Chapter 6
“Are you sure about this, Brian?” Dad asked me as he looked over the paper given to me by the guidance counselor. “You’re a little more than halfway through the school year.”
“It’s going to take a lot of work, but I can do it.” I assured my father who was looking at a form to approve several changes in my schedule. Two of my teachers had encouraged me to speak to my guidance counselor after the first tests towards the end of January. The conversation with the guidance counselor had been enlightening in more ways than one.
I don’t think kids ever realized just how much
some of the
staff at school knew about what was going on, even in a school as large
as
“What about baseball?” Dad said with a frown. “Can you do the extra work and still make practice as well as the games?”
“Yes.” I said confidently and he looked at me for a long moment before signing the form.It was Friday night, and all I had to do was turn in the form on Monday morning and I’d be in my new classes.Baseball tryouts had been harder than I had expected, but then I hadn’t played baseball or softball in nearly twenty years. Still, I’d made the team, if only by the skin of my teeth.
“Here you go.” Dad said with a smile as he handed the form back to me.We were sitting in the dining room where we’d just finished a round of Monopoly and Mom was now putting the game away.We’d all talked about the schedule change I wanted, and my mother had left us to finish the discussion.“If you run into problems, I expect you to talk with me about them.”
“I will.” I assured him and he looked at me for a minute before nodding.
“I actually believe you will now.” Dad said with a smile forming on his face.“You’ve finally got your head on straight, it seems.”
“I’m trying.” I assured him.
“I won’t say the obvious, but I’m glad that what happened earlier this month seems to have gotten you turned around.” Dad said. “I’ll be honest and say I was beginning to get worried about you.It wasn’t just the drinking and staying out all night, it was things like how much you were spending on her. A relationship should be about more than that, and I had thought you’d learned that from our talks.”
“I don’t know what came over me.” I said with a shake of my head.“I only wish I’d realized what a leech she was earlier.”
“You know it now, before it was too late.” Dad said in a comforting tone as Mom came back and sat down at the table. She had just gotten a perm today and her blond hair was practically bouncing in one of those typical hair-spray laden late-80’s hair styles.“Brian, there is something we should all talk about as a family.”
“Okay.” I said softly, wondering what was going on and what it would all mean.This timeline was so different I couldn’t depend on any memories of it to guide me.
“I know you’re as uncomfortable talking about your Uncle Rich as you are about your grandparents, but this sort of has to do with both of them.” Dad said and I narrowed my eyes while listening to him. The reference to Uncle Rich was obvious, and while it hurt that he’d died when he should have lived, it wasn’t something likely to set me off.What did my grandparents have to do with this?
“Honey, you really shouldn’t blame yourself for
their
deaths.” Mom said softly, reaching out across the table towards me. I put my hand in hers and prepared to receive
some bad news.My grandparents, at least
on my father’s side, should be alive still, but it sounded like
something had
changed and they’d died.That brought
tears to my eyes, but I’d already dealt with the grief over losing my
kids,
grandkids, and great-grandkids, but it was more for those I’d left
behind in
the other timeline than for news of my grandparents’ death. “Just because you wanted to spend
Thanksgiving last year with Marcie’s parents doesn’t make you
responsible for
their dying in that crash.They chose to
come out here, and it’s not your fault they died in the accident on the
way
down from
“It’s alright, Mom.” I said with a shaky breath and bit back a curse to be directed at Marcie and my other self from this timeline. It really wasn’t their fault, anymore than it was mine.There was no way I could have known this would happen when I reset the timelines and I certainly hadn’t caused it by going back in time. The news was sad news, but it wasn’t something I would blame myself for causing.
“As you know, they left us quite a bit of money in their will.” Dad continued in a soft voice. They had been his parents after all, and part of me was amazed that there were no recriminations in his eyes. I was proud of him, the way he didn’t blame me even though he could have, and he could have allowed it to create a rift between us. This also explained some of the self-destructive behavior the other me had engaged in recently. “A few friends of your Uncle Rich have stayed in touch with your mother and I over the years, and they are starting up a new company in the Bay Area.They’ve offered to bring me in as a partner and CFO, that’s Chief Financial Officer.”
“I know what a CFO is, Dad.” I said with a hint of sarcasm and he smiled gently.
“It’s a good offer, and I think they have a good business model set-up.” Dad continued his explanation. “My experience in banking and the financial markets will be helpful.”
“What kind of business is it?” I asked with some real interest.This was not something I remembered from the previous timeline.
