“I think I will,” I said. “If you’ll let me borrow your copy, that is.”
“Of course!” He looked so excited to have someone to talk to about these books, and I was happy to hear what he had to say. It was research, in a way. I didn’t get a chance to ask these sorts of questions with the kids I nannied for in Riverside because they hated reading. Now I had the perfect surrogate for the target audience of my own book series.
A book series that I actually hadn’t even really started on, and which was still, and probably forever would be, in the ‘early brainstorming days’. Regardless, I figured if I ever did get around to putting some more words on the page, Will’s opinions could be very helpful.
“And if you like the one about the girl in space,” Will said. “Then you will really like this other book I read that’s about the real space missions NASA has sent. That one isn’t a kid’s book, it’s a grown up book, but since you’re a grown up you should get something out of it, right?”
“Perhaps,” I said. “But see, it doesn’t matter what age you are, you should always just read whatever books you think will make you the most happy. So, you go on reading adult books about the space race, and leave me to my girl detective stories.”
He made a face at me. “You’re not like other adults.”
“I should hope not,” I joked. “Other adults are so boring.”
This made him laugh. “I’m going to tell my dad you said that!”
I laughed too. “You better not!”
Soon after that, the wind started to pick up again and a few clouds collected overhead, so Will and I gathered our things and headed back to the house, walking through the front door just as the water droplets were beginning to fall. It was a little after four, so I wasn’t expecting anyone to be home, but when we came into the kitchen, there was Matt. He had stationed himself at the stove, and was stirring a large pot of pasta sauce.
“Oh good, you’re home!” He smiled at us. “My meeting got canceled so I was able to come back early. Dinner will be ready around five. Will, how about you start researching what movie we are going to watch tonight.” He looked at me. “It’s our Friday night ritual.”
This made me remember something. That night I saw him in Hawaii, he was on the phone with Will, and he’d said something about regretting the fact that he was going to miss their ‘Friday night ritual’. This must’ve been what he was talking about. “You guys eat dinner and watch a movie together every Friday night?” I asked.
Matt nodded. “Yes ma’am.”
“Unless Dad is out of town,” Will said. “But that doesn't happen all that often.”
“Huh,” I said. “That’s such a nice ritual. It reminds me of something my mom and I used to do when I was a kid.”
“What’s that?” Matt asked, going back to stirring.
“We would go to the mall on Saturdays. We didn’t have enough money to buy stuff most of the time, but we liked window shopping, and sometimes we’d go into a fancy store and try on a dress or two. Then we’d get pretzels and soda, which was extra special because she never let me have food like that during the week. To top it all off, we’d go to the make-up counter in one of the department stores and let whoever was working there do our faces up with all the free samples.” I smiled at the thought of some of the ridiculous make-up looks those women did for us. They clearly liked to experiment when they got the chance, because I left the mall multiple times during my teenage years with blue eyeshadow and/or bright red lip liner.
“That sounds nice,” Matt said. “My family didn’t really have any rituals when I was growing up. That’s why it was really important to me to start a few with Will.”
“Hey you wanna watch the movie with us?” Will asked.
I was taken aback a little by the suggestion, so I stumbled for an answer and looked to Matt for help. “I’m sure she has her own plans, buddy,” Matt said.
“No she doesn’t,” said Will. “I heard you two talking this morning and she said she didn’t have anything planned for tonight.”
I laughed. “Right, well… It’s true that I don’t have plans, but that doesn’t mean I am going to intrude on yours. Besides, I have a bunch of new books to read now. Speaking of,” I smiled at Matt, “I found one I think you’ll like. It’s in the bag.”
“Thanks,” he said, smiling back.
“But I want you there,” Will whined. “C’mon, please Dad.”
Matt looked at me for a second and then shrugged. “It’s up to you,” he said.
I was torn. On the one hand, I really didn’t want to intrude on their night together, but I also didn’t want to disappoint Will, who for some reason really wanted me to watch the movie with them. Matt was harder to read. I couldn’t tell what he was feeling, which was also complicating my decision. I sighed after a few seconds of debate.
“Okay,” I said. “I’ll watch the movie with you.”
“Yes!” Will said. “Come into the living room and help me pick one. We have all the streaming sites, so we can watch pretty much whatever you want. And if it isn’t streaming, we can just pay to rent it.”
“Nothing over $3.99!” said Matt from the kitchen.
“I know!” Will called back. He sat down on the couch and turned on the TV. “That’s Dad’s rule. He doesn’t like it when I pay to rent something brand new, or when I buy it. One time, I bought the new Spider-Man movie because it wasn’t streaming yet, and I got this long lecture from him about patience being a virtue or whatever.”