Page 40 of Sending Love Letters to Animals

I pumped a fist overhead excitedly, making him laugh.

“Do I get to pick one of the movies, or what?” He asked.

“Sure,” I said as Davud made his way to the ramp. “I’ll put a good word in for you.”

“Just don’t drop me, please,” Davud said.

He had parked his wheelchair by the basement door, aimed himself at the stairs, and set his brakes. Jules was already in the basement, waiting on us, popcorn, chips, and sodas ready for consumption. When Davud and I had arrived for movie night, and he saw the stairs down to the basement, he realized they were too narrow and steep to safely have me ease him down in his chair. So, we devised a plan for me to carry him down, set him on the sofa, then bring his chair down to him after.

The fact that he would need to be separated from his chair—his sole means of mobility—made him visibly nervous. However, he gathered up his resolve and made a plan for how I would get him down to the T.V. room. I nearly suggested that Jules get her laptop and we all gather around it in the main floor living room, to make things easier on Davud. However, he was determined to go down to the T.V. room, so I respected that decision. I was more than happy to help.

“There’s a bathroom down there, right?” he asked. “If I need it?”

“Yeah,” I said. “We won’t have to do this every time you need to bake brownies.”

“Gross. Okay.”

“So, like, don’t get mad,” I said, “but am I doing a fireman’s carry here, or…what?”

Davud laughed.

“Bride and groom style is probably best,” he said. “I don’t want to lead with my ass if we can avoid it.”

My laughter joined his, and we had to settle down before we could attempt the stairs. I’m not my strongest when I’m laughing.

“Just tell me when you’re ready,” I said once our laughs tapered off.

“Are you guys coming or what?” Jules shouted from somewhere below.

“Shut it!” I hollered back over my shoulder.

“Let’s just do this,” Davud said confidently. “But, don’t drop me. Okay?”

“I won’t,” I said.

Davud jerked slightly when I bent down to slide an arm under his knees. When I laced an arm behind his back, his arms went around my neck. Gently, I lifted him from his chair, which luckily didn’t shift out of place. Making sure I had him firmly held to my torso, I gave him a reassuring smile. Davud returned the smile with a nervous grin, and we made our way down the stairs. At first, I would step down, bring my other foot to join the first one, make sure I was on steady footing, then move to the next step.

Halfway down the stairs, it occurred to me that I had Davud securely in my arms, and we were doing fine. He wasn’t nearly as heavy as I imagined, so I picked up the pace. Davud didn’t even flinch since he realized I wasn’t going to drop him. Finally, downstairs in the T.V. room, we found Jules eating a handful of popcorn and waiting on us. I walked Davud over to the sofa and gently lowered him to sit. Once I slid my arms out from under his knees and from around his back, he adjusted his position on his own.

Without hesitation, I jogged back up the stairs and released the brakes on Davud’s chair. I folded it up, and headed back downstairs, closing the basement door behind me. Jules and I always kept the door closed when we were watching movies. It discouraged her parents from bothering us.

I took his chair over to Davud and unfolded it, moving it close to the couch.

“I think I’ll stay on the sofa,” Davud said, simply. “It’s comfy.”

“My cat had her babies on it a few years ago,” Jules said.

“Jules,” I laughed, “that’s gross. He doesn’t need to know that.”

“It’s been cleaned!” Jules exclaimed as Davud laughed. “And I just meant that if a cat in labor thinks it’s comfortable enough to pop out kittens on, it’s probably a pretty good couch.”

“Right,” I said.

I handed Davud the bag of chips he had wanted for his movie snack, along with his can of Sprite, and we settled in for our first movie. The first flick was the original Child’s Play, which Jules had chosen. We all mostly laughed throughout the movie and discussed how easily we could have defeated a demonic doll that was knee-high.

After our time with Chucky, Jules went upstairs for more snacks and drinks for the three of us while Davud and I discussed the movie. He even admitted that he was sorry he’d turned down my invitation to movie nights. I’m actually having fun with you idiots, he said. Even though he had insulted us, I was pleased Davud hadn’t regretted his decision.

When Jules returned, we settled in for our second movie. Davud’s choice. While I knew Davud wasn’t a huge horror buff, and was more into cult classics, he had selected From Dusk to Dawn. I knew it was to appease Jules’ preference for horror, but it also agreed with Davud’s sensibilities. I liked the movie, but I was simply happy to be spending time with my friends.