Josiah chuckled a bit wetly, pressing his head against Denny’s chest for a moment. “Thanks, I guess.”
Denny knew the rest of Josiah’s story. That he’d gotten out of Ohio and gone to live with a cousin in Colorado while he fought tooth and nail to get his GED. He’d worked at two different grocery stores at the same time while trying to not get in his cousin Patrice’s way as she struggled at her first post-college job at an accounting firm.
“Have you heard from Patrice?” Denny held onto Josiah’s hand and rubbed his thumb over his knuckles.
“She sends a Christmas card every year to the Hare, but that’s it. The guy she met just before I left is now her husband and they have a couple of kids. That’s as much as I know. Their family photos each Christmas are boring as fuck.”
Denny snorted. “You once said she was about interesting as a pot of unsalted porridge.”
“Yeah, sounds accurate and something I would say for sure.” Jo let out a little almost-giggle.
“I’m glad you’re here with me,” Denny murmured. He didn’t mean just the cabin or this weekend.
Josiah lifted his head to look up at him. He smiled, squinting a little in the morning light or maybe because of emotion. His gaze flickered to Denny’s lips and then back to his eyes before turning away. He leaned away from Denny and inhaled deeply. He wiped his eyes a bit more.
“Ugh, I need to blow my nose. I’ll be back.”
“Want to make us more coffee while you’re inside?”
“Yeah, sure. You lounge in your sunny spot and I’ll be back with coffee when it’s done.” Then he realized his phone was still on the rock. “And answer if that rings.”
“Sure.”
Since it would take Jo a while to get the old percolator to make even a couple of mugs’ worth of coffee, Denny leaned back and tried to make himself comfortable. It was still a boulder, after all, so maybe he needed to start bringing some sort of a blanket or maybe even an old comforter there soon?
Again, he thought about whether he was getting old. The phone next to his hip chirped, and he picked it up. Sammie’s face filled the screen, so he swiped to answer.
“Am I getting old? Past my prime? Fit to be put on a pasture?” he asked in lieu of greeting.
After a few beats of silence, Sammie guffawed. “Yes, absolutely. What is it this time? You realized how beautiful Josiah is and because he’s like what, five years younger than you, so now you have a complex?”
Laughing, he shook his head. “No, at the moment I was mostly thinking that my ass is falling asleep and I might need to bring something to sit on.”
“Oh, you’re on your boulder, then.” He could hear the fondness in her voice and wished she was around so he could hug her.
“We miss you,” he said instead.
Her voice was quiet when she answered, “I miss you too. But I’ll be home soon, okay?”
“You’re doing your thing and that’s awesome. I’m proud of you, sis.” They weren’t related, had met by chance, but sometimes Denny thought of Sammie and Josiah as his siblings more than friends.
“Yeah, yeah. I’ll say it again, I wouldn’t have any of this without you, so thanks, I guess.”
