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“Skating. They have food there too, I hear.”
“Skating?”
“Yeah, I bet you'll recognize it when we get there.”
After we're both in the car, he drives onto the road and tells me to put on my seat belt. I grip the door the whole drive, looking out the window, feeling a little dizzy.
“Am I going too fast? Don't tell me I've ruined your first car experience?” He wrapped his fingers around mine and squeezed my hand.
“No. It's just a lot different than riding a horse monster.”
His laughter lessened the tension and I was able to relax once the car stopped. “We're here. Oh, remind me to play you some music on our way to the hotel.”
“You can play music in here?”
“Yup. Have you not seen any movies where they do that?”
“If I had, I didn't notice. Sometimes I pay more attention to the people and their actions more than anything else.”
“I see.” He gets out first and I follow him inside. His arm hooks around mine and he drags me toward a counter. He was right, I did recognize the skates when I saw them. The rink too. I had wondered what it would be like gliding along the floor alongside other people. I didn't expect to fall so much though. Franky was there to help me up each time, holding my hand and helping me to catch my balance.
“You're getting better,” he encouraged, holding on to me as we both skated a little faster. Eventually I was able to lean off him and skate on my own. I did keep going back to him though and when I didn't, he found me. I lost track after a while. We spent the last hour holding hands and sharing laughs.
“I had a lot of fun,” I said as we traded our skate rentals for our shoes.
Franky looked down at my old sneakers and frowned. They weren't in the best shape, and I hadn't thought to ask for a new pair in any of my recent trades. The shoes I got after these hurt my feet too much for me to wear more than once.
“I think we need to make a trip to the store again.”
“You need to stop buying me things.”
He made a face. “And you need to learn to just let me because I'm going to do it anyway. Besides going to the store to get you what you need is a lot easier than fighting water monsters and hungry bushes.”
I don't bother to argue again because he had a point, but I was so used to doing it that it rarely phased me anymore. Fighting to survive had become a regular routine in my everyday life. I couldn't always spend my days stuffing my face with waffles, going skating, enjoying bubble baths and kissing Franky everywhere. But I went through all the hardships so I could reap the benefits of all the good I get from doing those things withhim. I'd go through it again, and again if in the end it led me to holding hands with Franky in the car, and at the store while we shopped for new shoes.
A basic black pair stuck out to me. Nothing too flashy or expensive. I stuck with muted tones when choosing clothing so I didn't stand out so much outside. Franky immediately threw my old shoes away, giving me no choice but to wear my new ones out of the store and to the hotel.
I was tired of hotel food so Franky had a pepperoni pizza delivered to our room. I ate four slices before finally being full and washed it down with a coke. What a perfect combo it was, and also a bad one, causing me to burp for half of the night. Franky laughed louder each time. He sat in a large lounge chair and I climbed into his lap, showing him all the pictures I took.
He loved Ollie and Girl. To him, I had the coolest pets in the world. He was surprised by my garden and had me tell him the species of each tree.
“So where do you sleep?”
I handed him the last couple of photos and he brought them closer to his face. “No wonder you end up on the floor at night.”
“The hotel mattresses are fluffy and nice when awake but I'm not used to them enough to sleep comfortably.”
Franky nodded in understanding. “It's not what you're used to. Makes perfect sense to me.”
He was so understanding and took his time listening to me. To learn what I like and need. I didn't think I could have someone like him, and I'm still not sure if I ever would. He feels like mine, and I had already claimed him in my head the moment I laid eyes on him. But it wouldn't be true until the words came for him.
“Do you have any new pictures for me?”
“I have a video. Or a tutorial if you will.” His cheeks flushed.
“Is it for what I think it's for?”
“You'll have to watch it and see.” He sets the pictures on the table beside us, and I shift in his lap as he pulls out his phone.
