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The chokehold of winter had wrapped itself tightly around New York, sending down sooty snowflakes and making the dumpster stench that permeated the air seem crisper and sharper. The high rise buildings and apartments shone washed out glows into the night, the artificial light extinguishing the stars and making the sky a void of clouded darkness, save for some airplanes piercing through the thick smog. It was the sort of weather that had Sam’s parents dress him for the cold but Max didn’t have anything to combat the sleet and snowflakes that danced along the haloed light of the streetlights.
At this time of the night it was expected for little second grade ankle biters to be at home but this was not the case for Sam and Max. They were roaming the streets to get home as detention had eaten up most of the daylight hours. They wound and twisted around the maze of New York, avoiding piles of garbage and slick sidewalks that were slippery with dumpster grease.
They had been sent to detention because on this day at school the teachers conspired to keep them apart for one art class, a test run to separate them because Max was deemed a bad influence. One of the art teachers was a smugly confident hard-ass that reassured he could handle Max alone. He had tried to fill Max’s mind with the idea that Sam would cast him aside someday so they should just get used to the idea that they would drift apart.
At least that’s what Sam had been told by Max while they were walking home. He was cryptic on what actually went down in the classroom, other than declaring that it wasn’t fun because Sam was gone. None of their classmates would say what happened in the wake of Max’s destruction either, and the hard-ass teacher seemed shaken in the aftermath. All that Sam really knew was the commotion that rose up and drew people to that art room, that the doors had burst open and the stern art teacher shoved Max to the ground which made Sam see red and bite that teacher on the hand hard enough to bleed. That earned him a spot in detention alongside Max.
At the very least there came an outcome that they wouldn’t be separated from each other forever as was planned, since it was clear that it was way more trouble than it was worth or what anyone could handle.
But they would be separated when their route back home diverged and Max would have to take the subway to leave Sam alone until the next day. It set unease in Sam’s little heart, a feeling like something within him was fraying and would remain broken until Max was by his side again. Even if Max called him a nerd sometimes. Sam would call him a knucklehead and not get bit. Most of the time.
Sam was pulled out of his musings because Max grabbed his paw and shouted, “You’re so slow, Sam!”
“Am not,” Sam snapped without anything cleverer to add on to that. He did seem to walk faster when their paws were clasped together, following the familiar route that would take them to the needed subway line. Max’s paw felt a little sticky because of the peanut butter sandwich he had for lunch.
Sam had the idle want for their paws to stay linked together for a few more minutes. He thought, “Let this last a little longer.”
Even thought that would never be enough.
Sam dragged his feet a little when the entrance to the subway was in view, people coming and going up and down the stairs like automatons in a rat race. The two of them stood a few feet away from the stairs which earned a few disgruntled remarks from those that nearly stumbled into them. They ignored what was going on around them.
Sam could only see Max’s back and the back of his head since he led the way here but his paw held on a little tighter like he hesitated to let go. Lamentations prodded at Sam’s lungs because there was probably a limit to how many times he could invite Max to sleep at his home and vice versa, so they might’ve been on thin ice.
Max let go and turned around to presumably say good-bye, but a blast of cold winter wind pushed against them and he shivered violently.
Sam unraveled his bright red scarf, this color that Max would love because it almost looked like fresh blood or orange depending on the light. Max gave him a questioning look as Sam wrapped it around him.
“You can take that off an’ smack anyone who would try to mess with ya,” Sam said.
Max shrugged. “I already got these.”
He pointed at his teeth and grinned grievously. Sam figured he had a point there. Max’s eyes locked onto Sam’s jacket and he pulled a face. He reached forward and pulled at the zipper, Sam seeing what the problem was as it gagged on some of the teeth and then smoothly went down about halfway.
“Your zipper is off, dummy,” Max said, gesturing to the half open jacket before grabbing the fabric and the zipper again. “You’re gonna freeze to death and then where would I be?”
“Probably on the run from the army ‘cause you blew up the school during Christmas break.”
“Badass! All right, you can turn into a puppy popsicle into that snow drift over there.” Max zipped up his jacket all the way.
“You can turn into a snowkid – snow rabbit, whatever, and shut your stupid mouth,” Sam said. He made the scarf stay secure around Max’s neck and shoulders.
“Good plan then. We’ll freeze right next to each other.”
Max let go of his jacket and took a moment to grin at Sam, a gesture that proclaimed they were best friends. Then Max pulled down Sam’s knit hat over his head while laughing, another proclamation that they were best friends.
“Max!” Sam whined as he pulled it back up. He gave a bop to Max’s shoulder which made him laugh harder.
For a few seconds it looked as though Max would grab his paw again, like he forgot they had to go their separate ways. His shoulders slackened in disappointment as a small pout marred his face. Then it was gone as he walked to the stairs and waved.
