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The long autumn hours drifted by as slowly as they could. Summer had come and gone for another year and it was back to school. You sat in class hardly paying attention to your teacher, you could only fiddle with your pencil for so long before it too lost its appeal. Luckily it was almost time for lunch and all you could think about was how bad you wanted to see Cove. Cove had trouble adjusting to his new school last year, but as far as you could tell it seemed like he was finally getting used to the environment, not that you talked about it much. You were 5th graders now and even though you didn’t have the same class, you always ate lunch together and couldn’t help but note that other students didn’t seem to want to talk to Cove very often.
> You felt a little bad for him.
> You tried to include him in other student’s conversations
> You knew Cove didn’t mind.
> You didn’t really care.
Cove always lit up the brightest when talking to you anyways, especially today because today was special. It was Cove’s 10th Birthday, an important milestone in every child’s life. Your moms and Mr. Holden had been talking about it for weeks. You had already turned 10 just last month, Cove and Shiloh were your only guests at the party, but you mostly only talked to Cove. Shiloh stayed with Lizzie the whole time. But now it was Cove’s turn to hit the double digits and he was glowing with excitement just waiting for later.
“You’ll be there, right Atticus?” Cove asked, rubbing his arm. The noise of the lunch crowd had nearly drowned him out. He brought his baggy brown sweater to school today, his cast had come off around August last year, but the scar left behind was like a huge reddish pink bolt of lightning streaking down his arm. You knew some of the other kids teased him about it.
> “Of course! You know I wouldn’t ever miss it!”
> “Sure. It could be pretty fun.”
> “I guess.
> “My Moms are making me.”
Cove beamed when you blurted out your answer. You spent the rest of lunch chatting about various sea creatures and PE activities. You couldn’t tell him about the gift your Moms had helped you buy for him. Eventually you were done eating and the bell for class rang out once again. When school did finally let out, you practically ran out of class as soon as the teacher dismissed you. You met up with Cove near the front of the school to get picked up like usual.
Mom pulled up in the familiar family car and you clambered inside, scooting over to leave room for Cove who followed you into the backseat. Once you had your seatbelts on Mom greeted you cheerily.
“Hey Kiddos, you have a nice day at school?”
“Yes Mrs. Bryson”
“Yeah I guess it was okay.”
Your and Cove’s words crashed into each other as you spoke simultaneously.
Mom giggled and addressed you two again.
“That’s great, and by the way, Happy Big 10th Birthday Cove.” Mom had a sing song-y quality in her voice.
“Thanks Mrs. Bryson!” Cove shimmied happily in his seat
“Since its your special day and all, I spoke with your father and asked if it’d be okay to take you boys out for some ice cream, does that sound like fun?”
Mom was offering you dessert before dinner?
> You were always excited for ice cream.
> You didn’t want to spoil your dinner.
> You liked other dessert treats but not ice cream.
> You didn’t have much of a sweet tooth but would go for Cove.
“Yeah!” Rang out from Cove and echoed by you.
“Alright then kiddos let’s get going.” Mom exclaimed with a big smile.
There was a local ice cream shop in town on the main street. Seeing this side of town with Cove brought up memories of his escape attempt. Glancing over at him you could tell he was thinking the same and you offered him a knowing smile, which made him blush slightly. Mom pulled into the parking lot of the ice cream shop, you’d been here before, but you weren’t sure if Cove had.
> They had the best ice cream in town.
> You’d had better ice cream.
> You thought this place sucked.
You kept the thought to yourself as you walked into the parlor. The smell of fresh ice cream and sweets of all kinds hit your senses as soon as you entered. You could hardly see over the counter to order but you could tell there were rows of jars filled with chocolate, sprinkles, and cookie crumbles.
“So what do you kiddos want” Mom asked turning to you and Cove.
> You wanted something fruity.
> You wanted something chocolatey .
> You wanted something salty.
> You didn’t want anything.
Cove’s eyes gleamed as he looked at all the options on the menu, between lemon meringue, s’mores, black raspberry chocolate chip and so many more he didn’t know what to pick. After another moment of deliberating with himself, he turned to you.
“Atticus what are you getting?”
“I’m getting the Oregon Strawberry.”
Cove hummed quietly, his mind still not made up. Then his eyes widened as they homed in on a flavor off to the right side of the board. He started bouncing up and down excitedly.
“Oh I want the cinnamon roll flavor!” He blurted out.
