Matt and Jack

2006.

While the Cobras and Spyders were fighting their underground wars for total control of Vicary City, a family had recently moved from London to Lionwest: the Prince family.

Among them was Matt, an eleven-year-old boy with dark brown bowl-cut hair and hazel-green eyes. He was a quiet kid who had a solid bond with his grandpa, Jack, who totally got him like nobody else.

Jack was a psychiatrist in his seventies, rocking gray hair, blue-green eyes, and a nicely groomed white beard. The love they both had for food brought them even closer. It created a special connection between the two.

Matt and Jack were in the grandfather's kitchen, preparing a Neapolitan ragù. The kitchen wasn't very big and there were jars of spices and cans of tomatoes on the shelves.

Focused on making the ragù, Jack was wearing a white and slightly stained black chef's apron. He had already browned the onion and garlic and was adding pieces of beef and sausage. Occasionally, he stirred with a wooden spoon, while the sauce began to bubble.

«You're going to love this, Matt,» Jack said as he poured a generous amount of tomato sauce into the pot and added a pinch of salt and pepper.

«Oh, I'm sure I will!» Matt replied, sitting at the wooden table with a fork and knife in hand. He was wearing a gray t-shirt with a large napkin tied around his neck. «Every time I come here, I eat like a king!» he continued as Jack turned toward him with a satisfied smile. «How do you whip up food this good?» the kid asked again with a soft gaze.

«How do I? Well, it's pretty easy,» Jack replied as he turned. He then stirred the ragù with care. «Just takes time and patience. And, like, love in every dish, you know?»

«Love?» Matt asked, tilting his head back.

Jack then added some fresh basil and slowly let the sauce simmer.

«Yes,» he replied, smiling with his eyes. «Watching someone enjoy something you've cooked always warms your heart,» he continued, turning towards his grandson.

As soon as Jack placed the ragù on the plates and set them in front of Matt, the boy didn't waste a second and stuck his fork into the pasta.

«Here we go!» Matt said, lifting the fork and bringing the pasta near his mouth. «Wow!» he exclaimed as soon as he tasted it.

Then, Matt continued to enjoy the Italian meal, bite after bite.

«Grandpa,» the boy said, looking up and putting the fork down. «How did you learn to cook this?» he asked, slightly leaning toward Jack, who was seated across from him.

Jack set down his fork and leaned back in his chair.

«Hmm, it happened when I went to Naples many years ago.»

«Naples? Where's that?» Matt asked, his eyes widening in surprise.

«In Italy, in the south,» Jack replied, wiping his mouth with a napkin. «I had a friend who loved Italian food so much that he moved there just to eat like this every day,» he explained with a smile.

«What was his job?» Matt asked, smiling and resting his elbow on the table and his face on his hand.

«He was a cook. As soon as he opened a restaurant, I went to visit him a few months later,» Jack replied, before going back to chewing.

«Oh,» Matt said, picking up his fork again. «So he taught you the recipe?» he asked, taking another bite.

«All the Italian recipes,» Jack replied with another smile and another mouthful. «I couldn't come back home without learning them all!» he exclaimed, watching Matt lean back in his chair and laugh out loud.

«Is there more?» the boy asked after a pause, standing up to check the pan.

«Of course,» his grandfather replied, standing up as well to serve another portion. «You're just like me, you never get full,» Jack said, glancing at his grandson.

«That's where I get it from!» Matt replied, laughing and placing a hand behind his neck.

Jack and Matt had a vibe that went way beyond just loving food; they also dug going on bike rides together. One day, after cruising for a solid two hours, they parked their bikes and plopped down on the grass of a hill.

Jack was wearing a light blue jacket and pants of the same color, while his bicycle was a classic red model. Matt, on the other hand, wore an orange jacket, and gray sports pants, and his bike was a blue mountain bike.

Matt smiled and glanced at Jack.

«I love these rides,» he said, then turned his gaze back to the green field. «I feel... free...» he continued in a soft voice.

Jack smiled as he looked at his grandson.

«That's the third ride in a row. How ya feeling?» he asked, leaning toward him.

«I'm not tired. I feel more... energetic somehow,» Matt replied, looking at his legs. «Why do you think that is?» he asked, turning to his grandfather.

«You're getting used to the pace,» Jack answered with a slight shrug. «Keep it up, and you'll become an athlete,» he added, glancing at their bikes.

«Do you really think so, Grandpa? That'd be awesome,» Matt replied, raising his eyes to the sky. «I just wish it never rained, though. I hate having to stay home,» he continued, pursing his lips a bit.

«Well, we need to take advantage of the summer; winters are pretty cold here,» Jack said, looking at the trees in front of them.

