He gave her the food and went to check on the litter box in the laundry room. She’d peed at some point during his slumber, so he cleaned the box and put the washer on while he was there. He’d hang the stuff later, since the weather seemed lovely.
After breakfast, he decided to fix the dock. He had an idea of making a railing and adding a little bench so that he could sit or leave his towel there if he went swimming. It would also make it safer for Joie whenever they’d come around.
He’d realized that his days could be filled with anything he wanted, so he’d driven into town or into Mercer on a whim a few times. That meant that now, a week since he’d arrived in Acker, he had a pretty solid foundation of things to work on and with.
He’d gotten timber from a mill in Mercer on Friday, and now, on Monday, he finally had time to get to it. He hadn’t, however, gotten to taking down the boat shed. He wasn’t sure what he was waiting for, maybe inspiration if he was completely honest.
At first he’d thought he’d paint the house on an overcast day and then use a sunny day for the shed, but it had been too sunny to paint, and then he’d thought it was too nice to use the day to do sweaty manual labor, which taking a sledgehammer to the shed would most likely be. But at least the cottage was clean and nice on the inside now, and his bed and new couch had been delivered, along with a modest flat-screen TV. None of the items were brand-new: he’d gotten them from a secondhand shop in Mercer, and he itched to go somewhere bigger for new things like clothes and more electronics.
Life was looking up, and frankly, he could use some of that.
He’d also hit a used bookshop and even a regular one while in Mercer, and he needed to make his bookshelves sometime this week too.
First, though, the dock.
HE TOOKeverything he needed down to the shore and put together a makeshift workbench to measure and cut the wood on. He had pen and a notepad, too, just so he could figure out the railing.
While rummaging around the shed, he’d come across an old radio, and it now sat on a table corner, playing a channel that seemed to have some sort of a 2000s thing going on. It suited Makai fine. After all, he hadn’t gotten to listen to music much in the last decade, and he was enjoying the freedom to listen to whatever he wanted when he wanted while he worked. He didn’t like all the songs, but some of them made him bob his head, and a couple even got his hips swaying.
He measured and cut the boards while enjoying the music, sunlight, and freedom he felt just then. He knew one of his old favorite bands had made a couple of albums while he was inside and had a new one coming out. He would definitely have to get a laptop and probably that smartphone too.
He had TV shows and movies to see and idly wondered if Kaos had seen any good ones lately. They’d talked about movies a lot while sharing a cell.
They’d shared the love of old Disney, speaking about it in hushed tones after lights out, just because they knew what kind of reactions they’d get from the general population of the prison. Kaos had been hugely into Studio Ghibli and had made Makai promise to look into his favorites once he was out. That was another reason to get a laptop.
He also needed to figure out what the song was that he had heard a couple of times while listening to his radio. It didn’t seem to have a normal structure but instead something else, and it fascinated him. It was the rhythm that had gotten to him first, but then on the second or third listen, the lyrics had made him pay attention.
He wondered if Emil would know it and made a mental note to ask when he next saw the guy.
He was on his hands and knees on the deck, hammering in some nails, when what could only be Brendon Urie’s voice drifted from the radio. He hadn’t been a huge fan back in the day but could still recognize the style of Panic! At the Disco and Urie’s voice.
He listened for a moment, then grinned and continued to work, letting his body sway a bit with the music.
“Why’d you stop? Come on, Emil!”
Makai lifted his gaze and saw Emil and Joie on the path, heading his way. Well, Joie was trying to tug a seemingly frozen Emil into movement. Makai straightened and glanced down at himself. No, nothing weird there. White tank and ratty jeans. Some of his hair had escaped the tie, but that was fine. He was getting sweaty, anyway. Without thinking, he lifted the hem of the top and wiped his face with it.
When he looked back at his visitors, Emil looked dazed and almost stumbled on some rocks as he followed Joie.
“Hi, Makai!”
“Hey, Joey,” Makai called back with less volume.
The child was wearing jeans, the boots, and a T-shirt with some sports team’s logo on it. A boy day, it seemed. He also had a cap with Dory fromFinding Nemoon it.
“What are you doing?” Joey asked, bouncing on his heels on the shore, staying away from the table and tools, and never approaching the dock, something Makai appreciated.
“I’m fixing the dock. There were a few rotten boards.”
“Hey,” Emil said finally, coming to stand next to Joey.
“Hi.” Makai smiled at him and took in the long-sleeved T-shirt and skinny jeans. Emil had a dark beanie covering most of his hair, and like the old man he felt he was, Makai wondered how he could wear such a thing when it was sunny outside.
“Ooh, I like this song!” Joey squealed, startling Emil.
Joey started to dance clumsily in his boots, and Emil smiled at him.
“Is this P!nk?” Makai asked, because the voice sounded familiar.
