My Man of the Wild

Chapter 23: Crybaby, Cry

Georgia

It was Dan's leaving day. We had all been dreading it yet there was a little excitement hanging in the air. Most of the untapped energy came from Dan who was ready to leave the bird's nest and go back into the dangerous unknown.

He was doing what he loved the most; adventuring, exploring, saving animals and a few cavemen in the process.

Dan woke up every morning for it and he told me he would do until he died. In my opinion, he was being a little dramatic but then again, dramatic was Dan's middle name.

It was a ritual for Dan to wear suit whichever adventure he was leaving off too. The sad thing was the the suit would never make it back in one piece. It was shredded, slashed at, and on many occasions, held bullet holes. That fact made me worry about him more.  In my mind, I imagined him going to his destination, getting what he needed, then going home promptly after. What I forced my self to black out was all of action and the danger he faced on the job.

We drove him to the airport with some catchy pop tune filling the car and Dan's luggage filling the trunk.

I usually never dropped my best friend off to the airport, because I sucked at goodbyes. Always had and always will. I felt the tears prickle behind my eyes as the boys wheeled luggage inside.

They said their goodbyes slowly, speaking in that beautiful language that took me by surprise every time. Adisa and Dan hugged for a couple seconds before splitting up the bromantic embrace.

When Dan finally turned to me, I was bawling. He didn't say a word and I was quickly enveloped by his large arms. One of my arms hugged him back while the other wiped away tears.

"You're such a crybaby. You do this every time." He sounded annoyed but the warm smile said otherwise.

"Shut up." I lightly punched his shoulder, earning me a chuckle.

He bent at the waist, becoming eye level with me.

"Let him in" His voice was low enough that Adisa couldn't hear him.  My eye flashed around the room, a nervous panic filtering in my heart. "You deserve it. Adisa deserves it. Hell, I even deserve it too. It takes a lot of effort to interrupt you guys between all of the ravaging and looks you shoot each other."

I snorted at that. There hadn't been any ravaging yet.

"He's not a kid. Adisa can make his own decisions on what he wants." It was true and there had been thoughts plaguing my mind that I was taking advantage of him. I knew first hand he was a grown man, so I nodded agreeing . "If he hurts you or if you get too overwhelmed, call the police or the number I left on the fridge."

He hugged me again. This one longer than the last.

"Go or you'll miss your flight." I pushed him away. He nodded, grabbing the cart to push his luggage toward the check-in spot. "I hope the cavity search is painless this time." I called to his retreating form. The explorer let out an hearty laugh before disappearing from my line of sight.

The tears were gone when we finally made it home. Usually when Dan left, I felt empty and alone. This time I didn't. I felt comfortable.

Adisa and I sat on the floor in kitchen taking turning digging into a carton of ice cream. This time it was strawberry.

I listened to him as he spoke in that mysterious language. His story started in English but along the way turned into something else. I didn't mind though.

I stayed equally interested in whatever the topic was.

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Goodbye, Daniel.

I'm really thinking about a Dan spinoff before all of the other spinoffs I have planned. He has become such an detrimental part of the story that it pains me to write him off temporarily.