On the verge of tears not sure of where to go or what to do, Tad wandered aimlessly before finding an old barn on the opposite side of the property. The door wasn't latched, and being the curious type he decided to go inside.
The barn was small, with hay, feed, and farm animals in different stalls. Thanks to them it didn't smell very good. But at least it was was warm and near Dixie's house, so Tad could sleep there tonight and be able to say goodbye to her in the morning.
Leaning back against the wall, fiddling with a piece of straw, Tad jumped when he heard a creaking sound and a familiar soft voice.
"Taad? You in here?"
Sure enough he saw Dixie, standing with a folded napkin in her hands.
"Yeah, how'd you know?"
"You left the door open. And I come out here too sometimes when I'm upset."
"I..I'm not upset.", Tad sighed, though Dixie knew better and gave him a look indicating so.
"Yeah, okay.", Shrugging she took a seat beside him.
"Dix, I thought you'd be getting ready for bed. It's late."
"Well I got hungry. And when I was in the kitchen I remembered you nev'r got dessert. So here."
Unwrapping the napkin she handed him, Tad smiled.
"Cookies?"
"Momma made my fav'rite, chocolate chips, no nuts. You like 'em?", she asked eagerly.
"Yeah, they're great."
Smiling, Dixie reached over and tore off a small chunk of cookie for herself. But not long after finishing it she was fighting back a yawn.
"Looks like you're getting tired.", Tad chuckled.
"Nuh uh. No way!"
"You sure about that?", he asked as Dixie yawned again.
"Well, maybe I am, just a little bit.", she admitted. "But I'm not goin back inside without you."
"Dix c'mon."
"No! It's not right you gotta stay out here all alone."
"It's okay, I wanted to come out here."
"I don't care. I'm not leavin you.", Dixie said stubbornly. And Tad knew there was no winning this argument.
"Fine, stay then."
Watching her eyes get heavier, Tad knew she was fighting to stay awake for his benefit. But he knew they both had to go to sleep sometime, even if they slept in here.
Stretching back so he was lying on his back, Tad laughed when Dixie followed suit and stretched back right beside him. Acting just like Jenny would when she'd sneak in Tad's room after having a bad dream.
"What's so funny?", Dixie muttered.
"Nothin. You comfy?"
"Uh huh."
"Comfy enough to go to sleep?", asked Tad.
"Nope. Not yet."
"Well how do you suppose we fix that?"
"You know any stories?"
"Not if they're about princesses and prince Charmings."
"Oh c'mon! Those are the best kind!"
"Nah, I got a better one. Close your eyes."
Giggling, Dixie kept one eye open just a crack.
"Both of 'em!"
"Ugh, fine."
"Okay...so there's this old accountant guy. He's real boring like my weirdo uncle. And he's all gray, colorless."
"Mmhmm..gray. Go on."
"And all day he sits and reads old gray books with all these columns of numbers in 'em. And he adds up all the columns.."
Rattling off a list of numbers in a slow, soft voice, it wasn't long before Tad heard a soft little snore and he smiled. Turning his head slightly he saw Dixie was out like a light. Careful not to wake her, he rolled over and closed his eyes.
But not long after, an unwelcome presence wandered into his dream and turned it into a nightmare.
"No...no, lemme go, le..leave me alone! NO!"
Feeling someone kicking at her leg, Dixie stirred and rolled over to see Tad tossing, turning and muttering in his sleep.
"Tad..Tad wake up. Wake up!"
Shaking him, careful to avoid his bad arm, Dixie anxiously waited for him to open his eyes. He looked scared and upset and she hated seeing him like that.
"It's okay Tad, it's okay it's just a dream! C'mon..wake up, WAKE UP!"
"NO!"
Jolting up, trying to catch his breath, Tad turned and saw Dixie staring at him wide-eyed.
"I..It was just a bad dream, Tad. Right?"
"Right. Right, it was just a dream.", he sighed. Not wanting to tell her it was actually a bad memory.
"Yeah. So it's not real and you can sleep. It's over now, the dream won't come back.", assured Dixie.
But she saw past Tad's nod to the worry in his eyes and sighed. Her friend was still afraid and she knew he wasn't gonna want to go back to sleep. So it was gonna be up to her to get him to.
"C'mon, Tad, lie back and close your eyes. Go on. If you don't I'll hafta do something."
"Do what?", he asked curiously.
"What my momma does when me and Will and Della don't wanna sleep."
"What does your momma do?"
"She sings to us. Real soft and pretty like. I don't do it as well as she does but I know the words to the song she sings by heart."
"Alright then sing it."
"Oh Tad...", blushed Dixie.
"Hey, you brought it up."
"Well...I dunno if I-"
"Look, if you do I promise I'll close my eyes and go to sleep."
"You promise?"
"Yeah, I promise." Tad said sincerely, and did as he was asked.
"Well, okay.", Shyly, feeling a bit embarrassed, Dixie cleared her throat and softly started singing.
"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy, when skies are gray. You'll never know dear, how much I love you. Please don't take my sunshine away."
Try as he might to listen to her sing, it wasn't long before Tad was sleeping soundly.
And more relaxed now that her friend wasn't having nightmares, Dixie drifted off again as well.