“Dad,” he said between breaths.
“Shit,” his dad said, hopping up and running over to him. “C’mon. Let’s go back to your room.”
His mom walked out from the kitchen when the doorbell rang for the second time and, without asking, knew exactly what was going on. So, she planted a big smile on her face and opened the door.
“Lisa!”
“Hi,” Lisa said, stepping inside.
“He’ll be out in a minute. I think he’s probably trying to comb his hair or something,” she said with an amused look on her face. “Have a seat and I’ll go check.”
She walked down the hallway and into her son’s room. He was sitting on the bed, his dad beside him, leaning forward a little with his eyes closed. He was breathing. He was counting. He would be okay, but that didn’t make it any easier to see him like this. It was never easy for them.
“Should I ask her to go?” his mom asked.
“No,” Solomon managed, his eyes still closed.
When Valerie returned to the living room, Lisa was sitting on the couch and leaning over to look at a framed photograph on the side table.
“Big Bear Lake,” Valerie said. “We used to have a cabin up there. I bet we went at least once a month.”
“I love Big Bear.”
“I really miss it,” she said. “Cold weather always suited me better.”
“I like the mountains,” Lisa said. “It’s about the only thing Upland has going for it.”
“More like hills,” Valerie added. “He’ll be out in a minute.”
“Everything okay?”
“Oh yes. Last time I checked, he was trying to find a pair of matching socks.”
“I can’t even do that,” Lisa said, immediately realizing how insensitive it sounded. “Sorry . . . I didn’t mean it like . . .”
“Hush,” Valerie interrupted before pausing for a few long, quiet seconds. “I’m not naive, Lisa. Sol’s unique. He can’t find matching socks because he probably hasn’t worn them since the last time he left the house and, by my count, that was a long damn time ago.”
Lisa smiled at her, but stayed quiet. Then Valerie laughed a little to herself as she took a seat on the sofa. Suddenly, her mood shifted and she scooted up to rest her elbows on her knees before speaking to Lisa in a whisper.
“Tell me something,” she said. “Do you like him?”
“What do you mean?” Lisa asked.
“Solomon. Do you like him? Is he likable?”
“Yeah. Totally.”
“You’re not lying, right? And don’t try to spare my feelings. Solomon’s never gotten away with a lie in his life.”
“It’s the truth,” Lisa defended. “I was afraid he’d be boring.”
“It’s important that you know something, Lisa.”
“Okay.”
“I’ve been really scared—about Solomon and all the time he spends alone and in this house. And then you come along and suddenly he’s talking about swimming and getting a tan. I don’t know if it’s crazy to believe him or not. But we couldn’t dig that pool any faster if we tried.”
“You’re getting a pool?” Lisa asked, looking over toward the windows that face out into the backyard.
“He said he wanted one,” she answered. “He said he’d go outside.”
“No way.”
“I need you to promise me something, Lisa.”
“Okay.”
“Promise me you’ll stick around for as long as it takes to get him out there. That’s all I’m asking. If you get bored or just decide he’s not the kind of friend you wanted him to be—just please wait until we can get him out there, okay?”
“Okay,” Lisa said. “But, I . . .”
“Thank you,” she interrupted.
Just as she was about to ask more about the pool, Solomon stepped into the room and said “Hello.”
He was visibly unnerved, but no more so than the first time she’d come over. He was wearing a T-shirt and shorts, with no socks. Lisa looked right at his bare feet and over to his mom.
“Okay. You guys can have the living room. I’ve got to run up to the office and . . . Sol, where’s your dad?”
“Right here,” Jason said, walking in. “Hi, Lisa. I’m Jason.”
Lisa stood up and they shook hands. He looked over to Solomon and smiled, giving him a wink.
“All right, let’s get out of their hair. Nobody wants two old people hanging around,” his mom said.
“I do,” Solomon joked nervously. “Tell us about taxes.”
“And what exactly is a 401k?” Lisa added.
Jason and Valerie walked out of the room, still laughing. Lisa sat down at one end of the sofa and Solomon sat at the opposite end, an entire cushion length between them. He flipped through movies on the TV screen in silence, never looking her way.
“You get shy on me, Sol?” Lisa asked.
“Sorry.”
“It’s cool. Got something in mind?”
“Not really,” he said. “I can’t be trusted with this. Here, take it.”
“Okay,” she said, reaching over to grab the remote from him. “So, let’s be smart about this. Comedy, sci-fi, drama, or horror?”
“No sci-fi,” he said promptly, sticking to his guns.
“Deal.”