Zach wakes only when he hears Maddie humming beside him. She seems fully rested and is already beginning to stand when she sees him looking her way.
Squeals of elation escape her lips as he smiles up at her, and her hands begin dancing in the air to show her excitement. Zach brings a finger to his lips as he points at the sleeping Shane; then he stands with a sympathetic face and points silently to the door.
The girl puts her hands to her mouth and hums a little quieter now, all smiles as she leads the way out into the brightened hall. Together they descend the stairs, and the wonderful smell of homemade bread hits the air.
"Looks like your granny is already making breakfast," he says to her. She brings her hand to her mouth and speaks her words in a way that can only be understood through trained and attentive interpretation, jumping down the last step to hug her granny.
The old woman kisses the girl's cheek and says, "You slept in this morning, love. Usually, you help me with the biscuits."
The girl balls her hands into jumping fists and begins her usual excited "Nin nin nin, nin-nin!"
"Oh, I see," the old woman smiles, wiping her palms on her apron, then placing her hands on her hips. "You must have slept in Shane's room last night and his laziness has rubbed off on you, is that it?" She taps the girl's nose playfully.
Maddie jumps up and down, shaking her head in one direction, then the other, alternating between pleased high pitched noises and moans.
Zach can't help but smile at her innocent honesty, her own joy of knowing the conversation is focused around her, that she had gotten away with doing something naughty in the eyes of her granny.
Maybe Shane's habits had already rubbed off on him, too because he puts his arm around the girl and admits, "We all had a sleepover in Shane's room last night. He must have put a spell on both of us, huh?" The girl, barely coming to the height of his shoulder, hugs back, squeezing him tightly with a worried but determined look on her face. The old woman rolls her eyes, turning back to her duties.
Zach can't help but feel amazed at Maddie's involvement in the conversation, let alone how fast she has warmed up to him despite the things holding her back. He wonders what he was so worried about before, as things have already settled into a peaceful, sunlit morning.
"Well sit down, both of you. Shane will be down any minute, I'm sure. He'll just have to eat what's left."
Zach does as he is told and takes time to think of his own family, their mornings at home, and how different they are compared to this morning and this family to whom Zach owes so much already. He has so happily allowed them to accommodate him, just as he would if he had gone on to see his untie and uncle in the big city.
Has he ever been as delighted to see his little brothers as Maddie is to see her granny? Has he ever felt the immediate gratitude his mother deserves, seeing her prepare their meager meals in the kitchen while they spend their days playing and goofing off? Probably not.
He feels ashamed for not hugging his mother and thanking her for cooking. For not waking with a smile as his brothers come dashing into his room, jumping up and down on his mattress to wake him. Maybe he can change that when he goes back home. But then, that will be so long from now. He doesn't want to think about leaving yet, not when he's only just arrived.
Only a bit later than his cue, Shane comes dancing down the stairs with a yawn. Zach laughs at the combination of the two actions. Full of energy, even when he's basically asleep.
"I woke up and was all alone on the hard floor. I actually plotted to get in my own bed after you both fell asleep," he admits, scratching his head.
Maddie is completely engrossed with the eggs which have been placed in front of her, holding her spoon in one fist while picking up portions of yellow clumps with her other hand. So Zach smiles at Shane on her behalf.
"I've washed the spare sheets," informs Granny. "Tonight our guest can sleep in his own room and in a bed," she says sternly, scooping more food onto Maddie's plate, then plopping down to fill her own.
"Thank you again, ma'am," Zach says politely. She gives him a wink.
Shane hugs her from behind and pushes his head against hers, forcing her neck to bend at an angle as she stares with dead eyes, straight ahead. "Yes, thank you. Thank you very much; I can't tell you how happy I am about this. Thank you, thank you, shall I sing a song in gratitude..."
He then takes a deep breath, readying himself for the imminent performance, but she pushes him away with a sarcastic smirk to match his tone, obviously familiar to such theatrics.
"No, you shall not. You shall eat your food and get started on those chores before I send our guest to do them for you! Sit." And he does.
They eat, mostly in silence. Granny helps Maddie with the bites she can't seem to pick up and eat herself. After breakfast, Shane rushes through his duties and Zach unpacks his suitcase into the spare room downstairs, wondering how he could be so lucky to have found this place that someone else calls home.
He falls quickly into the pattern of waking up, eating breakfast with Shane, Maddie, and Granny, then heading into town to be picked up by the old man, spending his days in the tobacco fields, then returning home to relax and fall quickly into a deep, healing sleep.
He gets to know Shane and the other workers better with each day. And despite it being a temporary one not entirely his own, life just seems worthwhile.
