"So this is what I raised?"
Houston blinked and slowly opened his eyes. He glanced quickly around before hoarsely whispering "Hello! Hey who's there? Murray? That you?" He pushed himself to a sitting position and grimaced. Automatically he reached for the bottle lying to the side of him, his eyebrows shooting skywards as the bottle seemed to move itself out of his reach
"Ah ah ah…I don't really think so do you!" came a voice from behind him
Houston twisted round to look, frowning when he couldn't see anyone. "Who said that? C'mon…show yourself…I'm not in the mood for games!"
"No, you're just in a mood…and a permanent bad from one from what I have seen!" the voice said
"Not funny!" Houston gasped as he kept glancing around him to spot who was in the room with him
"No!" the voice came again, "it definitely isn't funny, not funny at all!"
Houston swallowed, the voice was familiar, very familiar. He looked at the bottle again and shook his head. Maybe a coffee would be a better idea he thought as he climbed unsteadily to his feet and wobbled over to the bar and poured some luke warm black sludge into his mug. He took two big mouthfuls and turned to lean against the bar as he took another sip, his eye widening in shock as he saw who was sat on the barstool
"That's a bit better!" his father said, "a few more of them and maybe you will start to realise what you have just done, what a jerk you've been!"
Houston jumped as he felt the coffee pour down his front. He closed his eyes tightly and muttered "Hallucination that's all!"
He jumped again as his father said. "Nope, not an hallucination, you've definitely spilled some coffee on yourself! Stupid and clumsy…really did a good job with you didn't I?"
Houston opened his eyes and laughed when he saw his dad still sitting there. "You" he pointed at him, "You are NOT real, you're not…you're just a figment of my imagination!"
Bill Houston nodded "Well, ok…fine! That means one of two things then…either you are talking to thin air…or you are talking to yourself!" He chuckled slightly. "Of course there is a third option!"
"Oh yeah?" Houston asked, taking a slight step back as Bill slid of the stool and walked towards him
Bill put his hand on his sons shoulder and smiled as Houston paled and swallowed visibly. "Yeah. Third option? I'm real…and I'm here!"
"Why?" Houston gasped. "Why are you here? Am I dead? Have you come to get me?"
"Ha! Dead you say?!" Houston frowned as his dad chuckled for a few seconds before stopping and looking straight at his son before saying. "No, you're not dead son. But you are in dead trouble, and I'm here to help. Seems you have a few brownie points with the powers that be, but they've spotted that you seem to have lost your way a little bit recently…so they're gonna send some old friends over to try and get you get back on the straight and narrow… back to your old self!"
"My old self!" Houston laughed. "Oh JOY dad! Cos my old self was such a success right! Why would they want me to go back to that sap! I'm happy as I am… so why would I want anything to change?"
Bill shook his head. "Stubborn as ever… some of the old Matlock is still in there then. If I didn't think it would get me into trouble I would box your ears for the way you have behaved…but they don't want me to interfere, they're doing me a favour just by letting me warn you about what's going to happen, not normally allowed!"
Houston bowed slightly. "Oh then I'm honoured huh! Either that or I aint had enough coffee yet…or maybe I just need to sleep…yeah, that's it!" Houston headed to the couch and quickly lay down. "Sleep…and when I wake up, you'll be gone, and everyone will have left me alone to live MY life the way I choose… I just…need…to sleep! S'all…just…sleep"
As soon as he closed his eyes Houston was drifting off, dimly he thought he heard his dad say. "Your first friend will be here when the clock strikes five…be ready Houston, and good luck son. I love you!"
