"Son of a... Why can't I see anything?"

The question is to no one in particular and has deeper implications than Jeff Dempsey intends in the moment. At that precise point in time, Jeff is wondering why he's staring at a black screen and not his own image. Jeff and technology have always had a somewhat frosty relationship so this is not new territory for him. History had taught him there is no question too stupid to ask, no detail too simple to double check. And so it was this train of thought that has led him to the solution.

"Did I turn the webcam on?" he asks aloud. With one keyboard click, the screen lights up and the frame is filled with the now proud and smiling face of Jeff Dempsey. If he gave it any thought at all, he would probably come to realize he had little reason to feel pride but this didn't dampen his sense of accomplishment.

The image in the frame is that of an average looking 40-year-old man with a short, sensible, dark brown hair. The only sign his youthful prime is in the rear-view mirror is slight graying around the temples. Jeff settles in his chair, adjusts his hair, and takes a deep, cleansing breath. After a few moments of quiet contemplation, Jeff begins to speak to the camera.

"My favorite part of The Wizard of Oz is at the very end when Glinda the good witch tells Dorothy that she had the power to go home all along. All she had to do was click her heels together. Dorothy seems to take this exceedingly well for someone who just found out she went through six hours of hell unnecessarily. But more than that, I'm fascinated by the notion that something she glanced at maybe two hundred times was exactly the key she needed and she couldn't see it. It was right in front of her and, at the same time, invisible. In life, I'll bet that happens more than we realize."

Earlier that day...

"What did you win?" she asks with what seems to be genuine interest. Jeff heard the woman's voice but it was not enough to snap him out of his trance-like state. "Hello...Earth to Jeff???"

With a jolt, Jeff looks up to see Karlie, one of the wait staff at the Cedar Room Pub. The Cedar Room is another in a long line of modern Irish Pubs where it's not so authentic that you can only find room temperature dark, European beers but still Irish enough to make it a go-to spot every St. Patrick's Day. Jeff and his friends have been coming here since their university days.

"Sorry, I was.... somewhere else," he offers hoping she won't ask any follow-up questions.

"So, what did you win?" She gestures to the opposite side of Jeff's table.

Reluctantly, Jeff looks over and, once again, finds his gaze drawn to that which has kept him transfixed. It didn't have eyes, but still Jeff Dempsey could feel it staring through him, judging him...mocking him. The object of his obsession was a giant trophy, an obscenely large monstrosity, the kind that takes two hands to lift.

"Oh that? That's for a... flamenco dance competition." Jeff peaks out of the corner of his eye for the tiniest sign she is buying it. She is not. "You don't believe me?" Jeff presses.

"It's more believable than you won it at a lying competition. Another round, Senor?"

"Si."

In a turn of fortuitous timing, Karlie heads back towards the bar just as Niko Stassinopoulos arrives. Just weeks past his 40th birthday, Niko still stands as the living embodiment of the Greek Adonis. With flawless olive skin, dark hair, and a rugged handsomeness, it would be very easy for Jeff, or any guy for that matter, to hate him. Had they not become best friends in elementary school, well before girls entered the picture, he just might have.

Niko spots Jeff and quickly pulls up a chair at their regular table. "There you are. You flew out of there like someone put up the bat signal."

Jeff raises his near-empty beer stein. "Wherever there is an undrunk pint of beer, I will be there."

Karlie comes by with a full beer glass and "accidentally" spills it on Niko's crotch. With a delivery usually only found in horny pizza delivery guys and naughty cheerleaders, she does a terrible job of masking her true intentions. "I'm so sorry. I don't know how that could have happened." She turns to Jeff and gives him a little wink. "I'll bring you another one, sweetie."

Jeff watches her leave to make sure she is well out earshot before quickly spinning back to Niko. "Do you think it's possible just one time you could call a woman after you sleep with her?"

"I suppose anything's theoretically possible," Niko offers with a shrug.

"Why do you have to mess up things here? Why can't you pick up chicks at work like everybody else?"

"I teach Grade Four, you sick bastard!"

"With the other teachers or support staff!"

Karlie returns with Jeff's beer and sets in down in front of him. As she passes behind Niko she slaps him hard on the back of the head.

"That's why," Niko says definitively.

