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Story moved to Blackraptor in October 2009
JD gripped the
handle of the lawnmower, pushing with all his might to get it rolling toward
the back wall. Then, spotting a folded up tarp, he decided to use that to cover
the unsightly mower. He didn't really like having the mower in there, and
he briefly wondered if Chris would mind if he just pushed it right on out of
the shed. Course, if anyone found it set outside, they might get suspicious
about who was inside the shed. Oh well, he'd just have to learn to live with
it.
Looking around, he grimaced at the amount of clutter scattered on the floor:
old paintbrushes, tools, newspapers and rags, among other things. If he could
just get rid of some of the junk, this would be the perfect place for him, but
then again . . . maybe the clutter wasn't so bad after all. He kinda liked it,
in a way. For some reason, it made him feel more protected.
Still, if he was gonna live there forever, he'd need a little more room. Eyeing
the two shovels that were leaning against the wall, he decided to move them to
a back corner, close to the lawnmower. He placed some of the paintbrushes
and other odds and ends into a large bucket and hung the bucket on a big nail
sticking out of the wall. A minute or so later, the nail, the bucket and its
contents all fell to the ground with a loud clatter. Sighing, he tossed the
items back into the bucket and shoved it into the corner opposite of the
shovels and decided that was good enough.
He unrolled his sleeping bag, and with great effort managed to spread it out
flat on the dirt floor; then he grabbed his backpack, set it in the middle of
his new bed and plopped tiredly down beside it. Boy, runnin' away from
home sure was hard work. He wondered if he should eat one of his peanut butter
sandwiches now, or save it for later. He unzipped the backpack and looked
inside. Two peanut butter sandwiches, a Twinkie, three packages of Ninja Turtle
fruit snacks and two juice boxes. Maybe he shoulda waited 'til after they went
to the grocery store to run away?
His tummy rumbled and he licked his lips as the heavenly smell of peanut butter
sandwich tempted him. The sound of car doors out in the driveway distracted him
for a moment. Closing the bag, he jumped up to peek out the dusty window.
Unca 'Siah and Unca Ezra were just arriving. Soon, Unca Nathan would be there
too. He watched Vin run out of the house in his stocking feet and launch
himself from the porch right into Unca Ezra's arms. With a sniffle, he turned
away from the window, dejected. They were gonna have lotsa fun this afternoon,
grilling out and watching basketball games. Nobody would probably even miss
him. They were probably all glad he was gone.
He hadn't meant to do it and he'd tried to give Vin all his money so he could
buy a new one; but Vin had said no, and even yelled at him! Vin had said he was
a killer and then he'd drawn pictures of JD that said "Wanteb" on
them. JD didn't think the pictures looked much like him and he thought it was
kinda funny that Vin made his d backwards, but he didn't say anything
'cause he didn't want to hurt Vin's feelings. And then Chris made Vin take down
all the Wanted Posters and 'pologize to JD, which had made Vin even madder.
The truth was, though, he was a killer. The awful images -- the results of his
misdeed, as Unca Ezra might say -- began to swirl around in his mind, just like
the beloved, tiny orange creature had swirled round and round before
disappearing down the toilet. "It was an accident," he whispered pleadingly,
but nobody was there to hear him.
He hadn't meant to kill it! He'd only meant to feed it! Even though Vin, Chris
and Buck had all instructed him not to feed it -- ever, without permission.
He'd kinda forgot that rule in the excitement of the moment.
And when the lid had fallen off of the container and all the food had spilled
into the fishbowl he'd sorta panicked. Instead of telling anyone like he
probably should have, he'd closed the bedroom door and prayed that nobody would
notice until Nemo had eaten all the food. How was he supposed to know that you
could die from eating too much food?
Now Vin hated him and Buck and Chris were 'very dis'pointed' in him. So here he
was, on his own -- running away forever. He tried to swallow the sob forming in
his throat then took a deep breath and reminded himself that this was for the
best.
