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Oh osh I’m a film snob
Despite my sudden co through it with Nick "Let’s order Chinese and watch soot a new batch of DVDs" Nick s the takeoutthe phone, I deter sesaood Their beef dishes, not so much"
When the food arrives, Dad materializes momentarily
"Would you like to watch the hs and shakes his head "This week’s ser concepts down" Grabbing a diet soda, his carton of fried rice and a pair of chopsticks, he adds, "I won’t be leaving the study until your h Nick and I plan to canoodle on the sofa (a Dad tereneration than his own) Moht
I’m never sure if Dad just has absolute confidence that I’d never do anything wicked, or if he actual y thinks I should loosen up I hope it’s not the latter, because if I’ht, that would be pretty darned depressing
Nick takes the center of the sofa while I nestle into the corner, legs pretzeled His elbow rests lightly on my bent knee in between bites Everyone inatch, but Nick never talks during filuratively or literal y at least half a dozen times Final y, the credits rol
"That was less clever than the reviews prohtly on my knee, a non-insistent pressure not easily read The world has gone dark outside, the roolow of the screen "Your house is always so quiet Mine is the exact opposite--thinly contained chaos"
Nick is an only child, but his parents take in special needs foster children and train service dogs, and his house is in an almost constant uproar I’ve wondered but never had the nerve to ask if he ever yearned for the individual attention he would have been due as an only child, or if he felt neglected by his parents’ dedicated care of other peoples’ children
My eyes find our elderly dog, curled on her pil owed bed across the room "That’s true, Esther and I don’t produce a lot of commotion" Her ears perk at the sound of her na as she waits to see if I require her attention Her whitened muzzle rests on her equal y whitened paws
Nick leans into hts of Esther from my mind as he inclines his head and kisses entle I kiss hi he would deepen the kiss, that his hand would stroke , or stray to s occur This is not our first kiss, but each one we’ve shared has been the sa I smile back, and tel er of losing control Which is good
Safe And exactly what I need
Esther huffs a soft doggie sigh from her pal et and closes her eyes Nick, even with theand people scents attached to him, is no risk to ot that uy in my position is offered on a daily basis I could sleep with a different girl, or several, every night There’s always another one, ready to go I’ve had offers--which I absolutely do not accept--fro it makes me want to track down their parents and tel the baby whores Even when it coh, I won’t do sorown up just because she’s experienced
I underestiirl away froetGabriel e herself I’ement, but I bet it wasn’t the shit-fit that went down this edly, she picked up a hammer and threw it Not at a person, but supposedly it narrowlynook I didn’t lodged itself in the drywal of the dining nook I didn’t witness this ossip addict, everyone outside stays ful y informed of every rumor inside or out It’s not unlike a mini movie set
"Roberta threatened to cal her mother and send her home if she didn’t calm down, but Gabriel e stil owes at least thirty hours" Frank looks atwith me so much"
"In your drea plants into a wheelbarrow Her hair is entirely silver and longer than I’ve ever seen on a wos in a fat braid down her back "Coround" I realize she’s talking to me when no one else moves
By lunch I’ve learned how to plant pansies ("Not too deep! Not so close together!"), and the fact that Frank and Darlene retired five years ago, declared then landscaping for Habitat ho up crafts
"What did Frankat loves on (earning, "Noob," from Darlene), so there are solid black lines of dirt under al ten fingernails My et a house have to put in a few hundred hours of ‘sweat equity’ Gabriel e’s parents both work two jobs, and her brothers are too young to put in tiives me a weird look "Up until last week, Gabriel e was total y uninterested in helping out" I fol ow her to the tap where she rinses off the hand tools we just used When she doesn’t elaborate, I rol my hand
"And…"
"And then you became a… volunteer" Ah "So you think iving h-you look Christ Has Dorcas alerted everyone that I’irl?
"Look, I’ to do with her, okay?"