As the sun started to dip behind them, Matt leaned toward Jack on his left and looked him in the eyes.

«I feel pretty lucky, Grandpa,» Matt said with a soft look on his face.

«Why's that, Matt?» Jack asked, raising an eyebrow.

«'Cause I got you in my life. I learn so much from you,» Matt replied, then checked out the sunset in front of them.

Jack softly grinned and placed his right hand on his grandson's left shoulder.

«Me too, Matt,» he replied, pausing for a moment. «You know what? I'm curious to see what kind of person you'll grow up to be,» he continued, maintaining his smile. «Would you like to become a psychiatrist like me?» he asked after Matt turned toward him.

«Yes!» the boy exclaimed, his eyes sparkling. «Maybe that's why you're so smart,» he added as a light breeze tousled his hair.

«Oh well, thank you,» Jack replied, tilting his head to the right. «I think listening to people and understanding them has made me sharper,» he continued with a low laugh as the sky began to darken.

Matt smiled with his eyes and looked at his feet stretched out on the grass.

«I hope we can be together for a long time,» Matt said, looking up at the sky again.

«So do I,» his grandfather replied, nodding. «Life is short, and we have to make the most of our time,» Jack continued, slightly furrowing his gray eyebrows and stroking his beard. «It's getting late,» he went on, slowly standing up. «Basil and Monique must be waiting for you,» Jack finished, looking toward the path they had to take.

Matt crossed his arms and wrinkled his nose.

«I don't wanna go home,» he complained, looking at the trees a little way off. «Mom and Dad are always so busy working on their computers, and I feel lonely,» Matt continued, averting his gaze. «I made friends with a boy named Cyrus, but we can't play every day,» he went on, shrugging his shoulders. «He has homework to do, too. I wish I had a dog,» he concluded in a frustrated tone.

«I had a dog when I was young,» Jack recalled, putting his hands on his hips and showing a faint smile. «He was the most loyal companion I ever had.»

Matt looked back at his grandfather, standing next to him.

«What breed was he?» he asked, lookin' curious.

«A Doberman,» Jack said, glancing up at the sky.

«A Doberman??» Matt asked, lifting his head a bit more.

«Yes... Lionel...» Jack smiled as he nodded a bit. «He was super smart and only barked when he sensed something off,» his grandpa replied, stroking his beard again.

«Did you train him?» Matt asked, leanin' in closer.

«Yeah, he picked up on almost everything and used to sleep on my bed,» Jack said, smiling at his childhood memory. «He was so loyal... Damn...» he went on as he squinted his eyes a bit and looked at the grass. «If a thief ever busted in, he'd have bounced right outta there!» Jack then laughed as he turned to his boy.

«I ain't doubting that, haha,» Matt replied, cracking up too.

After chilling for a bit longer, Jack got up and checked out their bikes. He knelt down to feel the tire pressure and make sure the spokes were all good. Then he got back up and strolled over to Matt, who was watching him.

«You ready to head back home, Matt?» Jack asked, offering his hand.

«Yeah, Grandpa. Let's go,» Matt said, taking his grandfather's hand and standing up.

As they rode along, Matt and Jack cruised through a thick forest. The ground was covered in moss. The trees were tall and their barks were all rough and gnarly. Plus, the chirping of birds chilling on the branches added to their ride, which sometimes got interrupted by the roots sticking up from the ground. After dodging the last root, Matt looked up, and his gaze fell on something he had never seen before.

«Whoa, what bird is that?» Matt asked, stopping by a tree.

Jack pulled over too, squinting and throwing on his glasses.

«That's a jay, Matt,» he said after getting a good look.

«Whoa, I've never seen one. It's so different from the other birds,» Matt said, turning to Jack.

«Well, you can't miss the jay 'cause it's super colorful. Plus, it's way smarter than the others,» Jack explained, glancing back at Matt.

Then the jay took off into the air and started to fly, right in front of Jack and his grandson.

I wish I could fly... Matt thought, squinting his eyes a bit. Then he turned back to his grandpa, who had plopped his hands back on the handlebars.

«How do you know all this, Grandpa?» the boy asked, still chilling on his bike.

«I spent tons of time in the woods near my pad in London when I was a kid, and I was always curious about the animals that lived there,» Jack replied, leaning back on his bike and stretching his arms.

«Oh,» his grandson briefly replied, putting a finger on his chin. «Do you think one day they'll be able to talk to us?» he asked, as he pedaled closer to his grandfather.

«I really hope so, Matt. Who knows what technology has in store for us,» Jack shot back, looking at the branches of the trees ahead of him.

2007.

