DaySleeper

I kiss Warner goodbye and then hug Rebecca and James.

“Thank you two, so much,” I say. Rebecca looks like she might cry again, so she turns away and I shake James’ hand. We stand looking at each other for a moment.

“Bye,” I say.

And they let me walk away with that, and I board the plane, wondering if Warner has started to cry yet from the noise, and whether or not Avid will even notice me staying in the volunteer house with him and five more people that will be here in the next few days.

I find my seat, next to the window, and I stare at the runway, at the grass, at the buildings, at the sky, at the clouds.

~~
Alice and Maggie meet me at the airport. Alice meets me first at the gate and grabs me tightly, hugging me and crying almost instantly. I follow shortly after and look up through my watery eyes and grab Maggie, pulling her into our hug.

“Cade!” Alice cries. I squeal as she squeezes me tighter and starts to jump up and down. Maggie laughs at her as I bounce awkwardly in between them.

“I missed you guys!” I cry.

“You missed us?!” Alice demands, pulling away and holding my face so she can “properly” look at me, “We missed you!”

I laugh and twist to pull my face from her grasp.

“Come on you two lovebirds,” Maggie says, pulling at us, “Let’s go. We have a party waiting for you, Cade.”

“A party?” I ask, my face turning a bit red. We approach the baggage area.

“Yep!” Alice says proudly. I grab my suitcase.

“She planned it,” Maggie informs me, smiling at Alice. Alice grins again.

“Thank you,” I say. She waves me off as we leave the airport.

~~
The volunteer house is full of people. I am not inside yet, and I can tell. The porch is filled with people. I look to the shelter first though. The walls are being built up again. I stare at the building for a moment until Alice takes my suitcase and drags it inside. I watch Maggie disappear inside the building. I head up the steps and the people outside stare at me.

“Hi.” I say. They nod.

“You’re Cadence, right?” one of the guys asks. He has paint all over his shirt.

“Yeah,” I reply.

“We’ve been hearing a lot of great things about you. Good to meet you,” he says, smiling and standing up from his leaning position against the wall. He sticks out his hand. “I'm Greg.”

“Nice to meet you,” I say. He nods.

“Go. Enjoy your party,” he says. I smile and open the front door, heading inside.

A wave of cheering meets me, as faces from the shelter all turn to see me.

“Cadence!” someone cries. I look towards the voice, and see Josiah rushing out from where Janelle and Kyle stand.

“Jo!” I say, kneeling and hugging him. I stand up and spin him around a few times. He squeals and I blow a raspberry into his neck. He giggles loudly. People all around are yelling hello to me. I prop Jo on my hip and carry him with me further into the room, greeting people. I kiss Janelle on the cheek and shake Kyle’s hand.

“Did you grow?” I ask him.

“Only an inch and a half,” he smiles. I roll my eyes and mess up his hair.

“Cadence!” someone calls. I turn and see Ethel emerging from the crowd. I smile and hug her.

“Boy! You look good!” she compliments. I turn red.

“Stop,” I laugh.

“Oh, you’re blushing!” she laughs, “But really, Cade. You look healthy. You're quite handsome.”

“Thanks, Ethel,” I say. She smiles. “You’re breath-taking, as usual.”

“Don’t toy with an old lady, silly boy!” she scolds, laughing. She wipes at her eyes and I grab her hand. “No, I'm fine. I'm fine. I am just happy to have you back.” She assures me.

“We’re on the same page,” I promise, and she squeezes my hands, her ring digging into my palm slightly, before she lets go and releases me back to everyone waiting for me. I laugh a bit at that and continue across the room, waving to a few people, and moving into the kitchen.

“Want a drink, Jo?” I ask him. He nods and remains holding onto my chest. “Juice?” I ask him, peeking into the cooler. He nods, and I hand it to him. “Don’t spill on me, bro,” I remind him. He nods. A few kids run through the room. Josiah squirms. “Do you want to go play with them?” I ask. He shakes his head and holds onto me tighter.

“No,” he mumbles.

“Jo,” I say. He looks at me. “You can go play. I am not going away again for a very long time.”

He stares at me speculatively.

“Okay,” he says, and slips out of my arms. He trots after the kids. I stand and see Alice perched on the counter, talking with a group of people.

“Alice!” I call. She looks up and smiles. The three people she’s talking to turn and look at me, and that’s when I see him. Avid’s hair is longer now, and his skin is darker, from the summer sun I’d guess. I glance down at my arms, self-consciously. I am always the same color, I think... white.

“Come on,” Alice says and pats the spot next to her on the counter. I approach them and pause to smile at Avid. He smiles a bit and I slide onto the counter.

Avid doesn’t say anything to me.

Alice and I talk with the people there, people who I vaguely recognize from the shelter. Avid interjects in the conversation a few times, but doesn’t address me, doesn’t welcome me back. He doesn’t say much, really, and it cuts, in a strange way. After about twenty minutes, I slip back off the counter and tell Alice that I am going to go mingle. She waves goodbye to me. I pass by Avid without a word.

I reenter the living room and a group of people call me over. I plaster on a fake smile and head towards them.

~~
I am rooming with Greg and a girl, while Avid shares his room with one guy. They hung out the entire party, while I sat on the front porch, chain smoking. I had quit.

I lie in bed, staring at the ceiling and thinking that Avid is in the next room with his new best friend and I am here.

Why wouldn’t he even speak to me?

Maybe it was ruined.