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“Love it.” He took the bowl and the plate from her, and she pulled a table over next to his chair. As she sat on the couch, he took a bite of the sandwich. “Did you already eat?”
“Yes. Grilled cheese without the soup. Finn isn’t a fan of tomato soup.”
“I guess it’s not hereditary. After I eat, we should go check the buckets. I’d like to get an idea of how fast they’re filling up.”
“And if we have to stay up all night to empty them?”
“We’ll take shifts.”
“That should work.” She looked at him for a moment. “You know this is above and beyond amicable neighbors?”
“I think once we became co-parents, we became a lot more than amicable neighbors.”
“I suppose we did.” She sighed. “Do you think my stray cat found someplace dry to sleep tonight?”
“I’m sure he’s under the house.”
“Poor thing.” She glanced at him. “I have to confess something. I started leaving food and water out for him.”
J.T. laughed. “That doesn’t surprise me. Do you still want a kitten?”
“Yes. Finn wants an indoor cat. And I draw the line at letting that straggly stray inside.”
J.T. finished his dinner, then he and Joey took the big flashlight upstairs to check the buckets. Only one of them was getting close to filling up. But they emptied them all while they were at it, using the spare one to trade out as they removed the ones with water in them. As J.T. was dumping the last one in the bathtub, Joey came into the bathroom. When he turned to look at her, the flashlight flickered and went off.
He banged it on his hand and clicked the switch on and off a couple of times. “Dammit.” She took hold of his arm and he put his arms around her. “It’s just a little dark.”
“I don’t know why it freaks me out so much. I don’t sleep with a light on. I just turn into a big baby when the power goes out.”
“At night, you’re tucked safely in your bed.” He was still holding her close and it felt good. She laid her head on his shoulder and it didn’t seem like she was in any hurry to go back downstairs, even though it was pitch black in the bathroom. He assumed she was feeling safe tucked in his arms.
He felt her turn her face up toward his and he leaned in, hesitated a moment, then kissed her. That felt right too, and he kissed her again. But it wasn’t right. This isn’t what he wanted. He let go of her and stepped back.
“Wow. Yeah. That wasn’t supposed to happen.”
“It’s okay.”
“It felt like it was okay. But it wasn’t. Let’s go downstairs.” He took her hand, and they left the bathroom, and then the bedroom. As they reached the hallway, the flashlight came back on.
Joey smiled at him. “If I didn’t know you better, I’d say you did that on purpose.”
“We can’t go there, Joey.”
“I know. That’s why I know you didn’t turn off the light.”
J.T. looked at it. “It’s pretty damn strange, though.”
They continued down the hall. “I guess we both needed to get that out of the way.”
“I suppose.”
She nudged him. “We should play a game with Finn.”
“Such as?”
“Hmm. Mousetrap?”
“No.”
