AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She upended another bag of clothes on him, praying it would be enough to keep him warm throughout the night.
“What?” she asked, pretending to be confused. “This isn’t a tent? Are you sure?”
His wide grin gave her a great view of the gap left behind from his loss of a front baby tooth. She could tell even by the dimness of the streetlamps that the other one was loose as hell and wouldn’t be far behind.
“I’m sure,” he insisted.
“Then I guess we’re going to have to change the name of our structure,” she said as she picked up the last bag and shook the clothing out on top of him. “This isn’t a tent. It’s a cocoon.”
She knew he’d understand the word because they’d learned about caterpillars turning into butterflies in his class at school. He’d come home that day to share what had been a thrilling discovery with her. Jasper was an intelligent, inquisitive boy, who had a genuine love for learning. She hoped that never changed.
Once he was buried in a pile of clothing, she glanced at his still-happy face. “All good?” she asked, not allowing herself to ask what she really wanted to know, which was whether or not he was warm enough. She was afraid to point out her true purpose, in case he figured out this wasn’t really a game.
He nodded.
“Good. So…let me get settled and I’ll read you one of your library books.”
Bedtime stories were their one constant. She’d read to him even when he was a baby and too young to understand, and the ritual had become even more important—not just to him but to her as well—as they found themselves sleeping in different strange places at night.
Jess quickly removed her own boots, adding two more pairs of socks. She added another T-shirt and a sweatshirt to her layer of clothing, then put her boots, gloves, hat, and coat back on. Tucking the last remaining blanket over her, she picked up a book and turned off the car.
“Okay.” She took a deep breath, holding the book up over her head, finding the perfect beam from a streetlight so that she could see the words. Jasper would probably struggle to see the pictures, but they’d read this story many times, that wouldn’t matter. “There is a house, a napping house,” she began.
As she read, she realized she didn’t need to see the words any more than Jasper needed a view of the pictures. This book was one of their favorites, and as she began the singsong repetition, she looked less and less at the words and more at the illustrations, at the cozy bedroom, the warm bed, the safe home.
Jasper was asleep before she finished the story, but she kept reading it. When she reached the end, she closed the book, tucked the blanket around herself—aware it would do little to keep her warm—and shivered as she sent a wish out to the universe, not just for herself but for her son as well.
“Help us find a home,” she whispered to the night air.
