It’s been forever since I’ve seen this guy and now it’s like we never lost contact.

“How are Karen and Roy? Heather? Tyler?”

“Mom and dad moved to Chicago almost 20 years ago; Heather is a proud owner of a bakery/restaurant and has two kids with her husband of ten years; Tyler just had a little girl with his fiancé about 2 years ago,” the man I remember being 14 and leaving for Orlando, months before I decided to join the military on my 17th birthday.

I had been 12, giving me 5 years or so to get ready.

He always kept us all in line, made sure we were out of trouble and got acceptable grades. He looked out for the ten or fifteen of us kids. Our group consisted of me, Heather, Tyler, Kace, Abbie, Mike, Carrie, Jake, Bobby, Joanie, Jesse, Jeff, Caralyn, Sharon, and of course, Josh. We all lived within a couple blocks of each other.

When he was 19 or 20, he came back to see everyone and I’d already gone to AIT for the Marines. I was sent out to Japan by then, having lived there for just over a year. I finished school a year early because I’d started a few months early, turning 18 five months after the graduation. This was back before the age restriction.

“So, what have you been up to?”

“I acted, sang and danced on the Mickey Mouse Club, was part of *NSYNC, went solo, and now I write and produce. I’m managing this girl group, Girl Radical.”

“Wait, what name did you go by?” I inquire curiously.

“JC Chasez.”

“You’re the guy Elise obsessed over! No wonder you looked so familiar!”

We laugh, both women and my son exchanging odd looks. “Brady, you remember Tyler, right?”

“Yeah…” He last saw Tyler four years ago.

“This is his brother.”

“The one in LA?”

“Yes, son.” I’m beaming with pride.

“It’s a privilege to meet you, my dad’s told me about you guys as kids.

“Wait just a minute!” Elise shouts over the clamoring. “He’s the goodie two shoes Josh you always talked about all through high school? The one that wouldn’t stay out past curfew by more than fifteen minutes? The same one who walked you and your friends home every night?” she demands, pointing at him while she eyes me.

He turns beet red. “Yeah, that was me,” he admits.

She hugs and kisses him, sitting across his lap. “And to think I’ve known you personally for close to a year, but have heard about you for over 20 years.”

They seem so content with each other.  “Are you still strict about schooling?” I ask, not wanting to break up their tender moment.

“Yeah, when I need to be.”

“Do you have somewhere he could stay?”

“Depending on his age is whether he stays here or next door,” Josh replies, seeking information.

“He’s 17, has his license and is a junior.”

“Okay. Does he have a car?”

“Remember my dad’s ’68 Thunderbird?”

“How could I ever forget?” he chuckles, holding Elise tightly and kissing her neck and shoulder.

“That’s his car.

“Do he and Leilani go to school together?”

“They go to Monty Tech,” Elise, Kristi and I chorus together. “Stop it.”

“Wow! That’s strange.” Josh glances at each of  us.

“Where would he stay?”

“They do it all the time,” Brady comments, unphased.

“Stop texting,” Kristi commands, annoyed.

Josh puts his hand out. “Please, Brady.”

He groans, but complies. “No fair.”

“Brady Austin,” I scold him.

“He’ll be staying next door on the second floor,” Josh informs me, dismissing Brady’s complaint.

“He works part time Sunday through Thursday at K-Mart until he graduates.”

“When does he turn 18?”

“March 9th,” the four of us reply.

“Alright.”

“I’ll be working days at Tyco next June or July and go to school at night and online for Computer Information Systems and Automotive,” Brady tells him.

“$700 sound fair?”

“For what?” Josh asks, Elise’s expression demanding the same information.

“Room and board, the bills. I’ll be sure to send him money for food separately,” I assure Josh.

“$500 is the most I can accept,” Josh argues.

“I’ll put the other two in an account for him to go to college.”

“Agreed. B-Mikkaila, do you know how to write up a lease?”

“Kind of.”

“Did you almost call her ‘babe’ or ‘baby’?” Kristi asks.

He looks around nervously. “Kristi, it’s alright,” Elise calmly tells her, something clicking in my wife’s mind and our friends’ eyes shining with pure happiness.

“Wait, isn’t this the nameless guy you’ve been talking about all these months since the concert in June?”

She drops her head and giggles, wordlessly admitting it to us. “He’s a good man, one worth being with,” I inform her, vouching for one of my childhood friends from Maryland.

“Oh, y’all got a bromance happenin’!” Elise teases, Josh tickling her side in response.