Ethan wasn't joking when he said B-Movies. He had some kind of Amazon-purchased box set of classic B-Movies: King Kong, Attack of The 50 Foot Woman, Attack of The Killer Tomatoes, The Fly, The Ooze, and of course Killer Klowns From Outer Space. When April returned from their lunch they decided on Attack of The 50 Foot Woman. April said she needed to see a woman crushing things.
"You don't need to be fifty feet tall to intimidate people or to get things done," he said as he set a bowl of popcorn between them.
"You think?" April nonchalantly.
"Anyone with the nerve to become a doctor doesn't need to," Ethan replied look over to her.
April picked up the remote and hit pause and then turned to him.
"Just ask Ethan," she said popping a kernel of popcorn in her mouth.
"What happened? I think all the doctors at Med know you're extremely smart and I knew you were intuitive to some of the diagnosis' but I didn't know it was because you were studying to be a doctor," Ethan rambled.
April nodded her head and took a deep breath in before saying,
"I was, I was incredibly hectic about school. In high school, I basically never dated anyone because I knew that I wanted to go into medicine…be a doctor, I took every class under the sun and because in undergrad you can choose anything I chose nursing."
"So, you just took to nursing then?" he asked pressing further.
"Um-yeah…kind of," she said grabbing the remote.
She hit play and turned to face the screen. The point of the movie was to run away from her sorrows not dig up old ones to add to the new ones. Ethan just stared at the side of her face. He was waiting for more but he soon realized that that was the extent of the story he was going to get.
"Did they even have the term gaslighting back then?" April asked.
Ethan shrugged, "That's a Dr. Charles question."
"Ugh, her husband is the worst! I hope she squeezes his head open!" April grumbled.
A quick knock at the door paused the movie for the fifth time. Ethan would stop it ever so often to accommodate her bladder. But this time it was for the pizza they'd ordered. It was well into the evening and they paused the movie to nosh on thin crust veggie pizza and tossed salads. April did the dishes with him again and they sat down to finish the movie.
"Ooh here it comes, look at the fear in his eyes…you think she's going to do it?" Ethan asked looking at the screen then over to April.
But true to her form April was asleep; her head leaning against the head of the couch. Ethan stared at her and then a small half smile graced his face. She looked peaceful, not worried about anything, just resting. He wished she felt this serenity all the time. He turned the movie off and gave her shoulder a small shake but not unlike a comatose patient or a passed out drunk she was immovable.
"You weren't joking…," he whispered to himself, "But neither was I."
He scooped her up in his powerful arms and carried her to his bed. In the past when he studied with a few girls they would share the bed, but this was April and he still was going at it blind with no map in Crushville. So, he tucked her in realizing that there she was; in his bed.
"That's probably the last time you'll see a sight like that again," he thought to himself before shutting out the lights.
…
The long hall of Tate's second story felt even more vast then it was. It stretched a few feet every time April took a step; almost like taffy. She could see the garnet color she picked out from the den cascading and flooding the hall. But the den wasn't on the second story, something was off. April smoothed her hands down the front of her shirt but her stomach was flat. Panic crept in and April wondered how she had managed to skip over the birth of her baby. The twinkling sound of a mobile started and the hum of a familiar nursery rhyme began.
Hush, little baby, don't say a word,
Mama's going to buy you a mockingbird.
April slowly creaked the door open. Haphazardly walking towards the crib.
If that mockingbird won't sing,
Mama's going to buy you a diamond ring.
April looked down at her hand and her engagement ring was gone.
If that diamond ring turns brass,
Mama's going to buy you a looking glass.
April finally got to the crib; gradually toeing each step to the side of it. The mangled hair, glistening brown flesh, and absent neck of the sleeping babe caused her to shriek. The roof tore open and a fifty-foot Tate used his giant hand to scoop up April.
"Are you happy now?" he asked in a booming voice.
