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The next evening Lincoln watched as Kali directed the men stomping through his apartment, telling them what to take and what to leave. He stood in corners and shifted along walls, trying not to get in their way.
Theo skipped among the mayhem. “A new place,” Kali told him, “with fresh paint and big windows, and your own room.” His eyes lit. “Your own bed, too.” At this he seemed a little wary. “But you can sneak in with me whenever you like.”
The skipping resumed. With Kali's couch and the boxes that had lined the living room wall gone, dust bunnies tumbled across the floor.
An old familiar pressure situated itself on Lincoln's chest. Say something. Do something.
The apartment grew larger with each trip the men took down the stairs. Their footsteps echoed. Their voices boomed. Kali told Theo to play with his trucks on the couch then hauled out a broom.
“You don't have to do that,” Lincoln told her.
“I do.” She corralled the bunnies.
Should he ask where she was moving? What if she forgot something? What if he needed to get in touch with her?
She swept the bunnies into a dustpan and walked past Lincoln to the garbage under the sink. She turned back. “With moving in early I'm a little tighter than I hoped. Can I get my portion of the rent to you in a couple of weeks?”
He shook his head.
“I can't?”
“No. I mean you don't need to.”
She rested a hand on her hip, “Of course I need to,” and stepped past him. “I don't take charity.”
Lincoln followed her. “Maybe I can stop by sometime, see your new place. Pick it up then.”
“Oh,” a glance, “I can drop it off. That's easier.”
Lincoln stepped out of her way. “Sure. Absolutely.” A wall had shot up between them. Her wall. Was this all it was, all it ever was—she'd needed him, and now she didn't, so that was the end.
She passed him once more, pulled out his couch, peered behind it. Theo giggled and she gave him a wink.
Would she let some other man into their lives? Would he be a good man? Would he teach Theo to throw a ball—Lincoln had taken him out a few times, the kid had potential—or how to talk to a girl ... once he decided to talk?
Would she teach him? Marvin wouldn't. So who else was there?
Theo glanced at Lincoln, his smile lit like a sparkler. The smile faded. His brown eyes looked deep into Lincoln's, searching, searching. Could Lincoln handle not seeing those eyes again?
“Will you do anything with the spare room?”
“What?” Lincoln turned to Kali.
Kali smiled. “Now that you have it back. Maybe find a use for it?”
“Oh, uh, move the weights back in. Maybe storage.” He cleared his throat. “I'll be amping up work on the tree house. It'll mean buying a number of supplies. Safer to store them here I suppose.”
She nodded, stepped into her old room, swung open the closet door, and peered inside.
Footsteps thumped up the stairs. The movers, arriving for their last load. Kali grabbed her satchel, Theo’s backpack, her car keys. “Well,” she raised her hand in an easy half sigh—it was a movement he'd never seen on her, “I guess this is it.”
Lincoln stepped forward, though at least five feet stood between them.
“Thank you.” She closed the space between them, one hand outstretched. “You saved us.”
He took her hand, his vocal chords frozen.
She released his grip. “I wish you,” a soft smile, “well. I wish you well, Lincoln.”
“Anyone would have done it.” The words fell out of him, like an unexpected burp.
“What?”
“Anyone would have, I mean I had the space, so—”
Her eyes laughed. “No. Anyone would not have.” She adjusted her satchel and rested a hand on Theo's shoulder. “Tell Lincoln goodbye.”
He looked up at her, the little tilt of the head that Lincoln knew he'd miss seeing every day. The boy's brows furrowed, his face questioned.
“Lincoln's not coming with us to the new apartment. He's staying here.”
A shake of the head. A tug on his mother's shirt.
“You need to say goodbye now. We might not see him again. Let Lincoln know you were glad to stay, but it's time to say goodbye.”
Theo tucked his head against Kali's hip and wrapped his arms around her leg. He stared at Lincoln.
Lincoln crouched down. The pressure against his chest tripled. “I liked having you here. Getting to know you.” He glanced up at Kali. “I hope I get to see you again soon. Maybe go to the park. Maybe play catch.”
The boy's eyes brightened. He nodded.
“That sound good?”
Another nod.
“Can I get a hug goodbye?”
Theo flung his arms around Lincoln and squeezed. Lincoln let go first. He stood. Kali's lips were pursed.
“What?”
“I just...” She shook her head.
“Yes?”
“Never mind.”
Lincoln glanced to Theo then back to Kali. “It'll be nice. Give you a break if I take him out sometimes.”
She adjusted the strap of her satchel and left both hands on it. “Sure. Absolutely. Well, you have my number.” She started to turn, then stopped. “I was thinking. You and your tree house. It sounds really complex. It seems like you've thought it all out, put a lot of work into it.”
“Yeah.”
“So, there's this whole community of people who adore tree houses. For some, it's connected to the tiny house movement.”
Lincoln stared at her.
“Really, a whole movement. Are you on Pinterest?” She shook her head, laughed. “Of course you're not. But look it up at the library. There are all these images. All these people dreaming.” She adjusted her satchel. “Your plan is to generate what income you'll need through woodworking, right? Chairs, tables, shelves? Odd jobs.” Lincoln nodded. “And that's an all right plan I guess, but you have something more to offer, something, uh, more lucrative.” She gave a half smile. “People would buy your plans. Some maybe even contract you to design it for them. It could mean travelling.” A pause. “It could mean good money.”
Lincoln didn't know what to say.
“It's just an idea.” Another smile—a shy smile.
“That's uh ... interesting.”
“Yeah. So you could build them for others or come up with a patent, a manual, something. Maybe even your own full-fledged business one day.” Her words came fast. “Though maybe that's not what you want. But I was just thinking, with the specialization for colder climates, how you'll make it self-sufficient, sustainable, and beautiful too—isn't that what you've talked about? That it won't just be practical, but beautiful?”
“Yeah, but—”
“It's just a thought.” She smiled, one shoulder shrugging. “Most people probably won't want to live in them all the time like you. But for vacation homes, for reading rooms. For a place to escape. People would want them. People would love them.”
“Okay.”
“Okay.” She drew Theo against her. “I just—I don't want you freezing to death out there. Or ... you'll need money.”
“I'll be okay.”
“Okay.” She stepped backward until her hand reached the doorknob. “All the best, Lincoln. Take care of yourself.”
Theo waved. First she, then he, disappeared behind the door. It made a quiet click. Lincoln swallowed. He was alone.
He stood in the space, remembering what it was like in those first months before Romper. And then before Kali and Theo. He stood, and though the walls seemed to spread, he felt suffocated. He crossed to the door, yanked it open, and ran down the stairs.