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?”