“It’s a marketing and public relations firm.” Dad
explained.“Several of the partners have
worked for other agencies and they want to form a new business
together,
focusing on the emerging businesses in
“Why are they approaching you?” I asked with a frown.
“Your Uncle is one of the reasons.” Dad said softly with a look at Mom who smiled back at him in what was an encouraging way. “He helped a couple of them get their careers started before he got sick.Another is that I have enough venture capital to help them get off the ground, plus my financial degrees as well as my experience will help them with the banks and other lending institutions that they need for the rest of their venture capital.”
“So you’re going to ask if I’m willing to move out there?” I asked, taking the information and moving to the next step. Mom’s hand tightened on mine for a moment while Dad smiled.
“Actually it was to present you with a couple of options and to see if you think I should take the risk.” Dad said. “Don’t get me wrong, it is a risk.The business could fail and we could go broke over it, or it could succeed.Either way it’s going to mean a lot of work.It might be easier if we all moved to the Bay Area, but the fact is that you’ve lived all your life here and both your mother and I are loath to give up this house.”
“I’d prefer not to move, even though it means a lot of commuting by you.” I said with some sympathy for my father. Sure, over the next twenty years many people would choose to live in this area and commute two hours each way to the Bay Area for work, but it was still hard.
“I’ll only be working up there for two or three days a week to start with.” Dad said.“The rest of the work will be stuff I can do here from home. If it gets too bad, I’ll probably stay overnight there during the week and come back home on the weekends, but either way it does mean we’ll have to depend on you more to help your mother out around the house.”
“That won’t be a problem.” I assured him and he nodded.
“So you’re okay with this?” Mom asked.
“I say we go for it.” I told both of them. “It’s a real opportunity.”
“That it is, son.” Dad said as the phone rang and Mom got up to answer it. “It looks like from your new classes that you plan on going to college after all.”
“I’d like to, yes.” I agreed and he nodded.
“We’ll put enough money in a college savings account from my parent’s settlement so that you won’t have to worry about paying for college even if things go sour.” Dad assured me as Mom reentered the kitchen.
“Brian, it’s Davey on the phone for you.” She said quietly and I looked over at the clock to see it was just after ten-thirty. It was a Friday night, and I was no longer grounded so it wasn’t past curfew, but it was a little late for a social call.Davey and I had gone to lunch together a few times since the day after my birthday, and he’d been at school every day, not missing any more classes, but with the start of baseball practice and his work, we hadn’t gotten together much after school. It was slightly frustrating, but I was determined to take this slow, and so far that had been working fairly well.We’d had a few good conversations when we’d gone to lunch and he had opened up a bit about his current situation at home, although most of it was about his mother’s upcoming surgery.
“Thanks Mom.” I said as I got up from the table and headed to the phone in the kitchen, which was the one she’d used to pick up the call.“Davey?”
“Hi.” Davey’s voice sounded stressed. Sure, he wasn’t the exact same Davey I’d known for decades, but he was close enough that I knew when he was stressed from the sound of his voice alone.“I’m sorry to call so late.”
“It’s okay.” I told him quickly. “I was just talking with my parents.”
“Oh, I um, sorry to interrupt.” He said nervously. “It’s just that… well I tried to call Todd but his parents are home and…”
“What’s up?” I asked firmly.
“I’m at work.” He said and the sounds in the background from his end suddenly made a lot of sense.“I just got off shift early and my car won’t start.I tried calling home but the line’s been busy and my grandparents don’t believe in call waiting and it’s probably my cousin or my sister, either of which means they’ll be on the phone until everyone goes to bed and like I said Todd is stuck with his parents so…”
“You called me.” I finished for him and chuckled. “Dude, I’m glad you called. You want me to come pick you up?I can give you a ride home and then tomorrow we’ll go look at your car.Do you know what’s wrong with it?”
“I think it’s the starter, but I’m not sure.” Davey said softly.“I’m really sorry to bug you about this, but…”
“Dude, you’re a friend.” I assured him calmly. “Friends help each other out. Am I right that if it was me calling you, you’d help me out?”
“Yeah, it’s just I don’t like needing the help.” Davey said sourly.
“Look at from my perspective.” I encouraged him. “At least I’m getting to prove I mean it when I say we’re friends.”
“You don’t need to prove that.” Davey said and I felt a blush fill my cheeks.
“So where you at?” I asked him.
“The McD’s on McHenry.” He said quickly.
