Bazel grinned. “Oh yes. I watch show and know what to cook. It be good, I promise.”
THE HOUSEwas quiet and no one had broken in. Bazel knew that, but as soon as it got dark, he grew more nervous, the way he had for the last few days, ever since that man got in the house. He found himself staying awake, listening for any sound that might indicate someone was there. He jumped when the ice thing in the refrigerator dropped its pieces. The first time he’d heard it, he jumped nearly to the ceiling. But he knew what it was now.
“Are you still awake?” Atlas asked at the doorway with his robe on.
“Yes. What if someone comes back?” He pulled up the covers.
“Evie will alert us. And I added some additional devices in the backyard. If anyone comes in that way, the entire place is going to light up. I added more lights outside, and if someone gets close to the house, the living room lights will go on, and so will the light out here in the hall. I set us up to be alerted in a lot of different ways, so relax and go back to sleep. Everything is going to be okay.” He came into the room.
“Do you promise?” Bazel asked, feeling like a kid… and he hated it.
“Yes, I do. I’m a cop. I don’t want our home to be a fortress, but I also don’t want anyone getting in here. If they try, we’ll know well in advance, and the lights are likely to scare them off.”
“Okay.” He lay back down. “I try to sleep.”
Atlas stayed where he was, and then after a minute, left the room. Bazel heard him walk to the other room, and then a slight squeak as he got back into bed. Still, he lay awake, his mind running through what might have happened if that man had found him.
Eventually he got up and got a drink of water. Bazel thought of going downstairs instead of going back to his room. He was tired of being scared and worrying all the time. What he needed was to be able to sleep. But it seemed like whatever he did just made things worse.
“You need to rest,” Atlas told him as he tiptoed back from the bathroom. “Come here.” He lifted the covers, and Bazel hesitated a few seconds, wondering if this was right. But he was tired and he slipped into Atlas’s bed. “You’ll be fine here. I’ll watch over you.” He sounded sleepy, but Atlas was warm, andBazel closed his eyes, knowing he would be safe. Atlas would not let anything happen to him.
HE WOKEalone in Atlas’s bed. In fact, the house was really quiet, and Evie was gone too. That meant they were at work and Bazel had actually slept. He got up and showered before dressing. He thought of working in the yard to keep busy, but he was running out of things to do. So he used his phone to call Chris.
“Hello, Bazel, is everything okay?”
“Yes. I am safe.” He didn’t quite know how to ask what he needed to. “Atlas is good man and he help me a lot. How do I be nice to him?”
Chris didn’t say anything for a moment. “What do you mean? I think you are always nice.”
“No, no, no.” He huffed. “I want to do nice to him.”
Chris chuckled. “You want to do something nice for him?”
“Yes. That’s what I say.” He tried not to get frustrated.
“It isn’t exactly, but I understand you now. What can I help you with?” She was typing in the background and spoke to someone else while Bazel waited. “Sorry. It’s busy here. You want to do something nice for Atlas and you don’t know what? That’s pretty easy. Cook him something. The man never met a can or a package that he didn’t like. What he eats is awful, and he liked what you made before.”
“But I need stuff he not have.”
“Then this afternoon I can take you to the store.”
“No money,” Bazel said, hating the fact that he had to ask others for everything. He needed a job, some way to earn for himself.
“I know, and I am working on that. I have some papers that I need to review with you, and then I can get you an emergencyasylum declaration. That way you can also work. Finding a job will be another story.”
“I work hard. It no problem. I not lazy.” He knew he could find something to do if he could get proper papers. He was so excited to start building his own life here.
“It will take some time,” she cautioned. “I’ll see you in a few hours.” She hung up, and Bazel put his phone in his pocket before wandering through the house. He needed something to do other than sit and watch TV, but every time he looked out the windows, all he saw was rain and more rain.
With a sigh, he went back to the living room, about to give up when a knock sounded on the door. He went to it and peered outside. Two men huddled on the stoop, trying to get out of the rain. He just wanted them to go away.
“What you want?” he asked, cracking the door open.
They both straightened up in their white shirts and black pants. “We are with the Church of Latter Day Saints, and we wanted to speak to you about your faith.”
Bazel blinked. “What about it? It is mine and I happy with it. You go away now. Have a nice day.” He closed the door and locked it again. People here were strange and wanted to talk to people about faith. He was raised to go to the church since he was a boy. He had prayed with his family for many years. But he stopped after they stopped being family. It was all connected in his mind, and he didn’t want to talk about it, and definitely not with strangers.
“HI, CHRIS,”Bazel said slowly. “How are you?” He was really trying to sound more like the people he heard on TV. “I’m really bored and don’t know what to do. It keeps raining and I can’t work in the garden.” He smiled to himself, pleased that he had said it right.
