I think back about the last three hours and have to laugh with him. Finn was unusually quiet and stiff, but I thought it was because we were losing.
“I’m so sorry,” I say as our laugher stops. “He's overprotective, but the gun was over the line. I’m so, so—”
“Hey, don’t worry about it,” he stops me. “I'm fine. You’ve talked about Ben enough I should have put it together. I’m sorry my Giants lost you ten bucks. We could have used his money to buy us movie snacks.”
“Oh no. If I won, Ben had to hang all my pictures on the wall. Hence the hammer.”
Finn walks to the coffee table and picks up the hammer. “I’m not overly handy, but I think I can handle the geometry required to hang a picture. I’ll help you out, no bet required," he says.
“Really? Thanks. I want to do a big collection of them on the wall behind the television.”
I already have nails and a level from last weekend when I made Ben hang a shelf in my bedroom, so I gather up all the supplies for Finn and deposit them on the coffee table.
The pictures I want to hang lean against my bay window. It’s the only window in this room, but it’s big and allows bright light to fill the room during the day. The frames are full of images from family and friends from over the years. Finn walks to the area and picks up the first one. "I’m an only child. I never had anyone to make bets with. How long have the two of you been doing it?”
I meet him at the wall. “For as long as I can remember. Our wagers have gotten crazy in the past. Once in high school, Ben bet against the Titans and lost. He had to attend a yoga class with me.” The memory makes me laugh.
“I’m sure that went over well.” Finn smirks as he holds up frames for me to approve their positions and alignment.
“Actually no.” I stop to laugh again. “Ben came to class in pants that were so tight you could see everything.Everything.” I throw my hands out for emphasis. “He took every opportunity to make sure the entire class knew he was with me and then moaned through each stretch. I could never go back to that class again.”
Finn’s having a full out laughing fit by the time I finish my story. “Yeah, Ben won that one in the end. Since we’ve lived apart the last few years, we haven't been too creative. I can’t wait to get him with some good ones now that we’re in the same city.”
“That’s a lot of potential for embarrassment.” Finn takes the hammer to the first nail and starts my project.
