Brooklyn Baby | Spot Conlon ¹

Chp. 44: Manhattan Is Back

Kenny screams, sitting up in her bed, a pool of sweat gathering. That wasn't a dream. It couldn't have been? 

"It was all too real," She whispers. 

"Kenny, is you okay?" Jack rubs his face, standing in her doorway. 

"Yeah, um, bad dream, Jackie." 

"Alright then shaddup," She hears him trudge back to his room. 

Getting up, she runs to the barn. What would she say to Spot? 'I just had a dream where I thought about all our good and bad times, then we had sex? Sorry to wake you up?'

Shaking her head, she opens the door. 

"Spot, Bucky!" She calls. No answer. 

"Guys?!"  

She frantically climbs up the ladder, peaking to see if the two Brooklynites were asleep. They were gone. She jumps down, running back to the house. 

"Jack," She says, shaking him from sleep. 

"What now?" 

Don't be fooled, Jack can be a caring brother, but when he's tired, forget about it. 

"Where are Spot and Bucky?!" 

"What do you care?" 

"Jack," She snaps. 

"Talk to Race," He shoves his pillow onto his face. 

She rolls her eyes, going back to her room, and shaking Race awake. 

"Kenny? Are you okay?" He says. 

"Where'd Spot and Bucky go?" 

"They ain't in the barn?" 

"No," 

"Let's go look," 

Race walks with Kenny into the barn, where the horses were now awaken. 

"Go look again," Race says. 

Kenny climbs up the ladder and looks back down. 

"I already checked, they ain't up here," 

"I'll go check in the house," Race says. 

She sits there, leaning against the hay, when she sees something. A piece of paper. 

She unfolds the note, and reads it. 

Dear Kenny, 

Thank you for the adventure. 

-Spot

Tears involuntarily gather on her eyelids. She clutches the note, and climbs down to go find Race. 

"Race, Race, they left." She says, showing him the note. "They went back to New York," 

"How do ya know?" 

"I just know it, Race." 

"We can't leave, Kenny." He says. "We gotta talk ta Jack," 

<>

The next morning, Jack wasn't so lenient. 

"We can't leave, Kenny, we's gotta responsibility for this place,"

"Jack, we don't belong here, we belong in New York," 

"Kenny, we will leave soon, but not now," 

"Jack, I need to see him--"

"No, you don't!" Jack yells, making Kenny cringe. "Spot has broken your heart more than I can count, and you don't need 'im,"