It's a new day

Xander got the shelves put together without anyone's help. Maybe his aprtment was becoming a home. Still, when he looked at the blank walls, he wondered what sort of art should go there.

A knock came to the door. He thought it might be Joey from across the way, just to check up on him, as if he might lose his keys, again. However, it was Josie with a plastic container of veggie lasagna.  They'd made too much. She brought enough for two people.

"Don't you have your roommate, anymore?" She wanted to know.

Xander shook his head, no. He went to make tea.

"What happened?" She wanted to know.

He thanked her for the meal and told her it really wasn't worth talking about.

"But..but wasn't he somebody, you knew, from back home and..and.." She looked at him blankly.

"It just didn't work out." That's all he wanted to say about it. "We..We went to my Step-Mom's for Thanksgiving..and..well..He seems to think I'm too complicated. And well, I said a few things about..about us..and then...we..we had kind of a falling out..and.." He sighed. He was even too tired to talk about it. "He left. I did try to go out and stop him..I got locked out of my apartment."

"It was so cold that night." She remembered Thanksgiving night, icy too.

"Yeah, I think you guys were already in bed." He winced as he got to the hot kettle and poured water over the decaf tea bags. "My door was locked. I forgot to wear a coat. Anyway, I kept banging on doors until I found someone."

"Who did you find?" Josie told him, he was the only one she knew in the apartment complex.

"So..you haven't met Joey?" He guessed. Josie shook her head, no.

"Well, he helped me break into my place." He thought of something funny. Joey was somehow funny to him.

"He broke into your place?" She glared  at him. Josie didn't get the humor in it.

"He's a good guy." Xander thought so. "Kind of reminds me of Henry, but rather low-key. He's from Minnesota." This much he knew, from their conversation. All he knew for sure, was that he was looking forward to more conversations with J. At least, he wasn't seeing a ghost, anymore.