Nathan was leaning against his closet door and knocked a couple of times in what seemed random timing on the lower part of the door.
He looked up at the plastic space ship hanging on his ceiling until he heard a set of knocks on the closet door.
Nathan thought for a moment before replying again with a couple of short and long knocks, just like morse code, but he had no real idea how that worked.
As he waited again he started dragging the blanket of the bed using his big toe and the one next to it.
There were two knocks on his bedroom door, “Knock Knock.”, His father said while he opened the door.
“Who’s there.”, He added with a clever smile on his face.
His father sat down on the end of the bed, “He still wont come out of the closet?”
The boy shook his head like it was on fire and he was trying to put it out.
“Ok then, he’ll have to come out eventually. But at least it’s not the closet monster we thought it was. Your uncle Jax is just going through a hard time right now, with the breakup and all.”, His father explained.
There was another series of knocks coming from the inside of the closet and Nathan listened to them carefully.
“You know morse code?” His father asked.
Nathan silenced his father by holding his finger against his lips, “He’s coming out.”
Nathan got up and sat down on the bed next to his father and they watched the door slowly open.
It was dark inside the closet so they only saw uncle Jax his eyes at first, shining by the light that came from the solar system ceiling lamp.
Uncle Jax took a step forward and he was wearing a long fur coat, at that same moment Nathan’s mother came into the room and began yelling, “That’s my fur coat! Take it off!”
“I don’t think you want it back right now, I’m not wearing anything underneath.”, Uncle Jax said while digging his chin into the fur.
And then they all remembered that a couple of nights before Uncle Jax stormed the front door down and ran upstairs and locked himself inside the closet.
Nathan’s father got up from the bed, “So are you ready to talk about what happened?”
“She left me.”, Uncle Jax simply replied while walking out of Nathan’s bedroom.
They walked downstairs to continue talking, when Nathan followed them his father told him it was just for grown ups and he should go and brush his teeth.
Nathan went into the bathroom and prepared his toothbrush and when the coast was clear he sneaked down the stairs far enough to listen in on the rest of the conversation.
Nathan continued to brush his teeth while he listened in on their conversation.
His parents and uncle were sitting on the couches across from each other and Nathan’s father began to ask Uncle Jax questions, “So what happened?”
His mother was clearly upset and squeezed in, “That’s a perfect rabbit fur coat.”
“She fell in love with another man.”, Uncle Jax said right before he broke down in tears.
“The last thing left that belonged to my mother.”, Nathan’s mother said but nobody was listening.
Nathan’s father was trying to comfort his brother, “That’s so unfair.”
“Now sweat in, maybe even some piss or worse!”
“Bitch!” Uncle Jax yelled in between wiping his nose with the coat.
“It’s my coat!” Nathan’s mother yelled back.
Nathan started feeling sleepy and looked at his tooth brush as if he had x-ray vision, they drugged his toothpaste with some ground sleeping pills again, but it was too late and he fell asleep on one of the steps never to have found out where the conversation was going to.
He looked up at the plastic space ship hanging on his ceiling until he heard a set of knocks on the closet door.
Nathan thought for a moment before replying again with a couple of short and long knocks, just like morse code, but he had no real idea how that worked.
As he waited again he started dragging the blanket of the bed using his big toe and the one next to it.
There were two knocks on his bedroom door, “Knock Knock.”, His father said while he opened the door.
“Who’s there.”, He added with a clever smile on his face.
His father sat down on the end of the bed, “He still wont come out of the closet?”
The boy shook his head like it was on fire and he was trying to put it out.
“Ok then, he’ll have to come out eventually. But at least it’s not the closet monster we thought it was. Your uncle Jax is just going through a hard time right now, with the breakup and all.”, His father explained.
There was another series of knocks coming from the inside of the closet and Nathan listened to them carefully.
“You know morse code?” His father asked.
Nathan silenced his father by holding his finger against his lips, “He’s coming out.”
Nathan got up and sat down on the bed next to his father and they watched the door slowly open.
It was dark inside the closet so they only saw uncle Jax his eyes at first, shining by the light that came from the solar system ceiling lamp.
Uncle Jax took a step forward and he was wearing a long fur coat, at that same moment Nathan’s mother came into the room and began yelling, “That’s my fur coat! Take it off!”
“I don’t think you want it back right now, I’m not wearing anything underneath.”, Uncle Jax said while digging his chin into the fur.
And then they all remembered that a couple of nights before Uncle Jax stormed the front door down and ran upstairs and locked himself inside the closet.
Nathan’s father got up from the bed, “So are you ready to talk about what happened?”
“She left me.”, Uncle Jax simply replied while walking out of Nathan’s bedroom.
They walked downstairs to continue talking, when Nathan followed them his father told him it was just for grown ups and he should go and brush his teeth.
Nathan went into the bathroom and prepared his toothbrush and when the coast was clear he sneaked down the stairs far enough to listen in on the rest of the conversation.
Nathan continued to brush his teeth while he listened in on their conversation.
His parents and uncle were sitting on the couches across from each other and Nathan’s father began to ask Uncle Jax questions, “So what happened?”
His mother was clearly upset and squeezed in, “That’s a perfect rabbit fur coat.”
“She fell in love with another man.”, Uncle Jax said right before he broke down in tears.
“The last thing left that belonged to my mother.”, Nathan’s mother said but nobody was listening.
Nathan’s father was trying to comfort his brother, “That’s so unfair.”
“Now sweat in, maybe even some piss or worse!”
“Bitch!” Uncle Jax yelled in between wiping his nose with the coat.
“It’s my coat!” Nathan’s mother yelled back.
Nathan started feeling sleepy and looked at his tooth brush as if he had x-ray vision, they drugged his toothpaste with some ground sleeping pills again, but it was too late and he fell asleep on one of the steps never to have found out where the conversation was going to.