“Ouch, all the cruisers giving you a bad time?” I asked him with a chuckle and he made a non-committal noise.“Okay, I’ll be there in about twenty minutes.”
“That long?” He asked with a hint of despair in his voice and then realized it might have sounded bad because he spoke up quickly. “Sorry, don’t mean it like that. It’s just my grandparents are really strict about locking the house up at eleven-thirty. If’ I’m not there by then I’ll have to find somewhere else to sleep.”
“Then why don’t we not bother?” I asked quickly, although I was having mixed feelings about the offer I was about to make. “I’ll ask my parents if you can spend the night.Then we can get an earlier start with getting back to your car.”
“Are you sure?” He asked with a bit of hope in his voice and I smiled even though he couldn’t see that smile.
“Absolutely.” I assured him.
“Okay, I’ll see you in a bit.” He said with a little more happiness in his voice.The only reason I’d been of a split mind about having him over was that I knew if I was to make it work with him I couldn’t give in to my desire for a physical relationship right now.We had to have a firm friendship first and then the sex could happen. Sure, as an old man it had been a while since I’d had sex with the Davey of the other timeline, and he wasn’t in as good physical shape as I was accustomed to seeing on my Davey, but he was still Davey and I wanted him.Could I control myself?
“Mom, Dad, Davey’s car won’t start and he’s at work right now, needing a way home.” I told my parents as I reentered the dining room.
“I don’t think we’ll worry about you being a little past curfew if you’re helping a friend out.” My father said with a smile and his eyes flashed approval.“It’s a good thing he felt like he could call you for help.”
“I was wondering if you’d mind him spending the night?” I asked them and Mom looked at me with a frown.
“Not that we would object to you having a friend over.” Mom began softly.“Lord knows you use to have Brandon or Trevor over all the time, but why now and with such short notice?”
“Two reasons on that one.” I began cautiously. “First off, I told him I’d help him see what was wrong with his car, and in order to do that I’ll have to pick him up and drive him back there in the morning. It’ll be quicker if we’re both here in the morning instead of having to drive to Ceres to pick him up.”
“Ceres?” Dad asked in surprise. “Why does he have to go to Ceres?”
“It’s where he’s living.” I answered.
“I thought he was living with his grandparents.” Mom stated.
“He does, that’s where they live, in Ceres.” I explained.
“Then how does he go to
“He went there when he first moved back from
“I didn’t know they’d let you do that.” Mom said. “Well, we better not keep you.”
“What was your other reason for wanting him to stay the night?” Dad asked before I could make it out of the dining room. I turned back to look at him with a frown.
“If he’s not home by eleven-thirty his grandfather won’t let him in the house.” I answered and Dad frowned deeply.
“Brian, honey, you want me to make up a place for him on the sofa or do you mind sharing your bed?” Mom asked in a fierce tone. “I’ve been thinking that I really should clean up the mess in the guest bedroom since I’ve been doing so much with the charity that I don’t sew quite as much.If I cleaned it up, we could have that twin bed in there for your guests.”
“I don’t mind sharing.” I assured her and she nodded.
“You have clean sheets on your bed?” She asked me sternly.
“I just put them on yesterday.” My answer met her approval.
“Get going then.” She told me curtly and I smiled at my parents and their soft-hearted nature as I rushed to my bathroom. I’d been wearing a pair of jogging short and a white t-shirt for most of the evening since dinner finished and so I quickly pulled on a pair of tight 501’s and peach and white striped polo before grabbing my car keys and heading towards the front door. I could hear my parents talking about plans for cleaning up the guest bedroom and I smiled to myself at their transparency. For whatever reason, they liked and felt sorry for the Davey of this timeline, and they were planning on reaching out to him.
“I’m going now!” I called out to them.
“Hold on a minute.” Dad called out and I waited near the front door for him to come out of the dining room. He held out his hand stuffed with a wad of money and pressed it into mine.“Take him out for a soda or something.Just be quiet when you get back, okay?”
“Thanks.” I replied and he nodded before patting me on the shoulder and walking towards the living room where Mom was turning on the television.I had tears in my eyes as I got into my car and started it up.My parents really were good people.
I knew that cruising was a tradition all across
the nation,
but in
That meant going anywhere on McHenry, a main
North/South
street in central
As I pulled up next to him, he threw the butt on the ground and hopped off the hood.He didn’t need a lecture from me about smoking, and for now I decided to ignore that aspect of him in the here and now.There would be plenty of time to get him to quit.With the family history of cancer that he had, he didn’t need to be puffing on those things.
