Pieces

Jacobi's

Morris managed to convince Oscar to walk him back to the lodging house a few hours later. He was running ahead for most of the walk, but Oscar caught up when Morris stopped to laugh and flap his hands. The only reason Oscar agreed was because he knew it made Morris happy, and he usually wasn't happy around Wiesel.

Henry was waiting outside the lodging house. Oscar stayed behind and Morris ran to Henry.

"Hey, Mo," Oscar called out. "I'm gonna go back to the house, okay?"

Morris nodded quickly, never turning his attention away from Henry. Oscar left, but kept turning back to look at them, to make sure Henry wasn't doing anything to hurt Morris. He wasn't, though. He was just talking, and Morris was listening.

Morris didn't talk much, especially not to people he barely knew. The only person he could talk comfortably to was Oscar, but even that was difficult sometimes. Sometimes, he couldn't talk at all, even if he wanted to. That was mostly with people he didn't know.

"We're not gonna stay here," Henry said. "Wanna go to Jacobi's?"

Morris nodded happily. He loved Jacobi's. It smelled amazing in there. He ran ahead, Henry following close behind. Morris eventually slowed down, now skipping rather than running, giving Henry a chance to catch up.

Henry smiled. "Excited?"

Morris smiled and started happy flapping. Then he stopped and looked at Henry. He nodded, and Morris started flapping again. Henry felt bad, knowing that was probably a result of him being yelled at for that in the past.

Henry kept walking, stopping every few moments for Morris to catch up. He had started walking slower, and was now starting to fall behind. Henry didn't mind, though.

When they got there, Morris ran up to the desk and started talking to Jacobi. Henry then realized that he had never heard Morris speak before. His voice was very quiet, shaky, and he was speaking in a higher pitch, almost like he was nervous.

After a few minutes of them talking, Jacobi went into the back and got two peanut brittle bars for Morris. Every day, Jacobi had some kind of treat for Morris. Usually, it was something he bought from the bakery or general store, or something he made at home and brought in.

Morris ran back to Henry and gave him one of the bars. "Thank you," Henry smiled and put it in his pocket. He used to eat peanut brittle all the time. His family's deli used to sell it, and they gave him the extras. But he hadn't had any since the deli closed.

Morris grabbed Henry's hand and led him to the back. He stopped in front of a door and turned to Jacobi. He opened the door, and Morris brought Henry in. Henry looked around. It was a small room, lit by two candles. There were two piles of pillows and blankets on opposite sides of the room, with a candle next to each pile. One was very neat, and the other looked like it was very lazily made. Morris sat on the neater one, then tapped the pillow next to him. Henry sat where Morris had tapped.

Henry looked around again. "Is this your room?" It wasn't what Henry had expected. The bunks in the lodging house were much nicer than this.

Morris looked around as well. "Sometimes..."

"Wh-What...?" Henry wasn't expecting him to speak.

"Sometimes," he repeated, now a little louder and more confident.

Henry was confused, but didn't want to ask any more questions. Morris looked up, then rested his head on Henry's shoulder. They sat together in silence for a few minutes. Eventually, Morris fell asleep, still leaning on Henry.