Work Text:
Every few moments a pool of light from the highway spills across his stuffed dog. He's curled in her lap, arm looped through hers while her dead eyes enshrine the window. She needs time to adjust. James always sheltered her too much.
The deck of cards I pull out is soft, probably smells of poker night. I look back at him and pat the seat beside me but he just stares at me, blue eyes wide and wary.
"Want to play a game with me?" He perks up a bit and looks up to her for a guidance she can't give right now.
"Mama needs a rest," I coax. I feel like the child-catcher from that old Dick van Dyke movie, patting the seat again and shuffling the cards.
He applies a death grip onto his dog's back leg and slowly slips his arm from hers. I help him scramble over the backrest into the middle row beside me, the spot with the car seat he refused a half hour ago. She wouldn't make him sit in it. We had to go.
"Game?"
"Yep. If you draw three red cards in a row you get to choose a new name for me. See? Here's the list."
He studies the paper as though he can read.
"If I draw three black cards I choose a new name for you. Here's your list."
This one takes more scrutiny, two wrinkles popping up between his brows as he examines words with a future.
"Why?"
I shrug, reach over to buckle his seat belt, just catching the approving nod from the Marshal in the front passenger seat.
"Pretend; a secret. We get to trick everyone else. It's fun."
He breaks into a smile that looks just likes James and reaches for the cards.
"Okay!"