A Spoonful Of Sugar [WILL BE TAKEN DOWN 2/15]

| Chapter 25

Do you know what's the worst thing about rewatching a VHS tape? Rewinding it. Turning off the playback image so it moved faster, but once you heard the tape wind down, you had to know when to stop; the previews for other movies were always in the beginning.

I wasn't a kid anymore, so I forgot exactly when to stop, fast forward, and hit play. So, it was funny to watch old Disney previews like they were new. And even when I saw them as a kid, they were out of date.

My dad had to be the one to point it out. "You know, the only reason why we had this VCR was that you found all of those old tapes at the thrift store." Using his cup of coffee, he leaned back against the couch pillow and pointed at the TV with it. "Even Jun thought it was a waste of money. And he was nine."

"Pa." I batted my lashes as my mother stood away from the couch to stretch. "It wasn't a waste of money then, and it isn't now."

"Oh?" Blinking, my father looked at me, sipping his coffee. "Where am I supposed to buy these movies, hm? Everything is on DVD."

"No." I had coffee, too. I hadn't finished it, so half of it sat in the cup, a little cold. Dipping my head from side to side, I had to correct him. "No one uses DVDs anymore. It's all blu-ray."

Before my father could make another comment, the front door opened. Jun and Brian walked in with grins on their faces. While Brian hung back by the door for a second, hand scratching the back of his head, Jun placed the house keys on the small table beside my dad's towel. Then he looked at me with a dumb smirk.

"You're both wrong," Jun said, running his hand through his curls. "Everyone streams now. Digital, baby. Blu-rays and DVDs are ancient history."

"See, I knew he was the smart one," my dad said, pointing his cup at my brother now. "Rebellious, loud, but smart."

I was speechless. My mother had turned to power off the TV, but I knew she had to stop what she was doing to look at my father. To hear him openly admit something nice about Jun; none of us could have expected it. But Jun, despite his humble personality, took the shot and basked in it. His hands were on his hips as he leaned back with all of the glory of our father's compliment.

With a quiet snort, I stood and walked towards the door, to Brian. Jun eyed me with an ever-growing grin. As I passed him, he bumped my shoulder. "Heard that," he said, winking. "I'm the smart one."

"Ahuh." I blinked at him before giving Brian my attention. He had been scanning the room before looking down at me. When our eyes met, he smiled, and the sun within his soul filled me. One hand cupped my cheek, his other ran down my arm.

"You guys took a lot longer than I thought," I said, pouting. Then I shrugged. "Not that it was bad or anything—"

"The singing was bad," my father chimed in.

"Andres!" my mother warned.

"What? I could've meant my singing. I sang, too."

Jun cackled as he walked over to the couch. "Y'all were singing?"