Even now, as he continues his work under the partially clouded sky, he can't think of one reason to complain. Though, that doesn't mean there isn't something gnawing with aggravating persistence at his brain, clawing his concentration from his busy working hands.
Despite trying to tell himself it was probably nothing, Zach can't help but think back on his first day in town, when he had been standing with Shane outside the front of his house for the first time, admiring the view. The moment feels unclear, like a pin had been placed in a note he can't seem to make out clearly no matter how much he squints.
Something about that moment feels unfinished, but what would have come next, or what he thinks might have come next, makes Zach feel as though he needs to sit down in the dirt to rest.
He finally works up the courage to ask himself, Was I really expecting Shane to kiss me in that moment? And why would he do such a thing? What does it mean? Strangers, even fresh acquaintances, don't normally go around kissing one another just for fun, do they?
Without meaning to, he finds his mind poking around the idea of being kissed by Shane. Or being kissed by anyone. He's never been kissed before and has certainly never gone around kissing people at will.
Hold on though, he does have a memory of being kissed once, in first grade, by Adeline Phisher on the playground. The whole experience had caused him to break miserably into tears, and he eventually had to be taken to the infirmary because nobody could figure out what was wrong. How embarrassing.
Had that really been his only experience with a kiss? He'd simply never wanted to before. So...why now? Why is it all he can think about, all that he wants?
Shocked by his own honesty, he hunches lower to the ground, trying his best to clear his mind more completely with each leaf he harvests. He decides that tonight he'll think about nothing but sleep and the coming days ahead.
________________
"Good morning, good morning," Zach sings as he joins Maddie at the breakfast table. Shane has yet to show his face, and Granny is humming at the sink, washing dishes. She wiggles her fingers at him in greeting as she stays focused on her work.
Maddie continues sucking on her biscuit, drawing designs on the table with her free buttery hand. He can't tell if she's listening, so he decides to grab a biscuit of his own, along with a few greasy pieces of sausage and a juicy looking orange.
Birds are singing outside, and he closes his eyes to the warm rays of sun shining in through the farmhouse windows.
After a few minutes, Zach glances at the clock. Shane better hurry if he wants to eat breakfast before heading out to work. As though summoned, the yawning boy drifts down the stairs and pulls out his chair, plopping down lightly on its cushioned seat.
After watching the boy eat one biscuit, then two, Zach asks, "Can I help you with your chores after breakfast?" Shane sniffs, then looks into his eyes.
"No chores today, we're going exploring, you and I."
"But won't we be late for work?" Zach asks through a mouthful of flaky biscuit.
"Zach," says Shane, putting his finger on Zach's forehead, "you seem to want to do nothing but work in the fields all day. It's Sunday; the old man doesn't take workers on Sundays."
Zach feels shock rising in his face. He arrived in Shanan just Monday. Will it already have been a week tomorrow? That's one less week of the summer to look forward to.
Shane is slathering his third biscuit with raspberry jam when he asks, "Wanna go to the bridge today?"
The bridge! Zach looks at Shane and asks earnestly through biscuit-filled cheeks, "Nyu know abow the bwidth?"
Shane laughs at him, "Of course. Everyone goes there. How do you know about it?"
Oh. Are we talking about the same bridge? He swallows, the biscuit turning to clay in his throat. "Every year my bus would pass a wisteria-covered stone bridge just off the road. I assumed it was abandoned; I've never seen anyone crossing it."
"Well, really the only point in crossing it is if you want to cross the river on that side of town and get to the main highway. But cars don't drive over it anymore, so I guess there's no point at all.
"You probably didn't even know there was a river there. The main road into town doesn't cross the water because the river goes kind of like this," he makes a whoosh sound, bending his hands in the air, "and curves around the old man's farm, then into town. " He thinks hard and says, "Come to think of it, maybe nobody does go there anymore. We all went as kids. I guess I'm the only one who still likes it." He shrugs.
"That bridge is one of my favorite sights to see in all the world," Zach admits with honest eyes. "It's actually the reason I left my family on that bus."
Though, he had forgotten all about it after his internal debate about fleeing the bus. It was the whole reason he was getting off in the first place. Just to catch a glimpse of it in person.
How quickly he had forgotten, but how grateful he is that the bridge is not all he saw of this wonderful town.
Zach breaks his train of thought after realizing Shane is staring at him, wordlessly. He must sound silly to admit such a thing about a landmark he has never seen up close in person.
But no, Shane isn't questioning him or even laughing. He has the same cat with prey expression that Zach has seen before...in a dream.