The person behind the counter started scooping everyone’s ice cream into cups, when it was all put together Mom paid and you climbed back into the car together.
> You loved this flavor.
> You thought it was pretty decent.
> You wish you had picked something else.
> You hated this flavor.
It was sweet and smooth, and tasted like fresh raspberries. The occasion reminded you of the firework show a couple years ago.
> You wanted to share your ice cream with Cove.
> You asked to have some of Cove’s ice cream.
> You wanted to share each other’s ice cream.
> You kept quiet about the idea.
“Hey Cove.” You spoke up sitting next to him.
When he turned over you were holding out your spoon with some of your ice cream on it. He got the idea and started blushing immediately. That in turn made you blush a little too. You saw the ice cream was about to spill off the spoon so you quickly stuffed it in your mouth to prevent it dripping on the seat. Seeing poorly disguised disappointment wrought on Cove’s face, you took another scoop of ice cream and held it out to him again, this time making sure the cup was underneath it. Turning more red than if he were badly sunburnt, he leaned forward and took his bite of your ice cream. You both leaned back in your seats as you felt content having shared your first little gift for his birthday.
The drive back home felt short from there. You had discussed with your Mom earlier in the week that she’d have your gift for Cove in the trunk of the car so you’d be able to go straight to his house after school with it. Mom parked up in the usual spot across from the Holden residence. You got out of the car and walked across the street with Cove while Mom grabbed your gift from the trunk. He walked into his house without knocking, the door was unlocked as usual. When you stepped inside you felt like you’d been transported to an aquarium, the walls had been meticulously decorated from floor to ceiling in wrapping that looked like water and seaweed with pictures of fish swimming all over the place. You spotted Mr. Holden in a corner of the room hanging one last decoration, a small pufferfish balloon taped up to keep the sea weed streamer in place. Cove found himself lost in the display of faux aquatic brilliance. Mr. Holden really pulled out all the stops for this party.
“Atticus look!” Cove ran around the house pulling you by the arm to gawk at the decorations and show them off. “That one’s a California flying fish!” He excitedly pointed out. “Its found all along the west coast from Oregon to Baja California!” Cove sure knew a lot about the ocean.
> The decorations were really impressive
> You didn’t see the big deal about it.
> You had no interest in sea life or ocean themes.
“Hey bud Happy Birthday!” Mr. Holden came over to Cove and gave him a big hug. Cove reciprocated and thanked his Dad. Mr. Holden then turned his attention to you.
“Thanks for coming Atticus, Cove always loves having you over.”
Cove started turning red again, his rapt attention on the wall of fish broken. “Atticus is my friend, why shouldn’t I like it when he’s here?” Cove was halfway grumbling to himself and looking at his shoes.
“I’m just happy my boy has such a good friend.” Mr. Holden teased his son while patting his back.
After a few more minutes of rambling your Ma and Elizabeth arrived.
“Happy Birthday Cove sweetie.” Your Ma cooed
“Yeah Happy Birthday” Elizabeth said in her “too cool for this” manner
Suddenly the door bell rang. You weren’t sure who it could be, all the expected guests were already here. But Mr. Holden seemed excited about this visitor and went for the door. Once it was opened, Cove froze in place. There were several other boys about your age standing outside with their parents. All the red in Cove’s face moments prior drained into a ghostly pale as Mr. Holden invited them inside.
“Who’re they?” you asked.
Cove didn’t answer you. He was tightly gripping his arm where his scar rested under his sleeve.
“Uhhm. Those are my classmates.” His voice was low and had a hint of worry.
“I didn’t know you invited them.” You said.
“I didn’t.” Cove shot a glance at his father.
You understood now. This was another Cliff surprise. Cove’s special 10th birthday party was now filled with people he didn’t like, and who didn’t like him. You could see the discomfort growing on his face.
He suddenly turned and stomped off to his room without a word.
“Cove?!” You called after him.
Mr. Holden’s face dropped like an anchor when he saw his boy run off. He pulled his face back up as a look of shame was affixed there. He was clearly caught between being a host and talking to Cove. Your moms didn’t really know what to do either, they were good with kids and loved Cove but he wasn’t their son. Once everyone was inside and greeted Mr. Holden turned to you.
“Hey I’m sorry about Cove, I should have known better than invite a bunch of kids without asking him. Can you go speak to him and see if he’s okay? He probably doesn’t want to see me much right now.”
> You wanted to know if Cove was alright anyways.
> Mr. Holden was right, it’d be better if you talked to him.
