I'll Burn With You (MXM)

chapter 38 : a brief interlude ~ the lake breeze

Jack raised a brow, still bleary-eyed from the overnight train, to the plain brick duplex standing at the corner of W. Erie and Maxwell Streets. A tall double-story bay window dominated, while the squat entry seemed to shrink into the mass that was the building itself. Turning his eyes to the rapid transit line just a block away, suspended on a metal bridge shadowing the road beneath, Jack could not help but wonder why Ben would choose, willingly, to live here – a rented, ground-floor apartment – instead of the Byrd's modest townhouse just across from Chester Arthur Memorial Park.

"Daddy!" a child yelped, jumping down the three steps of the stone stoop into Mr. Pryce's arms.

"Thomas, my boy!" Mr. Pryce exclaimed, swinging the nearly eight-year-old up and around. "Look at how you've grown! How are you with the piano?"

He made a sound of disgust, still smiling, before holding his father a little tighter.

A plump toddler climbed down the steps, his hands outstretched for the man. Jumbled words fell from the boy's lips.

Ben brought his hand to his lips, frowning. His stomach turned.

Mr. Pryce, similarly, swung the boy into his arms, Thomas shifted onto one arm. "Willy! Look at you! You-you've grown so much!" His eyes moved to both of his sons, watching them intently before moving towards the stone stoop.

Turning away, Ben bit the inside of his cheek, his suitcase at his feet. It felt wrong trying not to squirm at the sight. It all made him so uneasy; it made him yearn at the same time. He pulled his flat cap over his forehead.

Jack studied him, confused by Ben's reaction. Something in him twisted slightly.

Ascending the front steps, Mr. Pryce leaned down, squishing his face into his wife's cheek; she wrapped an arm around his back. Dropping his children down, he whispered something inaudible to the teenagers standing at attention on the sidewalk, only for her to slap him lightly on the arm.

"Gus, you're positively dreadful." Mrs. Pryce moved off the stoop towards Ben, holding one hand out to him while another held up the hem of her gown. "Mr. Price, it is good to finally put a face to the name. My husband has written about you quite a bit." She shook his hand.

He breathlessly sighed; it came out as a whimper. "I-I hope I'm not too much 'f a bother, ma'am."

Mrs. Pryce shook her head, cupping the mass of hair atop her head as a light breeze blew through, tinted with a light collection of nauseating city smells. "I appreciate your saying you'd take a job to help support us. Do you know where you'll be working yet?"

Hazel eyes turned to Jack for a moment before he answered, "Y-yes. I'll be shadowin' an accountant at one 'f the banks on State Street. Runnin' errands, doin' extra work here 'nd there. It makes sense fer me, since my, my vocation's based in mathematics."

Her eyes turned to Jack. "Mr. Byrd, I presume?"

Jack raised his hand to the rim of his boater hat. "Ma'am."

She offered her hand to Jack, who took it, nodding his head in polite, silent salutation. "Good to have you, sir." Mrs. Pryce turned, gesturing to the building. "Oh! Please, come in. It is a horribly warm day today; have some lemonade on the back porch before you leave."

A warmth spread through him. Jack cleared his throat, chuckling. "I...unfortunately, I have to decline. I have...other obligations."

Mrs. Pryce nodded. "Well, you are welcome here," she continued, gesturing to Ben. "Mr. Price, I have your room set up for you."

"Why does he get my room?" Thomas asked, taking the stoop steps two at a time.

"It was not your room, it was my sewing room," his mother told him, "and because Mrs. Kolinski and I are sharing a sewing machine, we consolidated our fabrics."