AllFreeNovel
Share Us
All he had was the bag he’d taken to camp at Slow River Ranch, so packing took all of two minutes. Then we were saying goodbye to Ellen, who gave me a reassuring smile as she walked us to the door.
“Thank you for having me,” Jesse said politely.
“You’re very welcome, sweetie. You can stay any time you like. We loved having you. Maybe you could come and stay for the next grandkids night, if you feel like it.”
“Thank you.”
“No problem. Bye for now.”
“Bye.”
And just like that, I walked out the door with my son, down the street to my house. Our house, now. “You live here?”
“I do.”
“Wow, so close to Ellen and Bruce.”
“Yeah.”
His eyes scanned the house, the neat garden, the pale gray stone and clapboard siding. This kid’s face was a blank wall. I couldn’t make out what he thought, ever. “This was my mom’s home, it’s where I grew up.”
He flicked me a glance. “Where is she now?”
“She passed away when I was sixteen.”
“Oh.”
“That’s why I’m so close to Ellen and Bruce. They helped us, my brother Jake and me, after that. They’re kind of like my parents, I guess.”
“I like them. They’re nice.”
“Yeah, they really are. Do you wanna come in and see your room?”
He nodded, so I led him down the drive. Taking him inside was the most surreal experience of my life. He was very quiet, standing near the front door, looking around. I tried to imagine how it must look through his eyes.
Nearly all the furniture was my mom’s: I’d only replaced the sofa, armchair and television. So it was her dining table my son would be eating at, her bookshelves lining the back wall of the living room, her coat rack where he’d hang his coat, her buffet he’d toss his car keys on when he came home from a night out with his friends, just like I used to do. The idea brought a lump to my throat and I almost said something about how much he looked like her and how much she would have loved him, but it was waaay too soon for any of that, so instead I just stood with him while he took in his new home.
“Your room’s through here.” I gestured to the hallway, taking a step in that direction, waiting for him to follow me. When we got to his room, my heart sank. It looked very dull and uninspiring. Dammit, I should have gone ahead and decorated it for him. “I didn’t get any sheets or anything because I didn’t know what you were into. I thought it might be cool to go shopping together, so you can choose stuff yourself. There’s a pretty good mall in Vanceboro.”
“Okay.”
“I can call your mom and see if we can get anything you want from her place, too.”
I saw a flash of fear in his eyes, the only emotion I’d seen from him so far. “I don’t have to go back, do I?”
“No, buddy, never, not if you don’t want to. You live here now. We can just get new stuff instead if you’d rather do that.”
“Yes, please.”
“Okay. Do you want some help putting your stuff away?”
“No, I can do it.”
Figuring it might be best to give him a bit of space, I dropped his bag near the wardrobe. “We can have lunch when you’re done, if you’re hungry. Just come out and let me know.”
“Okay.”
I left his room, rubbing the back of my neck as I walked down the hallway. There was no manual for this, and I was officially way out of my depth, so much so I could drown. But I had to get over that. Jesse needed me.
