom and the dustpan, fixing the disaster made by their children.
"I have them locked, they couldn't stay still for a moment. I'll clean everything and then take care of them. You stay with Katie".
Jimmy nodded and, taking the little girl by the hand, walked to the bathroom. Once inside, he undressed Katie and picked her up to put her on the potty-chair, then he took a look in the mirror. His shirt was unbuttoned, he was slightly red from the effort and his hair was completely messed up.
He heard the voice of Lilian screaming for silence and he smiled. He couldn't imagine a better life.
He threw his jacket on the back of the piano before turning on the lights. He looked around, tapping his cane on the ground.
He was bored...Well, not in that instant, but he knew himself and he knew that he'd be bored shortly after. He sighed resignedly passing the couch, where he laid down an instant later, cursing his tennis ball and whoever had thrown it there.
He turned on the TV, zapping so quickly that it was highly unlikely that he could watch what was on air. He stopped only on 'Shrek' and on a documentary of Bob Marley, too boring for him, even for a Sunday evening. He retrieved the tennis ball, throwing it over his head, staring blankly into space. Objectively, he didn't have a damn thing to do.
When he was gone from Wilson's, he had stopped to get a sandwich and a beer, adding two more beers, he had idled for about four hours in the park, and managed to win twenty dollars against a pensioner in a game of chess (you must enjoy each small victory, even the meanest against an octogenarian with eyeglasses like Mr. Magoo's).
And now, after all this, after the game of chess, the use of those twenty dollars in another sandwich and a CD of the Kiss (you must appreciate the stupidity of the people too, only $ 7.99), he didn't really know what to do.
He scratched his beard for a couple of minutes before picking up the phone from the coffee table and a small phone book from a drawer. He leafed through a few pages before finding what he sought, he dialed and waited.
"'Evening" greeted from the other side of the receiver "Yeah, tell her House is on the phone".The phone passed to another person. "Ok, same time, same place...Could you avoid to send me a blonde this time? I'd be eternally grateful...Oh no, I have nothing against blondes, you know" he grinned amused, he loved those fake pleasantries in conversations that didn't require them "You know you're the only blonde I'd ever get into my bed, but I hate news. Send me Cassie again". The 'fuck you' echoed in the living room "It's to avoid that that I'm calling you! Send her at eight".
He threw the cordless on the chair in front of him, he only had to wait another half an hour, then he'd know how to pass time, at least for that evening.
TBC...