Twenty-Four Shadows. Tanya J. Peterson

the building. “Yo, Cameron,” he shouted over to his friend behind the counter.

      “Back already? What did you forget?”

      “Nothin’ man. I was just thinkin’ that since I’m goin’ hikin’ and stuff that I won’t be needin’ my car. Wanna use it instead of takin’ the bus everywhere?”

      “Seriously?”

      “Yeah. Why not?”

      “Um, is there a title or an insurance issue?”

      After thinking it over for five full seconds, he shrugged, grinned, and said, “Probably not. Why don’t you have it for a while?” He shrugged out of his backpack, fished the keys out of it, and tossed them to Cameron. “Enjoy!”

      “Well, if you insist, Isaac. Thanks. I really appreciate it.”

      “Don’t mention it.” He saluted Cameron and, with a spring in his step, headed out the door for good.

      He didn’t really have a plan, but he thought he might get to the north side of Portland and follow the Columbia River east. The sizzling heat didn’t feel oppressive the way high temperatures sometimes could. Quite the opposite, it felt liberating because he was going on a big adventure. He made it through the city and had walked about an hour going east along I-84 when a pickup passed him and pulled to a stop. He wasn’t really planning on hitching a ride, but he wasn’t planning anything at all one way or another, so he figured hell, why not? He jogged up to the truck, leaned forward on the door, and poked his head inside the open window. The driver said, “Hey there. It’s a scorcher today. Hop in if you’d like a ride.”

      Opening the door and climbing in, he extended his hand and said, “Thanks, man. My name’s Jake.”

      Chapter 5

      “Let’s go around the block again, Mommy!”

      Reese bent down, gently wiggled the Batman ears on Dominic’s little bike helmet, unfastened the buckle, and ruffled his hair. “I don’t think so. Feel your hair.”

      Dominic put his hands on his head and broke into a wide grin. “It’s wet!”

      Reese laughed. “Yes, it’s wet. It’s hot today. Really hot. A word for that is sweltering.”

      “Sweltering?”

      “Sweltering. All three of us need to go inside for a while so we don’t overheat. What color are Elise’s cheeks?”

      “They’re red.”

      “That’s what yours look like, too. Do mine?”

      “Your cheeks are red and so is your whole face!” Dominic chortled. “You look like Muck, Mommy!”

      Reese laughed again. “Well, then we definitely need to go inside because I don’t want to look like one of Bob the Builder’s trucks when Daddy comes home.”

      “Oh! Can we watch Bob the Builder? Please?”

      Reese gave a small sigh of relief. She didn’t like to just plunk Dominic down in front of the television, and she had planned to have him play with Legos and let Elise fiddle around with the Duplos Dominic used to use, but the idea of a little TV break in the cool family room sounded quite appealing. Taking care of Elise along with Dominic was fun, but it was exhausting. It had been less than five years since Dominic was this age, yet she had somehow forgotten the rigors of babyhood. “That sounds nice, Tiger. Go pick out a DVD, and I’ll be right in.”

      Dominic skipped into the house while Reese unfastened Elise’s straps and hoisted her out of the stroller. Elise smiled broadly, showing off her four little front teeth, and grabbed at Reese’s nose. Reese lifted her up in the air and brought her gently back down to blow on her belly. The baby squealed. “You are such a delightful baby, Elise,” Reese babbled in baby-talk. “The woman who gave birth to you is an idiot. Yes she is. She’s a selfish woman. You’re going to be better off without her.” Elise squealed again, kicked her legs, and bobbed her whole body. Reese hugged her. “Let’s go inside and find Dominic.”

      Once Dominic and Elise were situated on a giant patchwork blanket on the family room floor, Dominic happily snacking on apple slices and Elise on Cheerios, Reese ducked into the kitchen to plan dinner. She rummaged through the cupboards and the refrigerator but nothing sounded appealing. She was tired, and she figured that Isaac would be, too. He probably wouldn’t want to cook or grill any more than she did. Plus, whether or not he was tired, he was always a sport. He wasn’t one of those guys that wanted dinner on the table every night just because his wife was at home taking care of the kids. He was always caring and supportive. Still, she made one more attempt to come up with something to make for dinner. Giving up, she wandered back to the family room and flopped down on the couch. “Hey, Dominic.” Her son paused the DVD player and twisted around to look at her.

      “Yeah?”

      “What do you think of going to the pool to cool off tonight? We can go to Daddy’s favorite hot dog cart first and get ice cream afterward.”

      “Yeah!” He scrambled to his feet. “Where are my trunks?”

      “Take it easy, Tiger. We can’t go yet. Daddy’s not even home. He should be here in less than an hour, okay?”

      Dominic sat back down with a thud. “Okay, but I hope he hurries.”

      Reese, too, hoped he hurried. She loved their evenings together. Plus for some reason, Gretchen’s departure made Reese feel that much more connected to her husband. She leaned against the back of the couch and watched the two small people watch Bob the Builder. Dominic sat in rapt attention. She noticed for the first time that he had some of his Bob the Builder trucks with him. Elise was on her back, more interested in her feet than in the construction program. One sock was off, and before she pulled the other all the way off, she held still. Her knees came up toward her belly, and her face turned red. Reese smiled. After a few moments, Elise resumed what she had been doing. Dominic, though, was now interrupted. “Phew! Mommy, Elise pooped. Ick. Why is it so stinky?”

      “Yours were that stinky, too, you know. It’s because of what babies eat.”

      “It’s yucky.”

      “Don’t worry. You can breathe easy. I’m going to change her now.” Laughing, Reese scooped up Elise to take her into her bedroom. Just as she was fastening the fresh diaper, the doorbell rang. Elise on one hip, she made her way to the front of the house to answer the door. She swung open the door and stepped aside. “Hi, Max! We need to get you a key so you can just come in. How was your day?”

      Max stood silently for a moment. As he reached out for his daughter, he nodded. “It was okay. Thanks for asking. How did Elise do? Were you and Dominic okay with her being here?” He sighed.

      Reese studied him. His shoulders slumped and his eyes had lost their sparkle. He looked heartbroken; he probably was. She stood on her tiptoes and leaned in so she could plant a kiss on Max’s cheek. “It was a great day. She was happy and we were happy. Don’t worry about that, okay?” Max gave her a half-smile and nodded. Reese asked, “Hey, do you have food around the house for dinner? Isaac, Dominic, and I are going to go to the hot dog cart by the library and then to the pool. Wanna come?”

      Max put his hand on her shoulder. “I appreciate that, Reese. And I’d like to do stuff like that with you guys, but not tonight and definitely not all the time. I’m not going to impose on your family.”

      “Max, you’re not imposing. You are family.”

      “I know. And thank you. Really. Tonight I kinda just want to stay home. I’m not really feeling up to anything else right now.”

      Reese stepped in and hugged him tight. “Call if you decide you want company, okay?”

      “Of course. Enjoy your evening. It sounds fun for you all.”

      After Max stepped outside and pulled the door shut behind him, Reese muttered a strong curse at Gretchen.