“Bye, Sammy!” Max called as he was engulfed by the maw of the subway entrance.
Sam stood there and waved until he couldn’t see Max anymore. He turned and started walking home. He felt the thread snap, like the sun was gone and it was eaten by loneliness. Or it was eaten by the loss of Max’s voice, how it felt weirdly quiet in New York now. Being alone brought Sam to a familiar train of thought.
Max was his best friend forever. Adults would scoff at that, like it was childhood mischief and whimsy to declare what grown-ups thought was false. Yet Sam still did. There was a vow in his chest, crackling with life. Someday – they would be together forever.
Adults didn’t think he would know what that meant. But he did. Whenever Sam thought of the word forever he thought of Max by his side.
-
The years continued to go on like a flurry of snow. Sam and Max grew up together to the present in which they groused about the youth and felt their age whenever their protégé talked. But sometimes the kid said something coherent, like this day when they suggested buying some cannoli after a case. The kid looked happy when they ate theirs after the trio stopped to get some of the treats. Max ate his quick like a seagull. Sam ate his slower and thought of peanut butter for some reason but maybe it was because the cream in the cannoli shared that same texture. Sam had bought a few to go to give to Sybil later, the bag squashed in his inventory.
On the way to delivering these treats to Sybil the kid had the suggestion to get some coffee as well. It was the sort of winter weather that made people want to go back to bed and for Sam to actually bundle up somewhat so he had to agree. Max was just wearing a stained red scarf that was more the color of crimson at this point, and frayed along the edges.
Though it was agreed that it’d be a good idea to get some coffee, Sam sent the kid into the place to go buy the hot drinks. Sam and Max elected to wait outside and sit on a bench to people watch as their protégé bought the coffee. The coffee place was packed and the two of them could watch what was going on because of the large glass windows, and be glad that they weren’t in the middle of the irritating fray.
Max instead chose to be obnoxious in this moment by listing off all the state capitals. Probably because yammering staved off his shivering somewhat. Sam undid an outer layer coat and tossed it onto his face.
“I’m getting tired of your jabbering jaw, that oughta shut you up.”
“Sam,” Max exclaimed as he pulled the coat off his face and put it on, “You have no shame, sayin’ you love me in front o’ the general public.”
“You wrote the book on bein’ shameless, little pal. Like earlier, when ya stuck a moldy piece of cheese in that highfalutin novel and tried to blame it on the kid,” Sam said, chuckling.
Max blinked as he looked up at Sam. He tilted his head slightly. “What? Sam, I didn’t catch any of that.”
Sam shook his head even as he grinned at his husband. “You’re downright unfathomable sometimes, Max.”
“I try my best!” Max shouted with pride. Some people stopped to stare at him for a few seconds because of his outburst, and then hurried along when they got a good look at his shark-like teeth. They were probably tourists.
Sam patted his head, moving it around for a few seconds like a bobble-head. “I can definitely say that you’re never boring, little buddy.”
“That’s the worst, Sam! ‘S nice to know that I’m needed and appreciated,” Max said with a gleeful grin. “I have to pick up lumpy’s weight for that ‘cause they’re so quiet.”
There was a pang in Sam’s chest, some pain that was about a decade old pressing against his ribcage and lungs. It had a bile-like aftertaste of when he lost Max and then got him back all of those years ago. He fiddled with his tie as he rolled over the uncomfortable thought that Max could think he wasn’t needed. He always was.
“Max, of course I need you,” Sam said without thinking. He was at a bit of a loss to tell Max how much he meant to him. They had seen and gone through so much together, they were husbands, partners in every sense of the word, best friends since they were little tykes. Normally Sam could ramble on and on but this was so much that he didn’t know where to start. So it started and ended simply, “You’re my best friend.”
Only Sam could know that Max’s smile got a little brighter. He swung his legs as he asked, “You gettin’ soft, Sam? Is that Hugh Bliss sappiness rubbing off on you?”
“Not a chance in Hell, knucklehead.” He lifted his arm up and rested it around Max when he nuzzled against his side.
Sam held him tighter when he thought, “My little buddy.”
“You know how many peons wanna be my best friend? You have a very coveted position,” Max said.
“Do I know any of these peons?” Sam asked.
“You know lumpy.”
“The kid is wary of you fifty percent of the time, little pal,” Sam said. “’Cause seventy-five percent of the time you’re flashin’ your teeth at them and twenty-five percent of the time you’re screaming in their face.”
“Isn’t it great when me and lumpy bond?”
Sam chuckled, ruffling his fur. He looked away from Max for a few seconds to see how far the kid got into the coffee shop. They were at the counter, counting out money for the drinks and looking a little harried.
They would probably be there for a while. But that was all right. It meant that Sam could steal a few more moments alone with Max.