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Hi, amazing ones!

I don’t have much to report this week, but I didn’t want to leave you without your chapter of Night & Day, which you’ll find at the bottom of this email, as always.

I loved your reactions to last week’s email and the helpful suggestions for my Halloween costume assignment. 🦇 🗑 🐀

What I'm writing

I've been writing the very beginning of As the Tallgrass Grows, while also doing final revisions of a novella you’ll get to hear more about soon. I’m already having so much fun diving into Johnny’s story, which I’ve been looking forward to since he first appeared in my draft of Long Winter.

I haven’t forgotten that I owe you a short story about Robbie and Lance. I am almost ready to dive in and write it, and that means I should be able to deliver it before the holidays. I was hoping to give you a little teaser, but then I realized that for Robbie and Lance fans, the title is teaser enough—“Magpie.”

Have a great week!

xo,

Rachel

Website | Rachel's Party Barn on Facebook | Instagram | Discord

Books by Rachel Ember

Long Winter | Signs of Spring | Burning Season | As the Tallgrass Grows

Jaywalking | Sleepwalker

***

NIGHT & DAY

Chapter One | Chapter Two | Chapter Three | Chapter Four | Chapter Five | Chapter Six | Chapter Seven | Chapter Eight | Chapter Nine | Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

In the mornings, after Jonathan went to work, was Ty's favorite time of day.

Isabel had been occasionally sleeping through the night, but even if she didn't, the earliest part of the morning seemed to be her favorite time to sleep. After having coffee with Jonathan, sometimes lingering until Jonathan had to rush so as not to be late to the office, Ty would stay at the kitchen table, thinking back over the immaterial little conversation they'd just had but that always felt so significant to him, anyway. They didn't exactly discuss hopes and dreams, but at the same time, they'd each opened to one another more and more in small ways, and through those little revelations Ty had been able to piece together a fuller picture of who Jonathan was, and his life outside of the hours he spent with Ty and Isabel.

He knew that Jonathan was an only child, and that his parents were kind enough people, but that there had been very little warmth and affection in his home. That explained why he seemed unable to invite affectionate, passing touches or initiate friendly teasing, but beamed with pleasure when Ty did these things, and then tentatively reciprocated.

He knew that Jonathan had been an excellent student, though Ty could have already guessed as much, and that he'd attended an Ivy League college and law school. He was very respected in his professional field, and the most highly ranked attorney of his age within the firm.

He knew a little bit about Natalie, even though when her name came up, Jonathan turned inward so fast, the conversation never lasted long after that. But Ty knew they'd met in college, and that Natalie was unrestrained and emotionally open, and that those things had drawn Jonathan to her. He knew they'd been friends first, and he suspected that their marriage had more to do with that friendship than romance, too. The part of him that was irrationally jealous of anyone who'd ever had any of Jonathan's affection was glad of that, but the less selfish part was sad, because while he knew the value of friendship, he also wanted Jonathan to have a full partner—a relationship that fulfilled him in every way.

Sometimes, for just a second or two, Ty could believe that he could be that person. He knew Jonathan liked his company. And at this point, especially after the park, he knew that Jonathan was attracted to him to some degree. And a part of Ty thought that he should take hold of these little weapons and try to do something with them, to show Jonathan how good Ty could be to him, because Ty desperately, desperately wanted the chance to be good.

But then, inevitably, something would remind Ty why something more than their current arrangement could never really work. Like the memory of Jonathan and Landry, that handsome, charming man Jonathan worked with who wore a suit like it was a second skin and whose eyes lit up when Jonathan laughed. That was the kind of person who was fit to be a partner to Jonathan. Ty had nothing to offer beyond enthusiasm, and his own enormous want. And those weren't unique to him. Jonathan was a handsome, kind, successful man who would inspire those things in practically anyone.

However, while he was alone in the townhouse, Ty could let himself pretend that he was more than just a person passing through Isabel and Jonathan's lives. He could pour himself a second cup of coffee and drink it in the chair by the east-facing window while the sun finished coming up, then wash their coffee mugs in the sink in the quiet house, and make his bed and sort out his laundry, checking in with his sisters' respective text message threads, all before Isabel began making noise.

Then, after he'd gotten her changed, fed, and dressed, he put her in the stroller for a walk. These past few mornings, he'd had to bundle her up a little extra, but she seemed to enjoy going outside regardless of the weather, and Ty liked the light exercise.

As he carefully carried the stroller, baby and all, down the steps to the sidewalk at the front of the house, he was only partially surprised to find the neighbor from two doors down, Shay, waiting for him, while giving every appearance of not waiting. As ever, Shay was wearing a shapeless hoodie and jeans, and fell into step without a word as Ty set down the stroller and started down the sidewalk, joining the walk without asking if Ty minded.

Which he didn't, actually. He liked Shay, even if they were one of the most mysterious people he'd ever met. He'd determined that Shay was an adult, probably late-twenties, at least, given that when the ever-present hood was occasionally lowered, there were faint signs of age here and there on Shay's heart-shaped face. But aside from a first name and the occasional question about Isabel, Shay didn't offer much.

"Good morning," he said. Shay, who'd been looking down at the stroller, glanced up with a little nod.

"Hi."

"I was just going to take her down to Jacob Loose, if that's not too far?"

Shay shrugged, which Ty decided to interpret as agreement, and they walked on in silence.

"How are your sisters?" Shay asked after a little while, surprising him. Though Shay did make inquiries about Isabel, Ty always assumed it was just to be polite and because Isabel was more or less his job.

"They're fine," he said. "Actually, Sam has a concert coming up for the advanced section of her orchestra at school. She plays the oboe. She's really good."

