Page 103 of Cowboy's Last Stand
He made several trips to the dump before immersing himself in a plumbing repair.His thoughts were dark as he refitted pipes under the sink.It was neck-cranking work, unpleasant for a man his size, borderline torturous for anyone who hated confined spaces.He tried not to imagine the rubble in Kabul closing in on him.
When a child’s voice called out his name, Jason startled.He banged his head into the underside of the sink.Pain bloomed from the impact.It wasn’t hard enough to make him see stars, but it was one hell of a thump.
“Did you hurt yourself?”
He unfolded his body from underneath the sink, wincing.Marcus was in the kitchen.“I’m OK.”
“Mom’s taking a nap.Can we do tai chi?”
“Sure,” Jason said.“Just give me a minute to recover.”
They sat on the couch and shared a sports drink from the cooler.Jason scooped up a handful of melted ice and held it to the bump on his head.Chilly water soaked through the duct tape on his finger.
“Are you going to live up here now?”Marcus asked.
“I guess.”
“For how long?”
He shrugged.
“How old were you when your mom died?”
“Almost twenty.”
“My uncle Gabe is that age.”
“Right.”
“Is he a grown-up?”
Jason conjured a mental image of the slouchy, sullen youth.Despite his handsome face, Gabe Luna reminded him of a junkyard dog, the kind that skulked around in the dark and bit people indiscriminately.“Not really.”
“He’s not a kid, though.”
“No.”
“When do kids stop needing mothers?”
“Never.”
They did tai chi for about twenty minutes until Marcus got bored.Then Jason sent him downstairs to retrieve some crayons and paper.Marcus colored under the lamplight while Jason continued tinkering with the sink.The radio played classic rock.Working with Marcus nearby helped Jason feel calmer and less claustrophobic.By the time he finished the repair, he was humming along with the music.
“We make a good team,” Jason said.
“I didn’t do anything,” Marcus replied.
“You want to come back tomorrow?”
“Sure.”
Natalie came to fetch Marcus for dinner.She didn’t offer Jason a plate, which was fine.He could fend for himself.She needed space, and maybe he did too.The last thing he wanted to do was sit at her dining table across from Mike’s shrine.
Unfortunately, tensions between them didn’t ease the next day or the next.They continued to avoid each other, which confused Marcus.The boy spent every afternoon with Jason, passing him tools or practicing tai chi.
Jason liked hanging out with Marcus, but there was a learning process involved in looking after an energetic child.There were mishaps.On Wednesday, for example, Marcus broke an antique vase in the garage with his slingshot.This action required a consequence.Jason decided to take away the slingshot for the rest of the week.Marcus cried to his mother, who showed no sympathy for either of them.
Jason found little respite at night.He was plagued by bouts of insomnia, but he refused to go back outside.He white-knuckled it through the sleepless hours like a junkie sweating out an addiction.When he did surrender to exhaustion, he had frequent nightmares.He managed to sleep for stretches of four or five hours, which was enough to get by.It was a stark existence, however.Without Natalie’s company, he had nothing to look forward to.He wasn’t just staring at the ceiling at night or looking out the window.He replayed every moment of their encounter, every time he closed his eyes.His body ached for her more now that he’d had her, and he knew how good it could be between them.
