chapter 39:
ethan is sitting politely.
he's swinging his legs back and forth and eating his cheeseburger.
every once in a while, rose would help him open his ketchup and barbeque sauces.
"why don't you try mine?" rose asks her brother.
"because I don't like meat."
ethan almost gags, causing everyone to chuckle at his exaggeration.
"you don't? why not?" she brings her hamburger to him. "
try it."
"have you tried hamburgers before?" adam asks ethan. he shakes his head.
"never?"
"why would I try something if I don't like it?" he asks them, mockingly.
may laughs and brushes his hair backwards while he sips on his chocolate-milk. "maybe you'll like it."
rose encourages him to take a bite. "if you don't like it, that's okay, but you have to try it, at least."
he takes a bite, while adam takes a video of him trying it.
"so?" adam speaks behind his camera.
"I love it." ethan bursts out in satisfaction.
"you take mine and I'll take yours." ethan plops his burger on rose's tray and takes hers.
"you want to take mine, now?" rose fakes her shock.
"yeah! that's what me and dad used to do."
he goes back to taking some more bites from rose's burger while rose stares at him with pitiful eyes.
adam and may smile at the both of them, apologetically.
"your dad used to love hamburgers?"
adam tries to bring the topic up, intentionally. to not erase their father's presence.
to not intensify his absence. to show them that they can talk about him whenever they want.
because the more it hurts rose, the more willing she is to talk about it.
"he loves hamburgers, pizza, and kebab sandwiches."
the way ethan is talking about his father in present tense, pains rose.
she's worried on how he'll take the news.
just like adam promised, he takes him to play arcade games.
and ethan does not stop talking to adam about his favorite cartoons.
"so, you want to be a pilot when you grow up?" he asks him and slows their walking.
"I think so."
"you'd make a great pilot, little man." he pinches his cheek.
may and rose try to catch up to the two boys.
"have we arrived?" asks rose.
"yes. it's on the upper floor" says adam.
"should we take the elevator or the stairs?" adam asks, politely.
rose knew it's a bad idea to take the stairs, because all 3 of them are breathing heavily, excluding adam.
"you shouldn't have asked, bubs" she says, before stepping on the last step.
"I was trying to be polite" he says, as he and rose both wait for may and ethan.
"we're going to play now?" ethan asks as he jumps on the last step, removing his hand from his mother's.
