AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“He probably could, but I like giving you swimming lessons. We get to chat and catch up and make jokes.”
Josiah shrugged. “Ma says it all the time. I’m just terrific company.”
Joel smiled. “That you are, my friend.”
They stood and surveyed the pool, taking multiple laps to check for any errant foliage that might have made it through the mesh surround or toys begging for rescue from their toddler overlord on the pool floor.
“Hey, Joel? See that tree over there?” Josiah pointed to a tall palm in a plant pot. “It almost didn’t make it.”
“Theo?”
“Yeah. He’s got a bladder like a camel.”
Joel burst out laughing.
Josiah’s skin flushed, his smile so broad that it completely erased their mini-disagreement earlier from their history timeline.
The way he could sometimes be petty, Josiah was occasionally grumpy. Their mother was anxious, and Theo was a biting urinator. They wereThe All-Rights;nowhere nearThe Incredibles,but not terrible either.
He rolled up his jeans, took a seat on the stone, and let his feet dangle in the water. Josiah flopped down next to him and did the same. The skies were clear and blue, dotted with puffy clouds, which shined amber against the rays from the sunset. The temperature was perfect, and the first few times, he’d told himself it was why he started coming so often. Most people wouldn’t deny themselves paradise if they had access to it.
That was the excuse he’d found for coming; he never quite managed to come up with a plausible one for staying.
“You didn’t know my dad, right, Joel?” Josiah asked, legs kicking in steady movements through the water.
Joel shook his head. “No, I didn’t have the pleasure.”
“Oh.”
“What’s one of your favorite things that you remember about him?”
Josiah didn’t hesitate. “He was super funny. Like…the funniest. Once, he even made Uncle Giorgio laugh.”
Joel’s brows shot up. “Impossible.”
“Totally possible. Isawit happen.”
“He must have been hilarious.”
“He was. You’re funny too, Joel. You make me laugh. And Ma.” Josiah continued to pass his legs through the water, looking around as if it was his first time seeing the tropical design. “I know I don’t look like it, but I think about my dad a lot. But even though I think about him, I’m scared to talk about him. It’s like…I don’t know. I’m just scared.”
“Are you afraid it’ll hurt?”
“I don’t know. I mean, it still hurts even if I don’t. I think I’m scared because it might hurt Ma and my uncles because they loved my dad too, you know? I don’t want to make them cry or anything. They cried at my dad’s funeral. Uncle Giorgio didn’t cry, but I could still tell how sad he was.”
Joel looked down at him, Josiah’s focus consumed by a shrub speckled with yellow hibiscus flowers. The glasses made him look older and younger at the same time, and he was hit by another irrational stab, this time of fear. It was as if all it would take was one blink, and Josiah would be ten years older.
It was irrational to wish Josiah could stay this young forever, as there were joys, achievements, and accomplishments he deserved to experience in adulthood. Still, the world could be a shitty place. One day, Josiah would have to face it alone, and it seemed unfair that he couldn’t protect him from all the bullshit. If he’d had his way, he would have stood in front of them forever, taking everything life hurled until he was bloodied if it meant they would remain safe, always.
“Josiah, do you know anything about what your dad and uncles do?”
“A little bit. My dad told me he couldn’t talk about it much, but everything he did was to make the world safe for me and Ma.”
“By the way, why’d you start calling your mom, Ma?”
Josiah shrugged. “Because I’m getting older. I’ll be the man of the house soon.”
“Did she tell you that?”