On the other side of the plant-covered divider, Ashley Holder is in the middle of a very serious discussion with her boyfriend Greg. At 37, Ashley has a confidence about her that is evident in the way she carries herself and in the way Greg hangs on her every word.

"So I guess what I'm saying Greg is that we've reached that point in our relationship. Do you know what I'm saying?"

"I do, Ashley. You're saying it's time we take it to the next level." Greg gestures upwards with his hand when he says 'next level.'

Ashley sighs and decides to try again. "Greg, I think you're a really great guy and somebody is going to be really lucky to have you."

Greg takes hold of her hands. "I think somebody already is really lucky to have me."

"Not as much as you'd think."

The Cedar Room doors fly open and a short, schlubby, balding man enters and rushes over to Jeff and Niko's table. This is Louie DeLulio who, like Ashley, carries himself with a great deal of confidence. Unlike Ashley, nothing he's ever accomplished in his life supports this level of confidence. Yet, he presses on, undeterred by constant failure. Louie is either the saddest or most admirable person you will ever encounter.

"Boys, I think it's really going to happen. What's the one sentence you thought you'd never hear me say?" Louie asks proudly.

"Mom, I'm moving out of your basement," Niko offers.

"No really, this one's on me." Jeff adds.

Louie should have expected that but the jabs deflect off him like he's made of Teflon and Kevlar. Strangely, the most obvious target for derision cannot be offended. "Tomorrow, I'm going to be able to say "I nailed Vicky Humphries".

Niko shakes his head. "Vicky Va-Voom? Never gonna happen."

Stepping up her effort to get through to Greg, Ashley is holding his hands, staring deep into his eyes, almost pleading with him. "Whenever two people start a relationship, there's only one of two ways it can end. Either they get married or they break up."

"You haven't considered death."

"I wouldn't be so sure. But what I'm saying is I feel like we reached one of those options. You see I thi-

Greg puts up his hands to cut her off mid-sentence. "You can stop there. I get it."

Ashley's eyes light up with hope for the first time. "You do?"

"I do."

And just as Ashley feels like she is finally out of this conversation, she sees something that crushes those foolish hopes. Greg is suddenly beaming with joy. "I gotta go call my Mom. She's going to be so excited." Greg jumps up and leaves Ashley sitting there, completely exasperated.

Louie stares at Niko, hurt and in disbelief. "It is going to happen with Vicky. She was all over me tonight. Do you know what she said as soon as she laid eyes on me?"

Louie begins recounting his experience from when he first walked in the school gym. As alumni of Holy Trinity Catholic Secondary School, the guys are invited to the reunion which is held annually in the school gymnasium. The place is decorated like a prom for 40-year-olds. There are the usual streamers and balloons in the school's navy blue and gold colours. The walls are decorated with photos and mementos from the years the alumni attended the school. With the room filled with photos of plaid shirts, ripped tights, oversized knit sweaters and Alanis Morissette playing on the sound system, it's like the 90's threw up all over the Holy Trinity gym.

The guys couldn't make their 20th reunion two years earlier and didn't bother to attend their 21st. But with Jeff going through what conservatively could be called a rough patch, Niko and Louie thought a night out with old friends would make Jeff feel better. It was the first of many miscalculations they would make before the sun rose in the morning. At that moment, Louie thought things couldn't be going better. The first person he saw was Vicky Humphries who, at 41, still retained her blonde bombshell status. Louie describes her as if she stepped into the gym straight out of a 1980's Whitesnake video. One can almost picture her moving in slow motion, with her still strawberry blonde hair dancing as if it were being blown by a wind machine. Vicki waves as soon as she and Louie make eye contact. "It's you. I was hoping I'd see you here tonight," she says.

Louie looks to his left and right and then points to himself as if to ask 'Me?' Vicky nods and winks.

Louie recounts the story with conviction, but Niko's not biting. "I'm telling you, I don't see it happening."

"I'm not a high school kid anymore. Now I have the confidence to make it happen." Louie points to the Latin motto on the school crest on his name tag. "Esse Quam Videri. Seize the day."

Niko scoffs at this. "Are you drunk? That doesn't mean seize the day."

Well, what do you think it means?" Louie counters.

