Chapter 5
Five
Henry
My confidence is taken down a notch only minutes after my friend leaves.
I reach around me, settling back against the cushions once I’ve reassured myself I have everything I need within reach.
It was something I did before too. I’d look down every twenty minutes to see where my phone or the remote was because they always somehow shifted away from me as I wiggled on the couch from laughing too much at my favorite shows or movies.
I grip the remote, pointing it to where I’m sure the TV is, and run a thumb over all the buttons.
Then I toss it to the side and grab my phone, pulling up the app on there and using the voice option to find a movie to watch.
Not feeling very festive, I choose “Holidate,” hoping it’ll get me in the Christmas mood.
It does for a while, and for the next hour I’m laughing and smiling.
I snuggle under the blanket, shoving cookie bark into my mouth.
Janie left all my snacks in a basket on the end of the counter, and I opened five different things, insistent on finding what I was looking for on my own.
I keep thinking about the popcorn sitting in there, wondering if the stovetop kind would have been a better option.
No, that risks burning the house down. I can almost hear Travis’s stern voice in my head now, and I hate it.
I toss and turn, realizing it no longer matters if I face the TV or not.
Not sure why I was doing it for so long.
Force of habit. I’ve seen the movie before, so I can picture everything as it’s being described in careful detail.
I could get used to this. I think I am, but then when I put on a new movie, I want to see the colors of the sunset they mention. I want to see those deep green forests the actors are running through. I want to see the people’s faces and the way they stare into one another’s eyes.
I’ll never see a new face again, and everyone I do see will all be upcycled from people in my past. Sighing, I try to focus on the movie, I keep getting distracted by the thoughts in my mind and my stomach growling when popcorn is mentioned in a commercial.
Gripping my fingers in the blanket, I toss it off my legs and place my feet on the ground.
I grab my phone and hit pause on the movie before bringing up the Be My Eyes app.
“Contact Rafael.”
There are a few beeps before a groggy voice says, “Hello.”
“Hi.” I sit closer to the edge, straightening my hair with my fingers and lining the screen up with my face the best I can. “I didn’t wake you, did I?”
“Nah. What can I help you with?” he says between yawns, and my stomach knots.
Great, I used the app so I wouldn’t inconvenience anyone, but I’m doing that anyway.
“I . . . I want to make popcorn but don’t know the microwave very well.
Travis didn’t want me using it after so many failed attempts with every other appliance.
Then again, he didn’t really show me or have time to show me, and fuck, I’m rambling. Sorry.”
His deep chuckle has my stomach doing a weird flip. “That’s okay. Your house looks different from last time. Did you move?”
I scratch at my knee, suddenly not sure where to put my hand as the other squeezes the phone. “Not exactly. I’m in my family’s cabin for the remainder of the month. It’s a tradition I’ve kept up with the last few years. I came a little earlier this time, though. Needed an escape.”
“I see. Getting away is always good. I could use a vacation myself, but I’m not really sure where I’d go.”
“I guess it all depends on what you’d want to see or what you like.”
“What brings you to that cabin every year?”
I lift my shoulders, smiling a little. “Memories. I’ve had a lot of good ones here. And it just feels right to be here every time I am.”
“All good reasons. Ready to show me this microwave?”
“Sure . . . right. I need popcorn for my movie.” I shuffle to my feet, reaching for my cane, then I tap at the couch and floor until I’m standing in front of the kitchen window.
“What movie?”
“Love Hard.” My knee meets the oven door harder than intended.
“Oh, I haven’t seen that one yet. Is it any good?”
“Yeah. It’s cute and funny so far.”
“Hmm . . . I’m not usually a fan of cute and funny, but I have been known to be converted when Christmas is involved.”
“Then you should give it a try.”
“That an invite?”
My eyes widen and I almost lose the grip on my cane.
“I’m kidding.” He laughs. “Unless you’d like the company and could use a real voice giving you descriptions instead of a robot.”
My laugh comes out a little strained. “Surely you have better things to do than watch a movie through a phone screen that you have to describe to someone you barely know.”
“You would think, but as it turns out retirement isn’t as exciting as they make it sound.”
“Retirement?” My voice jumps a little with curiosity. He doesn’t sound old enough to be retired. That has me picturing the man in front of me with gray hair, but that’s not how Janie described him, unless he used an old photo.