He sat down on his sleeping bag and opened his backpack again. His tummy was
growling and he was ready to eat lunch, although he had no idea if it was
lunchtime. He wasn't sure what he'd do when his two sandwiches, Twinkie, and
fruit snacks were gone, but he'd figure out something. Vin had always made sure
they had enough food when they were living on the streets. So, if Vin could do
it, JD could too. At least he hoped so.
As he was reaching for one of the sandwiches there was a knock on the door. He
wasn't sure who would be visiting him, or even if people were supposed to visit
people who were runned away. He set down the sandwich and went to the door,
opening it hesitantly. When he realized it was Buck standing before him, he was
unable to contain his pleasure. "Buck!" he shouted, joyously.
"Hey there, li'l bit," Buck greeted with a warm smile.
"I missed you!" JD blurted. Then he remembered that he was runned
away and his enthusiasm faded. "What are you doing here, Buck?"
Buck stepped into JD's new home and looked around. "Well now, I was just
about to ask you the same thing."
"I runned away," he said matter-of-factly.
"You're kidding me," the big man replied, looking surprised. "You
ran away?"
JD shook his head sadly. "No . . . I mean, yes, I runned away."
"Now that's a coincidence, because you know what?" Buck poked him in
the belly.
"What?" JD smiled in spite of himself. He couldn't help it, Buck
always made him smile.
"It just so happens that I'm running away, too."
JD puzzled over that. He didn't think grown ups could run away. "You
runned away, too?" he asked skeptically.
"I sure did. I was plannin' on staying in here," he looked around the
shed speculatively, "but since you're already here, well . . . I guess
that means you've got squatter's rights."
"Huh?"
"That means the place is yours, since you were here first."
JD nodded. "Oh."
"Well then, I guess I'll be goin'."
"Where ya gonna go?"
"Oh, I don't know," Buck answered, sounding wistful. "Reckon
I'll find someplace."
"Okay."
"Well then . . .." He started out the door, then turned back to JD.
"You got enough to eat?"
JD nodded, making his too-long bangs flop into his eyes. "I got two peanut
butter samwiches, a Twinkie, some Ninja snacks and juice."
"Well, all right. That's good thinkin', son."
"D'you got 'nuff food too, Buck?" he asked, looking at the blue
Wal-Mart bag his foster dad was carrying.
"Well, I got me some chips, and a couple of apples, but I didn't think to
get any sandwiches. Darn."
JD chewed on his lip, scuffed his shoe into the dirt then said, very quietly,
"I guess . . . we could share? If ya want to." He did have two
sandwiches, and he didn't want Buck to be hungry.
"Really? You wouldn't mind sharing with ole Buck?"
"I wouldn't mind." He wouldn't 'cause he loved Buck.
"Well then, I'm much obliged to ya." Buck smiled and set his sack on
the sleeping bag then folded his lanky body down beside JD. "Help yourself
to the chips." He opened the bag of potato chips and placed it between the
two of them then winked. "Always hated eating alone anyway."
JD hated eating alone too, but he was pretty sure runned away people always ate
alone. He supposed it would be okay to eat this last meal with Buck,
though.
"So, why you runnin' away Buck?" he asked, handing over a peanut
butter sandwich. He couldn't understand why Buck would want to run away. Buck
hadn't killed anyone's fish. Vin didn't hate Buck. And Chris wasn't dis'pointed
in Buck.
"Well, when I woke up this morning and I couldn't find you, Vin told me
you'd run away from home. So, I got to thinkin' -- 'cause it was so quiet and
lonesome inside that house, there wasn't much else to do but think -- so, I got
to thinkin' well, if JD's gonna run away, maybe I ought to run away too. Guess
I didn't want to stay in that big ol' house with no JD."
"But, what about Chris and Vin?"
"Well, I reckon they won't even notice I'm gone. Hell--" a brief look
of guilt flashed across his face -- "I mean, heck, you know how Chris is
always getting mad at me about something or another. The way I figure it,
he'll probably be glad I'm gone."
JD took a bite of his sandwich as he thought that over. He didn't think Chris
would be glad Buck was gone, and he knew Vin wouldn't be glad at all. "Vin
needs you."
Buck laughed. "Vin's none too happy with me, pard. Remember who it was
that flushed Nemo down the toilet."