> You figured you had to since Mr. Holden was asking.
“Okay” Your response was flat and solid.
“Thanks sport.” He replied.
Walking down the hall to Cove’s room you stopped at his door which hadn’t been slammed shut and you could see inside through the small crack in the doorway.
> You knocked gently.
> You called his name softly.
> You called his name loudly.
> You barged in without asking.
“Cove? …Are you okay?” You stood in the doorway waiting for a response. It took a few moments, but you did hear something back.
“Yeah.” His voice was meek and unconvincing.
“Can I come in?” You asked.
“Fine.”
You pushed the door open and slid inside the room. You’d visited the Holden house plenty of time.
> But this was the first time you’d been in his room.
> And you’d been in his room dozens of times.
He was sitting on his bed and his eyes were wet. His bed depressed as you sat next to him, sinking slightly into the mattress.
“Are you okay?” You asked.
He sniffled. It wasn’t much of an answer but it told you enough. You didn’t think his classmate’s ribbing had ever escalated to bullying but you knew Cove was sensitive.
> You tried to bring him back to the party.
> You stayed here with him.
You knew Mr. Holden would be disappointed if Cove missed his whole party. And you wanted to believe those kids could be nice if they tried.
“Come on Cove, it won’t be so bad talking to them. Maybe you can make some new friends.” You grabbed his hand.
“Yes it will.” He pulled his knees up to his chest. He didn’t pull his hand away from yours, in fact you thought you could feel him squeeze it gently.
“Can you tell me why they’re so bad? Do they bully you?” You hoped Cove would say no.
He shook his head, and a weight lifted knowing this could be worse. Still seeing Cove hurt like this tore you up inside.
“They always tease me because I like the ocean and fish and stuff. They don’t care about it and if we talk about it in class everyone looks at me. They say its weird to care so much about a bunch of water and they make fun of my scar too because it looks ugly.” Cove was well past the verge of tears, his breaths were heavy and he dabbed repeatedly at his wet cheeks with his sweater. You got up to grab a box of tissues and gave him a handful.
> “I think its neat.”
> “You are kind of weird.”
> “stop whining already.”
“I don’t think you’re weird for caring about the ocean, I think its cool how much you like it and I’ve learned a lot from talking to you about it. Plus I think your scar is kind of cool too, it just means you survived something scary and have something to show for it. I know those guys haven’t been through anything like that.” Your attempt to comfort him did soften him up a little. You extended a hand outward to pull him up.
“Let’s go back out there, you can open your gifts and eat your cake. I’ll be with you the whole time okay? I won’t let them be mean to you.” You tried to alleviate the tension he was feeling.
He pushed his glasses up to his forehead while he wiped his still misty eyes, releasing a shaky breath he looked up at you. “…Okay”
He grabbed your hand and you pulled him up, you led him out of his room back to the main area of the party. Cove wasn’t wearing a smile but bringing him back out here was a big improvement. Mr. Holden walked up to him and knelt down, taking hold of his little wrists. It looked just like when you told him about the $20 deal.
“I’m sorry bud I should have known better, I should have asked who you wanted over today. How about you let me make it up to you with a big dinner tonight, we can go out to that tropical place, how does that sound?” Mr. Holden was now trying his hand at consoling his son.
Cove only looked over at you.
“Atticus can come too, as long as his parents don’t mind.” Mr. Holden offered with a nervous chuckle.
> “Yeah I’d love to go!”
> “No thanks I’d rather stay home.”
That had mostly mollified Cove. The promise of good food and your company were always something he looked forward to. He wasn’t crying anymore at least.
“Okay. That sounds good.”
“Alright then, in the meantime how about we get you some cake.” Mr. Holden stood up and led his son toward the table which had been laid out with a deep blue cloth and sea themed paper plates. You thought they looked like SpongeBob plates.
You suddenly remembered all the other kids who had caused this whole mess. They were all standing around awkwardly, they didn’t really want to be there and knew they weren’t wanted. They had seen this whole display and likely wouldn’t forget it. Mr. Holden tried to lighten the mood as Cove returned to your side.
“Alright everybody how about we sing Happy Birthday now.”
The parents all got into the mood and encouraged their kids, but you could hear Cove let out an audible moan full of worry. Mr. Holden got it rolling as others joined in, mostly the parents. Once again Cove was made the center of attention for a bunch of people he didn’t like or didn’t know.
> You joined in.
> You stayed silent.
> You encouraged him.
> You teased him.
