Page 88 of Found in Obscurity

“Kit. Open the door,” Lorin said, hands on his hips.

Grandma rolled her window down a sliver, a blast of cold air creeping inside to battle the sputtering heater. “Stop fussing and get in the passenger seat.”

“Grandma—”

“Now, boy! I haven’t got all day.”

Lorin sulked and rounded the car, getting in. “You shouldn’t encourage him. He’s going to catch a cold.”

“He’s built for this weather. You told me that, remember?” she said as she pulled away. Kit nodded along sagely.

Lorin glared at them both, his face going red at having his words thrown back in his face. “As a fox! You know that’s what I—”

Kit leaned forward between the seats and smacked a kiss on Lorin’s chilled cheek, which abruptly shut him up. It really was too effective. He almost felt bad.

Lorin’s grandma’s cackles filled the car. “Things are going well, I see. Anything you want to tell me?”

Lorin seemed too embarrassed to talk for the rest of the ride.

“About three hours, you said over the phone?” Grandma said once they’d pulled up in the center of town.

“Give or take, yeah. I’m not strong enough to push it further yet.” He looked down at the time on his phone. “We have about two hours left on the clock.”

Grandma nodded, pursing her thin lips. “I’ll pick you up outside of the grocery store in two hours then. Get whatever else you need done first, then go there. You should get enough food to last you just in case the snow gets bad again, so don’t be shy with it.”

Lorin nodded. “Thanks, Grandma.”

She waved him off fussily, shooing him away, but Kit caught the hint of a smile on her wrinkled mouth. He’d actually caught a few over time. She wasn’t as cold as she tried to appear, andshe clearly cared about Lorin a lot, even if her ways of showing it were different.

“B-bye!” Kit stuttered, beaming when he got the word out, a feeling of accomplishment sinking into his bones. He caught Lorin doing the same, pride turning his eyes sparkly and lifting the apples of his cheeks. He was too pretty when he smiled.

Kit repeated the word to himself as he shuffled out of the car and onto the street, where he paused abruptly. He stared around himself in wonder, trying to remember the last time he’d been upright in a town.

“Anything you want to do first?” Lorin asked him as he came to his side.

Kit probably changed expressions a million times as he thought of all the possibilities.

They could window shop, sit down and have lunch together, get coffee, CAKE! Kit loved cake. They had to buy groceries, and Kit had never thought he’d consider grocery shopping something to be excited about, but he could actuallypick things upand not just trail around at Lorin’s ankles.

He was paralyzed by choices. Anything and everything felt like a great idea. He looked at Lorin helplessly.

Lorin smiled. “How about we grab you a few things to wear first?”

Kit shook his head wildly. Nope. That didn’t sound fun at all and was not on the nonexistent list they had of what to do with their day. He didn’t want clothes.

He tried sneakily shuffling toward the other end of the street, but Lorin gripped his wrist before he could get too far away.

“I think you need at least a few things,” Lorin said. “Shoes that fit, if nothing else.”

He looked down at the bulky shoes on his feet and the inch gap between his ankle and the heel. He huffed and threw his headback melodramatically, but stomped after Lorin as he led them toward a colorful thrift store down the street.

He was made to try things on. Things that didn’t smell like Lorin. He didn’t like that one bit. He glared and pouted as Lorin brought him item after item of clothing, adding them to the growing pile of things Lorin said he needed.

“Why do you hate this so much?” Lorin asked at one point between handing out different pants Kit would submit to wearing. Kit pulled out his notebook and scribbled into it harshly.

They smell wrong.

“The clothes?” Lorin asked.