A Drop in the Ocean

Chapter 11

Nora helped Brian get settled in the guest bedroom while Luke and I sat on my bed and played on our phones.  I was sitting against the headboard while Luke was laying across the bottom of my bed with one of my blankets over his feet.  It was fleecy and had a TARDIS on it.  I soon got bored with the game I was playing.  A little while ago, I was scrolling through the App Store and found a game called Plague, Inc.  Essentially, you create a disease and try to kill off humanity.  It's addicting in a very morbid way.  

I hopped off my bed and grabbed the TV remote from my dresser.  Luke looked up at me running around like a maniac.  I quickly grabbed the Blu-Ray remote which would let me watch Netflix.  I stood at the end of my bed and rolled Luke over a couple times.  He wasn't expecting it, which I could tell from the confused and surprised look on his face, but he just stayed limp so I could move him over.  His feet got tangled up in the blanket.  I grabbed his arms and moved him so that his head was facing the footboard and the television.  He set his head on his hands without even saying a word.  Sometimes, I loved this boy.  I draped the blanket across his legs again and plopped down next to him, pulling the blanket over my feet.  

I turned on Netflix and waited for it to load.

"So, what are we watching?" he finally whispered while leaning his head over to mine.

"The Netflix loading screen," I whispered sarcastically.  The bed shook with his laughter.

"You know what I mean," he told me, still whispering.  

"I was going to turn on Doctor Who," I answered, keeping on this whispering trend.  Why?  I have no clue.

"Never seen it," he replied.  I slowly looked over at him in shock.  Had I heard him right?

"What?" I said, finally raising my voice.  

"I've never seen Doctor Who," he said again.  Just then, Brian walked in.  

"What are you kids up to?" he asked, leaning on my dresser.  

"This kid's never seen the Doctor," I told him, pointing my index finger at Luke.  Luke looked up at Brian with a shy smile.  Brian's face fell in shock.

"What?" he cried.  

"I know, right?" I exclaimed.  

"Well, we need to give him a TV-ecation," he announced.  "Luke's going to have a TV-ecation!" Brian yelled down the hall.  

"I don't know what that means!" I heard Nora yell from the guest bedroom.

"That's because I just made it up!" he yelled back.  He turned back to us with a huge smile.  "Wait for me.  I'll watch it with you.  It's been a while, but we need to do this right."  He bolted down the hallway.  "Nora!"

"Yes, Brian!"  she called in exasperation.  I loved them so much.

"Do you have caramel and apples?" he yelled.  I could hear his heavy footsteps on the stairs.  I shook  my head.  Sometimes, he acted more like a child than an adult.  The words of Tom Baker came to mind.  

"There's no point in being grown up if you can't be childish sometimes," I muttered.  

"What?" Luke asked.  I just shook my head. 

"Tom Baker quote," I replied.  He gave me a confused look.  I rolled my eyes.  "He's the fourth Doctor."

"I don't understand," he said.  I patted him on the back.

"You soon will, boy," I assured with a smile.

"There are caramels in the pantry that you'll have to melt and some apples in the fridge," Nora called down.  

"Does anyone in this establishment believe in actually being in one room when we talk to each other?" I yelled out.  Luke chuckled.  

"No!" I heard James call from the living room, adding to the hilarity.  I could hear Nora's hysterical laughter in the guest bedroom.

"Fuck!" Brian yelled from the kitchen.  "That damn caramel is hot!"  I couldn't help but laugh, and neither could Nora.  I could see her leaning against my door frame, holding her stomach while trying to hold in her laughter.  I could hardly even see her through my tears.  

Brian burst through the door holding a plate piled with apple slices and a bowl with melted caramel.  That was always our thing.  Doctor Who and caramel apples.  He handed me the apples and Luke the caramel before placing himself between the two of us on the bed.  

"So, where are we starting?" he asked enthusiastically.  I clicked on Doctor Who on the Netflix menu and went straight to series one.

"Rose," I told him, dramatically clicking on the episode "Rose" while saying her name.  

"Prepare to have your mind blown, young boy," Brian whispered to Luke while grabbing and apple slice and dipping it in the caramel. 

******

By 8:30 that evening, I felt sick to my stomach with the amount of apples and caramel I'd eaten, and we'd made it halfway through series two.  David Tennant.  Boy, do I love that man.  

"So, what do you think?" I asked Luke as we trudged down the stairs heavily.  Those sweets really weighed us down.

"I think that I genuinely liked it," he replied happily.

"Really?" I exclaimed.  It made me happy that he was interested in some of the same things as me.

"Yeah, it has really good moral message behind it, and I kind of like sci-fi," he confessed.  I couldn't help but smile like and idiot.

"Well, I've got a whole list of shows you'd probably like, then," I laughed.  

"Like what?" he questioned as we made it to my door.  

"Hm...Let's see.  Star Trek.  Both the movies and the TV shows.  Classic Who.  Battlestar Galactica.  Revolution.  Heroes," I began.  I leaned up against the wall.  "Terra Nova.  Firefly.  Serenity.  Torchwood."

"Well, we've got a lot of work to do, don't we?" he replied.  I chuckled.

"That we do, Lukey," I told him.  His eyes narrowed, and he looked as though he was contemplating something.  "What?" I questioned anxiously.

"I need to think of a nickname for you," he disclosed. 

"Don't come to me for that information.  I'm terrible at nicknames," I announced.  

"Lukey's pretty good," he acknowledged.  I scoffed.

"I added an 'ee' sound to the end of your name.  It's not really that difficult," I argued.  He chuckled, but he looked at me for a good minute before speaking again.  

"Gingy," he finally said.  I gave him an irritated look.

"Gingy?  Is it because I have red hair?" I asked in agitation.

"Exactly!" he cheered.  He opened the door.  "Goodbye, Gingy!" he cried with a wave when he was at the sidewalk.  I closed the door shaking my head.

That boy would be the death of me.