You squeezed his hand tighter and told him to think of the beach, his favorite fish, or just think about you. You may have had the opposite of the intended effect because his face flushed red as he looked up at you, but couldn’t bring himself to say anything. The song was over after a few more moments and could see Cove start to settle down again.
“Anybody else want some cake? I’m handing out slices now.” Mr. Holden asked the room
Only a few of the other kids went up for a slice.
> You went to grab one too.
> You didn’t want any.
“Don’t you want any Atticus?” Cove asked.
“Nope, whatever the rest of them don’t eat I’ll save for you to have.”
Your words affected Cove and he looked down in thought.
“But I want you to have some.” He took his fork and dug it into slice of cake, then held it out to you.
> You wanted to eat it.
> You ate it to make him feel better.
> You didn’t take it.
You hadn’t even asked him and Cove was asking for you to share his cake. The thought made your cheeks feel warm. You took a step closer and leaned forward, trusting him to hold the fork steady and took the bite. It was delicious, a blueberry lemon cake with deep sea blue frosting and green seaweed decorative piping.
“Do you like it?” Cove’s voice was hardly above a whisper.
“Yeah. Its really good.” You weren’t much for sweets or deserts but this time the cake was pretty tasty.
“You can have more if you want.” Cove gently extended his arms toward you, offering you the rest of the slice.
“Thanks.” You took the plate from him with a shy grin creeping up your face.
You were starting to forget there were other kids here again until one of them came up and spoke to Cove.
“Uh my Mom said I should wish you a happy birthday. So there.” You tensed up ready for him to say something wrong, but he turned on his heel and left quickly.
Seeing the example he set, several other kids followed his lead. They too were likely spurred by their parents. Each one formed a line to give their half hearted well wishes. Reading the discomfort on his reddening face, you grabbed Cove’s hand to reassure him of what you’d said earlier. He gave you a look of sad but appreciative look. The line of kids came and went as you kept Cove steady through it all.
After everyone had their fill of cake and the kids had said their piece to Cove, it was time for him to open his gifts. The table wasn’t piled high with them but there were a few from your family and his own. It looks like none of the other kids got him anything. That was okay, Cove had what he needed right here. He went to open his first gift, and he chose yours.
> You wrapped it beautifully.
> You wrapped it decently.
> You did a poor job wrapping it.
> Your moms helped you wrap it.
It was a small rectangular box that had been wrapped in blue, slightly ocean themed wrapping. He tore into the wrapping and opened the box underneath it. He laid his eyes on a tiny glass jar with a cork in the top, it was filled with sand and small sea shells and had the words “Beach front Property” written on the front. You told him that with this he could go around telling people he owned beach front property. That got a big laugh and put a familiar goofy grin on his face.
“Thanks Atticus! I’ll keep it forever!”
“Happy Birthday Cove! I’m glad you like it!” You answered back, wrapping a hand around his shoulder.
Cove rolled the small jar between his fingers for a moment as he inspected the grains of sand and tiny seashells trapped in the glass. Mr. Holden came over to him with another gift in his hand.
“This one is from Mom. I’m sorry she couldn’t be here, but you know she loves you very much and would have made it if she could have.” He held Cove’s gift out to him as he kneeled down in front of Cove
Cove put the jar of sand in his pocket and took hold of his next gift, letting out a small “Yeah.”
Unwrapping the gift and opening the box, he took out an adorable sea otter plushie. It had a handwritten note taped to the top of its head. Cove held the plushie close to his chest while he read the note. You hovered slightly over his shoulder to read it with him.
“Happy Birthday to my baby! I hope you’re having a wonderful day full of fun and excitement. Give me a call when you read this!
Love,
Mom”
You didn’t know Cove’s Mom but she seemed nice and you knew Cove missed her a lot. You figured she must be nice. Mr. Holden read over the note himself.
“Isn’t that nice bud? We’ll finish up your presents and give her a call, you’ve got a couple more here.”
Mr. Holden handed him another gift, this one was from your moms. He took hold of the thin square package and tore the wrapping off. It was a white t-shirt with a cute cartoon turtle with a smiley face on it. He held it out in front of him, it looked like a perfect fit.
“Hey that’s nice, real soft too.” Mr. Holden felt the fabric of the shirt.
“Happy Birthday Cove!” Both of your moms chimed in along with Elizabeth who had to be nudged to play along.
“Thank you Mrs. And Mrs. Bryson.” Cove very politely responded.
