It's been far too long since he's spent time with his friends like this. Granted, TJ wished it was under better circumstances, but it was still welcome. Upon hearing that he was put in the hospital because of Lawson of all people, they made plans to visit and help up as soon as they could.
It was nice hearing what they've been up to since leaving for college. He already learned Spinelli changed from a four year degree to learning a trade and becoming a mechanic, but he was a bit more surprised to learn that Vince opened his own restaurant. Last time he checked Vince wanted to go pro. Learning that Gretchen worked for NASA and Gus was in the military (but currently on leave) wasn't that much of a shocker.
"So what have you been up to, Teej? Besides everything with Lawson," Vince asked.
"Nothing much. I just work at a daycare," he said. "The kids are really nice."
"Working with kids seems to be a good fit for you," said Gretchen. "You've always been good with kids. Have you thought about getting an early childhood education degree?"
"Yeah. I'd love that. But right now I just want to get on my feet again," he said. And have some sort of savings that would've get wiped out just by going to the doctors. He loved his job, those kids were something else, but it didn't pay more that enough to pay for a one bedroom apartment and maybe a bucket of a car. He thought about the card Robert gave him that sat in his wallet. He didn't want to use anyone elses money, but Robert was insistent that he use it if he needed to. Would using it to pay for going back to school count?
"So you're staying with Spinelli until then?" Gus asked. TJ nodded. "You know, you can come stay with one of us, if you want."
"That sounds like a great idea. It'll be a good chance for you to catch up with each of us," said Mikey.
"A-are you sure? I don't want to get in the way of anything. And I have two cats. One of them stays out of the way most of the time but Marble will not leave you alone if she likes you," TJ said. "I don't want to be a freeloader."
"Teej, you're not being a freeloader. I don't think you could be one even if you tried," said Spinelli. "Besides, we're offering. It might be good to get away from Third Street after everything."
"She has a good point. Getting away from a place where a lot of bad things happened to you can do wonders for a persons mental health," said Gretchen.
"When you say it like that, it sounds like a great idea," he said. "Okay, I'll take you guys up on your offers, after I heal up some more. It's going to hurt saying goodbye to all the kids at the daycare, though. It always hurts, even when they move on to kindergarten."
The six of them spent the next few days catching up, having fun, and silently agreeing that Lawson was the scum of the earth.
ZZZ
To say Robert's house was huge would be an understatement. He always wanted a mansion, plenty of rooms for anything he ever wanted. Hell, he even had multiple basements. One was a home theatre, he even had ones with shiny sports cars, some of which he bought just because.
Still, having a bowling alley didn't make up for how empty the house felt sometimes. Rocky was good company, even during his stubborn fits, but Robert would be lying if he said he didn't hope Detweiler would call or message him, asking to come stay with him for a while, even just for the company.
Since his dog was feeling too lazy to join him on a run, Robert made use of his home gym and spent his workout mostly on the treadmill while Rocky laid nearby, chewing on one of his toys. He thought back to when he mentioned the husky to TJ, who then said a husky was 'him in dog form'. Rocky was stubborn, and knew how to become an unmovable mass when he didn't want to do something, and was very vocal about it, among other things.
"I can't believe he said that," Robert huffed. If a husky was him in dog form then what the fuck kind of breed was TJ in dog form? Probably something mouthy and with too much energy, a breed that was known for being playful and friendly, but a little stubborn, too.
"He's a goddamn Samoyed," he said, stepping off the treadmill. Funny enough, he almost got a Samoyed instead of a husky, he just picked a husky because of their distinctive look. "Maybe I should get one. . ."