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Although he’s looking at Toby rather than at me this time,. I know Toby is eighteen, an adult now, but if I didn't know better, I'd think he was the one running the show, not Pops.
"She'll be fine. Now, why don't you go get the hunting bag," Toby says, pointing to the closet.
As soon as Pops is gone, he leans down to me and whispers, "You owe me, and I plan on cashing in next time I want to sneak out to a party. Plus, you're on dish duty for the rest of the week." There's a cheeky grin on his face when he moves away.I should have known there would be something in it for him. I reckon doing dishes for a week is a small price to pay.
Toby is almost out of the room when he stops and turns around again. "But remember, if that kid tries anything, you just kick him in the balls." He laughs, while kicking his leg out.
When the boys finally leave, I hurry to the bathroom to put on some of Nana’s lipstick. I'm just coming out of the bathroom when I hear a soft knock on the front door. I hurry to open it, and Nathaniel’s standing on the other side, awkwardly rocking from one foot to the other.
"You came!" I say, a little too eagerly.
"Of course, why wouldn't I? I can go, though," he replies softly, looking down at the floor.
"No! Definitely don't go. I'm glad you’re here." Moving aside, so he can get past me in the tight doorway, I add, "Come on in."
"Wow, it's so nice here." Nathaniel looks around with big, wide eyes.
"Really? I think it's a little old and smelly." I laugh, but Nathaniel doesn't join in.
"Looks more than perfect to me," he says, but his voice almost sounds sad.
"Well, do you want to watch a movie? Or play a game?" I ask, hoping he can't tell how hard my heart is pounding in my chest or see the sweat caused by my nerves.
"Sure, a movie sounds good," Nathaniel says, making his way over to the couch to sit beside me.
"Cool. You pick the movie, and I'll go get us both some snacks." I happily skip off towards the kitchen. When I come back, he's sitting on the sofa looking at three movies on the table.
"These look good," he says, pushing the three DVDs toward me.
"What are they about?" I ask absentmindedly, taking the three DVDs off the table and examining them.
"I don't know, but the pictures look good. This one has a shark in it. This one is all dark, so it's probably scary, and this one looks like it could be funny," he says excitedly.
"We're stuck alone in a cabin in the woods, so maybe scary isn't the best choice." I laugh. "I don't want us both to have nightmares."
Nathaniel mumbles something that sounds like, "That's not what gives me nightmares," but I can't be sure since he said it so quietly.
"What's the shark one about?" I ask, reaching for it.
"I don't know. The picture is just a shark in the ocean," Nathaniel states, shrugging his shoulders.
"Well, what does it say on the back? Didn’t you look? That should give us an idea," I reply, feeling a bit confused.Surely, before choosing a movie, he’d have read the description. That’s standard, right?
"No, um, I'm not so good at that," Nathaniel answers sheepishly. He’s suddenly refusing to look at me as he examines the back of the DVD case.
He looks uncomfortable and is squinting his eyes and moving his mouth. It reminds me of how my five-year-old neighbor looks when I help her with her reading, and she's trying to blend the letters together to make a word.Surely he knows how to read, right? Everyone can read, can't they?Not wanting to ask or embarrass him further, I turn my attention to something else.
After a few seconds, he says, "How about we just watch this? It’s full of cartoon characters; it could be funny."
"Yeah, sure, looks good." I take it from him and open the box before sticking the DVD in the player beside the old TV and getting comfortable on the couch. Initially, we position ourselves on opposite ends of the sofa, but as the movie progresses, we naturally gravitate towards each other, inching closer and closer until our legs are subtly touching.
I can't help but take in Nathaniel's features as he stares, fixated, on the TV. His hair is brown like mine but seems almost black with how greasy it looks. His face is almost beautiful, if it weren't for the fact that he also looks a bit like a Halloween skeleton with his sunken cheeks.
An hour and a half, a full two-liter bottle of Coke, and an enormous bag of candy later, we're both on the floor laughing. "So, wait, the ogre is best friends with the donkey?'' Nathaniel laughs.
"And the donkey has half-dragon babies now." I giggle, and a snort escapes me.
"That's crazy."
