IMAGINARY FRIENDS - Page 36

Jeff looked at his reflection in the mirror. Was that the face of a man who couldn’t move on? Who was stuck? Who was letting life pass him by?

Maybe.

No…no, it wasn’t true. Life wasn’t passing him by. Life was all around him! Life was bowling him over! He had so much life, he couldn’t take it all! He hadn’t said anything at the time, but yes, he had considered possibly, maybe asking someone to do something sometime…

Hey, wait! He’d invited her to Christmas morning tomorrow, hadn’t he? And she was coming, wasn’t she?

Jeff immediately felt guilty, and stopped that train of thought in its tracks. He’d invited Elise because the boys liked her, because she was important to the family.

The boys. Right there. More life than he could handle. How could they not count? He had two wonderful kids, full of energy, full of life, kids he loved –

Something was wrong.

In the corner of the mirror, Jeff could see something white. And big.

He turned around…

There on the floor sat another mound of toilet paper. A good two feet high, at least.

Jeff’s hands tightened on the edge of the sink, and his teeth gritted together.

One wonderful kid. And another one with WAY more life than anybody could expect Jeff to deal with.

Suddenly, out in the hallway, there was a high-pitched giggle and the padding of tiny feet.

“DAVEY,” Jeff yelled, totally forgetting the hour. The only thing in his mind were visions of coal lumps in Christmas stockings. He flung open the bathroom door and stuck his head into the hall. “DA– ”

He stopped. The hall was dark and deserted. Brian and Davey’s door was closed.

“Davey?” Jeff whispered.

***

Jeff poked his head into Davey and Brian’s room. Both boys were under the covers.

Jeff tried to calculate how long it would have taken for Davey to run from the hall, into the bedroom, and climb up on the bunk. Surely longer than the five seconds that had just passed.

And he hadn’t heard any doors open or close.

And the padding feet…Davey didn’t pad, he stomped.

It was just about impossible…

Pfff. Davey had never let impossibility stop him before.

<< previous page | next page >>

Copyright © 2008 Darren Pillsbury. All rights reserved.