“Hey.” He called as I reached over and unlocked the door for him.Davey got in, along with a stench of smoke and hamburger grease and threw his bag into the back seat. At least he still had the habit of fastening his seat belt as soon as he got in a car.
“Sorry it took me so long.” I said instead of complaining about the cigarette smell.
“No problem, I got in touch with my mother.” He said with a frown.“My damn cousin was on the phone all night talking to some loser she’s dating. She’s pissed because she wanted to go out with him but Nanny insisted she look after the baby for once.Of course as soon as it’s bedtime, Nanny will be taking the baby into her bed.Mom says it’s fine for me to stay over, but she’s worried about the car and what it’ll cost.”
“Let’s worry about that tomorrow.” I said with a smile as I pulled out.“You want to stop for a bite to eat or a soda?Dad gave me some money…”
“Dressed like this?” He asked as he plucked at his polyester Mickey D uniform.“Besides I stink.”
“You can say that again.” I muttered, and looked askance until he started laughing.
“I’d actually prefer to get a shower, if you don’t mind.” He said shyly and I nodded, pulling into the heavy cruising traffic. Right away, I realized things could be worse when I looked over at the car next to me and saw Marcie glaring at me. Well, she was really glaring at me and at Davey in the seat next to me.Davey was rambling on about what a bad day he’d had at work and how his car breaking down was just the icing on the cake, and about his worries regarding how he was going to afford a new starter while all I could do was return Marcie’s glare as traffic inched forward.She blinked first but turned around with one last spiteful glance, and her head disappeared from view.Considering she was in the car with Mark Richards, a guy from the baseball team, and the look of first surprise and then lust that crossed his face told me what she was doing. I didn’t need to see a bit of hair bob into view for a moment, or the look of fear on his face as he looked over to see me watching to know what was going on over there. I just shook my head and turned to talk to Davey, actually feeling sorry for Mark being used by the bitch.
Maybe I should warn him?
When we got back to the house, Mom and Dad were sitting on the couch, watching the evening news.The news show was profiling Christa McAuliffe, and I felt guilty for a moment, but there was nothing I could do about her or the Challenger at this point. I clearly remembered that being one of the things Davey had stopped from happening, and I even remembered him telling me about it being next Tuesday, but who would believe me at this point?
“You boys are back early.” Mom said as we entered the living room.
“Davey wanted a shower more than anything else.” I said with a smile.“Frankly, I think that was a good idea.”
“Brian!” Mom chided me although she was laughing as Davey mock-punched me in the arm.
“Be nice, son.” Dad said but he was smiling too.
“Here, let me get you all set for a shower.” Mom said as she got up from the couch and headed off to show Davey where the towels and other stuff were located.
“Here’s the money back.” I said pulling the two twenties out of my pocket and handing them back to Dad, but he waved them off.
“Take him out to lunch tomorrow, or help him get his car fixed.” Dad said with a shake of his head.
“You sure?” I asked him and he nodded.
“That kid needs a few lucky breaks in his life.” Dad said softly.
“He’s my age, you know.” I reminded Dad who smiled.
“Actually he’s a week older than you.” Dad reminded me.
“Brian, I gave him a pair of your sweatpants and an old shirt of yours.” Mom said as she returned to the living room with Davey’s bag in her hands.“His stuff needs to be washed and he says he has work tomorrow night so he’ll need his uniform washed.I’m going to start them now.”
“Thanks Mom.” I said and she nodded before heading out towards the garage with the dirty clothes. I sat down on the couch with Dad and watched the beginning of the late-night talk shows.I’d forgotten how funny Johnny Carson was in his monologue.
Would he feel bad about his ‘Teacher in Space’ jokes after the Challenger exploded?
“I feel much better.” Davey said as he came out of the bathroom twenty minutes later, wearing an old pair of gray sweatpants and a blue t-shirt that was a bit tight on him. He really could stand to lose about twenty pounds, and his longish hair needed a good trim, but he was still a handsome man.
“Glad to hear that.” Dad said in a show of genuine affection.“If you boys want to watch television a bit, I think Brian’s mom and I are about to head to bed. Don’t stay up all night, and try to keep it quiet.”
“We will.” I assured him, standing to give him a hug before he left.When Mom passed through the kitchen, she got another hug from me, and I was surprised when she hugged Davey as well. From his look, he was just as surprised.
“There’s a plate of snacks on the kitchen table if you boys want some before you go to bed.” She said with a smile before heading off into the bedroom.
