The Between Years

eyes. Maybe he could take a little nap and gain his second wind before tonight.

CHAPTER 16
    Randy's eyes snapped open. The lamp on the nightstand had been left on and the covers were pulled up to his chest, but he had no idea how he'd wound up there. Last he knew he'd been downstairs leaning against the kitchen wall. He'd ripped the phone cord from the jack to stop the incessant ringing. Carol (that bitch Carol, if you please) had phoned, jumped on his back, wouldn't leave him alone and he had taken care of the problem. That he remembered perfectly. But what the hell had happened between then and now?

    He remembered how tired he'd felt, and that he'd closed his eyes for a quick reprieve, but he couldn't explain how he'd traveled upstairs and climbed into his own bed. His sleep had been dreamless, unless the conversation with Carol in itself had been a dream. But that couldn't be. He remembered having gone to work, having eaten a late supper, fetching Kenny's gifts from the car, and then having the mother of all arguments with Carol.

    After the argument (or the thoughtful discussion as they used to call them), he'd become excessively sleepy. He never remembered having been a sleepwalker, but he wondered if he could have drifted off, climbed the stairs and crawled into bed but had simply forgotten the steps.

    More than anything, he craved something to drink. Sometimes late at night, he liked to sneak into the kitchen, pour himself a glass of ice-cold milk and chug it right down. Every night he enjoyed a tall glass of water after he'd brushed his teeth, a tradition he'd missed out on tonight, and his mouth tasted tangy as a result. When he regained his bearings, he remembered to check Kenny's room. How could he have forgotten?

    He thought he heard noises coming from down the hall. They were very light, subtle, but he was certain he'd heard something. He rolled over in bed and leaned so far towards the bedroom door that he nearly fell out and tumbled onto the floor, and even that didn't help him hear it any better.

    He thought he heard noises coming from down the hall. They were very light, subtle, but he was certain he'd heard something. He rolled over in bed and leaned so far towards the bedroom door that he nearly fell out and tumbled onto the floor, and even that didn't help him hear it any better.

    “ Rrrr pow! Rrrr . . . pow! Pow!! Pow!!”

    Randy inched down the hall, still feeling dizzy from his deep sleep and he wanted to make sure his head was clear first. Should he knock? No, he decided he would invite himself in and approach Kenny very gently. So he touched his fingers to the door and pushed it open.

    Inside, he noticed that the wallpaper, the bed and the carpet had changed and most of the stuffed animals were missing. They were replaced by a green carpet, wallpaper with cars and trucks on them, a wooden school desk in the corner, and a bed with understated posts. The covers boasted the logos of all 32 NFL teams. Where the stuffed animals once lined up he found a plastic wrestling ring with action figures in the likeness of John Cena, The Mix, Randy Orton and The Undertaker inside.

    In the middle of the floor, he saw a boy in a jogging suit sitting cross-legged with two toy trucks that he liked slamming together head-on.

    “ Rrrrr POW!! Rrrr POW!!”

    Kenny? No, that couldn't be right.

    This boy had sprouted up significantly from the boy Randy had met last night. He couldn't be the same boy who'd crawled into his lap in the rocking chair so he could read him a bedtime story. He guessed that this boy must be at least eight years old, yet he still swore that he must be imagining things. Then he realized the only way he would ever know was if he asked him.

    Randy squatted down to face him. “Kenny? Kenny, is that you?”

    “ Of course it's me, Daddy.” He barely looked up from his trucks.

    “ Where did you go, little buddy? I was looking all over for you. Was worried sick.”

    “ I didn't go anywhere. I've stayed in my room just like you told me to.”

    “ Like I told you to?”

    “ I went down to Jarvis street by myself so I could get French fries and you got real mad. You said you don't like me wandering off on my own.”

    “ Really, eh? Any idea why I said that?”

    “ You said I needed money if I wanted anything from the fry truck and that I'd have to take the garbage out to get an allowance. And you said I could get abducted and I'd never see you again. What does abducted