Oh, yeah. JD wrinkled his nose. He'd almost forgot that it was Buck who'd done
that deed. That's why Buck had been holding Vin and telling him he was sorry
and being so nice to him.
JD squinted up at the big man. "Ya shoulda buried him in the garden,"
he admonished gently.
Buck shook his head with dramatic regret. "Don't I know it!"
"Um . . . Buck?"
"Yeah, li'l bit?"
"If ya want, you can live here with me."
Buck looked at him seriously for a long moment, and then a big smile blossomed
across his face. "Really?"
JD nodded solemnly. "Really."
"Well, thank you, JD. That means a lot to me." For a minute JD thought
Buck looked like he might cry, but instead, he winked. "It's much better
runnin' away together, ain't it?"
JD didn't know how they would both fit in the tiny shed, but he 'spected they'd
manage somehow. And it was much better being with Buck. He looked up, noticing
that the door was opening slowly, and then, he could hardly believe his eyes.
"Anyone in here?" There in the doorway were Chris and Vin, with
sleeping bags tucked under their arms.
"Hey, JD," Vin said, looking a little sheepish.
"Hi Vin!" JD smiled happily, almost forgetting about the fish
incident. When he remembered, he looked down at his lap, the guilt welling up
inside him again.
"Well, what are you two doin' out here?" Buck asked, jovially.
Chris grinned at Buck, then raised his eyebrows at Vin.
Vin cleared his throat, shrugging a shoulder. "We's fixin' to run away,
like y'all are."
JD's head shot up. Chris and Vin were running away too?
"I'm sorry I yelled at ya, JD," Vin continued. "I didn't mean
them things I said. I know you was just trying to help me take care of
Nemo."
JD's lower lip trembled. "I'm sorry too, Vin!"
Chris gently nudged Vin with an elbow, and Vin shifted from foot to foot,
seeming nervous and uncomfortable. He cleared his throat again then looked
sorrowfully at Buck. "I'm sorry I called you a liar, Buck."
Buck smiled sadly. "No, Junior, you were right. Nemo ain't down there
livin' with the Tidy Bowl Man. I just made that up."
"I know."
"Ya do?"
"Course I do! I ain't a baby like JD."
"Hey! I ain't-"
JD's indignant reply was cut off by another knock on the already open door.
"Unca 'Siah? Unca Ezra?"
"Master Dunne," Ezra flashed him a gold-toothed smile. "Fancy
meeting you
here."
"What are you doing here?" JD couldn't believe it. Almost everyone
was here.
"Why, we're running away, son," Josiah explained. "Just like the
rest of
you."
Now, this was getting downright ridiculous, JD thought. There weren't no way
they could all fit in the little shed.
"How come you're runnin' away?"
"Everyone else was." Josiah shrugged. "It seemed like the thing
to do."
Ezra rolled his eyes at the lame explanation. "We decided that if the four
of you were going to relocate then it would be much too painful for the rest of
us to remain here . . . alone, without you. Especially you, Masters Dunne and
Tanner. We couldn't bear the thought of you leaving us."
"Ya mean you was gonna miss us too much?"
"Ya wanna run away with us?" Vin offered, even though JD felt Vin
shouldn't be the one making the offer. It had been his idea to run away in the
first place.
"Would you mind?" Ezra asked, looking at JD.
JD shook his head. What could he do? He didn't want to hurt his uncles'
feelings, and he didn't want them to be sad and miss them, but he thought it
was kind of silly for all of them to run away to this little bitty shed.
"I don't mind, but maybe . . .."
"Maybe?" Ezra prompted.
"Well, maybe we should find a bigger place to run away to?"
"You know, that might be a good idea," Buck said, rubbing his chin
thoughtfully. "Ya got a place in mind?"
JD looked at each of the men, suddenly realizing what they were all up to. The
grin on Vin's face confirmed his suspicion. He couldn't help but grin back,
feeling happier than he could ever remember feeling before. "Uh-huh,"
he answered, nodding with enthusiasm. "I think I know a perfect
place."
Buck gave him a big knowing grin and poked him in the ribs. "Well, all
right then."