Miguel's face assumed an expression of exaggerated innocence that she recognized immediately as his lying face. "This is Minecraft," he claimed, voice rising slightly. "I've had this for a while."
“No. Just no. This is not Minecraft.”
Miguel held his ground. “This is Minecraft, Mom. Actually, a little bit of trivia for you… did you know Minecraft is the best-selling video game of all time?”
Elena stared in disbelief at the screen, where what appeared to be a zombie's head was captured in the moment of exploding into a red mist. "Oh, bullshit, mijo. Excuse my Spanish."
Miguel didn't miss a beat. "No, seriously, it's a mod for the game."
"I don't know what a mod is, but I know this definitely isn't Minecraft," Elena said, crossing her arms. "It's time to turn it off. It's already past your bedtime."
Miguel's face fell, his controller lowering. "But Mom, we were just getting to the good part! Finn and I reached level eight. We haveneverdone that before.”
Miguel nudged Finn, probing for backup. Finn smartlystayed quiet. Miguel shot him a betrayed look. "Dude, whose side are you on?"
Finn blinked, looking a little scared. “Please, for the love of God. Do not bring me into this.”
Elena saw her opportunity. Moving toward the television as if to examine the game more closely, she deliberately knocked over a stack of coasters on the side table. As she bent to pick them up, her hand 'accidentally’ brushed against the power button on the console.
The screen went black. "NO!" Miguel wailed, dropping to his knees in theatrical despair. "We were so close! We'll never get back to level eight!"
Elena straightened, feigning innocence. "Oh, I'm so sorry. How did that happen?"
Miguel narrowed his eyes at her. "That was cold, Mom. Ice cold."
"It's bedtime anyway," she said, unmoved by his dramatics. "You should have been in bed an hour ago."
"Can we at least watch a movie before bed? Please? We were having so much fun, and it's Friday, and Finn taught me this cool move with the shotgun, and we had pizza, and?—"
"Breathe, mijo," Elena interrupted, amused despite herself by his relentless stream of begging. "One movie," she conceded. "A short one."
Miguel smiled and then took a dramatic breath. "Can Finn stay for the movie?"
A simple question, but it carried more significance than a simple movie invitation. Miguel's eyes were hopeful, darting between his mother and Finn with barely concealed eagerness. Finn had that neutral expression he usually wore, but she also picked up a hint of excitement as well.
She should say no. She should draw the line somewhere, or this thing between her and Finn would get out of hand at somepoint. Watching a movie together at ten on a Friday night with her son? That felt like a special moment reserved for a romantic relationship. But it all felt so natural. And she found herself struggling to say no.
And then she looked at her son’s face. She hadn’t seen Miguel so excited in a while. And part of that excitement came from the copious amounts of Mountain Dew he undoubtedly drank tonight. But there was another source of Miguel’s excitement tonight. Finn. And she didn’t want him to leave yet either.
“Finn, would you like to watch a movie with us?” Elena asked.
“I would love to.”
Miguel's enthusiastic cheer warmed her heart. But it was the look on Finn’s face that really got her. He was clearly trying to be subtle, but a big fat smile took over his face.
"Yes!" Miguel pumped his fist in the air. "Mom, you're the best. We're gonna find a great one, don’t you worry. Can we keep the zombie theme going?”
“No. If anything, we will watch the opposite of zombies. And if we're doing this, we're doing it right. With popcorn."
Miguel's eyes widened. "With the merkén?"
Elena nodded, already heading toward the kitchen. "With the merkén."
Behind her, she heard Miguel explaining, "My mom makes the best popcorn in the universe. It's a family secret."
“I can’t wait to try it.”
And then in a hushed tone, Miguel continued, “Dude… imagine if we still had some Mountain Dew to drink with the popcorn.”