Sitting up and screaming only happened in the movies. Instead April flinched so hard her eyes opened to her hummingbird-like heartbeat. Her entire body was glinted in sweat and fear. The morning sun was streaming through the window. She sat up and realized she had no idea where she was. The down comforter was soft and inviting but not hers. She turned to get up and when she walked to the hallway she realized that she was still at Ethan's.
"Ah man, crashed his evening and his bed," April thought to herself hopelessly.
She'd intruded enough and it was time to get going. But not before using the restroom; it was all definitely just a dream as the tiny bump of a human continued to press down on her splashed some water on her face and used one of his towels to absorb the residue. It was more like wiping away what was left of the nightmare. When she opened the door, his couch was bare and he was walking around in his kitchen. April stopped in her tracks. He looked sleepy while he quietly whistled, his bare feet against the tile as he searched his cabinets for whatever he was looking for, his normally coiffed hair; messy, in skater flaps in his eyes. He needed a haircut. But that wasn't the sight that made April stop; it was the fact that he only had on pants. His smooth olivey-tanned skinned wrapped tautly around his shapely pecs and stacked six-pack. When he yawned and turned the motion highlighted all the peaks and valleys and grooves of his toned back. He was beautiful.
"Why is a man that looks like that single?" April wondered.
It was time to say goodbye, she'd eaten up his ice cream, his free time, and now his bed. He deserved his space.
"Good morning," April announced as she walked in.
Through his tired eyes and dimpled smile, he replied;
"Morning."
"So…sorry, I wasn't joking about falling asleep easily," she said sheepishly.
"No problem," he answered scooping some ground tea into a sift.
"Maybe next time I'll bring the movies to you."
"Oh…I don't know," April said hesitatingly.
Ethan stopped and set down the sift.
"April it's really not that big of a deal…I meant it when I said you can stay here anytime you need to."
"I think you said a version of that…," she laughed, "I'm sorry I keep feeling like I'm taking advantage," she lamented.
"Nah don't worry about it…we're buds," he said while awkwardly but lightly punching her shoulder with a smirk.
"Yeah, buds," she said bopping his shoulder back, "So…,"
"Killer Tomatoes tonight?"
"Definitely!" April answered.
She walked over to the sofa and put her shoes on before giving another quick wave and walking out. She passed Jeff in the hallway coming out.
"Hi Jeff! Bye Jeff!" April giggled has she hurried pass him.
Jeff twirled around quickly unable to come up with a quick quip or even a hello as she slid passed him and went down the stairs of Ethan's was walking to his bedroom when the tap of the door stopped him.
"Did you forget something?" he asked smiling as he opened it.
"Well, well, well…," Jeff teased.
"I should punch you for that stunt you pulled yesterday," Ethan grumbled.
"You'd be happy to fight me, you could take me…I mean have ever seen Tate?! He's like 6'6 and 280 pounds," Jeff laughed.
"Why would I even fight Tate?" Ethan asked perplexed.
"Oh, I don't know…maybe because you banged his girlfriend!" Jeff laughed.
"You're a child Jeffrey."
Ethan turned around and put him in a head lock. A crush brings out the worst in everything and everyone it seems. He and Jeff were play-fighting like teenagers.
"Okay…mmkay…I give," Jeff wheezed under his grip.
Ethan let go and let out a sigh.
"We didn't have sex, she fell asleep while we watched a movie and I slept on the couch," Ethan answered succinctly.
He walked into his room and grabbed a t-shirt. He started making the bed when he came across a small earring on the pillow. He could admit it did look bad. His bed smelling of coconut and rosewater. Her earring left on the pillow, drinks, movies, dancing, and dinner. From the outside it could look like courtship but it was friendship. If Ethan was a woman they'd be close girlfriends but girlfriends don't wonder what the other looks like under their clothes. They don't wonder what the other's skin feels like against theirs and they definitely do not have to stop themselves from wondering what it would've been like to sleep next to them last night. He came out and Jeff was sitting on the couch rubbing the back of his neck where Ethan had it clutched.
"So, what do you need now?"
"I wanted to see if you were up for a study session," Jeff asked.
