Rolling over in bed, I cracked my eyes open as my cell phone blared a shrill ring tone. The sound shattered the deep, still darkness of night, and I took a deep breath as I answered the call.

“Hello?” Even without reading the caller ID, I knew who had called me, and heavy breathing met my rasping greeting. “James… did you have another nightmare?”

Every night for the past month James called me, and I shuffled on my back to rub my bleary eyes. Sometimes, when he called, he didn’t even say anything; we were just quiet on the phone. Other times, he told me about his dreams, and there were times when I just told him that Jack and the Beanstalk story. The important thing was that he called, though; I didn’t even care that he woke me up. It wasn’t like I had a job I had to go to in the morning.

“Can you tell me the story? It was bad…” Rough and slurring slightly, James’ request sent my heart pitter-pattering and a fierce heat to engulf every cell in my body. Words couldn’t describe how happy I was that he relied on me, how comfortable he felt to call me when he wasn’t doing well.

“Yeah- yeah, I can. Give me a second.” Setting my phone on my pillow, I sluggishly pushed myself up to sit and run my hand through my hair. Throwing my legs over the side of my bed, I grabbed my crutch before hauling myself onto my feet. My brace made a clunking sound against the hardwood floor, but I ignored it to take hold of my phone. “I’m just going to get some water first.”

Hobbling my way to the bathroom across the hall, I winced at the bright lights that skewered my brain. Setting my phone on the back of the toilet, my fingers worked the faucet knobs shakily as they tried to overcome my half-asleep state. For a moment, my mind went back to the first time James had called me in the middle of the night. It’d happened three days after I got home, and he’d asked about my ankle.

Splashing water on my face, I cupped my hands together to drink and soothe my dry mouth with quirked lips. It didn’t take me long to figure out why he really called that first time, and since then he’d taken my ‘call me any time’ advice very seriously. Turning off the faucet, I looked at myself in the mirror as I dried my face before snatching my phone.

“James? You there?” Making my way back into my bedroom, I shut the door behind me as Kiki watched me from her place at the foot of my bed. James’ only response was a grunt, and I sat down on top of my blankets before clearing my throat. “Once upon a time, in a magical land, there lived a peasant boy named Jack. Jack lived on a farm with his mom in the middle of vast countryside. There was an ocean of green in all directions, but Jack didn’t like his farm boy life…”

I’d recited this story so many times I didn’t even have to think about it anymore, and my speaker emanated no noise at all. Closing my eyes, I leaned back on my butt as I spoke the same words I’d spoke last night, and the night before. Sleep was so tantalizingly close, but at the same time I couldn’t reach it.

I didn’t want to reach it.

“… Jack’s mother told him, ‘You take the cow to market, Jack. Don’t lose the cow with your silly daydreams!’, for she knew how much Jack’s mind tended to wander. He promised to do her proud, but she still shook her head. ‘And make sure you get a good price, or we’ll starve to death! You hear me, boy?’, she said, and Jack nodded furiously before slipping out the front door…”

“Why is this your favorite story, Caroline?” Cutting me off, James’ question caused my eyelids to pop open. Goosebumps rushed down my arms, and I switched my phone from one ear to the other before answering him.

“Because Jack was a nobody, and he did great things. It reminds me that the most ordinary people can be the most amazing. What’s your favorite story? Did anyone tell you stories when you were little?” Even as I launched my probe, I knew the answer; James’ parents didn’t do that kind of thing with their children. He’d let slip that most of the time his parents were too busy fawning over his brothers… unless he messed up, of course.

“Mine… I think… it’d be Hansel and Gretel. You know, the one about the kids and the candy house and the witch.” Humming in acknowledgement, I took a deep breath as James continued speaking. “My buddy- the one that died in the Humvee… he used to tell that story to his kids over video chat. I guess I like it because they escaped without help. They did what they had to do, you know?”

“Yeah. Do you want me to tell that story instead?”

“Can you?” Nodding even though he couldn’t see me, I closed my eyes again to think of what to say. Hansel and Gretel was a pretty dark story, and I wanted to keep it light. James didn’t call me to listen about a witch that tricked children and baked them into pies that she then ate.

Of course, that was a big part of the story, but dulling it was important.

“Okay. Once upon a time, there were two children- Hansel and Gretel. They were siblings- twins- and they were constantly getting into mischief. Hansel liked to put pine needles in their evil uncle’s soup that they weren’t allowed to eat. Gretel liked to put mud in his slippers. Every time they pranked their uncle, Hansel and Gretel were sent out of their little cabin as punishment, but they enjoyed the freedom…”

Droning on and on, I ducked my head and ran my hand through my hair a hundred times as the darkest part of the night waned into early morning. It wasn’t until I heard James’ light snore through the line that I paused, and for a moment I just listened to him breathe. We were hours apart, but I’d never felt closer to him. He was lost, and each time he called me he found his way. Even if he wandered just an hour, it was still progress.

Staring at my phone as it fell into my lap, I expelled a tired sigh. Four, long, weeks had passed, and I was starting to feel the toll. My camera was basically collecting dust, and I couldn’t even play with Kiki until my ankle had fully healed. Leaning to stare at my booted foot, I frowned slightly as my mind went back to my first doctor’s appointment. The man that x-rayed and checked my foot had been surprised at how well it’d been set. Telling him the story of James sticking his fingers into my leg to find the break had made him cringe outwardly.

“Did you get another call, Caroline?” Glancing up at Sheila’s question, I nodded before she slipped through the threshold. I hadn’t even noticed her opening my door despite the low groan the hinges let out. She’d moved back into our guest bedroom, but neither my father nor I objected any.

She was a much better cook than I, especially because I couldn’t reach the spice cabinet.

“I feel so bad for leaving him, Sheila. Every night- and I can’t help him the way I should.” Seating herself next to me, Sheila wrapped her arm around my back to rub soothingly. She was who people pictured when hearing the term ‘Southern Hospitality’, with her strong physique and dark complexion that never discolored from anger. Leaning on her shoulder, I sniffled lightly as I remembered all of the strange looks I got when she picked me up from school for the first time. So many kids wondered how an African American could have a white child, and it was confusing for young me.

Even though I knew she’d never marry my dad, I considered Sheila my mother figure. She couldn’t have children of her own, so I’d made it my mission my entire life to give her everything she wanted.

“But you are helping him, CareBear. You can only do what you have the means to. I’d hazard a guess that this is easier for him, you know.” Tilting my head to look into Sheila’s wise, dark eyes, my question must’ve splattered across my face as she nodded sagely. “Oh, yes. Men- they grow up thinking that sharing their feelings isn’t manly. That it’s wrong. That they have to be strong and silent. So, I bet not seeing your face gives him a sense of security. Why don’t you invite him over? Even Kiki has been down in the dumps since you got back.”

“You think he’d come?” Patting my back reassuringly, Sheila winked down at me before standing up. Her pajamas rustled in the ensuing silence, and I watched her wander towards my desk to tap my camera bag.

“I think you should ask him. You know him better than I do, Caroline. Just remember- there’s no such thing as a bad decision.”