I still want to try. It’s just pretty intense. I don’t want to rush it. I’m sorry.
Emil felt better after reading the words, but at the same time, doubt was starting to gnaw on him.
He typed.No, I understand.It was a lie, but he couldn’t make himself disappoint Makai.Do you wanna text before Sat?
He waited for the reply and exhaled loudly when it came through.
Yes. Remember I’m still new at this thing though.
Smiling, Emil replied,I know. Talk to you later.He was pretty sure Makai wouldn’t know what “TTYL” meant.
Once Emil was done with coffee, he wandered back into the kitchen and found some yogurt to snack on. It was better than no breakfast at all, right?
Mom had gone to Mercer to visit a friend for the day, and Dad was at work as usual. Without anything else to do, he called Lotte.
“Hi, Emil,” she replied in a cheery sounding voice, and it immediately made Emil feel warm.
“Hi, how’s Joie doing?” he asked, and went to put the photography book on the coffee table so he would remember to show it to Mom later.
“Oh she’s fine, just a bit achy, but she’ll be fine in no time.”
Emil smiled. “That’s good news.”
“How’s Makai?” Now Lotte sounded worried, and Emil wondered if Makai knew how many friends he had in this town already.
“He’s okay. Stitches and all, but other than that he’s fine. He’s going to have a barbecue thing on Saturday, people are coming over to tear down the boat shed.” He’d thought someone should tell Lotte, even though he doubted she was worried.
“Oh, that’s great. Do you think he’d mind if I dropped by with Joy? Maybe bring something like homemade popsicles if it’s hot?”
“I’m sure everyone would love that,” Emil said honestly. “I would think it’ll be something like ten people total, not counting you and Joy. I think they’re starting at elevenish.”
“Okay, sounds good. See you then!”
“Say hi to Joy from me, bye!”
Emil wandered up the stairs and into his room.
There was another call he knew he had to make: he needed to call Evy. She answered right away, which meant she wasn’t with a client.
“Hey, Emil. What’s up?”
“I… uh… had a nightmare last night,” he blurted out without thinking.
“Uh-oh, bad?”
“Yeah, I screamed until Mom had to come wake me up.” Emil winced at the memory.
They talked about it and how he’d managed to hug his mom before going back to bed, and Evy seemed to think that was a huge step forward.
“Now, I know you know I want to ask this, so, what brought the nightmare on?” she asked in her patient shrink tone.
“Uh…. Might’ve gotten tipsy with Makai, and we talked about all the shit we’ve been through,” he admitted.
“Emil Newman, for fuck’s sake!” Aaand there went the professionality. “What the hell? Did neither of you idiots stop to think about what this might do to you?” She sounded worried more than outraged despite the sharpness of the words.
“No, not really. I… it was one of those things. We needed to talk about it, and it’s just… it seemed like the moment…?” Emil fidgeted on his bed where he’d sat as soon as the call had connected. “We’re on the same page now, more or less.”
He could hear her trying to control her breathing as she was waiting to find the right words. Then finally she said, “Okay. Okay fine. I trust that you’ll call me if you get more nightmares or other issues caused by this. And I expect to have an invitation for the thing on Saturday so I can meet him.”
Groaning, Emil rubbed a hand over his face. “Fine. I’m sure he won’t mind. We don’t even know who is coming. I think Dad’s going to figure that out today or tomorrow.”
“And no more pouring your hearts out about shit, either!” Evy snapped. “It can lead to really bad things. Goddammit, I know boys are stupid, but this stupid….” She harrumphed. “Call me if you need me. I’ve a client coming in in ten, and I need tea. Bye.”
“Bye,” Emil said to the dial tone, which was a testament of how upset Evy truly was. Logically, Emil knew they’d fucked up. The nightmares were a testament to that. He was worried for Makai too. He hoped Makai couldn’t remember the nightmares he was having or that they weren’t bad. Emil didn’t want Makai to suffer any more than he already had.
