Free Bear, Otter, & the Kid 03 - The Art of Breathing by TJ Klune
Authors: TJ Klune
from the bathtub and curls me up against his chest where a great heart beats a staccato rhythm. And we sit here, in the waning afternoon, just me and him. For a time, it doesn’t matter what’s happened before. It doesn’t matter what’s coming. All that matters is that Dom is who I need him to be and I pray I can be the same for him.
After a while, he says, “The present.”
“Yeah?” I close my eyes and breathe him in.
“It’s the best thing I’ve ever gotten.”
“Yeah?” My chest feels warm again.
“Yes. Thank you, Ty. It’ll help me.”
“With what?”
“When you’re gone.”
“Who’s going to tell you what to wear?” I sniff. “You can’t match clothes to save your life.”
Stacey will help him , it whispers to me, but I shove it away.
“I guess I’ll have to call you every day,” he says with a huff of laughter. It almost sounds like a sob.
“Every day?”
“Every day.”
“I’m going to come back.”
“Sure, Ty.”
“I will,” I insist. I pull away to look at him. He won’t meet my eyes. “Dom. Look at me.”
He does, but there’s doubt there. He can’t hide it from me. “I don’t….” He shakes his head.
“You’ll see. I promise.” I lean back against him. “You’re my best friend too, Dom. You’ll see.”
“I know, Ty.”
“Do you know why?”
“Why?”
“You and me?”
“Yeah?” He holds me tighter.
I hug him back. “We’re inevitable.”
And we sit there for a while longer until the earth no longer shakes. Until we can stand without falling over. Until we can face the world with a decision made, though it is breaking our hearts.
I FIND Bear and Otter outside, away from everyone else. They stop talking as soon as they see me, and I can tell they were talking about me. They both look worried, and I can’t have that. I’m stronger. I will be stronger. I’ll show them. I’ll show everyone.
Otter reaches for me first, and I wrap my arms around his waist. Bear comes up next to him, rests his hand on my shoulder, and leans against his husband.
“Okay, Kid?” Otter asks.
I nod. Maybe not all the way okay. But I will be. One day, I will be. “I’ve made up my mind,” I tell them, my voice strong.
Bear glances over at Dom, who is standing near the Green Monstrosity, waiting for me. We’ve decided to get out of here for a bit, just me and him. “And what do you want to do?” Bear asks.
“We’re going,” I say. “We’re leaving Seafare.”
They glance at each other over me. “You sure?” Otter asks after a moment.
I nod. “I have to. I need to. For me. Is that okay?”
“More than okay,” Bear says. And then he smiles.
D OM AND I walk along our little section of the beach, the tide low, the whitecaps of the waves foamy and small. Seagulls cry out overhead. The wind has a bite to it. Mrs. P feels close, like she always does when I’m here. Dom drops his arm on my shoulder but doesn’t speak. He doesn’t have to. We’ve already said everything that needs to be said, at least for now. All we do is walk. All we do is hold on while we still have time.
All we do is breathe.
2.
Where Tyson Makes a Phone Call
A few weeks later
“H EY , D OM . What are you—What? Ha! Shut up. I do not! I’m not worried at all. Everyone’s gonna love my speech. They will too! You’ll just have to wait and see. I’m not going to tell you yet. Because you have to be surprised! Hey, can I ask you a question? Oh, what? She does? Oh. Well, tell Stacey I say hi back. What? Nothing’s wrong. I am telling you the truth! Don’t tell me what I am—What question? Oh yeah. It’s not important. Don’t worry about it. Ah, God, you’re so annoying. Fine. I was just going to ask you if you’d come visit me when I was away at school. It’s not that big of a deal. You will? Really? You won’t… never mind. That’s dumb. Jesus! You won’t forget about me or anything? What? You’ll think about me every day?
After a while, he says, “The present.”
“Yeah?” I close my eyes and breathe him in.
“It’s the best thing I’ve ever gotten.”
“Yeah?” My chest feels warm again.
“Yes. Thank you, Ty. It’ll help me.”
“With what?”
“When you’re gone.”
“Who’s going to tell you what to wear?” I sniff. “You can’t match clothes to save your life.”
Stacey will help him , it whispers to me, but I shove it away.
“I guess I’ll have to call you every day,” he says with a huff of laughter. It almost sounds like a sob.
“Every day?”
“Every day.”
“I’m going to come back.”
“Sure, Ty.”
“I will,” I insist. I pull away to look at him. He won’t meet my eyes. “Dom. Look at me.”
He does, but there’s doubt there. He can’t hide it from me. “I don’t….” He shakes his head.
“You’ll see. I promise.” I lean back against him. “You’re my best friend too, Dom. You’ll see.”
“I know, Ty.”
“Do you know why?”
“Why?”
“You and me?”
“Yeah?” He holds me tighter.
I hug him back. “We’re inevitable.”
And we sit there for a while longer until the earth no longer shakes. Until we can stand without falling over. Until we can face the world with a decision made, though it is breaking our hearts.
I FIND Bear and Otter outside, away from everyone else. They stop talking as soon as they see me, and I can tell they were talking about me. They both look worried, and I can’t have that. I’m stronger. I will be stronger. I’ll show them. I’ll show everyone.
Otter reaches for me first, and I wrap my arms around his waist. Bear comes up next to him, rests his hand on my shoulder, and leans against his husband.
“Okay, Kid?” Otter asks.
I nod. Maybe not all the way okay. But I will be. One day, I will be. “I’ve made up my mind,” I tell them, my voice strong.
Bear glances over at Dom, who is standing near the Green Monstrosity, waiting for me. We’ve decided to get out of here for a bit, just me and him. “And what do you want to do?” Bear asks.
“We’re going,” I say. “We’re leaving Seafare.”
They glance at each other over me. “You sure?” Otter asks after a moment.
I nod. “I have to. I need to. For me. Is that okay?”
“More than okay,” Bear says. And then he smiles.
D OM AND I walk along our little section of the beach, the tide low, the whitecaps of the waves foamy and small. Seagulls cry out overhead. The wind has a bite to it. Mrs. P feels close, like she always does when I’m here. Dom drops his arm on my shoulder but doesn’t speak. He doesn’t have to. We’ve already said everything that needs to be said, at least for now. All we do is walk. All we do is hold on while we still have time.
All we do is breathe.
2.
Where Tyson Makes a Phone Call
A few weeks later
“H EY , D OM . What are you—What? Ha! Shut up. I do not! I’m not worried at all. Everyone’s gonna love my speech. They will too! You’ll just have to wait and see. I’m not going to tell you yet. Because you have to be surprised! Hey, can I ask you a question? Oh, what? She does? Oh. Well, tell Stacey I say hi back. What? Nothing’s wrong. I am telling you the truth! Don’t tell me what I am—What question? Oh yeah. It’s not important. Don’t worry about it. Ah, God, you’re so annoying. Fine. I was just going to ask you if you’d come visit me when I was away at school. It’s not that big of a deal. You will? Really? You won’t… never mind. That’s dumb. Jesus! You won’t forget about me or anything? What? You’ll think about me every day?