AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The ferry lets out a couple of bursts from the horn, and the engine churns as the workers toss thick ropes onto the deck.
I wrap my fingers around the cold railing as the ferry pulls away from Hannsett Island.
“Hey, stranger.”
I glance over to see Jason standing beside me. He has both hands on the railing, but he looms over me in a thick dark wool jacket. His smile is crooked and uncharacteristically shy.
“Hey,” I say back.
His eyes flicker to Otto. He crouches down then to get on level with the kid. “You must be the man of the hour.” Jason grins.
And I swear—my heart collapses in my chest in that moment. I don’t know what I expect—will Jason look into those blue eyes and immediately recognize his own? Will Otto see himself in that strong jaw? Will they connect on some incomprehensible level, that somehow they’ll just see each other and know?
I lose the ability to inhale. Meanwhile, Jason lifts his palm. “Up top.”
Otto politely gives Jason a high five. Jason drops his hand down. “Down low.”
Otto moves to give Jason a low five, but Jason retracts his hand too quickly with a grin. “Aww, too slow.”
Otto crinkles his nose. “That’s not very nice.”
Jason blinks. “What? No…I mean, it’s a joke. It’s fun. Don’t kids do that anymore?”
Otto looks up at Pearl. “Can we get hot chocolate?”
“Of course,” Pearl says and slips her hand to Otto’s back, guiding him toward the drink station.
“You’re my bacon,” Otto tells me.
“You’re mine.” I squeeze his hand, and he leaves with Pearl.
Jason unfurls, getting back to his feet, and he rubs his hands together as though to warm them. “Tough audience,” he says.
“Yeah,” I say, “he’s too old for his own good.”
I don’t know why, but I’m relieved. Jason is awkward with kids. He and Otto don’t immediately click. This isn’t one of those heartwarming feelings you get after watching man-returns-from-war-to-hug-his-dog videos. It’s just…two people. Existing.
I can breathe again.
Jason resumes his spot beside me, elbows on the railing, one foot kicked up against the side.
“What’s the bacon thing?” he asks.
“Oh—well. When he was little, I asked him what he loved most in the world. And he told me, bacon. So it’s been a running joke, I guess. Instead of saying the dreaded L word—”
“Love?” Jason asks dubiously. “That word?”
“Right, that—instead of that, I tell him that he’s my bacon, and he tells me I’m his.”
“Or you could just say I love you.”
“Wouldn’t feel the same.”
“I get it,” Jason says. “It’s cute.”
I shrug. “It’s us.”
“How are you?” he asks me. He sounds like he genuinely wants to know, too.