“Yeah. I recently retired from the military. Been in for over twenty years. Enlisted in the reserves while I was in college. They paid for my school, and then when I graduated, I switched to active duty. Sorry, you didn’t ask for my whole life story.”
I snort, tapping my cane to my foot. “That’s hardly your whole life story. What branch were you in?”
“Army. I worked in field and artillery. I thought about teaching classes on base to stay busy, but then I heard about this app, and I liked the idea of helping people instead.”
“How noble of you.”
“Yeah.” His voice tightens. “So, what kind of popcorn are we making? Butter? Kettle corn? That fat free kind?”
I jostle my cane some more. “Regular ole butter popcorn. Although kettle corn sounds fantastic.” Now I’m wishing I had Janie grab one of those Christmas popcorn tins while she was at the store.
“Kettle corn is always a fantastic choice, but butter is good too. Nothing like the original.”
“Yeah.” Am I really having a casual conversation about popcorn with someone from the Be My Eyes app?
There’s a grunt in the background and Rafael whispers away from the phone. “Sorry. Someone else is asking for my assistance when he’s already eaten enough for the day as it is.”
“Oh, you mean Huey?”
It goes quiet for a few beats. “Yeah. How’d you—”
“Wild guess,” I say a little quickly. “Actually, my friend said you had a pig with you in your profile picture, and I kind of put two and two together.”
Laughter vibrates around me. “I wanted to say something but didn’t want to sound like a creeper.”
“And now I get to sound like one, so thanks for that.”
He laughs again. “My bad. So, I take it you don’t come out to the park anymore?”
“I . . . not since that day. I wanted to, but Travis was pretty against it after the first time. Said I distracted him while he was working because all he could do was worry about me.”
“Worry about you?” His voice shifts. “What’s there to worry about? Looked like you were doing just fine.”
“Yeah, I thought I was too.” I nibble on my lip. “Ah well, I’m here now, and I’ll have to find a different park to sit alone at, hoping another pig will come nibble at my pants.”
“You’re only there for the month, aren’t you? Next time you come back this way, you won’t have to worry about sitting on that bench alone. You can come walk with me and Huey. We could use the company too.”
My cheeks heat. “That does sound nice, but you don’t need someone running into you and hitting your pig with their cane.” Never did I think a sentence like that would come out of my mouth.
He makes a high-pitched sound. “I don’t know. Sounds like a fun time to me.”
“I’m sure.” I hide my smile behind my hand and turn around to grab the popcorn box. “Okay, so this should be in there for two minutes.”
“Okay. Turn the camera around and let’s see this microwave.”
I tear open the package and slip the bag into the microwave. Turning the camera the other way, I wait for him to tell me what to do next, still thinking about his offer to join him on a walk when I get back home. Did he really mean it? Do I want him to mean it?
“Okay, so these numbers are pretty big, which is helpful, and it’s a very typical layout too. Can you find the handle?”
I place one hand on the door, sliding it to the right and stopping when my fingers touch the handle.
“Good,” he says softly. “Now, keep going right . . . and . . . stop,” he says, not even seconds later. “Slide that pointer finger up a little and that will put you on the number two button.”
We keep going until I find the zero and start key, and before I know it, the microwave is making a humming noise. “It’s going.” My voice jumps and popping surrounds me.
“Yeah. See? Easy peasy.”
“Yeah, thanks to you. If you weren’t here, I would have set it to five minutes and would have caused my fifth fire of the year.”
He barks out a laugh. “Nah. You would have had a bunch of burnt corn kernels, smoke, and a horrible smell taking over your kitchen, but that’s all.”
“Yeah, sure. That’s all.” I turn the screen back around, smiling. “Thanks again.”
“No problem. Are we gonna watch that movie now?”
My heart jumps. “Uh . . . are you really sure?”
“Yeah. One condition, though. You’ll have to start it from the beginning. I hate coming into a movie in the middle.”
I nod, my stomach bubbling. “Yeah, okay. My mind was kind of elsewhere during the first twenty minutes anyway.”
“You said it was cute and funny, though.” His voice is accusing.
“Yeah . . . honestly, I was guessing based on two minutes and the trailer.”
He huffs a laugh. “Let’s go find out for sure, then.”
“Lets.”
Six
Rafael