August, 8th ... A day, when anything can happen. Or was it even meant to be?...

"Just a day, just another year..." He heard the song starting, when he felt himself awakening. "But in our eyes you are the best... We're gonna love you... Gonna love you above the rest... ."

A moan escapes from his lips, as he heard it and felt the sun shining through the slight gap in the curtains, next right on his face. He heard footsteps padding across the floor. His eyes stayed close all the while and he felt the mattress beside him sinking in.

"Morning, birthday boy!", a voice so sweet and cheerfully said right next near his right ear. The moan from earlier turned into a lions roar. But his eyes stayed close. And he just raised an arm up and covered half his face with it. The voice, a female by the sound of it, spoke again.

"Josh? Are you awake yet?", she asked and plants a sweet, soft kiss onto his right cheek. "Come on. Wake up. Oh, and by the way ... Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday just for you, sweetie!", he heard her singing along to the song in the background. He wanted to open his eyes now, and see her. But for some reason he couldn't. He wouldn't? He just stayed the way he was. Covering his face, eyes with his left arm. Eyes tightly closed, as well.

"Schizo? Come on. Wake up. I'm not letting you stay in bed all day. Not today! Not on your birthday!", he heard her saying. He felt his arm slowly dropping down from his face. And slowly, very slowly he opened his eyes, to look into ...

~*~

Thin air. He saw no one. The curtains were still drawn close before the windows. Daylight only slightly was trying to get in his bedroom, through a very little gap between them. But the room was still dark, in general. And he was alone. It was only a dream. He moaned and grabbed the second pillow from next to him, to put it on his face. Trying to escape reality and go back to his latest dream again ... or to sleep in general. Maybe?

He woke up, with a slight start, again. When the sun already was up high, and enlightened the bedroom in its full glory sunshine and warmth. He turned his head around, to watch the clock on his left side nightstand. The numbers on its screen were telling him that it was 11:10 am. Ugh. He thought just. Great. There goes my productive morning, then. Again. As he glanced back at the clock, he saw what date it was also today. Oh, what the heck. He thinks. It's not like I have to be anywhere. But here... He made himself more comfortable, pulling up the sheets, and plunging the pillow beneath his head. And just had a great idea. It's a perfect day, to stay like this all day!

He closed his eyes, for a minute or so. When he realized he couldn't go back to sleep anymore. He reopened his eyes and just stared at the ceiling. A couple minutes past by then. As he lies staring, like this. He sighed, and turned on his site. When something came jumping on top of his covers then. The dark brown-white colored Border Collie he adopted about two years ago; Max (and which was just about the same age back then.) was slowly moving towards him now. He raised his hand slightly up, next. Stroking its head affectionately and bending his upper body forward to kiss its snout also.

"Hey, Maxi!" JC called out towards him. "How do you feel about a whole day in today?!" Then he reached under his bed, and pulled his laptop, he left there last night, up and set it onto the covers and his lap. While he sits up a little straighter against the headboard himself. "Alright, then. Lets see, what comes to mind now, Max ...!" He smiled to himself and to his dog who just was lying down beside him, while he opened the lid of his laptop and fired it up, next. He checks in his emails if something new came in, since last night. Nothing so far, but a bunch of Notifications from his Twitter only. As usual though. Then opened a new word document next, and just begins typing. First only a few words. And more. Then those words ... didn't sound as right to him anymore and he just marked the whole paragraph, then pressed the delete - button. The bridge of his nose and his eyes began a little to twitch right there as Josh pinched it softly with his thumb and index-finger. He decided to take a break for now. He sat the laptop down beside him, onto the sheets. Breathed in a heavy sigh, and stretched his arms out over his head, next. His right hand landed on top of his head. While his other just drops down onto his blanket where his belly was underneath. When Max starts licking the left hand of his master right there. He rubbed over his face, and couldn't stifle a great yawn this minute anymore. He just covered his mouth, with his right hand. Then would pull his left hand away from the dog's affectionate tongue-licking and swings his legs to his left side out of bed, to sit on the edge of it. "Okay. Okay, I'm up now." His look fell towards the Smart Phone of his, that was lying next to his alarm clock and little voice recorder, he uses to record ideas, tunes etc.; in case his laptop or Smart Phone battery were just recharging, and plugged into the electric outlet, or empty. His left index-finger darted towards, and pushed down on the touch screen quickly. Which made the black screen, light up in a soft white light, and showed him his locked screen with the exact time and date, plus how many unanswered calls or messages and emails he'd been missing already. He didn't care for now. And stood from his bed. Joshua walked around its foot, and into the walk-in closet right across from him then. To pick some fresh clothings for today. It didn't take him long, and he walked back out of it, with a pile of clean clothes (a pair of dark blue jogging pants and equally dark V-neck t-shirt.) and he headed straight for his masters bathroom, inside the bedroom. On his left side, coming out of the closet.

Twenty minutes later, he stood in his kitchen. That was mainly integrated into the living area, and only parted through some high archway, that was the little foyer, which lead to the front and garage door, too. He had opened the patio door, to let Max out into the backyard when they both came down the staircase right next to the entrance to the small foyer. Now, Josh stood by the counter that was centered in the middle of the kitchen and across the stove and refrigerator. He walked over towards a cupboard above the stove and another counter top. Opening a door, he grabbed the coffee can. Then went to get the electric water jug, to fill it with some water from the faucet. Set it back on its electric plate and turned the switch on. Meanwhile, Josh grabs the coffee maker he usually used and began counting up some grind coffee beans from the can, with a tea spoon still inside the can. After the water was boiling, he poured it slowly into the glass jug and let the coffee brew a few minutes. He made his way to the fridge again and looked inside. He settled himself for making just some eggs in a pan, and two slices of toast with butter, in addition to his coffee. Then he prepared Maxi's food in his bowl, and filled his water bowl with fresh one, as the dog walked around the corner just in time.

