Kaden was crying and it was Joe’s fault. He didn’t deserve the trust that Kaden was putting in him.
The day after tomorrow?
“The day after tomorrow,” Kaden echoed.
9
Now the decision had been made, Kaden felt… He didn’t know what he felt, but frightened was one of the emotions in there. It could all go right. It could also all go wrong. And that was what he kept thinking about. It all going wrong. So much for believing he was an optimist. He waited for Joe to chime in and reassure him, and he didn’t. That said everything. But really, he should be glad Joe wasn’t going all out to reassure him. There was no point assuming everything would turn out right.
But there were things he needed to do. He wanted to go and see his dad. He wanted an evening out with his friends. And he needed to see Alistair. And he’d like to eat something he loved and to see something he loved… Just in case.Just in case.He swallowed hard. Joe stayed quiet.
Well, he’d brought this on himself. He’d touched when he wasn’t supposed to and it had finally come back to bite him. He’d helped when he should have left well alone. He didn’t blame Joe who’d just been doing what he needed to in order to survive. How could Kaden be angry with him for that? Wasn’t it the instinct of all creatures to stay alive? If things didn’t go the way they hoped, Kaden felt sad to be leaving his dad because he’d take it the worst.
But he had to stop himself sliding down. He and Joe were going to be fine. Remaining positive was important, as was being pragmatic.
Joe patted his back, somehow put his arms around him and held him tight. Kaden wished he was doing it for real. Maybe tomorrow, he could.
What do you want to do now?
“See Alistair.” Kaden had created some outlines for fictional stories for him to think about. Non-fiction had been harder because he didn’t know how much Alistair would be allowedto say. But then…maybe Kaden wouldn’t be writing with him anyway.
He called Alistair and arranged to see him. Then he sent a text to his friends. They agreed to meet at eight that night, which gave him time to go and see his dad after he got back from the school where he worked.
Are you tying loose ends?
“Maybe.” No maybe about it. That was exactly what he was doing. A little dog having his last day in the sun.
Rupert Brooke’s Little Dog’s Day.
Kaden smiled. He understood that Joe only knew that becauseheknew the poem, but it was still nice. Harris had probably never even heard of the poet let alone the poem.
Elsie came to the door with Alistair to welcome him in. Kaden couldn’t help wondering if this was the last time he’d see her waggy tail. He swallowed hard.
“Come on in,” Alistair said. “I ordered paperbacks on Amazon. I don’t know if anyone will want to read the book but my friends will all be having a signed copy for Christmas whether they want one or not.”
Kaden chuckled as he followed Alistair to the kitchen. He emptied his backpack of everything Alistair had let him take away.
“Coffee?” Alistair was already on his way to the machine.
“Please.”
There was a newspaper on the table.Army Denies UFO Search.Kaden read the article quickly. They now believed a meteorite had landed and been taken and the UK Fireball Alliance were pleading with people to hand it in because it was likely to be of significant scientific interest. Apparently, it was ‘finders keepers’ if you discovered a meteorite in the UK,provided you had permission to be on the land. Did that apply to alien spacecraft?
“That alien story?” Alistair chuckled as he put Kaden’s coffee in front of him.
“Sounds like it’s a meteorite story.”
“Odd that the army were involved.”
“Did they say where it was found?” Kaden sipped his drink.
“No. The area would be besieged. Though I guess it’s only a matter of time.”
“That’s true.” Kaden nodded towards the box. “There’s money in there, Alistair. I didn’t count it but there’s a lot of US dollars in an envelope, and a medal.”
“Oh, was there? I’d forgotten about those. Good thing I didn’t just throw it out.”
“Your medal?”
