“No problem,” he says, still not looking at me.
When I come back, there are eight roses. Now that Rune isn’t here, I take a closer look. On one petal on each rose is a date. The roses are all lined up in front of me, so I start with the one on the very left.
January 22, 2016
Then the next.
January 22, 2017
All the roses are dated for the same day, my birthday, for each year I was gone.
I look up at Everett. He is staring at me already, always staring at me.
“What are these?”
“A rose for each year.” I notice his leg bouncing again.
“Why?”
“That’s what I have been asking myself for eight years, Leo. Why?”
What is he talking about? Why did he make me a rose each year on my birthday? Folded so perfectly, the edges so sharp, just like his no—
No.
“They’re notes.”
He just nods.
“Everett, why did you write to me each year on that day?”
“I don’t know.” He bows his head, looking at his coffee now. Looking as if he thought he had an answer, but when it came time to voice it, he didn’t actually have the answer. I stay silent.
“I just… I needed to talk to you, but you…you weren’t there.”
I go to respond, to remind him why I wasn’t there, but then Rune is bouncing up to Everett and me. I realize in this moment that the lightness and joy that has been on Everett’s face since he got here was a mask. The look of brokenness that I just saw, that's him now.
“Did my poop trick work? Did you get Mom all the notes?”
So that’s what he was whispering to Rune about.
“Yeah, buddy, you did great. Thanks for your help. Hey, do you want to go play some ball and let Muffin sleep in the park for a bit? As long as it’s okay with your mom, that is.”
Everett and Rune both look at me. Both give me those green puppy dog eyes. And I realize I am in a shit ton of trouble with these two.
I release a sigh as I give in. “Fine.”
Rune jumps up and down and then into Everett’s arms, and Everett catches him.
We walk to the park, and I have to fight the urge to hold Everett’s hand.
Ev let Rune hold Muffin’s leash, promising me that Muffin wouldn’t run off, saying he is the laziest dog and doesn’t chase after anything, mostly just lies around and sleeps. A dog after my own heart.
When we make it to the park, he pulls out a blanket and a football and lays the blanket out for me under a tree and then tosses the football to Rune. I take notice that he thought of me, knew that I wouldn’t want to toss the ball around, so he made sure I would have somewhere to sit. My heart flutters inside my chest, and I scold it. Muffin is lying next to me with his head on my lap.
Everett and Rune run off down the little hill and start talking.
“What do you think, Muffin? Is your dad a good man?”
