For the rest of the week, Jacob didn’t talk to Jayson and even pretended to be not feeling well when he tried to come over to visit. It wasn’t until his worried mother sent him outside to get some fresh air that Jacob set foot out the door in all of that time. Most of the week he’d spent sitting in his room trying not to think about flying, but would often wake in the middle of the night hovering just over his mattress. And though his nights were some of the most restful he’d ever had, his days were spent worrying about floating off into space or something.
“Now you stay outside for at least an hour before you think of coming back into this house, young man.” Jacob’s mother warned him as she scooted him onto the back porch. He’d overheard her talking with his father the night before. A week of worrying and talking of possible drug use and his father finally gave in to supporting his mother on a “mandatory hour-a-day, spent outside.”
“Whatever” Jacob mumbled as he stepped off of their back porch and headed to what was probably the only tree house in the whole of the Ballard district. His mother had already gone inside and missed his remark entirely, but that’s the way that Jacob had always been. Never one for confrontation and definitely not one to do anything that required him getting into any sort of mix-up, Jacob always made sure that he was never on anyone’s radar when he made his little jabs.
For a July day, it was a bit breezy and, ever since he started this whole flying business, he was uneasy about any wind. The climb to his tree house made him a little nervous. When he got to the top, he closed the hatch below him and went for his “supply box.”
Cupcakes, a brick of medium cheddar cheese, a knife, some bread, and a huge stack of comic books that Jayson had left there to hide from his mother when she decided he was too old for them and needed to grow up. Normally he would have found some great pleasure in losing himself in a few of the well-read pages but the sight of them made him feel nauseous. He grabbed the cupcakes closed the box and pushed it to cover the hatch. Jayson had a habit of popping up whenever he felt like it, and although he didn’t normally care, he didn’t particularly want to face him- especially after what he’d witnessed.
Jacob laid down on his beanbag couch and bit into his snack. He had forgotten that he bought the cream-filled ones and a blob of filling landed on his shirt. Not being a stranger to these kinds of food accidents, Jacob reached for his pile of napkins and began to wipe himself clean. About halfway through, he noticed that there was writing on the napkin. The writing on the napkin was Jayson's:
Jacob,
I tried to come by and tell you in person, but your mom said you weren’t feeling well. So she let me leave a note for you in our fort. I hope you get this in time. My dad got this big promotion and they’re sending him to Washington DC. You know what that means… We’re moving.
Jacob dropped the note in his lap and exclaimed for the world to hear, “NO WAY!!!” A mixture of relief and sadness filled him and he hesitated a little before picking the note up again to read further:
…I’m sorry for making such a big deal the other day… about what happened and all. I promise you that as long as I live, I will not tell a soul about it. I just got excited was all. I mean… you know me and comic books. I just thought “The world finally has a real live superhero!” But I know how much you hate the spotlight. I’m sorry. If you get this before Wednesday, come by and say goodbye. Please.
Your Brother Form Another Mother,
Jayson
Jacob hadn’t really paid attention to the days since he was out of school, and especially since his last meeting with Jayson, so he ran inside and asked his mother what day it was. She told him it was Wednesday and, as he ran out the door, he heard her tell his father, “See! It’s got to be drugs!”
He got to Jayson’s house quicker than he’d ever done before. He wasn’t sure if he ran all of the way or not, because usually he’d be huffing by then, but he felt totally refreshed. Seeing the moving trucks, he said aloud, “Great I’m not too late.” As he rushed up the stairs however, he was stopped from entering the house by a big mountain of a mover.
“Where do ya tink you’re goin?” He asked with his arms crossed.
“This is my friend’s house! He told me to come by and see him before he left.”
With a look of pity in his eyes, he asked, “You Jacob?” Jacob nodded and the man pulled an envelope from his back pocket. “Da boy left dis for you.” He handed him the envelope as Jacob stared down in disbelief. “You jus’ missed ‘em. Da boy tried to get them to stick around a few more minutes, but his fadder said they was in a hurry.”
Jacob took the letter and sulked off to the tree in Jayson’s yard where he sat to read the contents of this letter:
Jacob,
Hope you get this. Keep in touch.
Your Brother From Another Mother,
Jayson
Below that was an address and a reminder that a friendship forged for just over eleven years had finally been split. And Washington DC was about as far away as you could split one.
Posted from IP Address using Microsoft Internet Explorer 6/Windows 2000
