“You sound emotionally invested.”
“I am.”
I hand the bowl back.
Her fingers skim mine as she takes it. The touch lasts less than a second, but it settles into the space between us more heavily than it should.
She turns back toward the movie.
I let her.
For another half hour, the cabin feels almost ordinary. Maya complains about the music. Omar argues that the music is the best part. I inform both of them that they are wrong. Maya steals the last of the pretzels from the bowl while insisting I had enough. Omar closes his laptop long enough to point out that the lead actor has somehow survived a third explosion without losing his shirt, and the easy back-and-forth feels like proof we have not been pushed too far apart.
Maya complains about the soundtrack. Omar argues that the soundtrack is the best part. I tell them both they are wrong. Maya steals the last of the pretzels from the bowl while insisting I had enough. Omar closes his laptop long enough to point out that the lead actor has somehow survived a third explosion without losing his shirt.
“That is the most unrealistic part,” Maya says.
I look at her.
She catches my expression and narrows her eyes.
“Do not.”
“I said nothing.”
“You were about to.”
“I was thinking it.”
“That is worse.”
The movie ends with the protagonist standing in front of a burning building while everyone around him applauds for reasons no one explains.
Maya stares at the credits.
“That was terrible.”
“You chose it.”
Her eyes stay on the screen.
I understand then. Not the movie. Not the absurd explosions or terrible medical logic. The known ending. The predictable lines. The fact that she could spend two hours watching something in which every problem was loud, uncomplicated, and guaranteed to resolve itself before the credits played, because it is easier than thinking about what waits after landing.
I do not say any of that, though; instead, I reach for the remote and start another film.
Maya looks over. “What is this?”
“You choose after this one.”
“That is suspiciously generous.”
“I am capable of generosity.”
“You are capable of buying things.”
“That is also generosity.”
Her mouth curves.
