"Hi, Bright. What are you up to?" Nina asked.
Bright looked past her, the smell of a cooking meal wafting out the door toward him.
"I'm sorry, am I interrupting dinner? I was hoping Hannah could help me study for my test."
"Oh, she's not here. She's babysitting Delia tonight."
"Okay, thanks."
He turned and walked across the lawn, muttering his regret at not calling first. At Dr. Brown's house, Delia answered the door.
"Bright!" her face lit up. "Did you know that taphephobia is the fear of being burned alive?"
"Uh, no, isn't everyone afraid of that?"
"And clinophobia is the fear of beds."
"Good to know. What are you reading?"
"Hannah's psychology book." She looked up from the book and wrinkled her nose. "There is some pretty freaky stuff in this book. Look at the abnormal psychology section."
Hannah came from the kitchen and said, "Thanks, Delia! I'll take that back now. Dinner's almost ready."
"Okay, I'll go wash my hands. Do you want me to set the table?"
Hannah smiled and nodded, then turned back to Bright.
"Hi, Bright, what are you doing here?"
He held up his textbook and smiled. "I was hoping you could help me study for my test. Remember, you said you'd help –"
He was interrupted by Dr. Brown coming down the stairs.
"Delia, I'm going now." He called behind him. In a normal tone he said, "Hannah, you've got my cell phone number and the number of the restaurant, so you should be able to contact me if there is an emergency. Oh," he said, eyebrows lifting. "Hello Bright, haven't seen you in a while."
Hannah asked, "Is it okay if Bright helps me baby-sit Delia tonight? I was going to help him with his anatomy homework."
His forehead wrinkling, he looked at the two of them for a moment and finally sighed and said, "Sure." He looked Hannah in the eyes. "Just make sure…well, I'm sure you'll do fine." Giving a last quizzical look at the two of them, he stepped out the door.
After the door closed, Hannah turned to Bright, "Did that sound as bad as I think it did?" Bright smirked, "Oh, you mean the anatomy thing? No, I mean he's probably seen a porno like that once. I've seen a porno like that once. Do you think it was the same one?"
She rolled her eyes and said, "Come help me put dinner on the table. Have you eaten yet?"
"Yeah, but I could eat again. It smells good, what is it?"
"Just spaghetti with meatballs and a salad."
He gave her a somber look. "Did you let Delia chop?"
She giggled. "Yes. She is really serious about her chopping."
After dinner, Bright and Delia loaded the dishwasher, while Hannah quizzed Bright on the bones of the hand.
"There are 27 bones, divided into phalanges, metacarpals and carpals," he stated.
"Okay, now give me the eight carpals."
"Pisiform, trapezoid, trape… trapezene?"
Hannah shook her head. "Trapezium" she prompted.
He ran his hand through his hair and tossed the dishtowel he was drying his hands with on the table in exasperation. "I'm never going to remember all of this. I don't know why I thought I could do this," he grumbled as he sank into a chair.
"You need a mnemonic device," Delia told him.
"I don't see how a machine is going to help," Bright responded.
Hannah turned to Bright, "No, she's right. It's a way to help you remember things. You use something you know to help you remember new information."
Delia nodded, "Yeah, I had to learn the parts of an insect's body for school. You know that song, "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes"? Well, I changed it to "Head, Thorax, Abdomen".
"And that worked?" asked Bright.
"I totally got an "A" on that test."
"So," added Hannah, "Look, here in your book is a diagram of the hand. If you change that to something you know, like maybe a football play…"
He held the book in front of him, "Oh, my god, I totally see it." He gave Delia a kiss on the forehead and Hannah a quick peck on the mouth and started writing hurriedly. Hannah and Delia exchanged smiles as Delia went into the living room to watch TV while Hannah began her Psychology homework.
After a while, Bright got up and stretched. He got a box of cookies out of the pantry and poured two glasses of milk, placing one in front of Hannah. She smiled her thanks at him. He scooted his chair next to her and she felt the heat from his touch as he leaned over her shoulder to look at her book, casually placing an arm around her.
"So, what are you studying?"
"Well, I'm doing research on a paper for my psychology class. It's on educational psychology and the theories of intelligence."
"Okay…."
"It's really interesting."
He twirled a finger in the air. "Yeah, I'm sure it is."
She grabbed his finger, laughing. "It is so annoying when you do that. Stop it. Now, listen, this is really neat."
He sighed resignedly and leaned back in his chair. The only reason he paid attention to what she was saying was that her eyes were sparkling and her cheeks were pink with excitement about the subject.
She pushed her glasses up on her nose and explained, "This book says there are seven types of intelligence. Linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, spatial, interpersonal and intrapersonal. Everyone has all of the different types working together, but everyone has strengths in a different area. Like, for instance, Ephram has strength in musical intelligence, my strength is in linguistic intelligence—I'm really good at reading and writing and synthesizing that sort of information. Your father and Dr. Brown are probably strong in logical-mathematical intelligence because they are doctors and diagnosing patients involves seeing patterns and using deductive reasoning. What I love about this theory is that it stresses that if you are, say, not as strong in linguistic intelligence, you have a strength in another area. Like, I can't play piano like Ephram, but that doesn't mean that I'm not as smart as he is. We're equally intelligent, but in different areas."
