calendar boy

Staring at the calendar, Justin is surprised at how much time has passed. They had been in Amsterdam for a little over two months. Two months. And things were going well. Justin had started taking a few art classes at the Amsterdam School of the Arts, and even had several of his pieces shown at local galleries. All in all, he was doing quite well career-wise. Molly had begun talking about starting the fall semester at the secondary school nearby their home. Life was finally starting to make sense again. “Isn’t Brian coming back tonight?” Molly asks, interrupting her brother’s thoughts as he stood in front of the calendar. Nodding, he turns to her direction, “Yeah, he should be back for dinner.” Brian had been gone for the past two weeks in order to spend some time in Pittsburgh getting work done, spending quality time with Gus, and hanging out with his friends. Flopping onto the sofa, Molly pulls her hair up into a pony-tail. “Do you think he spoke to Carl?” She asks casually. Turning to look at Justin, she bites her lower lip, “You know…like…um.” Justin sits down next to her, “I’m sure he did.” Sighing, she leans back against the cushions, confessing, “I’ve been enjoying not knowing anything.” “Me too,” Justin admits. He had gotten so comfortable in Amsterdam that now he wasn’t sure if he would be able to adjust returning to Pittsburgh. “I really like my new friends…” Molly begins, “But I miss St. James and my friends there too…” “I know.” Justin had started making friends too. In fact, he and Brian had recently found themselves part of a new clique of friends and they often met for breakfast most mornings, drinks at their favorite bar in the evenings, and/or clubbing well into the night. “We can’t have it all, huh?” She asks with a sad smile. Sighing, Justin just shrugs. “Let’s just be ignorant for a few more hours.” Grinning, Molly nods her head in agreement. “How about we make some popcorn?” Nodding, Justin stands up and heads to the kitchen. He didn’t really know what to say as he stood by the counter. Did he want to return to Pittsburgh? That was his home. But Amsterdam was… comfortable. He had made new friends: friends who didn’t know about his past and wouldn’t look at him with sympathy or pity. He was taking exciting art courses and was even showing some of his pieces in local shows. He was making a name for himself here. But… at night… right before falling asleep, he would remember how it felt at home: in Pittsburgh. The sense of home and belonging… did he belong here? Surely he was welcomed. Surely he felt comfortable and even happy… but was it home? Was this his new home? And what about Molly? She had made friends, and even though their sense of style was a bit wary, he knew they were good kids, and more importantly, he knew Molly was safe in Amsterdam. “Justin?” Molly calls out, sitting up on her knees, “Are you okay?” Smiling softly, he nods, “Yeah, I was just thinking about what paintings I should show to that art dealer.” “The one from The World?” She asks, remembering the man propositioning her brother at last weekend’s art show. He was looking to add some more paintings to his gallery, which was on The World ship. Justin nods, now deciding it was actually a good time to think about it. “That’s pretty cool that he wants to put one of your paintings there.” Justin smiles, “Thanks, Moll.” “Maybe he’ll let us stay in one of the rooms for free as a thank you?” She asks with a wishful sigh. He laughs, “Don’t hold your breath. But if you really want to go, we can probably rent two guestrooms,” his smiling fading, Justin adds softly, but with a hint of bitterness, “It’s not like we can’t afford it.” Molly looks down and Justin wants to kick himself for killing the mood. “Hey,” he says suddenly, “How about you check to see what movies are playing? Brian won’t be home for another couple of hours… that’s plenty of time to watch a movie at the Cineplex.” Smiling, she quickly jumps off the couch, “Cool!” Disaster averted, Justin leans back against the counter and sighs. Turning back to the calendar, he wonders when he’ll ever be able to look at the numbers on the wall and not count back to when his parents and relatives were alive.