Ethan nodded and plopped down on the couch as Jeff got his books out.…April hurried in, past the bouquet, passed her responsibilities. It didn't matter anyway. Home, asleep, Ethan's, it didn't matter; Tate was always there and so was the risk associated with her pregnancy. She walked to the kitchen and swallowed her medication before getting in the shower and cleaning up. She sat at the edge of her bed rubbing a heavy moisturizer over her skin, her legs, her arms, and her swollen mid-section. The act made the little life move again. A small quick movement that startled her at first but then she smiled and realized it was these precious moments that should have been experienced with Tate. She needed to call him. Make some form of contact, after all she still loved him; just not their turned to afternoon and afternoon to evening as a quick nap, a load of laundry, and light reading had April losing track of the time. The knock at the door paused her article in the Healthy Mom magazine she was reading. Through the peephole she saw Ethan.
"Aaaattttttack of The Killer Tomatoes," he sung in a deep voice.
April laughed and let him in but she had actually forgotten about their plans. Pregnancy brain was a thing and hers was turning to mush. She popped a bowl of popcorn and put out two soda waters for them. Ethan noticed a few moments after she would take a drink she would always adjust her position.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"Yes, the baby gets a literal kick out of soda water," she answered.
"Here feel," she said as she grabbed his hand.
She placed it atop her stomach and leaned over to take a small sip of soda water. A moment later there was the smallest flutter. Ethan could barely feel it but the warmth radiating from her skin was the manifestation of many of wonders he had about touching her.
"I can't feel it," he admitted as his cheeks shrugged and she gave his hand, which was lingering a moment too long, a light pat and he quickly snatched it away like a child hiding candy behind it's back.
"So…how do you like this one?" Ethan asked hoping his feelings weren't leaking everywhere.
"I like it, you know for what it is. But honestly…I forgot," she admitted shamefully.
"Oh…well I can go," Ethan said trying his best to mask his disappointment.
"No, no, please...I owe you for taking all the room up in your bed…your house…your life," she said still feeling the embarrassment.
"You don't take up enough room in my life," he said as he gazed at her.
For the first time it felt as though she was gazing back. Thinking about what that would look like. Her in his life; taking up space, sharing space. Before either could even dissect what Ethan had said a knocking disrupted them.
"Excuse me," April all but whispered.
She got up, feeling like she was walking from a place in history, a space of time frozen in the moment. Maybe it needed to stay there or not be explored at all.
"Tate!" she exclaimed.
"It's not home without you," he said.
He was holding her décor board up but it had been revised with real life photos of the den that'd been executed. Tate had obviously overseen the project in her absence and it was finished.
"Um…come in," April said.
Tate smiled but was surprised to see Ethan sitting on the couch with a bowl of popcorn in his lap. The two mirrored each other's expressions as Ethan was just as shocked to see him.
"Tate, you remember Dr. Ethan Choi…from the hospital?" April asked hoping to break up the growing awkward tension in the room.
"Yeah…yeah…you helped with Eric, right?" he inferred.
"That's right…um…how is he?" Ethan asked.
"Good…good," Tate said nodding his head but trying to decipher what was actually going on.
"Ethan and I have been making our way through the great cheesy horror movies of the past," April was trying her best to break up the growing awkwardness but it had taken on a life of its own. Not unlike The Blob crushing everything in its wake.
"Cozy…," Tate remarked, "I always liked a good horror film back in the day," he started as he looked to the screen, "It was always a great way to get close to the pretty girls."He still had a smile on his face but his eyes were no longer blinking as he stared at Ethan.
"I should probably go," Ethan announced.
He too, stared at Tate unblinking, stern. His eyes softened upon April. She nodded as he stood up. Ethan realized in the moment that Jeff was absolutely right. Tate was enormous. And even more importantly, "it" most certainly wasn't going to end well.
"I'll see you later...at work…or later," April said; verbally stumbling.
Ethan left and with a snap of the door into the hallway he realized it. She was not his, they were only friends, and could probably be nothing more than that. Poppa was home.