Bright nodded, putting his hands behind his head. "I get it. So what do you think this theory says about me?"
"Well, you obviously have bodily-kinesthetic intelligence, because you are so coordinated and, you know…"She trailed off a little, her eyes drawn to the muscles of his chest and biceps in the snug long-sleeved white t-shirt he was wearing. The position he was sitting in only accentuated his body further. She blushed and pushed her glasses back up on her nose, burying her head back in the book to hide her self-consciousness. Bright suppressed a smile.
"But, I think that also probably involves some spatial intelligence, you know being in a game and following the game around you, making decisions about which direction the ball is likely to go, and so on. But I really think that your biggest strength is your interpersonal intelligence."
"So what's that?" He leaned forward as though to look at her book, his shoulder brushing against hers. He could smell the fruity tang of her shampoo as he carefully brushed a stray lock of hair out of her face.
"Well, the book says that it is the ability to understand what motivates people. You understand why people do the things they do and their desires…"She started to trail off again as she caught his eye. She looked away again, and shuffled the papers in front of her, her hands shaking a little. "For a bad person, that means that it would be easy to manipulate people to do what you want. But for a good person, that would make you very sensitive and understanding, a good person to talk to. I mean, in theory," she cleared her throat and couldn't believe she was about to actually say this out loud. "In theory, it would, combined with your kinesthetic ability, make you a really good lover."
Bright gaped at her. "Hannah! You're flirting with me!"
Hannah was blushing so hard that her ears felt hot. She moved to get up from the table, but he caught her hand and pulled her into his lap. She hid her face in the curve of his neck.
He twined her fingers with his. He was quiet for a moment and then softly said her name.
"Hannah. Hannah, look at me."
She shook her head.
"Hannah, I'm glad you're flirting with me. It's fun, it's part of being in a relationship. It means you're getting comfortable with me as your boyfriend. Don't be embarrassed. I like it. Though I am a little surprised that you were so, um, what's the word?"
"Blatant? Aggressive?" she whispered.
He chuckled. "Yeah, those. It caught me off my guard, and I really hope you do it again. I like the way you constantly surprise me."
She sat up and looked him in the eyes. "You do?" He began to nod and was surprised again when she kissed him. Her lips were gentle as she reached up and buried her fingers in his thick curls. After a moment, she pulled away, biting her bottom lip and feeling a little bashful.
"That was the first time you kissed me" he said
"I know," she replied softly.
"It was pretty good."
She laughed quietly, still a little embarrassed. She settled back against his chest and played with the fabric of his shirt.
"I tried to kiss you once before," she reminded him.
He sighed. "Yeah, it's hard to believe I stopped you. I get so pissed off when I think about that. All this time wasted when we could have been together."
"Bright, I'm not sorry at all. I don't think we would have been together. I think you would have broken my heart."
He lifted one eyebrow. "You do?"
"Yeah, everything happens in its own time. If you had let me kiss you then, it would have been horrible. I mean, you said yourself that you were messed up. We weren't friends yet, you didn't really care about me. I was just another girl that liked you. I think I would have just been another chick to you…"
She could feel his body tense beneath her. "Are you okay?" she asked.
"I'm-- Hannah, I'm sorry for the way I treated you that night. I hate thinking about it. I get so mad at myself."
She put a hand on his cheek. "Bright, don't. I don't think we'd be here right now, like this, if it hadn't happened. I really believe that everything happens for a reason and in its own time. The time wasn't right then. And now, things are even better because of that moment. The remorse you feel means you are a better man. That is what makes me care for you. Well, beyond the obvious just wanting you for your body, of course."
He threw his head back and laughed and Hannah giggled in response. Just then she heard the keys in the front door and leapt out of Bright's lap back into her own seat.
"Hi, Dr. Brown. You're back early."
He looked at them, and at the textbooks strewn across the kitchen table. "Ah, the bones of the hand." He gave Bright a sharp look. "What are the carpals?"
Bright counted them off on his fingers. "Pisiform, triquetrum, hamate, capitate, trapezoid, trapezium, lunate and scaphoid."
Dr. Brown's face registered pleased surprise. "Very good. So, where is Delia?"
"She fell asleep watching a Lizzie Maguire marathon." Hannah replied.
He handed Hannah her money and thanked her for watching Delia. Bright and Hannah bid him goodnight and walked back to Nina's holding hands. When they reached Nina's front porch, Bright pulled Hannah's hand so that she would stop. Standing on the top step, she was able to look directly into his warm eyes.
"Do you want to try it again?"
She smiled as she brushed his lips with hers. She put her arms around his neck and pulled him close. A little breathless, she asked him "Did I lean in wrong?"
He pulled her into an answering kiss.