Wolf Like Me • Bucky Barnes

chapter nine

Bear marches straight into the kitchen to investigate the stranger in my home.

I shut my front door and let out a chuckle, as James looks down at the dog, watching it circle his legs.

"This is Bear." I say. The fluffy dog wags his tail while audibly sniffing James up and down. "And Bear, this is Bucky." I say in a cheery voice, which earns me a look from James.

Bear looks up at him, panting away, tail still wagging. James puts his right hand out and Bear gives it a quick smell, before licking it all over.

I chuckle again as I pass by them and start putting away my groceries.

James squats down and starts giving Bear some head scratches. Then he stands back up, washes his hands and helps me with the groceries.

After that we have some toast, James smothering his with peanut butter. When we're done, I show him my record collection.

I have a few oldies, or what I consider oldies. Some Abba, The Beatles and Jimi Hendrix. James is already somewhat familiar with The Beatles, so I put on some Hendrix. And our day of discovery and catching up begins.

We start with the important, yet boring, politics. I tell him what I can and we google and read through the rest.

Then we delve into a fascinating discussion on literature.

After that, I set up my Nintendo Wii and show him how to play some Wii Sports. Once he gets the hang of it, he starts to crack a few genuine smiles.

Goodness gracious, it's a gorgeous sight.

And then he's letting out laughter, and be still my heart, it's a sound straight from heaven.

When we're done playing, my face hurts from smiling so much, and I feel like I'm sporting a six pack from all the laughing.

I switch the record player over to some Abba and he doesn't seem to hate it.

Just before lunch, I put on a batch of oatmeal raisin cookies.

"I read somewhere that these were popular back in the 30's and 40's. I hope you like them." I say as I take them out of the oven and I'm blessed with another gorgeous smile.

We have some lunch, then take Bear for a walk. When we get back, we start a movie.

"Did you ever watch Citizen Kane?" I ask.

"No. I wanted to but, you know, that little thing called World War ll.."

"Oh yeah, that.. Well, better late than never."

I bring out the cheese, dip, crackers, the bag of mixed nuts and the oatmeal cookies, then hit play.

It's such a good film for its time.

When it's over, we're both keen for another.

"Okay, this is one of Alfred Hitchcock's most famous films. It was released in 1960. The actor Anthony Perkins is fantastic." I inform him while I pop Psycho into the DVD player. "After this, we're moving to coloured films."

Another movie down and it's dinner time.

I connect my phone to my speaker, via Bluetooth, and open Spotify.

We cook spaghetti bolognaise for dinner, listening to a playlist I made of artists from the forties. Starting with some of the Billie Holiday songs that Bucky missed after the war. Including one of my favourites; In My Solitude.

The sounds of Bing Crosby, Fred Astaire, Peggy Lee and Glenn Miller fill my apartment while we cook and dine. And then it's time to for the next movie.