“Hungry?” I asked Davey and he nodded shyly before following me into the kitchen.He frowned at the plate of cheese, but set right into the bowl of grapes. I got both of us glasses of milk before nibbling on the cheese.
“I really appreciate this.” Davey said after a moment of silence.
“I’m happy you called me.” I said honestly.
“I thought Marcie was going to shoot death beams out of her eyes when she saw us.” Davey said with a little giggle and I joined him by chuckling softly.
“You saw her then?” I asked.
“How could I miss it when she went down on Mark?” Davey said with a leer.
“God I’m glad I broke up with that slut.” I muttered and Davey laughed.
“Most guys would have been happy to have a slut for a girlfriend.” Davey chortled.
“I’m not.” I admitted honestly and he raised an eyebrow.Maybe this was a good time to lay some groundwork.
“Why’s that?” Davey asked with real curiosity in his voice before he started blushing and looked down at the bowl of grapes. “Sorry, maybe that was a little too personal.I have this bad habit of just asking what’s on my mind.It always made my dad crazy.”
“That’s okay; I can always refuse to answer a question.” I said and winked at him when he looked up at me. His shoulders had hunched up while he’d spoken, but now he relaxed a bit more and so did I.Whenever his shoulders hunched up like that, I got worried for him, and it was good to see him be more relaxed and natural.“I remember when my dad first gave me the birds and bees talk. He told me that no matter who I dated, sex should always be something special, a symbol of our commitment to each other, a lifelong commitment and not just something of the moment. Sex should be something special, shared only with the person you want to spend the rest of your life with. I guess with Marcie, you could say I forgot that and I shouldn’t have because he was right, you know.”
“Wow, all my dad told me was to never bring a nigger, spic, or gook chic home.” Davey snorted and I shook my head in disgust. President Jones would never have told his son that, but I guess the David Jones Sr. of this timeline had, and once again I missed the time I had grown up in, with the world Davey had created.
“Ouch.” I said aloud and Davey nodded. “I thought he was a preacher.”
“I thought he was too.” Davey said so sourly that I winced inwardly.
“Davey, I hope you know that my folks and I, we don’t judge you by what your father has or has not done.” I said softly and Davey shook his head.
“You’d be about the only people in the fucking county that haven’t.” He muttered with more bitterness than I could ever remember hearing from Davey before in any lifetime. “Sorry, I shouldn’t dump on you. You’ve been really cool.Why is that anyway?Is it because you feel sorry for me?”
“I do feel sorry for you, yes.” I admitted and he frowned fiercely.“That’s not why I want to be your friend though.You’re a good guy, I can tell that, and you’ve been dealt a pretty fucking shitty hand by life, but none of that’s your fault.Despite all the shit you’ve been put through, you’re still a good guy. You care about your sister and your mother, and since we’ve been getting to know each other, you’ve shown you have a wicked sense of humor and make some pretty funny comments. I like that about you, and you’ve been helping me study some and that’s helped me out, and my other friends have all but abandoned me since I broke up with Marcie, but you could care less about that.”
“Actually I don’t think I’d hang around you if you were still with her.” Davey said, surprising me with that comment. “That bitch – sorry but she is – she’s bad news and I don’t want to have anything to do with her or those bitches she hangs with.”
“Why not?” I asked and he shrugged while plopping a grape into his mouth and chewing silently for a moment.
“It’s nothing I can put my finger on, but just a feeling I get.” He answered.“It’s something to do with the way she looks at people.She looks at them like she’s measuring up what they can do for her, or give her and that’s all she cares about.Someone like that, it’s best to steer away from.”
“I wish you’d been there to warn me off when I first started dating her.” I said in all honestly and he chuckled.
“Sorry, I was stuck at Ceres Fucking High.” He said sourly.“Now that was a real pit-hole, let me tell you.”
“At least you’re out of there now.” I reminded him and he laughed softly before stopping and looking towards the hallway leading to my parents’ room with a worried frown.
“Don’t worry, the worst they’ll do is tell us to shut up and get to bed.” I assured him and he relaxed before getting a look of curiosity on his face.
“Where am I going to sleep tonight?” Davey asked. “Your mom mentioned something about it being next week before they would have the guest room cleaned up.”
“You can sleep in my bed, if you don’t mind.” I said with a shrug that I hoped appeared to be casual while there were butterflies in my stomach.My old mind and young body were going to war with each other all night and I’d probably not sleep at all, but at the same time it was a sweet agony that I longed for, to have him next to me again, if only for a night.
