Rebound by Chris Scully

Author:Chris Scully [Scully, Chris]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2013-12-05T16:00:00+00:00

A SHORT time later, when Emmett returned, showered, shaved, and generally feeling better than he had in days, Sky had the turkey in the oven and Christmas music playing on the stereo. Emmett took a deep breath to still the butterflies that had unexpectedly sprung up in his stomach. There was no reason to be nervous, he told himself.

Frank Sinatra’s warm, rich voice seeped through the speakers, urging them to have “a merry little Christmas,” and for a second Emmett almost believed it was possible. The tree had filled the condo with a fresh, outdoorsy scent, and it smelled like Christmas. Real Christmas. Not the scented candles Emmett used because Andy was allergic. “Andy and I always had an artificial tree,” he said suddenly, without thinking. Of course it had been a seven-foot-tall, thousand-dollar blue spruce that looked just as good as the real thing, but still, it wasn’t the same. “He thought they made too much of a mess. Each year I’d add a new ornament to the tree—to commemorate another year together.” His stomach twisted at the thought of all those carefully selected ornaments now packed away in storage. His good mood plummeted. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Sky said. “I told you, I’m a good listener. There are some ornaments and lights in those bags. Nothing fancy. Not much of a selection at Walmart on the day before Christmas.”

Emmett unpacked the bags and spread each item out on the floor: there were a couple of cheap Christmas CDs—mostly oldies—three bundles of LED lights, some multicolored beaded garlands, and four packs of made-in-China plastic Christmas balls. Emmett fought back a wave of nostalgia for the hand-blown glass snowflakes he had spent months searching for to adorn this year’s tree. They were in his storage locker, along with the rest of the things he no longer needed or would ever use again in his small rental.

Emmett felt petty for scorning Sky’s efforts to make things more festive. The guy had to have spent a few hundred dollars. “I just don’t get why you’re doing this. I haven’t been very nice to you.”

Sky shrugged, hunkering down beside him and sorting aimlessly through the junk. “Maybe I don’t want to be on my own either. This is my first Christmas alone too.”

“Oh. You lost someone?”

“My ma. She passed last summer.” Sky’s eyes glistened with a faint sheen of tears. He looked lost for a moment, and even younger than his twenty-eight years. Just a boy without his mother.

“Oh,” Emmett said again. “You were close?”

“She was my best friend. That probably sounds lame.”

“No, it’s nice. I’m not that close with my mom. She wasn’t too thrilled with my ‘lifestyle choice.’ She lives in Miami with my stepdad and her straight stepkids.”

“The house seems so empty without her, you know. I was homeschooled until I turned sixteen, so we spent a lot of time together. After Pa died, she never really recovered. They were like soul mates. I like to think she was happy at the end, to be with him again.

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