Page 91 of Found in Obscurity

Lorin snorted, meeting his eyes. “And you’re unhinged. What would you have done if she’d said yes?”

Glenn shrugged. “Improvised?”

Kit giggled.

“Unhinged,” Lorin repeated.

“Aw.” Glenn cupped his cheeks in his hands. “Are you one of those people who show affection by poking and prodding at every single character trait?”

“I don’t know,” Lorin returned, rapid fire. “Are you someone who has character traits that need poking and prodding at?”

“Pfff, I’m a delight,” Glenn said, placing a delicate hand on his sternum.

Lorin actually smiled at that.

Kit felt warmed from the inside out and grabbed Lorin’s hand to link fingers.

They sat there for a little while, chatting about different things before Lorin realized the time had flown by too quickly. There was no time to get the rest of their errands done. They barely had enough time to get to the store while Kit was still present.

Lorin mumbled a shy invitation for Glenn to join them.

Kit wanted to sing with happiness.

It only got better as Kit raced around the grocery store, grabbing everything he’d been craving for five years and anything he thought he may have missed out on. Lorin did his best to try and control the amount, simply taking items out of the cart when reasoning didn’t work, only for Kit to sneakily put them back.

Glenn trailed them the whole time with his own small basket, chatting cheerfully and laughing. He alternated between helping Lorin fight for reason and flip-flopping and running interference so Kit could add five bags of chips.

It was chaos and they drew plenty more looks, though nobody else said a word. Kit had a feeling the huffs and rolled eyes were more to do with the noise and clamor than Lorin.

It was when they were at the checkout with a woman who called Lorin ‘hun’ and inquired after his grandma in a pleasant tone that Kit had the feeling their den wasn’t the only place they could make into a home.

Chapter eighteen

Lorin

Going to town forthat long was exhausting.

Lorin definitely felt like his battery had been drained by the end of it, but he’d also felt a weird sense of fullness too as they traveled back to the cabin. Kit had shifted in the car, curling up to nap against his thigh like he was dead tired too.

Glenn had demanded Lorin’s number after he’d finished helping them load the back of Lorin’s grandma’s car up, and Lorin, for once, couldn’t see why he shouldn’t give it.

Even the bitchy café lady hadn’t been enough to break his stride. Whereas before he might have agonized over it for days to come, hiding away to avoid the situation happening again or having to think about her words, this time it didn’t seem that huge. Not only was he feeling more comfortable, it seemed like that had reflected outward to others. Like Millie.

He was finding a peace within himself that he’d fought his entire life for.

It was five in the morning the next day when he received a call that made him forget that peace for a moment. Still half-asleep, he answered it, only to hear Glenn’s cheery voice down the line. Lorin hung up with a groan and rolled back over on the sofa to spoon Kit’s fluffy form.

Glenn got better at calling at a more reasonable hour after that, and a few days later Lorin wasn’t surprised to find Glenn stopping by for a cup of tea, or calling for a chat just to catch up. Kit seemed to like his presence too, and that of his familiar, his vocabulary expanding piece by piece to include new words of simple syllables to communicate with them.

Pretty soon his grandma wasn’t the only one Lorin thought of to ask for a ride into town. He still had some items on the list for the cabin, and he hadn’t been able to return the books he’d borrowed yet. Glenn had agreed without question since he was closer than his grandma and didn’t have to double back the way she did. Lorin was really going to have to look into getting a car for himself at some point.

Glenn picked up Lorin and a shifted Kit that morning, dressed in his new clothes and shoes, and drove them straight to the library, following them inside.

“If it isn’t the mystery book man!” Stella appeared from behind them, rounding the counter and placing herself at the computer, her smile wide and welcoming. “And you brought friends.”

“Mystery book man?” Glenn asked.

“He keeps checking out books we don’t have in the system,” she said. “I have zero clue where he finds them.”