“You’re still my little brother. Do you want hot chocolate?”
“No, thanks!”
“Suit yourself!”
Jake sighed and shook his head, and Rye was still grinning when Jake caught his eye again. “Is it good?” he asked, tilting his head toward Rye’s cup.
Rye nodded. “It’s... like the way Kelly makes it.”Fewer marshmallows, though. And maybe Kelly’s is a little better.He wanted to say all of that and more, but his words were still stuck in his throat, even though it was just him and his mom and Jake now.
His mom patted his shoulder. “Rye’s always saying, ‘Kelly makes the best hot chocolate.’ Right, sweetie?”
Was he? He frowned. He didn’t remember saying that all the time, although he did always talk about it. Or rather, he’d mention it with his awful, stilted speech, wishing he could be saying more. He’d probably only manage something like “Kelly’s hot chocolate is so good,”when what he’d really want to say was “Kelly’s hot chocolate is so good because Jake always orders it forme and asks her to add a dash of vanilla extract. He says that makes it even better. Richer or something.”
“Ah, well, she sure does,” Jake agreed.
There was a flash of light over across the courtyard, followed by a few cheers, though Rye couldn’t see what the fuss was about. A moment later, the music restarted louder, and people began singing. The voice of a young woman rose above all the others, the sound coming through the speakers now, like she had a microphone. It was a pretty song, and one Rye sort of recognized, but it was loud and just reminded Rye that his little bubble—his little place there in the courtyard with just Jake and his mom—didn’t really exist.
He lowered his head and closed his eyes for a moment, steadying himself. His mom’s hand came to settle on his arm, and he heard Jake talking as Krista and Phil returned, though he couldn’t quite make out the words.
Then, Phil’s hand grasped his free one. He found it odd and funny how small it was. He opened his eyes and looked down at the boy, who now held a cup of hot chocolate much like Rye’s own. “Uncle Jake says there’s a light display down the street a bit. By the, uh—what did you say, Uncle Jake?”
“On the boardwalk. Or at least they usually do one every year, and I don’t see why this year would be any different. Right, Shirley? The marine animal lights?”
“Oh, right! You’re right, Jake. They’ve done it every year that I can remember. It’s sponsored by the aquarium now. What do you say, Ryan, sweetie? Want to take a walk down there and check it out?”
Anything was suddenly better than standing here in the middle of the courtyard, especially because Rye was now aware of how everyone seemed to be coming together, crowding around the big decorated Christmas tree, singing loudly. Coming closer. Men. Large men with their faces hidden in darkness.
Unease swept over Rye, and he swallowed hard and lowered his eyes back to the cup in his hand. Oh, how he wished he and Jake and both their families werereallyin a bubble. A safe, unexposed bubble. He scrunched his eyes shut and was about to nod when Phil squeezed his hand.
“You’ll love it, Rye, I just know it. Come on.”
And he followed, letting the young boy lead him. Jake walked just behind him with Krista, and Rye’s mom walked next to him, on the opposite side as Phil.
Maybe he... did have a bit of a bubble.
Phil started talking again, and Rye let himself listen, blocking out all the other people and distractions around him. “Ah, look, I can see it! Is that a dolphin? I can’t tell until we get closer. I just love light displays like this. Mom, remember when we went to the zoo that one time, right around Christmas? It was a few years ago, right after Sheila left for Europe. I was seven, I think? It was nighttime,and they had all these light displays in the shape of animals. I remember they had this huge elephant display right next to a Christmas tree that was probably thirty feet tall! The elephant’s trunk was all different colors, and it was reaching up to touch the star on the top of the tree. It was so cool! Oh, and they also had some sort of, uh, bio... bioluminescent... uh...”
Phil slowed for a step, thinking, and Jake spoke up from just behind Rye. “Ah, I remember you telling me about that. They’d set up a special display of bioluminescent animals in their aquarium, right? Jellyfish and such, just for the holidays.”
With a big nod, Phil picked his pace up again. “Yeah, that’s right! Oh, the jellyfish were so neat. They didn’t usually have them at the zoo, so it was special. They also had hot chocolate and reindeer and a sleigh ride, and we got to see Santa. It was so much fun. Do you remember, Mom?”
“I sure do, honey.”
Phil stopped at the edge of the road and inched out a bit, glancing both ways between the row of parked cars. When he seemed to think it was safe, he started forward again, still dragging Rye with him. And he kept talking, excited and happy, especially when he saw the first of the light displays, which was, indeed, a giant dolphin formed with blue and white lights.
The crowd had thinned out in this direction, probably since everyone had moved to the courtyard for the singing and celebration, and the boardwalk was nice and open ahead of them, brightly lit and welcoming. Not quite as loud.
They paused in front of the dolphin, and Phil let go of Rye’s hand to step closer to the display. Rye’s mom then moved closer to him, wrapped her arm around him, and squeezed a bit.
“What do you think, sweetie?” she asked softly.
Rye let out a long, slow breath and then nodded. And his mom laughed quietly.
Jake said something from behind him—something about how they must have set everything up quickly, because none of this had been there the day before, to which Rye nodded again. Then Krista suggested they all gather together for a picture. Rye’s mom agreed, and they turned so the dolphin was behind them and smushed together a bit, Jake standing just behind Rye, while Krista and Phil stood in the front.
Krista held out her cell phone with the screen facing them, and Phil yelled out, “Say ‘pommel horse!,’” which elicited a swat from Krista and a laugh from Jake. Krista repositioned the phone, taking a second to make sure everyone—including the dolphin!—was in the picture, and then said, “Everyonesay ‘cheese!’”
The chorus around him was loud. But it was a warm, happy, comfortable loud, here in this bubble of his.
