“Not here!” Denny called out.
“Okay!”
He went to the messy closet and found the thick cushions easily. The closet needed to be reorganized, but neither of them had ever gotten to it. Maybe he’d do it tomorrow?
He grabbed more beers and was somehow able to get them down the stairs without falling over.
Denny stood to the side of the lawn and squinted at the sun, then at the stairs.
“Feet that way.” Josiah pointed with the bottles. “Do you think we need the sun spray?”
“Nah, it’s not that hot anymore. Besides, I got these!” Like a kid with a new toy, Denny produced a couple of straw cowboy hats Josiah hadn’t noticed before.
He dumped the cushions on the closest chair and took the offered hat, looking at it with amusement. There was a bright sale sticker on the inside, and from the shoddy way the hat had been constructed he was pretty sure he knew why it had been on sale. He grinned and plonked it onto his head, then pulled down the brim.
“Howdy,” he grunted at Denny.
Now, Denny in a cowboy hat, even a crappy one, was… almost too much. Especially when he laughed with delight, the corners of his eyes crinkling and just… ugh.
Josiah waited for Denny to separate the folded and tied together cushions, and then sat as soon as Denny had placed one down. He waited for Denny to take the other chair, and then held out one of the beer bottles.
With a content sigh, Denny took it, and then drank some before leaning back and settling in. He even pulled the hat down to shade his face, looking the picture of relaxation.
Following suit, Josiah settled as well. Again, that comfortable silence fell, and sometime later, Josiah briefly jerked awake when the long neck of his bottle slipped through his fingers. He didn’t care enough to wake fully, instead he closed his eyes again in the shade of the hat brim and continued to sleep.
The sound of a car horn startled him awake, and when he sat up, he realized Denny’s chair was empty. Disoriented, Josiah peered at the SUV, immediately suspicious of his friend, but there was nobody there.
“One of the neighbors,” Denny told him from the balcony.
Josiah grunted. “How long was I out?”
“Almost two hours. Seems like you needed a nap, so I didn’t wake you up.”
He pushed to his feet, then reached toward the sky. Then he stretched his sides and folded himself forward, trying to touch the ground. He could barely get his fingertips to graze the tips of the grass and thought that maybe he should try to take up yoga or something.
He thought about calling the kids to see if things at the Hare were fine and ready, knowing they would be able to handle it.
Walking up to the stairs, Josiah smiled at Denny who still leaned on the railing above him.
“What’s up?”
Denny scratched his neck. “Not much. Did you bring weed?”
Josiah scoffed. “Obviously.”
“Good, good… I just….” The agitated movement was so unlike Denny that it made Josiah jog up the stairs.
He wanted to touch Denny, to comfort him, but it felt almost too much for some reason.
“You want me to roll a joint?”
“Please.” Denny nodded, looking away from him. His shoulders were tight once more, so something had changed since they’d sat down for their nap.
Whatever it was, Josiah would do his best to make sure Denny relaxed again. His heart ached like crazy as he went inside to get his little tin where he kept his kit. At least he had the good stuff that relaxed but didn’t mess with thinking too much. He had a feeling Denny’s mind was muddled enough and Josiah could relate.
