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Greg whispered.
     
Evan stepped fully into the doorway. “Hey, Greg. Did you get all the letters I sent you?”
    Greg shot up from his chair so fast it flew backward and crashed into the window behind him. He dashed around his desk to Evan, threw his arms around him, and jostled him in a rough hug. “Evan! My God, what are you doing here? I can’t believe it!”
Evan laughed, patting Greg on the back. “I came to visit.” Greg pulled back, keeping both hands on Evan’s upper arms. “You came to visit? Just like that after three years?” Evan lifted his sunglasses and set them atop his head. “Has it been three years? I thought it was more like two.”
    Greg shook his head. “It’s been three. The last time I saw you was when your mother got remarried, and you weren’t in the best of moods that day. You drank more than you spoke and left without saying goodbye to anyone.”
    “Then I guess it has been three years,” Evan grumbled. He walked across Greg’s office to the large windows overlooking the Chicago River.
    Greg gazed at him in sympathy. He moved to his side and placed his hand on Evan’s shoulder. “It’s good to see you. I can’t believe you’re really here, but then, you always were full of surprises. How long do you plan on staying in town?”
Evan looked at him, a soft smile on his lips. “A while.”
    “That’s wonderful. We’re going out to dinner tonight and I’m not taking no for an answer. Crystal will to go through the roof when I tell her you’re back.”
“How is the old lady these days?”
     
Greg laughed and sat on the corner of his desk closest to
    Evan. “Good, but whatever you do, don’t call her that when you see her. She’s been going through an age crisis ever since Krista started college a couple years ago.”
    A teasing grin crossed Evan’s lips at the mention of Greg’s daughter. “Krista’s in college now? Then she finally broke the eighteen-year mark. You think she’s still got a crush on me?”
Greg’s smile faded as a withering scowl took its place.
    Evan laughed, holding up both hands in innocence. “You know I’m joking! Put the look of death away!” His eyes fell on the posters of himself, the records, and awards. “You still have all that crap I see.”
“Someone has to keep it.”
     
“Better you than me.” Evan pointed to the mini refrigerator in the opposite corner. “You got any water in there?” “Help yourself.”
    Evan went to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water. He faced around while drinking and walked across Greg’s office to the black leather couch. He lay down on his back and put his sunglasses on again to block the fluorescent lights from seeping through his eyelids. “I’m beat. I drove all night from New York to get back home today.”
Greg turned on his desk, his eyebrows furrowed closer together. “Home?”
    Evan yawned and nodded. “Yeah, I bought a house up by Evanston. Oh, and about dinner tonight, we can do that, but you have to go somewhere with me after.”
    “Wait a second, you bought a house? Here? You’ve been in town long enough to buy a house, but you couldn’t pick up the phone to give me a call?”
    A drowsy chuckle lifted from Evan’s throat. “Sorry. Do you know what a pain in the ass it is finding a decent house? Then I had to buy at least a couple pieces of furniture, you know I gave damn near everything away before I left, and I had to go to New York and get the few things I do have out of storage. I’ve been in town about a month, but I only got possession of the house last week. I’ve been going nonstop. I haven’t even had time to get my hair cut. Which reminds me, I was out shopping the other day and went in a media store to get a new iPod, and I saw a funny thing.”
Greg winced inside. “Really? What was that?”
    “Well,” Evan continued in an offhanded manner, “I came face to face with a double life-sized banner of myself with a never released picture of me from a photo