The months went by and Jack began to slow down. During one of their bike rides, Matt and Jack found themselves far from Vicary City. They were on a different hill, where a panoramic view of the distant mountains unfolded before them. There were green meadows as far as the eye could see but Matt noticed something was wrong.

«Are you okay, Grandpa?» he asked, raising his dark eyebrows a bit.

Jack took a deep breath and touched his chest.

«I'm sorry, Matt, but this body doesn't have the strength it used to,» he replied, squinting and slightly opening his mouth.

«Is there anything I can do to help?» Matt asked, dismounting his bike and gently patting Jack's shoulder.

«Matt. I'm old,» Jack replied, raising his gaze. «Maybe I should take these bike rides a bit less seriously,» he continued, his expression tightening from the strain.

«I don't like seeing you like this,» Matt replied, taking a step back and lowering his gaze.

«Don't worry, Matt,» Jack said, giving a wink with his left eye. «My body might be weak, but my spirit's still goin' strong!» 

«I don't doubt it, Grandpa. You're the strongest person I know,» Matt replied, sighing.

«Thank you, Matt,» Jack replied after a breath, pulling himself up.

«What do we do now?» Matt asked after scratching his temple.

«A bench would be nice,» Jack answered, looking ahead.

«Okay, I'll go find one,» Matt replied, looking around first.

Then Matt spotted a narrow path between a couple of trees facing each other. Curious, he headed toward them, and once he took the path, he walked for a bit and found himself in a really dense forest.

I gotta move faster, the kid thought after glancing back to check that his grandpa was still okay. He picked up the pace and then started jogging. He turned left and found the bench he wanted. The bench was nestled between two big trees.

There it is, the boy thought.

In the middle was an old wooden bench chilling between two big oak trees. He rushed over and swiped off some leaves. Then, he bounced back to Jack.

«I spotted one!» Matt exclaimed when he got out of the narrow path, pointing toward it. «Let's roll on our bikes!»

«Bet!» Jack replied, hopping back on his bike before Matt.

Matt and Jack rolled down the path, and when they hit the clearing, Matt shot a finger at the bench he'd spotted earlier.

«Here it is, Grandpa,» he said, dismounting and leaning his red bike against the tree on their right.

«I've seen this place before,» Jack thought as he continued to pedal, widening his eyes a little.

Jack carefully dismounted, leaned his blue bike against the other oak tree to their left, and then slowly walked toward the bench, with Matt staying close, ready to help if needed. When they hit the bench, Jack plopped down. He let out a sigh, stretched his legs, and leaned back against the wood.

«Ah, just what I needed,» Jack said, tilting his neck back.

«Have you ever been here before, Grandpa?» Matt asked, sitting down next to him.

«I was thinking about it earlier, I must have come here with your grandmother once,» Jack replied, crossing one leg.

«What was she like?» the boy asked, leaning against his grandfather's shoulder.

«She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. I was lucky she chose me, haha,» Jack recalled, laughing, then turned his gaze to his grandson. «You would have liked her; she also was a much better cook than I am. Maybe that's why I've gained weight over the years. Haha,» he continued, laughing even more.

«Oh come on, you're still in great shape!» Matt replied, giving him a pat on the shoulder.

The two fell silent for a few minutes, sipping water from their bottles. Matt then noticed that his grandfather had taken on a thoughtful expression.

«What's on your mind, Grandpa?» he asked, leaning in and resting his elbows on his knees.

«Just thinkin' about my life,» Jack replied with a sigh. «I was way too wrapped up in work,»

«But you're making up for it now, right?» the kid asked, pulling his knees back and gazing up at the sky, which was so clear.

«Maybe,» his grandpa admitted, lifting his shoulders a little bit. «But I should've told your grandma how much she meant to me,» he said, glancing at the branches of the trees to his left. «I thought she knew, but I should've been more open about it...»

Matt stayed quiet and just listened.

«So...» Jack said, looking at Matt, now dead serious. «Whether it's your friends or your girlfriend, don't wait too long to tell them how much you care,» he continued, raising his index finger.

«O-okay, but why are you telling me this?» Matt asked, slightly turning away.

«'Cause I don't want you makin' the same mistakes I did,» his grandpa said, keeping his eyes locked on Matt. «Don't push away the people who care about just to chase something that...» his grandpa paused to choose better words. «Might not even make you happy in the end,» he wrapped up, tilting his head a bit.

Matt diverted his gaze from his grandfather once again, furrowing his brow as he tried to understand what he was conveying.

«I understand, Grandpa,» Matt replied, slightly nodding and staring into space. «I won't let you down,» he went on, turning his gaze to Jack who smiled with his lips and nodded.