Mr. Holden patted Cove’s head. “That’s my boy. Alright I’m grab your last gift, its a big one!”
Mr. Holden disappeared around the corner and returned with a huge surf board, it was wrapped but it did have a little bow in the center. The board was yellow on one half of the board, blue on the other, with a small diagonal red stripe in the middle with smaller white borders on either side.
“I think its about time I start teaching you how to surf, you’re practically grown now after all.” Mr. Holden said with a chuckle.
Cove’s eyes lit up seeing his new hobby brought before him. “Wow! Its so cool!” Cove was more giggly and bubbly than you’d seen him all day. It felt good to see him so enthused with his father’s gift.
Mr. Holden started talking again. “We probably won’t have time to get started today since we’re going out to eat and all, but we’ll get up bright and early tomorrow and get started, how’s that sound?”
“Okay!” Cove didn’t mind starting a little later than right now which seemed mature for the boy who wanted to be on the water more than anywhere else most days.
“Alright bud, now how about we give your Mom a call and then we’ll head out to dinner.” Mr. Holden started dialing a number on the house phone.
He handed the phone to Cove who accepted it without hesitation. He walked off a ways toward another room, you didn’t want to intrude on his private conversation so you stayed in the living room with everyone else. Mr. Holden took the time he had to start talking to parents and thanking them for coming, basically telling them it was okay to leave now. He showed everyone out one by one until everyone was gone except your family. You could tell Elizabeth wanted to go too, but she wasn’t being kicked out or asked to leave with everyone else, since she was still a welcome guest she walked over to talk to you.
“Well this party has been a disaster, your baby boyfriend is such a weirdo.”
“Hey he isn’t weird, he just doesn’t like those kids!” You had been prepared to defend Cove from verbal attacks all afternoon, but you hadn’t expected the only one to come from your sister. Still you defended Cove’s honor, while passing right over the baby boyfriend remark.
“Yeah like that’s his only problem.” Elizabeth retorted.
“What do you mean?”
“You’re always hanging off him like a growth.”
“That’s not a problem. And…. So what? He’s my friend.” You were getting worked up and turning red in the face.
“What do you two even do when you’re apart?” She inquired.
“Normal stuff I guess.” Your vague answer left her smiling.
“Oh my god you don’t even really know do you? That’s adorable.” She was laughing through her words.
“I do too!”
“Whatever you say. Have all the fun you want with your special boy.” Elizabeth smiled big as she turned and walked away.
You knew she was only teasing but you were left thinking about your attachment to Cove. You didn’t think it was an issue to be so close with him. Before much longer Cove returned to the living room, his spirits seemingly lifted by the brief phone call with his Mom. He handed the phone to Mr. Holden who took his own turn at chatting with Cove’s mom for a while as he filled her on the day’s events. Cove took his place next you once again. You reflected on Elizabeth’s words.
> Maybe she was right.
> She was wrong.
> You didn’t care what she thought.
> She was right and you didn’t care.
You grabbed Cove’s hand and looked straight at Elizabeth from across the room and stuck your tongue out at her. Having caught her attention she looked back at you and rolled her eyes. Cove seemed confused by your actions but was glad for your company anyways.
When Mr. Holden was done talking with Cove’s Mom, he put the phone back on the receiver and turned to your family.
“Everyone ready to out to eat, dinner’s on me tonight!”
Your moms looked at each other and communicated silently like they always did.
“We’d love to, thank you Cliff.” Your Ma said.
“Great! We may have to take two separate cars though.”
Before you speak your mind on the matter, Cove spoke.
“Can Atticus ride with us.” .
“Shocker.” Elizabeth said under her breath.
“Well I don’t mind as long as Atticus’ moms don’t.
“Not at all Cliff, thank you for offering.”
> You were glad Cove asked for you.
> You wanted to ride with your own family.
Riding with the Holdens was always fun for you. The three of you hopped into Mr. Holden’s car and he started the engine as you got your seatbelts on. Cove opted to take the backseat with you instead of sitting up front, just like you had done earlier.
“Everyone comfortable back there?” Mr. Holden asked as he double checked his mirrors
“Yep.”
“Yeah.”
You and Cove gave simple answers and Mr. Holden put the car in drive and headed out to the restaurant, your moms following close behind.
You’d only been to this restaurant a few times, your moms cooked at home most of the time.
> You liked it though.
> It never impressed you.
