Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 71726 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 359(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71726 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 359(@200wpm)___ 287(@250wpm)___ 239(@300wpm)
“Yeah, I’m just...you know. Tired, I guess.”
“You work too hard, bro.”
Charlie waved that away.
“Simon told me you’ve been drawing again?”
“Simon told you? He talked to you?”
Jack’s heart swelled.
“Texted me, yeah. When he invited me here. I’m glad you’re working again. Your drawings are... They’re amazing.”
Charlie had always been enthusiastic about Jack’s love of art but Jack assumed he’d be just as supportive of whatever he chose to do. This sounded different, though. Particular.
“Do you wanna see?”
Charlie nodded and followed him into his studio.
Over the last few weeks, Jack’s insistently casual sketches had ordered themselves into the roughest of stories in his mind.
At the center of it was a man—faceless and nameless—who walked the land. He spoke the language of the animals and the trees and the dirt beneath his feet but human language fell on him like violence. At his touch, plants flourished and wounds of the earth healed, but he was alone. Until a clearing in the trees opened and the man stepped through to a place that was made of a gentler material. In that place, he lay down and the animals came to him, arranged themselves around him, and he could rest.
“This is Simon?” Charlie said.
“What? Oh. Well, I don’t know. Kind of.”
Charlie closed the folder.
“I’m sorry he hurt you.”
“Huh?” Jack said. “He didn’t hurt me.”
“Not Simon, Davis. It kills me that he fucked with you and I couldn’t do anything to fix it. But it’s over now, right? You’re back. You’re...better?”
Charlie’s cracked voice was made of one part anger and nine parts fear, and it inspired Jack to reach out and squeeze his shoulder.
“Yeah. I’m better. I’m great, actually.”
The look of relief in Charlie’s eyes was staggering.
* * *
After dinner they sat by the fire with the animals.
“I feel like we should be doing something Christmassy,” Simon said. “But Christmassy things are s-stupid.”
He was a little tipsy from the wine they’d had with dinner.
“We could watch a Christmas movie?” Charlie suggested, but no one was terribly excited about that.
“A walk?” Jack offered. The animals perked up at that.
“Okay,” Simon said.
“Hey, look at that, Charlie, you’ll get your reindeer dogs guiding your sleigh after all,” Jack teased, pointing to Dandelion, whose antler headband was still firmly in place.
Charlie grumbled something unintelligible, but stepped into his boots.
With the pack leashed and the antlers affixed to varying degrees, they set off into the cold evening dark.
The snow fell lightly, dusting eyelashes and cheeks and making Pirate dance to catch it in the air. Puddles especially loved winter walks as the likelihood of encountering puddles or lightning shaped sticks was much diminished.
There was a magic in the air that felt like possibility. Jack caught Simon’s free hand in his and Simon smiled up at him, soft and easy.
“We used to take walks with Mom and Dad on Christmas,” Charlie said softly. He’d been quiet the whole walk. “Remember?”
“Only vaguely,” Jack said.
“Oh. Well, we did.”
Simon sent Jack a concerned look and patted Charlie on the arm.
Rachel’s car was in the drive when they got home.
“Can you take them inside?” Jack asked. “That’s your present.”
“My...okay.”
“I’m gonna take off,” Charlie said. “Leave you guys to your night. Merry Christmas. I left you something in the kitchen.”
He clapped Jack on the back, then bent and kissed Simon very softly on the cheek.
“Merry Christmas,” he said again, then hurried to his truck.
“Merry Christmas,” Simon said.
He shot Jack an inquiring look and Jack shrugged, then he ducked inside as the dogs began to whine.
“Hey,” Rachel said, opening the door just wide enough to wiggle out of the car, then closing it quickly. “Special delivery.”
“Thanks for doing this, Rach, especially on Christmas.”
“Well, you know it’s the Jewish friend’s job to play Christmas angel and facilitate all of your surprise gifts.”
“I hope it’s a good surprise. She okay in there?”
“She’s asleep and so far she hasn’t peed in my car, so that’s a good surprise for me, anyway. How’s your guy?”
Jack smiled. “Good. Perfect.”
Rachel looked awed, then vaguely disgusted. “Good for you. Okay, I gotta return to headquarters before Van finds her present.”
She eased the door back open slowly and pulled a cardboard box from the passenger seat. Jack peeked inside and couldn’t help going gooey eyed at the little ball of cuteness inside.
“Thank your friend for me,” Jack said.
“She was just happy someone wanted the last one, but I’ll pass it along.”
Jack cradled the box to his chest as Rachel drove away.
“Hey, bud. You’re gonna live here now. Hope you like it.”
The puppy stirred and blinked open wide brown eyes at Jack, then yawned. Jack’s heart turned to mush.
“Wanna know a secret?” Jack whispered. “I’m really hoping someone else is gonna live here with us too.”
The puppy yipped, then collapsed in the bottom of the box with her legs in the air.
Jack decided to take that as a positive sign.