Lucas reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet, fishing out a card. “If there’s ever anything we can do for you, please don’t hesitate to call.”
He pushed the card back at Lucas. “There’s no need for that. Go be with your family. Have a happy holiday.”
“Thank you,” Lucas managed, giving a stilted wave before he turned back to his children.
Present Time
“In the future, you’ll be polite, give him your list and then you’ll get your picture and we’ll go home. Got it?” August chastised.
The girls huffed in unison. “Fine.”
“Good, go brush your teeth,” August said.
“With toothpaste,” Lucas added. “And water. Two minutes at least.”
The girls went to do as they were told. Lucas pretended not to notice them rolling their eyes at them. He needed to focus on the child still sitting in front of them.
“Come here, baby. Come see us.”
Alastair slid off the couch and climbed onto Lucas’s lap.
The boy snuggled into his chest, stress etched on his little face.
“Baby, you’re not in trouble,” Lucas promised. “We just want to talk to you about what you told Santa.”
His face crumpled. “I’m sorry, but she was really insistent and she seemed nice. She wasn’t like the others,” he blurted, fat tears rolling down his ruddy cheeks.
“Shh, don’t cry. You’re not in trouble for talking to…Santa about his mom. That was very sweet of you. But what else did you say to him?”
Alastair hiccuped through another sob. “I-I just told him about my bad dreams about the people in my room.”
“What people in your room?” August asked softly.
Alastair sniffled. “Sometimes they yell at me when I sleep. They want me to do things for them.”
“Do things?” Lucas asked, chest tight. “Like…what?”
“Find their friends or family. Tell them things. Give them things. Some are nice but some are mean and they get mad when I don’t help and some of them are really scary looking,” he sobbed.
“Oh, baby,” Lucas whispered, pulling the boy to him and holding him. “Is that why you’ve been sleeping with your sisters or your mom or us every night?”
He nodded. “They don’t bother me if I’m with them or you.”
They hugged him until he calmed down.
“We’ll figure this out. I promise. Go brush your teeth and then you can sleep with the girls tonight, okay?” Lucas asked.
“Okay,” he said, tears drying as fast as they came.
Kids were so fucking resilient.
When they were alone, Lucas collapsed back against his husband. “And we’re going to do this again? Are we nuts?”
“Well Cricket’s pregnant so it’s a little late to change our minds now,” August teased. “But, on a serious note, this isn’t like your clairvoyance. He’s…seeing dead people. Does that make him a medium?”
Lucas nodded. “I think so, yeah.”
“Maybe it’s time we look for help for him?” August said.
