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“Help yourself if you’re hungry, Finn,” Alex adds. “I was always ravenous when I got home from school.” He pushes a plate across to him, then starts piling food on his own plate. Finn watches him, then looks at the sandwiches and starts helping himself.
I glance at Juliette, and she winks at me. I know then that they’ve ordered the food for Finn, and Alex is trying to put him at ease. Touched, I help myself to a few sandwiches and some sushi, as I only managed half my lunch because I was on playground duty today.
James lifts a large jug of water with ice and chopped fruit, and pours everyone a glass. Again, we’re all on the same level—it’s not the adults having coffee and the child drinking water.
I look at Alex, who’s offering Finn the plate of sushi and telling him the chicken teriyaki ones are the best.
“What happened to your hair?” I ask.
He raises a hand to it self-consciously. “What do you mean?”
“He forgot to put product in it this morning, is my guess,” Juliette states.
“You don’t look quite as well-turned out today,” I tease. The longer top that he’d combed so carefully last time has lost some of its height and is flopping over his forehead.
He scowls. “I’ve been working all day.” He runs his fingers through it to try and keep it back. It doesn’t work and just flops forward again. Finn giggles. “Don’t you start,” Alex says. “I was just beginning to like you.”
Finn giggles again, revealing that he doesn’t believe Alex’s reprimand. “Have you really played Zelda?” he asks.
The others all laugh. When Finn glances around at them, Juliette says, “Alex has played every game in the universe.”
“You make me sound like a nerd,” Alex complains.
“If the cap fits,” Juliette says.
“We’re all gamers,” Henry tells Finn. “We’ve all got PlayStations, Xboxes, and Switches.”
“We play online together,” Juliette reveals.
Finn’s eyes widen. “What do you play?”
“Mostly MMOs on the PC,” she says, “World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy, New World, Guild Wars 2. But some console games like Call of Duty Modern Warfare.”
It’s obvious from her terminology that she’s telling the truth, and Finn looks impressed. “I’m not supposed to play World of Warcraft,” he says. “It’s for twelves and over.” He glances at me.
“Actually, we both play,” I admit, pulling an ‘eek’ face. “It’s been something we can do together.” I don’t add ‘since his accident’ but I’m sure they realize that’s what I mean. Gaming has been an escape for both of us over the last three months. “I know a lot of people would frown on that,” I add.
“Actually, a New Zealand study found no evidence for a link between video games and aggressive behavior,” James states, taking a bite out of a sandwich.
“I didn’t realize that,” I reply in surprise.
“I always feel that people who criticize gamers are missing the benefits that gaming provides,” Juliette says. “As well as physical benefits like hand-eye coordination, it encourages teamwork, and improves strategy and leadership. And it’s cool,” she adds to Finn and elbows him, and he grins.
“Dad used to play Mario Kart with me,” he says.
“Yeah that’s fun,” Alex says without missing a beat. “Which one?”
“Um, eight.”
“We’ve all played it together,” Alex says, gesturing at the others. “We’ll have to invite you around for one of our gaming afternoons. We’ll even let you win a couple of times.”
“I’m faster than every kid in my class,” Finn replies. “I bet I’ll beat every one of you.”
“Are you trash-talking me?”
“Might be,” Finn says, and they both laugh.
So my son can make Alex laugh, even if I can’t! The guy has attractive, straight, white teeth and a mischievous smile when it does appear. He should definitely smile more.
