Ernie and Melinda
Truth be told he had settled back into zoning out staring into the fire, blissfully not really thinking about anything. Any crunching or scuffing sounds made by people walking near by faded into the general hum of background noise and whatever was passing for music right now. That he hated what was playing right now, it was just he couldn't exactly identify what was going on at the moment. Oh well. Which is why he startled a bit when Melinda joined him and he jerked a little bit forward in surprise.
"Oh for fu-" he started but then stopped talking, cutting himself short, making sure he didn't spill his beer. He realized who it was, and backed down and settled back into his chair again. "Hey." he said a little bit more relaxed, now that he realized he hadn't spilled beer all over himself, and decided to take a sip. "Decided that a heart attack was the best way to end me, yeah?" he tried to joke in his usual dry tone.