Page 55 of Catch a Wave
Contentment. I think Ben Franklin or Abe Lincoln … maybe it was MLK Jr … whoever it was, said,be happy with what you have. Something like that. Maybe it was Shakespeare. Though it doesn’t sound flowery enough to be Shakespeare. He would say,If thou are not in the happiest way with thine own life, get thee to a contented place. Yeah. That works too.
“What’s so funny?” Mavs asks.
I guess I’ve been standing here looking down at her thinking about Shakespeare.
“Nothing. Just … Shakespeare. And contentment. Nothing. I think I’d better call it a night.”
Mavs’ confused expression is the last thing I see of her. I turn and head down the hall to get ready for bed. The dog slept with Mavs in her bed last night. He’s latched onto her and decided she’s his person. I don’t mind. She needs him more than I do right now. And he’s still my buddy. I kind of like the idea of him being in there with her.
I wake in the middle of the night needing to use the restroom—like, big time. I walk from my bedroom to the bathroom Kai and I share. The door is locked.
“You in there?” I ask quietly.
“Yeah.” He seems barely awake if his raspy voice is any indication.
I don’t have the bandwidth to wait. So I walk down to Mavs’ bathroom. She’s asleep. The bathroom door is partly open andit’s empty. I step in and start to relieve myself. With my back to the door, I’m staring at the wall behind the toilet and the curtains covering the small window looking out toward the alley behind our house.
The next thing I know, the bathroom door pops open and slams back against the wall.
Shaka bounds in, trotting right up behind me and licking my calf.
Then Mavs starts screaming “Oh!” “Oopsie Doopsie!” “Yikes!” “Um!” “Well, this is awkward!” “Sorry!”
I adjust my pajama bottoms, and turn to see Mavs with her eyes scrunched shut and her arms flailing around to grab at the door jamb and the counter.
She brings her hands up to her eyes as if she needs the extra layer of protection and shouts, “Shaka!” “No!” “Bodhi, I’m sorry!” Her voice lowers just a little as the blush rises up her cheeks. “Um … Okay … I’ll just …”
Shaka starts barking at Mavs’ dramatic reaction. He’s yapping at a high pitch and running back and forth between the two of us.
“Everything okay?” Kai’s stern but sleepy voice comes from down the hall.
“Fine!” Mavs and I both shout in unison.
Mavs’ hands look like they’ve been glued in place with Gorilla Glue. Her blush is so strong her skin looks a shade darker. So I take a moment and wash my hands.
Mavs stands there, frozen in place with her eyes covered.
The sound of Kai’s bedroom door shutting echoes down the hallway.
I can’t help but grin at the sight of Mavs. She’s freaking adorable.
“Coast is clear. I’m decent.” I assure her. “No harm. No foul.”
She doesn’t drop her hands. “Just … go back to bed. I’ll just …”
I chuckle again. I step toward her, conflicted as to whether to draw her into my arms to help her relax, or to just clear the room. Better to give her space. But there’s no way to pass by and squeeze out the doorway without brushing against her.
“Bodhi! What are you doing?!” Her voice is a whisper, but it’s shrill and slightly crazed.
If she’d drop her hands and back out of the way, this would be so much easier. Not that I’m complaining about a chance to be near her.
“I’m heading back to my room. Sorry, sweetheart. I didn’t mean to cause a fuss. Your brother was in our bathroom. You were asleep.”
“Shaka pushed the bathroom door open.” She’s explaining this with her heels of her hands still pressed firmly into her eye sockets.
“Okay. Well, it wasn’t a big deal. I’m going back to bed. Sweet dreams.”
“Like I’ll have sweet dreams now,” she mutters, still barricading her eyes with the heels of her hands.
