Saturday
The afternoon had started like any other. Alex had sent me a message from the car on the way to her grandfather's house: "My mom says to have fun. My dad says not to do anything he wouldn't do. That doesn't narrow it down much."
I was in my room with the computer open and the robotic arm connected, adjusting the last parameters of the control code. Since the system had left, my skills had continued to grow, but in a different way. Slower. More organic. Like a tree putting down roots, without hurry, without anyone measuring its height.
The phone vibrated again. Alex: "We arrived. My grandfather already has the western on. Manny has his fencing foil. This is going to be a horror movie."
I smiled. I replied: "Enjoy or survive. Both are valid."
"I'm going to try for both," she replied.
I put the phone down and returned to the code, but my fingers moved slower. My eyes kept drifting to the screen whenever it lit up.
Mark entered my room without knocking, as always. He carried a tray with two glasses of milk and a bag of cookies.
"Are you studying or playing?" he asked, setting the tray on the desk.
"Programming. Adjusting the arm's sensors."
"Ah." He sat on the edge of the bed with an expression I couldn't tell was curiosity or boredom. "And what's that for?"
"To learn how to build things. To..." I paused. "To see if I can make something that helps someone."
Mark nodded as if he understood, but in his eyes there was something more.
"Leo," he said in a tone that wasn't his usual one. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"The girl you spend so much time with? Alex. Do you like her?"
The question caught me by surprise. Not because I didn't expect someone to ask it, but because I had never thought about how to answer it.
"Yes," I said. "I like her."
"And does she know?"
"She knows. But she doesn't want it to be more than friends. Yet."
"Yet?"
"She doesn't know what it means to like someone. It's never happened to her before. She needs time to understand it."
Mark looked at me for a long time. And then, with a smile more nostalgic than amused, he said: "You know? When I met your mother, I also had trouble understanding what I felt. She was... different. Quieter. More thoughtful. She spent hours reading in the library while I played soccer with my friends."
"And how did you know you liked her?"
"I didn't. One day I was in the library, and she was at the next table reading a book of poetry. And I couldn't stop looking at her. She looked at me and smiled, and I knew I wanted to be there. Not playing soccer, not with my friends. There. With her."
"And what did you do?"
"I sat beside her. Asked her what she was reading. She told me it was a book of poems about the sea. And I told her I'd never seen the sea. And she told me that someday she would take me." He laughed. "Years passed, and she still hasn't taken me. But I'm waiting."
"Doesn't it bother you to wait?"
"No. Because I know that when the time comes, it will be worth it."
The phone vibrated. Alex: "Haley ran off with Dylan. My grandfather helped her. I don't know whether to be angry or admire him."
I replied: "Both. As always."
Mark saw the message, saw my smile, and got up from the bed.
"That girl has you smitten," he said with a smile that hid nothing.
"I know."
"Well, at least you don't write poems. That's more than I can say for myself at your age."
And he left, leaving me with the tray of cookies and the phone warm in my hands.
8:00 PM
Alex: "My grandfather put the movie on. It's cowboys. Manny's excited because there are swords. I'm excited because my phone has battery."
Me: "What movie is it?"
Alex: "I don't know. I just know there's a man with a big hat and another with a bigger hat. I think they're going to fight over who has the biggest hat."
Me: "That's the plot of every cowboy movie."
Alex: "And isn't that boring?"
Me: "It's predictable. But sometimes predictable is comforting."
Alex: "That's very wise for someone eating cookies in his room."
I laughed. I took a picture of the cookie tray and sent it to her.
Alex: "My grandmother doesn't let us eat cookies before dinner. She says they'll give us diabetes."
Me: "And what do you think?"
Alex: "I think diabetes is the least of my problems if I keep watching westerns."
Me: "Can you escape?"
Alex: "Where?"
Me: "Somewhere. Talk. Not watch cowboys."
Alex: "My grandfather has cameras in the yard. He says it's for security. I think it's because he doesn't trust anyone."
Me: "What if you hide in the bathroom?"
Alex: "That would be very suspicious."
Me: "More suspicious than being in the bathroom for an hour?"
Alex: "You're right. I'll try it."
Five minutes passed. Ten. The phone didn't vibrate.
And then the message: "I'm in the bathroom. Haley saw me and told me that if I didn't tell anyone she ran off with Dylan, she wouldn't tell anyone I escaped to the bathroom to talk. I think we made a deal."
Me: "And is that good or bad?"
Alex: "It's fair. Haley doesn't tell anyone I escaped. I don't tell anyone she escaped. We both win."
Me: "And what do you win?"
Alex: "You."
My heart skipped a beat. My fingers trembled over the keyboard.
Me: "That was very cheesy."
Alex: "I know. But it's true."
9:00 PM
Mark came back to my room. This time without cookies, without milk. Just a chair and an expression I couldn't tell was determination or embarrassment.
"I need to talk to you," he said, sitting across from me.
"Did something happen?"
"No. But I saw you were messaging with Alex and smiling. And I thought maybe..." He paused. "Maybe you needed some advice on how to... you know. Win a girl over."
"Win her over?"
"Make her fall for you. Make her realize she likes you. Make her stop being your friend and become something more."
"She already knows I like her. And I know she likes me. But she's not ready. She needs time."
"And you're going to wait?"
"Yes."
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Leo told his dad he liked Alex. Mark told him to wait. That he waited too.
And meanwhile, Alex was texting from her grandfather's bathroom.
Because sometimes love hides where no one can find you.
What's more romantic? Waiting like Mark or hiding in the bathroom like Alex? 💬🚽❤️
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