“That’s fine, if you don’t mind.” He agreed and I nodded, breathing slowly so as to not look like I was sighing in relief.
“I don’t.” I assured him. “What time do you want to get up in the morning?”
“It should be as early as possible.” Davey said. “I really do appreciate all your help you know.I’ve got to work tomorrow night so if I can get the car fixed easily we should do it in the morning. Then I can go home and get yelled at for a bit before going to work.”
“Why would they yell at you?” I asked with concern.
“Oh it’s just my grandfather.” Davey said with a
shake of
his head.I found that the strangest of
all the differences.Pete and Davey had
gotten along like two peas in a pod before.
What had changed so drastically.
“He’s still pissed that I went over to see my dad a few times
after he
came back to
“P… Your grandfather doesn’t like your father, I take it?” I asked, almost slipping and calling his grandfather by his first name.
“Yeah, Papa’s never really liked Dad and this whole mess proves that he’s always been right about Dad.” Davey said with a frown and a heavy sigh.“It doesn’t matter to him that the only reason I went over there was to confront Dad and make him admit what he did to my sister, and I actually hit him!I fucking punched him in the gut, made him double over and every thing, but no, none of that matters to Papa. Now he thinks I’m taking Dad’s side in everything every time he or Nanny start bitching about Dad. I mean, sure Dad fucked up big time and he’s really messed up all our lives, but they don’t have to fucking put him down with every damn other word out of their mouths!”
“No, they don’t.” I agreed with him, hoping my parents wouldn’t react badly to the rising voice. I could hear some shuffling from the hallway, but fortunately Davey was too far gone into his grief and anger to notice.He raised his light blue eyes, tears filling them, and a long moment of silence passed between us as he searched my eyes and face for any hint of sarcasm or derision, or any other negative reaction.
“I do love him still, you know.” Davey said in a voice that shook, and a part of me knew that he’d never shared this with anyone else yet, and a deep sense of honor filled me. Once, just once, my Davey had shared part of this with me, but it had been a hundred years of his lifetime since these events had happened, and the grief had been old.Here, now, it was fresh, and the wounds were still bleeding in his heart.
“He’s your father.” I said softly and Davey’s eyes were latched onto mine.“Of course you love him.”
“Then why don’t they see that?” Davey asked as his shoulders began to shake with suppressed sobs. “Why do they have to be so damn angry and badmouth him every chance they get?”
“Maybe they’re hurt and don’t know any other way to express the hurt.” I offered and he seemed to mull over the statement. “Davey, it doesn’t justify them hurting you in the process, but it might explain why…”
“It’s so fucking unfair!” Davey growled before giving in to the tears with a sniffle.His eyes were leaking the tears now and he wiped his nose with the back of a hand. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be…”
“Shhh.” I said softly, moving my chair around the table towards him, and when I reached my arms out he fell into them, resting his head on my shoulder as he just sobbed.“Let it out, Davey, you can let it out here.”
“It’s just so unfair.” He moaned again while his entire body shook. I looked up to see my parents standing in the doorway with looks of sorrow and approval mixed on their faces. They nodded briefly before my father put an arm around my mother, who was wearing her rose-colored nightgown, and they walked back to their room.Davey was oblivious to their presence as he cried into my shoulder for a long time. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t dump on you like this…”
“Promise me you’ll return the favor if I ever need it.” I said softly as he pulled back from leaning on me.For a long time he looked deeply into my eyes before nodding.
“If you ever need me, I’ll be there.” He promised fervently and I smiled.
“Good, I can always use a good friend.” I said just as fervently and he actually smiled in response to me. “You about ready for bed?”
“Yeah, I could use some sleep.” He said with a yawn, and we put the empty glasses of milk away before heading into my room. Davey paused hesitantly when I shut the door behind me and looked at me with a questioning expression. “Um right or left side?”
“I’ll take the right.” I said, remembering how he always liked sleeping on the left.He nodded, and turned his back to me as he began to get undressed. I could see the way he sneaked a look at me as I got ready for bed, but when I climbed into bed after him, there was a good arm’s length between us.He let out a heavy sigh as he fell asleep with his back to me, but I lay awake for a long time, listening to his breathing.
Part of me still missed my Davey, and our kids, but another part of me was looking forward to a new lifetime, knowing the man I had spent so many years loving was still here, deep down in this Davey Jones.
This story brought to you by a lot of hard editing from Emoe, and
beta-reading by Trebs.
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