"It's so peaceful out here. I feel like I should be whispering," Wyatt said once they were away from the town and walking along the road with no cars on it.
What Sam noticed was how different it was to walk with Wyatt and the boys at night. It was fun and it gave him a good feeling. Being out at night by himself always felt so lonely and oppressive.
It reminded him of his biggest fear growing up, the boogieman of being cast out, having to live on the street. His cousins had taunted him about that. "You'll have to eat garbage and sleep in cardboard boxes, and rats will bite your face when you sleep. And you'll freeze to death when it gets cold. They'll find you frozen stiff on a park bench all blue with your tongue hanging out." Sam had so many nightmares about that, waking up in a cold sweat, stifling his crying, choking on every breath. That's when he first developed his terror of ending up on the street.
The noisy laughter of the boys brought Sam out of it and reminded him that he wasn't alone. Riley was laughing because Barney was trying to sniff a moth. DJ was telling the dogs to play nice with moths. Sam smiled. He was so far from alone right now especially with Wyatt by his side.
But his weird mood didn't go unnoticed. Wyatt was looking at Sam questioningly then he called out to DJ. "Hey, DJ, do you think I should hold Sam's hand so he isn't scared?"
Sam glanced over at him and wondered if Wyatt could tell what kinds of thoughts had preoccupied him a moment ago.
Meanwhile DJ looked from Wyatt to Sam and made his decision. "Sam is big. He won't get scared."
"I'll hold his hand," Riley said. Leading Barney on his leash, he ran over to Sam and took his hand.
"I won't be scared at all now," Sam told Riley, who looked up at him with his trusting, brown eyes and smiled.
"But Ry is too little," DJ complained like he thought his little brother wasn't up to the job.
"You might be right, DJ. I guess I better help," Wyatt said and he took Sam's other hand. After giving Sam a smile, he turned to DJ. "Now you help me not to be scared." He offered DJ his hand, and he took it.
"Now no one is scared," Riley said and Barney and Brownie barked as if they were agreeing.
Pretty soon though, the dogs wanted to sniff at things and the boys went with them. That left only Sam and Wyatt holding hands. Wyatt threaded his fingers through Sam's and told him, "Thanks for coming with us."
They were still holding hands as they went up the path to the Hayes' house. Wyatt unlocked the door and turned the lights on. Going inside ahead of everyone, the dogs went straight for their water dishes in the kitchen. The kids followed them stomping their feet noisily on the wooden floor.
"Let's steal a minute here," Wyatt said, grabbed Sam around the waist so he could give him a quick kiss. The brief press of their lips and the way Wyatt sighed left Sam smiling as they joined the kids and the dogs in the kitchen.
"We can make popcorn and watch movies," DJ said to Sam while looking up at him eagerly and bouncing excitedly on his toes.
"Do we have popcorn?" Wyatt wondered. "And anyway, you don't have time for a movie before you have to go to bed. Maybe an episode of something." He then looked at his phone, which sounded with a text. "Hey guys, Aunt Deb wants to FaceTime. We can introduce her to Sam."
"Me?" Sam said suddenly nervous.
The kids were happy though. Wyatt's aunt seemed nice as did her husband, and the whole thing wasn't as awkward as Sam feared. The kids and the dogs were the center of attention, and Sam could fade safely into the background.
Afterward the kids wanted to make plans, but Wyatt shook his head. "Look at the time, guys. It's your bedtime."
"Noooooo. We have to watch movies with Sam," Riley said, and DJ added his own pleading look.
"Don't worry about Sam. I'll watch movies with him," Wyatt said and gave Sam a wicked smile. "Now you boys go get ready for bed, and I'll tell you a story."
Once again Wyatt told the kids an off-the-wall bedtime story. This one was about Sam sitting on the riverbank, eating a sandwich, and fish jumping out of the river taking bites of his sandwich until there wasn't any left. Then Sam fell in the river. Of course he did.
Luckily, two fisher-boys and two dogs came by and fished him out of the river. They gave him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and he was happy. The end.
"Another weird bedtime story," Sam said as he and Wyatt went into the living room.
"What are you talking about? It was a hit," Wyatt claimed.
"Aha," Sam told him, but the kids did seem to like it.
"Now let's you and me get comfortable," Wyatt said and he pulled Sam down on the couch.
"Not too comfortable," Sam warned him. "The kids aren't even asleep yet."
Sam noticed that Wyatt's expression had turned serious before he said, "I'm wondering how to tell them about us."