"We went to Catholic school, so I think it meant panties optional."

"Well it means seize the day to me."

Jeff tried his best to stay out of this but now he's heard enough. "No. If you're going to make me sit here and listen to this inane rambling, we're going to get it right. Carpe Diem means seize the day."

"Then what does Esse Quam Videri mean?" Louie asks.

Silence hangs in the air before a female voice from the other side of the divider pipes up. "To be rather than to seem."

The guys look over to find Ashley standing up and giving them a little wave. "Sorry I couldn't help but overhear."

Jeff looks at her for a second and while she looks familiar, he can't seem to place her. "Do I know you?"

"I'm Ashley."

"I'm Jeff. This is Niko and Louie."

Louie steers the conversation back to what he believes is the most pressing matter at the moment. "Why do you think I can't hook up with Vicky Humphries?"

"Because I have dibs," Niko offers matter-of-factly.

"It's true. He called dibs on her back in high school," Jeff says.

Louie makes a face. "That doesn't count now." Louie turns to Ashley for support. "Tell him."

Now Ashley makes disapproving face. "Wait, what is dibs? Please tell me it's not what it sounds like."

"Niko called dibs on her so that means we have to back off from actively pursuing her," Jeff explains.

"So one of you calls dibs and now he owns this woman?"

"Of course not," Jeff quickly replies.

"He owns her rights," Louie clarifies.

Greg comes bounding back into the bar. He is almost gliding on air with joy. "Ashley, sweetie. My mom is super excited. Thinking about maybe a fall wedding."

Ashley leans in to the guys. "Looks like I gotta take care of a "dibs" situation of my own. Nice to see you again, Jeff." She disappears back behind the divider.

Niko approaches Jeff and puts his hand on Jeff's shoulder. The gesture is a small one but it also represents the furthest two guys can go in terms of physical intimacy before things get officially weird. Niko is doing everything he can to pull Jeff out of the tailspin he currently finds himself in. "Come on, buddy. Let's go back to the reunion."

Jeff just shakes his head. "I can't go back there."

"Not even to be my wingman?" Louie asks.

Sorry Lou. Let Jesus be your wingman."

"I don't think he does high school reunions." The guys look at him incredulously but Louie powers on. "I'm just saying, you always hear about people finding Jesus in prison or at war. Nobody ever says 'I went to my high school reunion and found Jesus.'"

Niko has known Jeff long enough to know there is no way Jeff is going to be convinced. Niko still remembers the now infamous "A Team" incident of 1983 when a seven-year old Jeff refused to watch their favourite show after the TV was moved from the living room to the family den. It didn't matter that the den was newly decorated with the coolest leather furniture and a colour TV so big, its picture so clear, you could practically taste George Peppard's cigar. That was all secondary to the point that Jeff watches the A-Team in the living room. It would be six weeks before Jeff would relent. Having lived through that, Niko knew it was time to cut bait and move on.

"Come on Louie, let's go back. I just gotta stop off at my place first and change my pants."

Louis looks down at Niko's pants and does a double take. "Did you just piss yourself?"

"If only," Niko sighs as they walk out the door.

Ashley has abandoned all hope Greg will read between the lines. She should have known better. He's always been a kind and considerate boyfriend but there are times he comes across denser than an Amazonian rain forest. His inability to read the room is one of the reasons she finds herself having this conversation in the first place.

"Greg. You have to listen to me. There's not going to be a fall wedding."

With the silent mocking presence of the trophy being his only distraction, Jeff has no choice but to overhear the conversation taking place next to him. Anyone casting even a casual glance his way could tell how he feels about it. Jeff's poker face is rivalled only by Greg's ability to take a hint.

"So we have a long engagement, that's fine with me as along as we are together."

Jeff's face contorts ever so slightly.

"That's not what I'm saying. I don't see it working out between us. There's not a future there," Ashley blurts out.

"I don't understand," Greg responds with just a hint of whining in his voice.

Almost involuntarily, Jeff pushes his chair from the table and stands up with such force that the chair goes tumbling behind him. He marches over to Ashley's table and pulls up a chair and sits on it backwards so he's leaning up against the back of the chair.