"Where does she go to school?"

Ty talked about Sam, probably going on more than he should, but it was easy to talk about the girls, and Shay seemed to be listening attentively. They reached the wide green space of the park before he summed it up with, "She could really do great things, but I'll be happy if she just uses her powers for neutral purposes instead of evil ones."

That got an actual laugh out of Shay, a pleasant chuckle that sounded to Ty's ear like it might be a little rusty. Though nothing in their walks, or occasional encounters in the backyard when Isabel couldn't sleep, had ever led Ty to think that Shay was open to questions in return, he dared to ask some now.

"Were you a troublemaker in school?"

Shay seemed surprised to be asked, but not upset. After a few seconds' consideration, Shay answered with a shrug. "Not really. I thought of myself as being really alternative, or whatever, but I pretty much did everything that I was told to do, even if I sometimes had an attitude about it. You know, I played the violin."

"Oh, wow. That's a pretty one." Ty loved the violins when he went to Sam's performances; even the shaky playing of the kids her age couldn't fully detract from the instruments' haunting sound.

Shay flashed him a real smile, with teeth, and Ty felt like he deserved a gold star. "I've always thought so."

"Do you still play?"

The smile was gone as fast as it had appeared. "Sometimes. Not so much lately."

It was obvious that the opportunity for questions had passed, and Isabel was grunting in the stroller, the way she did when she was restless and wanted to look around. Ty pulled the stroller over to the edge of the path and crouched down to unbuckle her so he could carry her for a while, but once he straightened up with her on his hip and saw the way Shay was almost smiling again at the sight of the baby, he had a better idea.

"Want to sit on that bench, and you can hold her?"

Shay had never held Isabel before, but it wasn't like Ty would let the baby get dropped, or something. He'd be right there.

Shay hesitated for so long, Ty thought they’d say no. But instead, he got a small nod, and they went over to the bench. He settled Isabel on Shay's lap, and waited until Shay had a good hold of her before letting go, though he stayed leaned forward and right beside them, just in case.

"I don't know what I'm doing," Shay muttered, but those serious eyes were fixed intently on Isabel's face. For her part, Isabel was staring back, solemn and unblinking, at the unfamiliar visage. Or maybe she was just focused on staying upright; she was still wobbly when she sat up, but she was getting stronger all the time.

"You're doing great," Ty promised. "Have you not been around kids much?"

"No. I was the youngest in my family by a lot, so I was always the only child, surrounded by adults."

These were more words than he'd ever heard Shay string together, so Ty just nodded, not saying anything.

"I always wanted kids of my own," Shay added quietly, and smiled when Isabel clutched at the strings on the hoodie. "But at the same time, it's pretty scary, right? I mean, look at her. She's so...breakable." Shay frowned. “Here, take her.”

Ty was surprised. He’d assumed by the contented looks Shay and Isabel were giving one another that they’d be hanging out just like this for at least a few minutes. But he didn’t argue, plucking Isabel off of Shay’s lap and transferring her to his.

Shay got up from the bench. “I’m going to head back. See you.”

Isabel pushed her feet hard into Ty’s thighs, and he obligingly bounced her a few times against his legs. “Okay, see you.” He watched Shay stalk off with a frown, still helping Isabel do calisthenics in his lap, then turned back to the baby. She was looking at him with a wrinkled brow. “You want to keep walking?” he asked her, and when she flailed her hands aggressively, he laughed. “I guess that’s a yes.”

***

Later that day, Ty got a strange text from Jonathan: a link to an l-shaped couch on a furniture website. At first, he wondered if the message was some kind of butt dial, but then the context clicked, and he laughed. Ty may have let it slip that in his opinion, the living room furniture was not exactly comfortable.

The sofa that Jonathan had sent, though, was if not the exact same piece of furniture as the one that he already owned, at least its aesthetic equivalent.

Don’t you want something that looks as cozy as it feels? Ty typed, and then switched back to the browser to scroll the sofa’s product details. His eyes widened at the bolded price at the bottom. “Fuck. Ten thousand dollars?” He switched back to the chat window. I bet we could find something great at the flea markets for like a hundred bucks.

Jonathan’s response was an immediate shocked emoji, followed by a few unyielding words, making Ty laugh. I do not buy upholstered furniture secondhand.

Ty looked around himself. He happened to be sitting in the living room while Isabel had tummy time on the floor, and he was pretty sure there wasn’t a single piece of secondhand anything in this room, or the rest of the house, for that matter.

Secondhand stuff has charm. Even more if it’s third hand. Or thirtieth-hand.

Jonathan’s reply came lightning-fast. A lover of antiques, are you?

Ty smiled. I don’t know. I do like things that seem like they have their own story.

Help me find a cozy sofa firsthand, and we can find some pieces with their own stories at the flea market. Deal?

Ty’s heart tripped over itself. “We” meant that they’d go to the flea markets together, didn’t it? Other than walks with Isabel, and their failure of a picnic at the UMKC campus the other day, they never hung out together outside of the house. Well, neither of them hung out with anyone outside of the house, but still, this felt significant.

Sure. I’ll text you some sofas with cozy potential. He hesitated and then added, with slow taps of his thumbs, When do you want to go to the flea market?

There was a brief pause before Jonathan answered. Maybe it wasn’t significant; he could be in the middle of something. Still, Ty’s heart was pounding by the time the notification that Jonathan was typing appeared. And when the message came through, he was pacing a short path back and forth past Isabel’s blanket, while she craned her head to watch him in bewilderment.

ASAP, was Jonathan’s answer. Name the day.