Chapter Five 13 Going on 30, dir. by Gary Winick #3
“In case I ran out of things to talk about.”
He hands Eli the paper, and Eli gives it a quick read.
“Your favorite color is yellow.”
“Mustard or goldenrod, no pastels.”
“Your favorite vegetables are broccoli and bok choy. Your favorite hot pot broth is tom yum.”
Peter nods.
“And you graduated from UC Berkeley?”
Eli looks over the paper once again, smiling at the small details like “allergic to cats” and “hates the smell of citrus.”
He’ll admit, this is the first time he’s heard of someone bringing a list of their personality traits to a date, but he doesn’t
mind.
“Berkeley’s far from Georgia,” Eli says, supposing now is as good a time as any to start the impromptu interview. “What made
you want to come to school here?”
“I figured it was a good school. And, I mean, Comer isn’t a huge city.” Eli doesn’t admit to the research he’s done into where
Peter is from. “I think...” Peter pauses, almost seeming unsure of his words. “I think I wanted to explore more, have some
different experiences. I thought about going back to Incheon, a lot of my mom’s family is still there. But the moving process
was a lot to handle.”
“That sounds fair. Would you ever go back to Incheon?” Eli wants to press, to ask Peter what it is he isn’t telling him, but
Eli resists. At least, for the time being.
“Oh, yeah! We used to go back every few years or so, but money got tighter the closer college got. I think I was fourteen the last time I went.”
Eli smiles softly at him, appreciating that information.
“What?” Peter pauses, a spoonful of the purple rice and sizzling pork halfway to his mouth.
“Nothing, it’s nothing.” Eli wants to dig deeper; something feels off about Peter’s tone. But maybe that’s too deep for a
first date. Even if it isn’t their first date. “I went to San José State.”
“But you’ve been in the city your entire life otherwise?” Peter asks, and Eli’s proud of him for the follow-up question, even
if he already knew the answer.
“Yeah. Moved down just for college. My parents live in Berkeley now.”
“Do you see them often?”
Another point in Peter’s favor for the night. He’s just narrowly recovered from answering his phone at the start of the date. “I try to. We’re actually having dinner tomorrow night.”
“Oh, that’s nice.”
“Yeah...” Eli almost dares to invite Peter, but it’s too early to throw him to the wolves like that. Even if Eli’s sure
his mother would adore Peter and his shyness. “What about you? Do you go back to Georgia often?”
“Not often enough for my dad. Really just to see them. It’s not like there’s much to do out there.” Peter laughs to himself.
“I keep trying to get them out here, maybe move so they can be closer, but my parents hate flying and big cities. It’s the
whole reason they chose Comer, for the ‘quiet rural life.’”
Eli’s heart warms at the mental image in his head. It’s nice to hear that Peter seems to have a good relationship with his
parents.
“Mm-hmm!” Peter hums as he scarfs down the rest of his rice. “What time does the movie start?”
“Ah, shit...” Eli completely lost track of time. “Fifteen minutes.”
Peter waves shyly over toward the waitress, digging in his pocket for his wallet. For a moment, Eli thinks that he might’ve
forgotten it again, but then he pulls out the small leather square, grabbing a blue credit card from one of the pockets.
“I didn’t forget this time.” Peter beams proudly.
Eli smiles back at him.
Peter then reaches into his pocket again, instinctively pulling out his phone before he remembers that it’s off, and he bites
at his bottom lip before he hesitates and puts it away. With the phone off, Peter has no choice but to sit there and enjoy
the movie that they decide on. Much to Eli’s disappointment, Knives Out has ended its single-week run, meaning they’ve had to select a half-baked horror about a doll that comes to life.
It’s so bad that even Eli Francis, forever the fan of terribly cheesy horror Z-movies like Primal Rage and The Severed Arm , is bored to tears; but he still watches every scene, doing his best to follow the nonsensical plot.
Peter, however, seems to have a terrible time, his face hidden in his hoodie as he closes in on himself. During one particularly
bad jump scare, he even yelps with the rest of the audience and grabs for Eli’s hand, not letting go until the credits are
rolling.
“Were you really scared?” Eli asks as they ride the escalator down to the lobby. “It was just a doll.”
“A scary doll. I wanted to pee my pants when it started singing.”
“Well, I appreciate you keeping them dry,” Eli says to him as they step into the night. It’s gotten a little cooler since
they walked into the theater, but not considerably so. And right on track, Eli watches as Peter reaches into his pocket to
dig his phone out once again before he remembers.
“It’s fine,” Eli tells him. “You can turn it on.”
“You said that—”
“Yeah, but you didn’t sneak to the bathroom to check it or reach for it once during the movie. So, consider it a reward for good behavior.”