The coffee was hot and strong, and slightly seemed to burn though his throat. But it tasted great. And helps him awakening even quicker. He took a bite of some scrambled eggs onto his fork, and into his mouth. Before biting a piece from his buttered toast next. While he just enjoyed his breakfast or brunch. The phone, standing in its charger across from him, on the other counter, just ringed once then twice. And a third time. He jumped slightly of the stool at the sound of it. And went the two to three strides and grabbed it from its charging station. Watching the ID-Caller at first. Before he could asked the caller what he or she might wanted though. A woman started yelling into his ear by now: "Happy Birthday, my baby boy!"

Josh recognized his mother's voice. And smiled only in response.

"How're you feeling today, hon?", she starts with the questions already. "Are you good? Did you sleep last night? Are you alone?...".

Josh blew out some carbon dioxide, in a small audible sigh from his lips just.

"Hey, Mum! Thanks for your wishes. I'm fine. I am eating breakfast and drinking my coffee this second, as we speak. Watching Maxi eating out his bowl... How're you and dad doing?", he answered her interrogation and sat back on his former occupied stool, as well. Just listening patiently to his mum telling him what's going on in their life, over in Florida. His responses, every now and then, were short answers, with hmm's and ah's, in letting her know that he was still there with her. Or occasionally asking her something back. While he was shewing and gulping his food and drink in between.

"Josh?", he heard his mum say in his ear next. "I hope you enjoy your day without any kind of stress, or work, then. I wish you a lovely day, son! Call Lance or Tyler or some other friend of yours if you might feel alone too much, and just have a nice time with them, okay? See you soon, son!"

Joshua felt slightly embarrassed by the suggestion by his mum there. But he cleared his throat, with a slight coughing, and thanked her again for her well wishes, and concerns. And most of all her love and support over the years. Then he heard a rustling inside the phone, and his mum talking to somebody else, away from the receiver of her end. And a few seconds later, a newer voice congratulated him for his birthday, even.

"Happy Birthday, Josh!", his father's voice was heard shortly afterward. Who's asking him the same as his mum before as well, on how he was doing nowadays. JC thanked him again, and told him also that he was doing just okay for the matter of him turning older and greyer these days. They both shared a little chuckle to this. And his dad responded only with, "We all do, son!"

"I know." Josh replied, a little monotonously and with a sigh. "I just feel weird now, with all my friends getting married, and starting their own family, you know?"

"Josh!" his dad said in a more serious matter now. "Don't let yourself down by this, son! You'll find her soon enough. Don't stress yourself over something like this! You'll find your Mrs. Right, someday!"

He's right, JC thought only. Of course he is. He knows me, for already thirty-something years, he knows how insecure I must feel with each and everyone getting hitched and beginning their new life-chapters. And what about me? Well. Basically, I'm getting closer and closer to my forties year. But am still in the same single-household I've been in for nearly ten and more years. Again! Crap! Why is it that every woman I meet, only seems to be right in the beginning. But after a few months in the relationship, they reveal their true and ugly faces?

~*~

WHAT THE HECK?

She thought, when reading the just arrived E-Mail from her editor of the newspaper she was working part-time for only a couple weeks now. Melanie Deißfuss could only gasp at the writing on her laptop screen.

Das soll jawohl ein Scherz sein, oder was?

She thought unbelievingly just. According to the E-Mail her editor just sent, he was sending her on a trip to L.A.? To take on this weekend, even? How in the world, should she even make that possible? According, to her editor it had to do with some function that came from some LA artist's company in that town, but she doesn't even have a clue why her editor would sent her, at all. On the other hand, it was Los Angeles, right?

After Mel - as her friends and family just call her - had called her editor, to confirm her data and got every basic information she'd be needing to know for this trip. She just started dancing through her apartment, for a whole hour, or two, right there.

~*~

On August, 9th, she was sitting on that airplane from Tegel Berlin, towards Brussels, at four thirty in the morning. It'd take another change of flight until she'd be on her actual flight to the City of Angeles. But at three in the morning, still August, 9th, Melanie was just about to take her seat on the airplane from Brussels towards N.Y.C. in a three row seated area, next to the aisle.

Six hours later, or earlier, she changes on to her third, and final flight towards Los Angeles, at August, 8th now, around nine fifteen in the evening. She got distracted by the stewardess, who just had showed her into the direction of her seat row, who was now approaching her from behind and gently tipping Melanie onto her shoulder.

"Excuse me, Miss!" she told her. "I'm afraid I can't let you sit in here. Please follow me!"

Mel was more than confused by this, she frowns, but takes her backpack out of the luggage rack from above again. And follows as being instructed, the stewardess. Who was now standing by the entrance, where she had come from earlier, and was almost through some thick blue velvet curtain behind ahead of Mel, as well. She hurried to catch up with her, and was being lead into first class this time. As she stood behind the stewardess, who pointed her to a new row with only two empty seats at this point. And looked around herself, confused even. And pulled out her ticket to make sure she really was suppose to sit in the economy class only. But before Mel could say anything, the stewardess interrupted her.

"We are over booked in there." the stewardess told her, and pointed behind her through the blue velvet curtain, where she knows the economy class was to be. She let herself sink into one of the two seats, when the flight attendance was hurrying away again. And chooses the seat beside the little bullseye window, so she would be able to see the City of Angeles already from out of the sky. She was getting excited now. And could feel her palms and fingertips getting slightly sweaty, by this.