The Good Son by Carolyn Huizinga Mills

Author:Carolyn Huizinga Mills [Mills, Carolyn Huizinga]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction: Crime, Family Life, siblings, Psychological
Publisher: Cormorant Books Inc.
Published: 2021-03-20T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIX

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I HATED MY NEW FURNITURE. The material scratched against my skin and the foam inside the cushions was so firm I may as well have been trying to plop onto a sheet of plywood every time I sat down. I covered the couch with an old throw my mom had given me, which helped with the scratchiness, but did nothing for the overall hardness. The only one who seemed to like the furniture was Champ. I often found him curled up on the chair or the couch with his chin propped on the armrest. He would fall asleep like that, with his little head tipped upward. I didn’t stop him from jumping onto the furniture; no one else was using it, so I didn’t see why he shouldn’t at least enjoy it.

I no longer barricaded him in the kitchen when I was at work since he was soon big enough to jump over the piece of wood I’d been using to block the entrance. He had full access to the house while I was gone and even though I put newspapers out for him in every room, he still peed wherever he felt like it. I got used to checking for puddles when I got home, but I still stepped in one every so often. Mostly he peed under the kitchen table, so that was considerate. My plan was to put in a doggy door, but if I didn’t install one soon, it would be too late to train Champ to use it so he could pee outside. His one saving grace in the toileting department was that he waited for me to take him outside before doing a number two. Although, if I’d been stepping in dog shit every day, I might have been a little quicker with the whole doggy door thing.

“Why don’t you put him in the spare bedroom while you’re at work?” Mom suggested. “You’re not using it for anything else. Then at least he won’t be making messes all over the house.”

“I don’t want to lock him in a little room. Besides, he likes sleeping on the couch. And maybe looking out the window.”

My spare bedroom was completely empty. I didn’t have any furniture for it, and I didn’t really see the need. If I’d had extra stuff lying around, or junk I didn’t know what to do with, I guess I would have put it in there, but I didn’t hang on to things for no reason. My whole house was a bit spartan that way.

Did I ever imagine the rooms in my house filling up with stuff? With other people’s things? Not then. Even when things got serious with Amir, and we were planning a future together, I had no plans for that spare bedroom. Although it became clear soon enough that he did.

It’s only been over the last few months that I’ve imagined anyone in that room, when Jason and I first started talking about moving in together. I have, a

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