Glass shattered downstairs, followed by a roar of deep laughter. Daddy's parties were as wild and loud as a New York City club. Jacob tried to go to sleep before Daddy's friends came over, but tonight, they came over early.
Jacob wrapped his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles pillow over his ears while the bedframe vibrated from the bass downstairs.
Mama suddenly burst through the door along with her entourage of friends.
"Is he still awake?" they whispered.
Mama inched back the covers and the boy did his best to look asleep. He knew that if Mama's friends saw he was awake, they would pester him with questions and conversation. Jacob slowed his breathing and even threw in a fake snore. Mama turned to leave, but she noticed the outline of two little shoes from under the covers.
"I told the boy to take his shoes off before he goes to sleep."
Mama grabbed his shoe, but Jacob's reflexes pulled his leg back. He tried to play it off by rolling over, but it was too late. She called to her friends and they raced to the bed. The young women pushed and shoved each other to be closest to Jacob.
"Baby J, do you remember me?"
"No, I'm his favorite. Ain't that right, big baby?"
"Oh, he looks so handsome. Just like his daddy."
"He's getting so big, how old is he now?"
"Give your Auntie K a kiss on the cheek."
Jacob hated it when they came over. They all left different colored lip stick stains on his cheek and when they got up to leave, his bed would reek of tobacco and perfume. Each of Mama's friends had different nicknames for him, too. Some called him, 'baby J"; another, "lil J"; one even called him "Cob."
"You know, I got a brother who has a daughter like the same age. You guys would be so cute together."
The lady with the big belly said, "You just hold on, lil Jacob. I got one on-the-way and you two can get together later on. You'll only be like six years apart."
Jacob slid under the covers, trying to usher them away.
"Look, he's trying to squirm away. He's probably tired," Mama said.
"But it's only 11," Mama's friend groaned.
Daddy yelled upstairs to his wife and Mama told everyone it was time to go. The ladies moaned and then smothered Jacob's cheeks with kisses. Jacob thought they had left for good, but one poked her head back in the door.
"Hey, Jacob, why do you wear shoes to sleep?"
Mama pulled her friend out of the room and shut the door before Jacob could respond.
"If the monsters come, I can run away," he whispered to himself.
Jacob slid out from his bed and moved his chair next to the window. He climbed up and made sure the window was open. Then he checked under his bed for the rope he got from a school field trip to the Fire Station. He had been hiding it. Jacob shivered from the wind and jumped back into his bed.
YOU ARE READING
Jacob's Running Shoes
Short StorySix year-old Jacob does something weird: He wears his shoes to sleep. He says he wears them, "in case the monsters come." Most people think this is ridiculous, but Jacob knows these monsters are real... and could come at any moment.
