The Between Years

figured he needed to take a stand, to be heard. While he knew he might not have appreciated Carol's position, he decided she hadn't fully appreciated his either. He assured her that he wasn't trying to replace Kenny, but he did want to offer his love to another child. He wanted that child to enjoy the same childhood he'd had, brimming with perfect little memories.

    Upstairs, he strolled down the hall to decide which room to claim. Nana's room, also known as the 'first room', was next to the bathroom and was crammed with furniture, unframed paintings and art supplies. Antique bookcases lined the walls, save for the side occupied by a bed. Randy sneezed multiple times into the crook of his arm before he switched the light on.

    Though the house was large by Randy's standards, the place only offered two more rooms worth occupying than his bungalow did. The middle bedroom-the one a family friend had sworn to have seen a ghost float through when he'd been young-had belonged to Bupa. He and Nana had kept separate bedrooms for as long as he could remember. He flipped the switch and found an antique double bed, made with white linens. Two tables-Randy couldn't begin to guess their age-guarded the bed. A stack of unframed paintings leaned against the wall, but at least the room wasn't crammed with junk like Nana's.

    He could have checked the front room, which once belonged to his uncle, and his father before him, but he didn't want to sleep there. He'd stayed in that room as a child and Randy wanted to create some separation between his childhood and his adulthood.

    The sun fell behind the trees and Randy stretched. He hadn't really finished being tired and he longed for a full night's sleep, and yet he wasn't ready to close his eyes yet. He was to be at work first thing in the morning and he no longer had an alarm clock. Doing without was something he would have to grow used to, he decided. So he stripped out of his clothes, slipped into his pajamas, crawled beneath the covers and opened a paperback to soothe him before sleep.

CHAPTER 9
    Randy's eyes popped open before he knew he'd fallen asleep. The book he'd been reading was still in his hand albeit closed. He coughed and knew he'd been drooling since a wad of saliva had slipped into his windpipe. He'd forgotten to switch the lamp off, but realized it hadn't been his forgetfulness. Sleep had enveloped him before he could turn anything off or even close his book.

    Music seeped into the room. At first, he thought the music was coming from the boarding house next door, but he knew the people who lived there wouldn't play anything so soothing, so sweet-sounding. Then he recognized the tune as the Sesame Street theme. He'd watched the show in the house with Nana whenever mom had dropped him off for the day. But he'd never watched it with Kenny since he was too young for it, so they watched Dora the Explorer instead. When he sat up, he was certain the music had traveled from down the hall.

    He rubbed his eyes, rolled out of bed, teetered back and forth, and grabbed the bedpost to balance himself. When he opened the door, the music grew louder, and he noticed the light on in Nana's room. Could've sworn I'd switched the light off and closed the door, he thought. He inched down the hall, wondering if doing so was even safe. Someone could've wandered into the house for all he knew.

    The door was open a crack and a wedge of light shined into the hall. He tapped on the door and heard no response, so he pressed it open. Clean air filled his nostrils and he saw that all of Nana's junk had been cleared out. He stood on what looked like a brand new carpet instead of the white shag carpeting that had covered the floor hours before. A bed with pencils and erasers on top for bedposts stood along one side of the room. The rocking chair from his bungalow stood in the corner. The walls were papered with a sky blue background with fluffy clouds. By the window, he noticed the CD player that was playing the Sesame Street theme.

    The back wall was dotted with stuffed toys. The Humpty Dumpty and Winnie the Pooh bear were his, but he also noticed a SpongeBob Squarepants and other stuffed toys he didn't recognize. A plastic desk and chair stood in the corner, cluttered with reams of paper that had been scribbled on in crayon. In the middle of the room sat a boy with shiny blonde hair that Randy judged to be four years old. He wore jean overalls and sat at a wooden table with a tea pot and two