Page 96 of Body and Soul

“Babysitting?” Cherry sounded surprised. “I didn’t know Shepherd had kids.”

“It’s a long story,” I said, watching Dex carefully arrange the dinosaurs on the coffee table, lining them up in a way that made sense only to him. “But I’m stuck.”

“No worries. Family first, right? Let me know if you need anything.”

“I will,” I promised and hung up.

I stepped back into the living room. Dex was engrossed in his dinosaur setup, making little roaring noises as he moved them around. I watched him, feeling an odd protectiveness wash over me. I’d just met this kid, this alter, but somehow I felt responsible for him.

A sharp knock startled me from my thoughts. Dex's head snapped up, eyes wide. “Gavin!”

He scrambled to his feet and raced to the door, flinging it open without checking who it was. I tensed, ready to intervene, but it was indeed Gavin, impeccably dressed in a crisp charcoal suit.

“Gavin!” Dex exclaimed again, and to my shock, he threw his arms around Gavin in an exuberant hug.

Even more surprising was the way Gavin's usually stern face softened into a warm smile. He ruffled Dex's hair. “Good morning, Dexter. I see you’ve been keeping Eli company.”

“Uh-huh! We had Fruity Pebbles for breakfast, and Eli said we could watch a movie and have Pop-Tarts later! Look!” He grabbed Gavin's hand and dragged him to the coffee table. “I found all my dinosaurs! Even the triceratops!”

Gavin listened attentively as Dex chattered about his dinosaurs, asking questions and making appreciative noises. I stood back, marveling at this new side of Gavin. I’d always seen him as Shepherd’s strict, professional right-hand man. But with Dex, he was... softer. Almost paternal.

After a few minutes, Gavin straightened. “All right, Dexter. Why don’t you queue upThe Land Before Timein the VHS player in your room? I need to talk to Eli for a moment.”

“Okay!” Dex gathered an armful of dinosaurs and scampered to his bedroom.

Gavin turned to me, his expression shifting back to neutral professionalism. “Thank you for handling this morning, Eli. I know meeting a new alter can be... disorienting.” I shrugged, shoving my hands in my pockets. “It’s fine. Dex is a good kid. A bit excitable, but sweet.”

Gavin nodded. “He is. Dex doesn’t get much time in control, so when he does, it’s important to let him be a child. Within reason, of course.”

“Of course,” I echoed. “So, what now? Do we just let him watch movies all day?”

Gavin smiled, a rare sight. “Essentially, yes. We let Dex enjoy his time. I’ll need to send a few emails to cancel Shepherd’s classes, but after that, I’m all his. We’ll watch movies, color, play games. Whatever Dex wants.”

I nodded slowly. The idea of a grown man having a child alter was still strange to me. But I was learning to roll with the punches when it came to Shepherd and his system. “Sounds good. I’ll just hang out, I guess? I already called off work. Figured it’d be a good time for me and Dex to get to know each other.”

“Wonderful. I’m sure Dex will be thrilled to have you here.” Gavin pulled out his phone. “Let me handle these emails, and I’ll be right with you both.”

While Gavin typed on his phone, I wandered into Dex's room. He sat cross-legged on the floor in front of an old TV with a built-in VHS player. Stepping inside felt like stepping back in time. Posters of movies and cartoons I vaguely recognized covered the walls, and his bed was shaped like a racecar with a colorful quilt.

Dex looked up, grinning widely. “Eli! Come watch with me!” He patted the floor beside him.

I lowered myself to mirror his position. The movie was queued to the colorful opening credits. Dex grabbed a box of crayons and a coloring book from the floor, flipping it open to a half-finished page of a cartoonish T-Rex outlined in bold black lines.

“I’m gonna color while we watch,” he said, selecting a green crayon. “You can join me if you want.”

“Thanks, bud.” I grabbed a deep purple crayon and began filling in the spaces between the T-Rex's toes.

As the movie played, I got lost in the simple pleasure of coloring. It was soothing to focus on staying inside the lines and picking colors that felt right. Dex chattered beside me, providing a running commentary.

About halfway through the movie, Gavin poked his head into the room. “Eli, could I borrow you for a moment? I thought we could prepare some lunch for Dex.”

I glanced at Dex, engrossed in the movie and mouthing the dialogue he knew by heart. “Sure thing.” I pushed up from the floor, knees popping, and followed Gavin to the kitchen.

He was pulling ingredients from the fridge—bread, peanut butter, jelly, bananas. The quintessential childhood lunch. As he assembled the sandwich, he spoke quietly. “Thanks again for being so understanding with Dex. I know this is all new for you.”

I leaned against the counter, watching his precise movements. “It's definitely not what I expected when I woke up this morning,” I admitted.

Gavin nodded, his hands never faltering as he smoothly sliced the banana into perfect rounds. “Dex is a special case, even within Shepherd's system. He's what we call a time-stuck alter. In his mind, it's always 1993.”

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