> You preferred your Ma’s cooking
It was okay, but it could never beat your own Ma’s home cooked meals. Pulling up to the restaurant, your moms parked next to Mr. Holden and everyone hopped out together. Walking into the restaurant looking like one big family, you were quickly seated fairly quick for a Friday evening.
> “Can I sit next to you Cove?”
> “Come sit over here Cove.”
> You preferred to sit with your moms.
> You wanted to sit next to Liz.
“Sure.” He smiled at you as he shuffled down the booth next to his dad
You got settled in next to Cove as he sat in the middle, there was an even split between the two families sitting this way. There wasn’t much time for idle chit chat before your waitress came up with menus and asked the table what they’d like to drink. It was mostly water for your moms and Liz, but Cove wanted an orange soda and Cliff ordered a glass of milk. Looking at the waiter you gave your order.
> “Apple Juice.”
> “Orange Juice.”
> “Iced Tea.”
> “Milk.”
> “Soda.”
> “Water.”
The waitress wrote down your choices and left. In the meantime you picked up the menu to start browsing the options along with everyone else. Cove settled on his choice pretty quickly.
“I’m gonna get the pineapple chicken.” He’d become a fan of it since that sleepover last year, and your Ma had made it for him a few more times since then. “Do you know what you’re getting Atticus?”
> “The kalua pork.”
> “The chicken long rice.”
> “The Caribbean shrimp bowl.”
> “The halibut tacos.”
“That pork dish looks really good.” You told him.
He smiled at you softly and turned back to his own menu. When the waitress came around again with your drinks, the table announced everyone was ready to order and the waitress took her notepad out again. She got everything written down, but just as she was about to turn away Mr. Holden started to say something.
“Oh by the way today is…” He trailed off looking down at Cove who knew where this was going. “Actually nevermind, we’re okay, thank you.”
Cove breathed out a sigh of relief that he wasn’t going to be sung Happy Birthday again today. Idle chit chat filled out the space around the table until the waitress delivered your food at last. Hot plates of pork and chicken were passed out until everyone had their meal in front of them. You dug into your food with fervor, as did everyone else. No words were spoken for until your Mom posed a question.
“So Cove, how does it compare to ‘Lani’s cooking?” She said with a teasing grin.
“…S’not bad.” He replied with a smile.
Your Mom laughed and even Liz cracked a small smile too. Once everyone had just about finished their meal, the waitress came around again.
“How are we all doing over here, would anybody like some dessert?” She said glancing around the table.
> You wanted dessert.
> You were too full for dessert.
The mention of dessert never failed to pique Cove’s interest.
“I’d like some.” He said.
“Sure thing.” She pulled out a small stack of dessert menus from her apron pocket and handed it out to the table. She started picking up dishes while Cove looked over his menu.
“I’ll be right back to take down your dessert orders.” She whisked herself away skillfully balancing everyone’s dishes in her hands.
In the waitress’ absence it didn’t take long for Cove to settle on the item he wanted. She returned just in time.
“So what are we having?” She asked.
“The mango malasadas please.” It seems Cove saw the cinnamon dusted dough ball and couldn’t resist.
“Sounds good, and are we having that to go?”
“Yes please.” Mr. Holden said.
“Alright I’ll get that put in and they can ring you up at the front.”
Mr. Holden had you and Cove shuffle out of the booth so he could go pay. The sugary treat arrived in no time and once Mr. Holden was back, everyone was ready to leave. Getting back into the car, Cove was already enjoying his dessert. Mr. Holden started the engine and you were heading off back home. It was dark out now and the ride home was soft and quiet. Mr. Holden pulled back into his parking spot and the soft rumble of the engine came to a stop. When you got out of the car, you heard a noise.
“Atticus.” Cove was looking at you.
“Yeah?” You responded.
“Thanks for today. For helping me deal with everything.” He averted his gaze and his cheeks went slightly red.
“Always Cove. You know I’m always here.” You said.
“Yeah.” He said bashfully.
> “Good night Cove.”
> You stepped in for a hug.
> You patted his shoulder.
You wrapped your arms around him and he reciprocated. You both held on tight for a few moments until Mr. Holden reminded you of his and your mom’s presence.
“Come on Cove I think it’s time to say good night.”
Your Ma interjected.
“Yes I think its just about time to call it a night as well. Thank you for dinner tonight Cliff.”
“My pleasure.”
You and Cove had untangled yourselves from each other.
“See you tomorrow Atticus.” Cove said.
“See you tomorrow Cove.” You said your goodbyes and headed inside for the evening.
What a wonderful day.