person.” In other words, a nice young kid.
Regardless of how I felt about this older man I barely knew, and how he didn’t feel about me, I wanted to be around him. I wanted to know him. It was unreal to meet someone like myself who I wasn’t related to. A person who had seen what I had seen through different eyes.
“No worries, Thomas.” I smiled again. “Friends.” I extended my hand out to shake his, not realizing how corny it was.
“Always.” He took my hand and maybe held on to it a little longer than necessary for an innocent handshake.
That was the first of many nights Thomas came into my dreams. I made a rule he had to be invited, or how else would I know if it was him or my subconscious creating him. He agreed. Let’s just say he was invited more often than not.
Over the following months, Thomas became my best friend. He started hanging out at our house and even skeptical Lucy grew to like him. I guess once she realized he wasn’t trying to get into my pants she lightened up. Of course, she still held him at arm’s length, but that was just her nature. Thomas never made a move on me, not once, much to my dismay, and I accepted we would only be friends. How tragic to love him so much but know it would never be. I cherished having him as my friend, even if I knew we could never be more.
Whit and Hudson also loved him. They hadn’t had much male interaction in their lives other than with each other. With Thomas around, Whit had someone to play basketball with, and Hudson had someone who would listen to him drone on about muscle cars. I had someone to occupy my brothers. Thomas broke up the monotony of our family and cast excitement into our lives. They were very happy days. He and Lucy even started to work together making money healing. He taught us how to fish, and for Christmas, he got us a puppy. We named him Fred. Lucy wasn’t at all thrilled about the new addition to our family, but the three of us were as excited as little kids. He was our perfect all American family dog. The simple things made so much happiness for us. Thomas made us happy. He was like our brother.
The school year seemed to fly by , and we all did well, a great deal of that thanks to Thomas. He always came over to help us study for tests and work on projects. My brothers and I made friends, something completely foreign to us. Lila Gonzalus, one of the most popular girls in school became my best friend—other than Thomas. She was an over-achiever through and through, involved in several sports and in the top five percent of our class. Her cousins, Wyatt and Robert, who lived with her, also became close friends of ours. We were always together.
I’m sure when Thomas took my family and me to a la ke in a park nearby and taught us the “skill” of fishing, as he called it, he had no idea how much I would love it. The times he had actually taken us, I never caught anything, but I liked going because it was fun to watch Thomas and my brothers brag about their catches. Thomas enjoyed teasing me about how putting a worm on a hook grossed me out, but he would always help me anyway.
I memorized everything about that lake. The tall oak tree that blanketed us in shade while we fished; the way the sun glistened on the water’s surface; the soft, green grass that carpeted the ground around it; and the sounds of crickets and frogs in the background. This was my new favorite scene in my dreams. This was where Thomas and I would always sit each time he visited me in my dreams.
One night, in my subconscious, we sat by that lake and fished.
Lila had been over for dinner and it was no less than torturous to watch Thomas drooling over her. My brothers were smitten with Lila. This didn’t bother me, but when Thomas also acted in awe, while in her presence, I became very jealous. Jealousy was an emotion I had never experienced.
I hated it.
“You okay?” Thomas asked, nudging me with his shoulder. “You were acting weird at
Regardless of how I felt about this older man I barely knew, and how he didn’t feel about me, I wanted to be around him. I wanted to know him. It was unreal to meet someone like myself who I wasn’t related to. A person who had seen what I had seen through different eyes.
“No worries, Thomas.” I smiled again. “Friends.” I extended my hand out to shake his, not realizing how corny it was.
“Always.” He took my hand and maybe held on to it a little longer than necessary for an innocent handshake.
That was the first of many nights Thomas came into my dreams. I made a rule he had to be invited, or how else would I know if it was him or my subconscious creating him. He agreed. Let’s just say he was invited more often than not.
Over the following months, Thomas became my best friend. He started hanging out at our house and even skeptical Lucy grew to like him. I guess once she realized he wasn’t trying to get into my pants she lightened up. Of course, she still held him at arm’s length, but that was just her nature. Thomas never made a move on me, not once, much to my dismay, and I accepted we would only be friends. How tragic to love him so much but know it would never be. I cherished having him as my friend, even if I knew we could never be more.
Whit and Hudson also loved him. They hadn’t had much male interaction in their lives other than with each other. With Thomas around, Whit had someone to play basketball with, and Hudson had someone who would listen to him drone on about muscle cars. I had someone to occupy my brothers. Thomas broke up the monotony of our family and cast excitement into our lives. They were very happy days. He and Lucy even started to work together making money healing. He taught us how to fish, and for Christmas, he got us a puppy. We named him Fred. Lucy wasn’t at all thrilled about the new addition to our family, but the three of us were as excited as little kids. He was our perfect all American family dog. The simple things made so much happiness for us. Thomas made us happy. He was like our brother.
The school year seemed to fly by , and we all did well, a great deal of that thanks to Thomas. He always came over to help us study for tests and work on projects. My brothers and I made friends, something completely foreign to us. Lila Gonzalus, one of the most popular girls in school became my best friend—other than Thomas. She was an over-achiever through and through, involved in several sports and in the top five percent of our class. Her cousins, Wyatt and Robert, who lived with her, also became close friends of ours. We were always together.
I’m sure when Thomas took my family and me to a la ke in a park nearby and taught us the “skill” of fishing, as he called it, he had no idea how much I would love it. The times he had actually taken us, I never caught anything, but I liked going because it was fun to watch Thomas and my brothers brag about their catches. Thomas enjoyed teasing me about how putting a worm on a hook grossed me out, but he would always help me anyway.
I memorized everything about that lake. The tall oak tree that blanketed us in shade while we fished; the way the sun glistened on the water’s surface; the soft, green grass that carpeted the ground around it; and the sounds of crickets and frogs in the background. This was my new favorite scene in my dreams. This was where Thomas and I would always sit each time he visited me in my dreams.
One night, in my subconscious, we sat by that lake and fished.
Lila had been over for dinner and it was no less than torturous to watch Thomas drooling over her. My brothers were smitten with Lila. This didn’t bother me, but when Thomas also acted in awe, while in her presence, I became very jealous. Jealousy was an emotion I had never experienced.
I hated it.
“You okay?” Thomas asked, nudging me with his shoulder. “You were acting weird at
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