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Chapter 2: The Big Dipper

His hair was so soft looking, I had to admit it. He had a sweet voice, from what I had heard when he was whispering lyrics as his fingers grazed the keys. I could only imagine what it would feel like to press my lips against his; they looked so plump up close… so pink… so soft…

My spoon slipped in between my fingers as I was lost in thought of Louis, spilling my chowder back in the small bowel and sending my spoon into my lap. I jumped.

“I’m sorry!” I apologized as I frantically wiped away at the velvet table cloth.

“It’s quite alright, love.” Uncle Daryl’s amused gaze fell upon me with a curious smile playing on his aged lips. “What were you thinking about?”

I felt my cheeks go red. “N-Nothing, Uncle,”

“That doesn’t sound like nothing!” he chuckled as he set down his spoon. “Let me guess…” he rested his chin on the palm of his hand and asked, “Was it a person, place, or thing?”

I rolled my brown eyes and laughed.

“Oh, come on now, at least play along,” he insisted.

I stopped dabbing at the cloth that I had probably just permanently stained with soup and sarcastically answered, “All of the above,”

He chuckled once more and said, “Well if you aren’t going to play fair, I’m not going to play with you.” He went back to sipping his chowder with a mischievous smile.

I shrugged and went back to my soup, still feeling guilty about the table cloth.

~

The observatory was absolutely stunning. Star constellations were mapped all around the dome shaped room, the patterns becoming more apparent as the night grew heavier. I just stood in the center next to the colossal telescope and stared around at the dark blue window panes and white dots that covered the ceiling. I could stand here forever and never get bored of the sight.

 “Can you find the Big Dipper?” Uncle asked as he hobbled into the room with his dark cane. “I can’t.”

I let out a giggle. “I don’t know, I’ve never tried,” I turned to the old man who walked straight up to the telescope with a sad smile.

“Believe it or not, I’ve never used this,” he announced sadly as he rested his free hand on the side.

“What do you mean?” confusion washed over me.

“I never learned how to use it.” He looked down sadly, a look I had never seen on his aged face before. When I didn’t say anything, he continued, “Since you were little, back when you would look up at your old uncle and think I was just the most amazing person…. I’ve always had this fear that one day you’re going to discover that I’m not as great as you once thought I was…”

“Uncle,” I breathed. “You are an amazing person. You just don’t know it yet.”

“You would think I would know by now… I’ve had 78 years to find out…” He let out a dark chuckle and gazed at the floor, which was glimmering with the refection of the ceiling.

My eyes observed him standing there for a moment. His back was hunched with age, his hair was grey and white, his skin was tanned but wrinkled, and his blue eyes looked like they belonged to a young person, not a 78 year old man. I took a hold of his free hand and made him stand where I was behind the telescope. Angling the scope to his eye level, he rested his left eye directly behind the eye hole. “Tell me when it’s clear,” I told him as I turned the nobs on the right of the tube. He nodded as I made the last twist. “What do you see?” I asked, resting my left hand on his upper back.

A sigh escaped his lips and a smile broke free. “I can see the Big Dipper.”

**********

Short! I'm sorry!

I felt like Uncle Daryl and Andy needed some kind of bonding time~

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