“Am I going to get those often?” Peter dares to ask.
And Eli smirks. “Only if you’re a good boy.”
Peter pauses, and just like last Friday, the red of the AMC lights paint Peter in a bright red, so Eli isn’t sure what is
just the neon and what is Peter’s cheeks lighting up, but he’s sure it’s at least a twenty-five/seventy-five split.
He stares down at the phone, and Eli is a little disappointed, but what can he expect, it’s only been a few hours.
But just as quickly as he turned it on, Peter is sliding the phone back into his jacket pocket.
“Aren’t you going to check it?”
“The date isn’t over, is it?” Peter asks him.
“You turned it on.”
“I have to pay for the bus somehow.”
Eli feels a swell of pride in his chest. Then Peter looks at him... well, he looks above Eli.
“You have a, uh...” Peter reaches toward Eli’s hair, tugging on something until it comes free, showing Eli the piece of
caramel corn that was lodged in his curls. “Sorry, I think that happened when the body fell out of that cupboard.”
“It’s okay.” Eli takes it, tossing it on the sidewalk for a pigeon to feed on later.
“Which bus stop are you?” Peter asks.
“I’ll just walk down to Divisadero.” Then Eli promises, “We can leave things here, though, if you want.”
“I’m headed that way too,” Peter says. “Do you mind the company?”
“Well...” Eli smiles. “I won’t say no.”
Eli watches as Peter marches down the steps of the theater to join him.
That’s when Eli makes a bold move. He reaches for Peter’s hand, wrapping his fingers around Peter’s.
It’s only hitting him now just how much bigger Peter’s hands are compared to his.
Of course, everything about Peter is bigger than him, except maybe his hair.
Eli might look like his father, but he got his height from his mother.
“What are you...” Peter asks, never breaking stride, only looking at Eli. “Um... w-what are you doing?” He stammers
his way through the sentence.
“Holding your hand.”
“Why?”
“Iced Americano?” Eli asks him.
“No, I mean, yes. I guess. But I don’t mind it.”
“Are you sure?” Eli asks. “You don’t have to be okay with it.”
“No, it’s okay. I promise. It’s just... unexpected.”
“Part of dating, of being in a relationship, is showing affection, whether it be physical or otherwise. But your own boundaries
are just as important. That’s what that safe word is for.”
“Right, right.” Peter’s hands heat up, his palms sweaty. Eli doesn’t mind, though. He’s always had cold hands and feet.
“Is it okay? That we’re doing this?” Eli pleads with Peter silently. He doesn’t want Peter to be uncomfortable, even if a
part of this whole experiment is to push Peter’s boundaries in certain ways.
“Yeah, I like it... I’ve never held hands with anyone before.”
“Can I ask you a question?”
Peter laughs. “You just did.”
“That’s not fair.” Eli smiles.
“What did you want to ask?”
“How many firsts am I?” Eli invites. It’s a bold inquiry, bolder than even the hand-holding because this really isn’t any of his business, but he’s never been able to help his own curiosity.
Besides, it’ll help him get a better picture of what Peter’s gone through.
“You don’t have to answer that if you don’t want it to; I was just curious since I was. .. you know, your first date and all.”
“No, it’s okay.” Peter lets his head hang. “I guess it’s a reasonable thing to ask. You’re writing an article after all.”
He lets out a huff of air as they stop at an intersection, waiting for the light to give them permission to cross the street.
“I really haven’t done much of anything before,” Peter admits. “I’ve hooked up with someone. Tried to hook up with other guys,
but it never amounted to anything.”
“Really?”
“Is that a surprise?” Peter asks.
“No, no. Not at all.” Eli tries to recover the moment. “Just... unexpected.”
Peter hesitates, looking down at the sidewalk. Eli almost stops him, wondering if Peter actually wants to talk about this,
article be damned.
But Peter keeps going. “My best friend in high school, Mark.” Then Peter looks at Eli like he’s suddenly remembered something.
“Uh... don’t put his name in the article, please.”
“Of course not. This story won’t make it in if you don’t want it to.”
Peter’s mouth becomes a fine line, as if he’s still thinking. “Our families grew up next door to each other in Comer. We were
actually born three days apart, so we always celebrated our birthdays together with our parents. Being two of the only Korean
kids made it easy to be best friends.”
“That sounds nice.” Eli squeezes his hand softly.
“It was. High school wasn’t the easiest time. I was bullied pretty hard my freshman year. But when I started to bulk up, the
football coach pressured me into playing. My mom hated it, but Mark joined too, and for a few months there, we were actually
the popular kids.”
Eli holds his breath, waiting for the but to drop.