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A short time after Even turned five, his mother decided it was about time for the Bech Næsheim family to strengthen the invisible and intangible bond that was somehow supposed to bind them to God. Cecilie had always been a woman of faith, in fact her attendance to church had been impeccable until the day she met Erik and convinced herself that falling in love with him demanded one hundred percent of her time. And, although Erik did not exactly adore the idea, it wasn’t that hard to persuade him either.
Even had never been in a church before so he didn’t know what to think while the priest was giving the sermon, or while everyone was kneeling and murmuring their respective prayers, or while his mother was exchanging numbers with a group of women outside the chapel after the mass. His father was holding his left hand with the intention of preventing him from interrupting Cecilie’s social gathering asking something like “can we please go home now?” and the intention was ridiculous, really, because Even was too distracted following with his eyes the route of a yellow butterfly, so distracted that he didn’t even notice his father’s grip tightening around his little fingers in search of his attention.
“Even, there’s a boy looking at you” Were the eight words that managed to get him out of his trance, and his eyes went from tracking the butterfly to tracking his father’s. And, yes, a -little- boy with golden curls and pink cheeks was staring right at him a few steps away, semi-hidden behind the legs of a blonde woman. The boy, or baby if the pacifier in his mouth was anything to go by, suffocated a stuffed bear between his arms and his chest.
“Why is he looking at me?”
“I bet he wants you to play with him.”
“But he’s so little! Like, the littlest. What am I supposed to play with him?”
“What about you ask him yourself?”
Even frowned, mentally debating if he should listen to his father’s advice or not. The boy seemed sweet and all but also… little. Even doubted he could speak yet. Taking one last glance at his mother and her new friends and realizing he had nothing better to do, Even slowly approached the little boy who seemed unable to stop looking at him with his bright green eyes.
But the boy didn't react like Even expected, not at all, because the first thing he did when he saw Even standing by his side was to hide completely behind the woman's legs.
"Isak?" The woman -who had to interrupt the conversation she was having with a man due to the sudden movement of the kid- asked, but her confused expression disappeared when she noticed Even's presence. "Oh. Hi, love. I'm sorry, Isak is just very shy."
Even nodded, though he was not quite sure how shyness worked. In fact, he hadn't met a shy boy before. "Is it because I'm older than him?"
"Maybe," The woman replied with a smile. "What's your name?"
"Even."
"Well, nice to meet you, Even. My name is Marianne."
Just when Even was about to answer, his parents decided to join the conversation. They informed Even they were ready to take him home whenever he wanted to but also took their time to introduce themselves to Marianne and her husband. Time that Even took advantage of to meet yet again the not-really subtle gaze the little boy was giving him from his position behind his mother's legs, making him take his green eyes off of his and fix them on the ground. Even smiled and decided right there and then that his shyness was even more sweet than the rapidness with which he sucked on his baby penguin's pacifier. Isak's little curls were shining under the ray of the sun just like the fake yellow fur of his stuffed bear -Funshine, if Even's knowledge on Care Bears served him right- and made him wonder if that's how angels would look like.
"How old are you?" Asked Even in the most innocent tone of voice he could manage, hoping Isak would find it friendly enough to at least consider meeting his gaze once again. And when he did, a couple of seconds later, Even knew he had won. "You can show me with your fingers if you can't speak, like this," He explained while he raised his left hand to show Isak his palm. "I'm five."
Even wasn't expecting the boy to actually do it, so he was surprised when he saw him raise two of his little fingers.
"He's turning three in a few months, though," Added Marianne, reminding Even that their parents were still there and -apparently- paying attention. "And I still can not get him to throw that pacifier away."
The comment made the adults dive into a whole new conversation about toddlers and their bad habits and Even had to bite his tongue to not start talking about grown ups and their even worse habits because he didn't want to get scolded right in front of Isak. Isak was growing up, so Even was obligated to show him how a big boy was supposed to behave in public.
"I think you should throw it away whenever you want," He murmured after making sure that not his parents nor Isak's would listen to him, driven by the total attention those green eyes were giving him. "My mom never bought me one, but I think yours is pretty cool. And your teeth will be fine, I promise."
"Even," Said Isak, his voice muffled due to the pacifier, like Even's name was the only thing that interested him.
"That's me."
The next time he talked, Isak removed the pacifier from his mouth and shoved his stuffed bear in Even's face. "Funshine!"
"Believe it or not, this is the most he has said to another kid in his almost three years."
Marianne's words provoked a protective instinct in Even, instinct that reminded him of that time Elias' little sister had been born and the boy had announced his kindergarten classmates that he wouldn't have time for friendships anymore because he had to protect Sana from all the bad things that existed in the world. Isak barely talked, had no siblings as his mother had mentioned, and Even knew kids that would make fun of him for using a pacifier so -logically- he needed to be protected. And Even was willing to be his protector.
His eyes filled with tears as soon as he was sitting in the backseat of his father's car, because his parents rushed to say their goodbyes to Marianne and Terje and they did not give him the opportunity to invite Isak over to play someday in the week. He tried to fight the crying for a few minutes but he finally let it won, he let it wet his face little by little until a sob joined it in the disappointment of having let Isak down.
"Honey, what's wrong?" His mother asked, and the concerned tone in her voice forced Even to wipe his cheeks hastily with the back of his hands. Cecilie, even more gently than before, added: "You wanted to play with Isak for a little longer?"
Even shaked his head. "We were not playing, mom. I was protecting him."
Cecilie turned to look at her husband, who had his eyes fixed on the road, not without smiling at her son first. "Marianne gave me her number. We could have dinner with the Valtersens over Friday. What do you think, Erik?"
"Sounds good to me."
And when Cecilie found Even's gaze again, through the rearview mirror this time, the tears had been replaced by a hopeful smile.