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“It’s better fresh.”
“Good point. I’ll call after we unpack two more boxes. Deal?”
“Yeah,” Teddy said with a quick fist pump.
The new house had everything Fletcher had once envisioned, back when he’d had someone to dream with—a big kitchen open to the rest of the house. If he knew how to cook, delicious things would happen here. But the person who made the delicious things was long gone from his life. Still the old dream lingered, leading Fletcher to this particular house, a New England classic a century old. It had a fireplace and a room with enough bookshelves to be called a library. There was a back porch with a swing he’d spent the afternoon putting together, and it was not just any swing, but a big, comfortable one with cushions large enough for a fine nap—a swing he’d been picturing for more than a decade.
They tackled a couple of boxes of books. Teddy was quiet for a while as he shelved them. Then he held up one of the books. “Why’s it called Lord of the Flies?”
“Because it’s awesome,” Fletcher said.
“Okay, but why is it called that?”
“You’ll find out when you’re older.”
“Is it something dirty I’m not supposed to know about?”
“It’s filthy dirty.”
“Mom would have a cow if I told her you had a dirty book.”
“Great. Here’s a thought. Don’t tell her.”
Teddy put the book on the shelf, then added a few more to the collection. “So, Dad?”
“Yeah, buddy?”
“Is this really where we live now?” He looked around the room, his eyes two saucers of hurt.
Fletcher nodded. “This is where we live.”
“Forever and ever?”
“Yep.”
“That’s a long time.”
“It is.”
“So when I tell my friends to come over to my house, will they come to this one or our other house?”
There was no our anymore. Celia had taken possession of the custom-built place west of town.
He stopped shelving books and turned to Teddy. “Wherever you are, that’s home.”
They worked together, putting up the last of the books. Fletcher stepped back, liking the balance of the bookcases flanking the fireplace, the breeze from the back porch stirring the chains of the swing.
The only thing missing was the one person who had shared the dream with him.
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