“He’s over there. He’s got an ax.” The panic in my voice has him moving. He picks up the handgun and walks to the window in three quick strides. He holds out the gun to me and then points his rifle toward the shop, looking through the scope.
Lightning flashes again.
“There, see? He’s just... staring.” I shiver.
He adjusts his sight. Pointing to where he saw the man standing. We wait in silence as the rain patters against the window. Thunder rumbles. Another flash of lightning and Jamie’s eyes go wide.
“Did you see him?” I ask.
Jamie’s look of shock turns into a smirk. He tries to hold in a laugh but it comes out as a snort.
“What? Is he still there?” The window is starting to fog. I wipe my hand across it and the moisture comes away dirty with dust.
Jamie doubles over, grabbing his stomach. Tears are streaming from his eyes.
“What?” I shout. “What’s so funny?”
Jamie just points and continues laughing. Another flash of lightning and I still see the man standing there, naked and staring. Is he seriously laughing because the guy’s naked? Real mature, Jamie. I don’t even think this would be the first time someone was attacked by a naked, ax-wielding madman.
Jamie takes deep gasps, still laughing, and holds out the rifle. “Here,” he says between gasps. I holster the handgun and look through the scope at the man. I can see the outline of his still body through the darkness. Lightning flashes and I jump when I see his pale gaze. My jaw drops open, and now I know why Jamie’s laughing so hard.
“It’s a mannequin!” he shouts. Revealing the truth unleashes another wave of giggles from deep within him and he has to sit down. He wipes at his cheeks but more tears quickly replace them.
I smile, redness sweeping over my face. I see through another flashof lightning that the ax I thought the naked mannequin was holding is, in fact, an umbrella wrapped around its wrist.
“All right,” I say.
“The Naked Ax Man Cometh.” Jamie is sent into another fit of howls.
“Oh, I feared for our lives, I’m funny, I get it.”
“The Ax-Mannequin!”
“All right, that’s enough,” I say, chuckles breaking up my own words. Only it isn’t enough. This is the first time—in theentiretime I’ve known Jamie—I’ve ever heard him laugh. All my snarky remarks, my clever jokes, my anecdotes, retelling him movies, none of it made him laugh like this.
And it sounds wonderful.
I sit down on the floor and laugh with him, his laughter infectious. Within moments my stomach hurts from laughing so hard. When there’s finally a lull, we both look at each other. The silent eye contact sends us both into another round of snorts and giggles.
The body outside is the furthest thing from our mind for just a little bit. After our laughter subsides, Jamie manages to realize that there’s fresh water pouring from the sky. He searches the back room, bringing out several plastic buckets and bowls, and sets them outside. We sit down to watch as they fill up.
Every once in a while, Jamie lets out another chuckle. I smile and elbow him, and his laughter comes back. I could listen to his laugh until the day I die and never get sick of it.
Jamison
I CAN’T BELIEVE THEY ACTUALLY MADE Amovie calledMannequinin whicha mannequincomes alive and runs amok in Philly. Andrew told me all about it in one of his movie summaries before he went to sleep.
And now here I am, thinking aboutMannequin.It sounds like a Hallmark movie, which is a secret I haven’t shared with Andrew yet.
I love Hallmark movies.
He thinks I haven’t seen any movies because I don’t like them. But that’s not entirely true; I just only watched Hallmark Channel movies. And I’ve seenwaytoo many of those. In fact, I’ve seen so many, there are some I’ve rewatched in their entirety thinking they were a new movie, only to realize at the end I had seen them before.
But that’s what I like about them. They’re safe and predictable.
Unlike the world now.
My eyes are dry and they burn. A long yawn makes my jaw ache and I glance down at my watch. It’s only one in the morning. I told Andrew I would let him sleep until three, then I can sleep from three until nine or so. I remind myself to talk to him about going to sleep earlier and getting up earlier to try to cover as much ground as we canbefore the sun gets high.
