isn't she lovely

4

on the way home, we talked more and more. her favorite candy is sour patch kids, and her favorite song is "i write sins not tragedies" by p!atd.
"i'm home," i called as i closed the front door. no reply. "my dad must be at work," i said, kicking off my rain boots.
"it's gonna be a partayyyyy," mack snickered. i smiled. "so what movie are we gonna watch?"
"i have a huge dvd collection, i was going to let you pick," i replied, taking her coat. i led her downstairs to our 'tv area' or whatever. i opened the dvd cabinet and popped a squat on the couch.
"wow," she marveled. she stood back. "this is quite a collection."
"there really isn't much to do around here except watch movies," i sighed. "this is all i do when i'm not learning stuff or hanging out with my dog. it's a pretty pathetic existence."
"i don't think that's pathetic at all," she said, turning towards me. "you're doing something with your life, and if that something is enjoying movies, then so be it!" she turned back around. "maybe one day you'll be part of the movie business."
"yeah, maybe," i chuckled. "so, see any movie you like?"
"how could i not, there's got to be at least a hundred dvds to choose from," she replied. mack pulled out 6 cases, and laid them out for me to see. she had chosen the light between oceans, all dogs go to heaven, moana, blue is the warmest color, tangled, and e.t.
"here are six that i have never seen," she said, sitting next to me. "which one do you recommend?"
"you've never seen any of these?" i asked. "not even all dogs go to heaven? moana? really?" she nodded. "holy cow, you've never seen e.t. we have to watch that." i gathered the other dvds that she had never seen somehow, and popped e.t. in the player.
"now the important thing about movies," i began as i turned the lights off and threw her a blanket, "is the ending. the ending is almost always the best part."
"i will keep that in mind," she said, unfolding the blanket and wrapping it around herself. "thanks will, by the way." i smiled, and she grinned right back. "okay," she said, "let's get this road on the show."
i pressed play. i honestly could not believe that i was with a very pretty girl who was seeing e.t for the very first time. shut up, will, i thought to myself. watch the damn movie with her.
throughout the whole movie, mack was watching intently. her eyes were widened and she had this little grin on her face that i don't think she realized was there. i guess i didn't realize how much i had been looking at her until the movie neared its end. i saw a few tears run down her face just the same as elliot's as e.t. is leaving.
"will," mack whispered to me.
"yeah?"
"you're missing the ending."
i turned my head back toward the screen and watched the movie even though i had seen it a million times. i tried to keep myself from turning back but i couldn't help it. i faced mack again, but this time she was looking right back at me. she wiped a tear away and smiled. she turned back to the screen, because when you watch e.t for the first time you can't miss the ending. that's cardinal sin number 4a of movies.
"isn't she lovely" by stevie wonder was running through my head, and i didn't even try to stop it. she is lovely, i thought. soon enough, the credits rolled by, and mack was still staring at the screen.
"wow," she marveled. "just, wow."
"see, what did i tell you? you can't just live your life without seeing this movie."
"i'm a little embarrassed," she wiped away tears, "i just met you yesterday and you've already seen me cry twice." she snickered. "that's crazy, honestly, that i just met you yesterday. i mean, we're neighbors for crying out loud."
"i have only lived here for two months, and like i said, i don't really get out much," i said. "i've lived in four different states in the last five years, but i'm here to stay, actually."
"where have you lived before here?" she asked.
     "up until i was twelve i lived in ontario, canada, actually. but then my mom..." i trailed off.
     "if you don't mind me prying, what did happen to your mom?"
     "well, she, uh," i began sheepishly, "she got pregnant with someone else's baby and so my dad and i left. we moved to an apartment in manhattan, and he got an accounting job, which about two years later transferred him somewhere else.
     "so then we were living in ludington, michigan, which was really nice, but then a year later, we moved again. my dad's job transferred us to tulsa, oklahoma, which was the worst experience of my life. i hated tulsa. but we only had to stay there for about six months until my dad quit and got a new job near raleigh, north carolina. of course, he was transferred again, and now we're here, permanently."
     "wow," mack said. "that's insane." i nodded. "if you could pick your favorite place, which would you pick?"
     "i really like it here, to be honest," i replied. "i like the weather so much better than anywhere else."
     "so how did all that moving work with your big movie collection?" she asked.
     "i've picked up most of them as we went along," i replied. "just little things for the sake of memories."