"Love you to pop!" Houston muttered as he slipped into a peaceful sleep
It was his own snoring that woke him, he wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand, sat up and ran a hand through his hair. Bleary eyed he looked at the clock. 16:45…hmm he thought, something was niggling at the back of his mind, something about five o'clock, something…about the clock? He shook his head and laughed at himself. Whatever it was it couldn't be that important...office was closed, and if it was work related and important then CJ could just deal with it, what she was there for right? He frowned then as another fleeting memory crowded in…something about CJ? Had she yelled at him? No, again he couldn't really remember, and so what if she yelled, she was entitled to her own opinion, just as long as she kept it to herself! He sighed and looked at the clock again…if he had a quick shower now and got into some fresh clothes he could be out in time for the new cocktails hour at the Dubreski Club…or maybe he could go to the Ranchero Bar…have the flavoured Tequila shots…he aimed to work his way through their whole range, in alphabetical order…he though he was up to G, but would start at E again…just in case! He nodded as he decided he liked that plan and made his way downstairs to shower.
He was just towelling off when he dimly heard a clock strike 5. He frowned, none of the clocks in the office had a chime mechanism, maybe he was just…imagining things. "Ha!" he laughed to himself as he opened the shower cubicle and stepped out.
To his right a woman said "WOO HOO! Nice one stud!" before giggling girlishly
Turning quickly to look, not only did Houstons eyes bug out of his head, but he dropped his towel in shock
"Argh, Christmas Baubles!" Connie Ling yelled, giggling even more
Houstons hands quickly covered up his, uhm, surprise as he stammered. "Wha…wha…WHAT! CONNIE!? How, I mean…what…what are you doing here?"
"Getting an early Christmas present!" she smirked and winked and stood up from the weight bench where she had been sitting
Houston took a step, quickly turning and stepping back into the shower, yelping as he switched the cold water tap on full belt. He stood and let the icy water cascade over him for a few minutes before switching it off, shaking his head vigorously to clear both the water and his thoughts. He took two deep breaths, reached for another towel which he wrapped around his waist, and headed back out of the cubicle…skidding to a halt when he saw his visitor was still there
Connie shook her head a fraction feigning a pout. "Well, still not a bad view, not as interesting, but not bad…some perks for being asked to help out on this job!"
"J…J…JOB!" Houston shivered, partly from the cold shower, partly from shock
"Job" Connie nodded as she walked over to him, and after having a proper look at him told him, "best get dressed Matt…don't want me getting distracted!"
Silently he nodded back and blindly reached for the clothes he had set out earlier, shyly pulling his pants on under his towel before stepping into his dress jeans. His eyes never left Connie the whole time he dressed, though he blinked rapidly several times, rubbed at his eyes and slightly pinched at himself to see if he was definitely awake. As soon as he had finished putting his boots on Connie stood in front of him and smiled. "Relax big guy, I'm a friend of CJs…WAS a friend…am a friend…oh I dunno, I still get confused about things like that…point is…I care about CJ, and she cares about you…so when the powers up there decided you needed a little help, I volunteered to be a guide…my way of paying you back for helping CJ get justice for me….uhm…thanks for that by the way! So…you ready to go?"
"Go?" he asked softly. "Go where?"
Connie laughed slightly. "Aw c'mon Houston…you telling me you have never read A Christmas Carol? Seen the films, the classic takes, the modern takes…the musicals!"
He looked confused but nodded before mumbling. "Well, sure…'course I have!"
"Well then!"
"Well then what?" His eyes widened. "Hey, no…now wait a minute! I aint no Scrooge kinda guy! I give to charities, my employees are paid fairly…hell we have decent medical care in case any of them have got a Little Tim…or whatever his name is…hidden at home. I'm NOT Scrooge! And I LOVE Christmas! The parties, the food, the long lie ins…what's to hate. So, well…thanks Connie…but you're haunting the wrong guy!"
"Seriously?" She shook her head. "That's what you think Christmas is all about? Parties? Food? Drink? I'm kinda ok with the chance to have a lie in…but hey we all need a little recharge every now and again! But Houston…it's not just your idea of Christmas that has got a bit distorted along the way…your whole view on life is out of focus…me and the rest of the guys…we're gonna help you see things a little clearer. Now…like I said…you ready?"
Houston swallowed and shook his head a fraction.
"Wuss!" Connie giggled as she reached for his hands. "Geronimo!" She yelled and Houston was hit by a wave of dizziness as a swirl of bright colours spun around his head.