Chapter 41: Full Moon

“Skylar?”

Mom knocked on the door to my room after she’d peeked her head inside. She never really understood the point of knocking first. She was smiling, but it turned into a look of sympathy when she saw me.

“Oh, honey. Don’t be sad. He’s coming back, you know.”

She came over to where I sat by the window and stared into the darkness, and gave me a hug. It wasn’t really the darkness I was looking at, though. It was the moon.

It was shining and full tonight, and slightly yellow, just like the glints I sometimes saw in Jared’s eyes. All I could think of was him being so far, far away.

“I know, Mom. I just miss him.”

She stroked my back and kissed the top of my head before she stepped forward to try and see what I was looking at. But she was just as wise.

“That’s a good sign, dear. And that’s how love is supposed to be. I guess you could say that it’s the time you are apart that you really understand how much you love someone.”

She pulled my chin up and made me smile only the way a Mom could just by looking at you.

“And I think you two love each other very much.”

“Yeah. We do.”

I could see her thinking hard for a moment. Then she sucked on her teeth to muster up some courage.

“Can I ask you something?” she finally asked, and I answered with my eyes. “Jared…Does he ever shower?”

I giggled. I kind of expected that question. I’d lost count of how many times she’d begged me to wash Jared’s sweater, but I’d refused every time. Eventually she’d given up.

“I mean…And please don’t take this the wrong way, but don’t you think he smells a bit…? Well, almost like Topsy?”

Topsy was her sister’s dog, a golden retriever that ate all the shoes he came across. He even tried to eat Dad’s while he was wearing them.

“He showers. Every day, actually,” I replied and bit my lip. ~At least when he’s here~, I added in my mind. It was different out in the wilderness. Different for us both.

“But…he kind of smells,” she said, but I just shrugged and smiled toward the moon.

“That’s one of the things I like about him.”

Mom tilted her head to figure out if I really meant it. But when I kept glancing at the moon, she shook her head and scratched her arm.

“Oh, well. As long as he makes you happy.”

Then she clasped her hands together and nodded toward the door.

“Why don’t you join us downstairs? Please? Dinner is ready, and Uncle Fred and Auntie Aubrey are coming over later. Besides, you shouldn’t be up here all by yourself all the time.”

“All right, Mom. Just give me a minute, and I’ll be right there,” I answered and gave her a reassuring smile.

Even though our conversation only lasted a couple of minutes, I actually felt a bit better.

After she’d left, I turned back toward the moon with a smile and howled silently so no one could hear. Then I placed my hands on my baby bump and stroked it.

“I love you, Jared. We both do.”

***

“Is that him?”

“No.”

“What about him, then? He’s tall.”

“No.”

“Him? Oh, gosh! He looks hot!”

“Keesha! Knock it off! His plane just landed. Be patient!”

We were at the airport to pick Jared up, and Keesha was eager like a kid in a candy store.

She was practically jumping up and down and clapped her hands for each man she thought was Jared, and I kept squinting and shaking my head. None of them were as tall and handsome as my boyfriend.

“Argh! Why can’t he just…Wait. He does look human, right?”

“Of course, he does!” I grumbled in annoyance. Our eyes met for a brief second, but it was long enough to make her aware that she wasn’t funny, and I received an apologetic grimace in return.

“There he is!” I whisper-yelled and tried to point as discreetly as I could.

He was pretty easy to see, though. Even with his head hanging low and shoulders slumped forward, he was huge.

But when I met his eyes, I could easily see that something was wrong, and I immediately felt bad for him.

Of course, Keesha didn’t notice since she didn’t know him. She was busy swooning and fanning herself, so I stepped on her toe to make her behave somewhat normal.

“Holy shit! You weren’t kidding when you said he was tall,” she whispered and elbowed me like I hadn’t noticed. I giggled.

“Oh, my God. Does he play basketball, by any chance? And his hair is ~so~ long! And those eyes…Good grief. I’ve never seen shoulders that broad before, and I can just imagine the six-pack hidden under those clothes.

“He does have a six-pack, right? Or an eight pack? Holy crab cake, I want a man like that. Can I steal him? Or does he have a brother? I wonder how it is to…”

“Keesha! Shut up! You already ~have~ a boyfriend, remember? Just be quiet and at least act like you’re a sensible adult.”

I waved at Jared and met him halfway, and I immediately threw my arms around him and hugged him tightly. Then I smiled against his chest when he sniffed my hair. He always did that.

“I’ve missed you,” I whispered, but he didn’t say anything back. He just held me and refused to let go.

“Are you okay?” I asked into his ear, but he still didn’t say anything. I pulled back and saw two fearful eyes that continuously scanned everything around us.

“Too many people?” I asked and finally managed to catch his gaze. He just mumbled an answer.

“Okay. Let’s get out of here.”

I grabbed his hand and walked toward the exit, and I didn’t really care if Keesha followed or not. I knew she would, anyway. And she did, with loud objections.

“Sky?! Aren’t you even going to introduce us?”

“Oh. Yes. Jared? Meet my best friend, Keesha. Keesha? Jared,” I said, quick and businesslike, before I continued to elbow our way through the hordes of people. But Keesha was obviously not satisfied with my answer.

“Skylar! What are you doing? You’re running like there was a bomb threat or something!”

My eyes widened and I whipped my head around. “Don’t ever yell ‘bomb’ at an airport, Keesha!”

But the very same second I said that, a woman next to us exclaimed, “A bomb?!”

Then I heard someone else. “There’s a bomb at the airport?”

Then the word echoed through the entire arrival area, and I realized what we’d done. And while Keesha, Jared, and I sprinted toward the main exit, everything became a complete, screaming chaos.

“THERE’S A BOMB IN THE AIRPORT! EVERYBODY OUT!”

***

Panting and giggling like mad, we reached Mom’s car and quickly climbed inside. Even Jared chuckled a bit, though I could see he was still a bit anxious.

But as soon as he was seated next to me, with Keesha in the back, we laughed our asses off.

“How did you not realize that you should never yell bomb at an airport?” I asked after we’d calmed down and wiped away a couple of tears.

“I don’t know! But it’s all your fault,” she exclaimed.

“What? How can it be my fault?”

“Because you just took off like the ground disappeared under your feet! I mean, what the hell, girl?”

“Yeah, sorry about that.”

I looked at Jared, who had become serious again. He stared out the window at all the people who rushed back and forth with their luggage, boarding buses, or waving for taxis.

Some hugged their loved ones goodbye, and others were frantically searching for their plane ticket. Did he want her to know?

“I… uhm… because…”

“I don’t like people,” Jared said plainly and turned in his seat so he could look at her.

“Sheesh, nice to meet you too, sir,” Keesha said sarcastically, and I didn’t quite know whether I was glad she didn’t get offended, or mad because she didn’t take it seriously. I chose neither.

“He’s scared of crowds, Keesha.”

“Huh… really?” She finally got serious and reached out her hand to greet him properly.

“Hi. I’m Sky’s terrible friend, Keesha. And it really is nice to meet you.”

“She knows, Jared,” I whispered and hoped that would make him relax a bit more.

After a while he did, despite being peppered with all sorts of questions from my curious best friend. Luckily, about halfway home, she was satisfied, and the radio and the purring of the motor became the only source of noise.

When Jared’s hand found mine and gently squeezed it, I felt a peace that I only felt when he was there. When I looked at him, I saw he had the same silly smile as me.

We were together again.