His Muse

Postmortem Epilogue?

It started with, "You should just come to my house for Thanksgiving if you're not gonna go home." Now, Nic and Kieran were stuck in his Ma's minivan on the way to southern Oregon. Nic was almost certain that Kieran barely knew what was happening the second they tossed their bags into the trunk, and slammed the door behind them whilst already rolling out of the Kingsley parking lot. The man looked actually, literally scared.

"How many siblings did you say you had?" Kieran asked under his breath.

"Just two. Rosa and Julian."

"And you're the oldest?"

"Yeah."

"Oh. That's not so bad," Kieran breathed out, semi-relaxing back into his seat. "I don't know why but I was expecting, like, you being one of six."

"Wouldn't that be a disaster," his Ma said with a laugh. "I can barely stand the three of them."

"Mama..." Nic whined as his boyfriend proceeded to laugh and tease Nic for being a handful. The drive south was mostly propelled by the two of them teasing Nic about this-or-that—specifically Kieran informing Nic's mother of every weird thing he did since they last saw her. They got on the topic of Kieran's stray cat, who was under the surveillance of Ellen for the break.

"And you haven't named it yet?" she chastised. "Kieran!"

"You're just like Nic! He keeps complaining that we can't keep calling her Kitty," Kieran whined, and was further reprimanded for the half-assed name choice.

It didn't take long for Kieran's nervousness to subside. At their first stop for gas, Kieran claimed shotgun and talked to Nic's mom for the remainder of the trip about anything and everything she asked about. Nic listened in quietly, because he hadn't heard much about Kieran's parents aside from what Bev talked about. Kieran had stories about them from San Francisco living in the hippy movement, and how they hitched a ride north and never looked back from there. A friend of their's let them stay in the house they currently resided in, even after he passed away at the early age of forty. Kieran only remembered bits and pieces of the guy, namely his scraggly beard and how they used to go on walks in the Redwood Forests.

"You live such a whimsical life," his Ma concluded.

"I wouldn't call it that," Kieran confessed with a laugh, "but I appreciate the sentiment."

For a little while there, Nic fell asleep against the window until he felt the car slow going through his neighborhood's streets. He recognized the sway of the car turning around curvy corners, and gliding down the big hill his siblings used to cruise down their bikes with. Everything was dotted with fresh snow, and it looked like Christmas rather than Thanksgiving. The music on the radio was soft, and everyone was quiet up until the point he saw his Ma glance over her shoulder to look at him.

"We're almost there," she said. "Oh they'll be so excited to see you! Rosa hasn't shut up about you coming home for over a week."

"I'm not prepared to be attacked," Nic grunted, stretching his arms behind him. The air was sleepy and dreamy, covered by an overcast and the prospect of a warm fireplace inside.

When they rolled up onto the driveway, they found Nic's sister waiting underneath the open garage door. She backed away as they parked beside her, and the second Nic stepped out of the door, Rosa collided with him, her mess of brown curls tickling his cheeks and chin. "Nic! Nic, Nic, Nic!" she sang, giggling as she kicked her legs up so he was forced to carry her away from the car so he could close the door.

"Careful! My legs are asleep from being stuck in the car," he warned, staggering away and plopping her back on to her feet. "How's it going?"

"Good! Tell me about college," she demanded. "And—Kieran!" Kieran froze up against his open door, and reluctantly accepted the hug she tackled him with. He laughed nervously and patted Rosa's back all while looking at Nic with that face that said, "Help me!"