"I can't listen to this one second longer. Let me see if I can help," he says to Ashley, sounding both pained and apologetic. He then turns his full attention to Greg. "Knock. Knock"

Greg knows how to respond but he's not sure if he wants to. He looks pleadingly at Ashley who averts her gaze, offering him no help whatsoever. Reluctantly, he looks back to Jeff. "Who's there?"

"Not you anymore. You're dumped. Whatever you think you still have, you don't. It's over. Now build a bridge - get over it!"

Neither Greg nor Ashley quite know how to respond to this. With his work here done, Jeff proudly stands up and heads back to his seat but not before giving Ashley a little "you're welcome" wink. As Jeff settles in and signals to Karlie for another round, a devastated Greg rushes out the front door. Now it's Ashley who is making a bee-line over to Jeff. Jeff sees her approach and politely waves her off.

"No need to thank me," he offers in his best awe-shucks-just-doing-my-job-ma'am tone.

"Thank you?!?" Ashley spits out as both question and statement of righteous indignation.

"You're welcome." Jeff offers, totally unaware of the irony in completely misreading the intent behind Ashley's words.

"I didn't need your help. I think I know how to break up with a guy."

"No, you did a great job. The wedding planner he hired thought so too."

Maybe next time you can just let me handle it."

I'm sorry but after the last couple of weeks I've had, I couldn't listen to that break-up any longer.

"What happened? Did you have a "dibs" situation go bad?"

"You could say that." Jeff hadn't planned on talking about it so he thinks carefully about whether he wants to continue. He takes a huge swig of the fresh beer Karlie dropped on the table to buy time. He didn't come to the Cedar Room in search of a therapy session but, for some reason, he finds himself willing to open up to Ashley. At least more than he did with the guys. "I came home to find my wife of 20 years with her suitcases packed and waiting for me at the front door. Like your friend there, I never saw it coming."

Jeff begins to tell Ashley about the time he and Ellen spent together. He describes a class where each person is working on a piece of art. Jeff is working on a painting while Ellen works away at her own right beside him.

"I met Ellen in first week of my first year of university and we got married the weekend we graduated. From the day we met, we did everything together. "

Ellen shows her painting to Jeff who smiles broadly when he sees it. He nods in pleasant approval.

Jeff then tells Ashley about their regular game night. He describes he and Ellen seated at their dining room table engaged in game of Scrabble.

"We like to wind down the weekend with Scrabble Sundays. Ellen's pretty tough to beat. I don't know where she comes up with some of those words.

Ellen plays a word and Jeff smiles and nods in approval. He gestures tipping his cap to her.

Ashley sits down across from Jeff. "I'm so sorry. Is that why you can't go to your reunion?"

"Actually that's not why I can't go back."

"Then what is it?"

Once again, Louie comes barreling through the front door. "Jeff, I need a Dibs ruling."

Jeff holds out his hand in Louie's direction as if to indicate to Exhibit A in a case he's building. "Well for one thing..."

As per usual, Louie carries on, oblivious to whatever situation he may be rampaging through. "I need you to rule statue of limitations."

As soon as it hits her ear, Ashley cocks her head like a curious Scottish Terrier. "Did he just say statue of limitations?"

"He did but that's not the bone I have to pick right now. Surely, with all the crap I'm dealing with, you guys are not going to put me in the middle of your dibs squabble."

Before Louie can answer, Niko bursts through the front door with the same willful disregard for whatever may be happening at the moment. "Don't listen to him. Just tell him there is no statute of limitations in dibs."

Jeff sighs in resignation. "He's right. Niko has dibs indefinitely until Vicky either expressly states he doesn't have a shot with her or Niko relinquishes dibs voluntarily.

"You guys have a whole set of rules to this thing?" Ashley asks, still barely able to wrap her mind around this testosterone-driven ritual.

"Dibs is a long standing sacred pact between guys," Niko says.

Jeff is desperate to extricate himself from this nonsense. "Are we good now because, as God is my witness, I cannot think of a conversation I'd least like to be a part of right now."

As Jeff talks, Niko and Louie look towards the doorway and simultaneously show expressions of deep concern. Niko cautiously nudges Jeff and indicates towards the bar's front door. "I can think of one."

Jeff turns around and sees his soon-to-be-ex Ellen standing in the doorway.