marble journey part IV

TAVIUS TATE

In the end, Tavius and Pierre had gone for coffee and a walk. And then for pie and another walk, and finally they ended up back at the Salvation Army, where they sat on the front steps and talked for the rest of the night.

Tavius put his fingers on the sides of his head and wiggled them like anntenae reaching for the early-morning light. The sun warmed his face and matched the cozy feeling that grew the more he talked with Pierre. He grinned and snapped his fingers, still up high in the air. He was excited.

Truth be told, Tavius was excited to be staying at Skeet’s house too. Of course he wasn’t happy that Hurricane Katrina had descended upon them all, knocking them upside their heads and back down their backsides. But, as he slung the bag of clothes over his shoulder, whistling as he walked the eleven blocks back to Skeet’s house, he had to admit that he liked living with his brothers again.

He saw them plenty. It wasn’t about not seeing them. He and Skeet went to Enzo’s once a week after work for a cold glass of something sweet, to shoot the breeze and sing a few songs up on the roof. He looked forward to that.

But this was better. Lots more chances for laughing. There was nothing better in the whole wide world than a joke catching the funny bone by surprise. Enzo and Skeet were full of the kind that sent Tavius into snorting, wheezing, knee-slapping fits of laughter.

He loved living with Enzo’s sharp-as-a-tack kid, Osprey. That was the truest truth to tell. And Ms. Cyn, who reminded him of his mama, he loved her too. And truth be told one more ever-loving time—he was growing fond of Ben and Zavion too.

Just the night before, the seven of them had sat in the kitchen after supper, drinking sweet tea and eating the last bits of Zavion’s bread until they all thought they would burst. Then Osprey turned off the lights and said—

Lady and Gentlemen, I will now perform a song for your enjoyment—

Seriously, where did the kid get this stuff?

But first, a public service announcement for the lady: rest assured, there are no creepy snakes in this kitchen—

Which began the laughter, and then Osprey proceeded to sing her rendition of “When the Saints Go Marching In,” only she sang sanes instead of saints, which made a whole lot more sense and which set off a whole other round of laughter. Even Zavion smiled the littlest bit, which warmed up Tavius’s heart in a way he couldn’t explain.

Now he knew he couldn’t wait to catch Zavion coming out of the bathroom, or in the front door, or working in the kitchen, unawares, and make some joke about the word sane and have the chance to see that small smile again.

Shared jokes like that were the two-by-fours that kept a house standing tall. They were logs on the fire and a good smell curling out of the oven. They were what Tavius remembered from being a kid with two older brothers and a mother whose laugh he could hear down the block as he walked home from school. They were what had been missing from his house in New Orleans.

They were what held Skeet’s house together now.

Even after Katrina knocked them upside their heads.

And on the top of it all, he had gotten to meet Pierre.

Tavius whistled louder.

He couldn’t wait to give Zavion the new clothes.