Chapter 2

With a grin, Rick pointed out, “Older than you. What’s up?”

Micah shrugged and dropped his gaze to the Slurpee cup, as if it were suddenly more interesting than anything else in the car. “Nothing.”

“Don’t you want to see this movie?” Rick asked.

Micah nodded, but something in his face said otherwise.

Rick suppressed a sigh. Sometimes it was like pulling teeth to get anything out of the boy. At this age! Rick wondered how much worse things would get once Micah hit his teen years.

“You like Pokémon,” Rick prompted.

Micah sighed. “Yeah, I do.”

The butwas unspoken, though Rick could hear it loud and clear, so he added it himself. “But…?”

Micah’s face scrunched up.

Here it comes

“But it’s for babiesand nerds,” Micah wailed.

Rick stared at his son. Part of him wanted to point out, Hello? It’s a freaking cartoon. But he realized if he said that, they might as well turn around now and go back home. Tears welled in Micah’s eyes, and his chin trembled as he struggled not to cry.

Taking a deep breath, Rick stifled the urge to snicker and, instead, asked gently, “Who told you that?”

Micah’s breath hitched in his chest. “Brian Hadley said only babiesand nerdslike Pokémon! He said Pikachu is a pika-butt!”

The words came out in a rush; to punctuate them, Micah sipped his Slurpee and stared balefully at his father, as if daring Rick to contradict his friend.

“Okay,” Rick drawled, nodding. Then he admitted, “I don’t even know what that means, but I’m going to bet Brian whatever-his-name-is is wrong.”

Micah pouted. “Brian Hadley.”

“Well, your friend—”

“He’s not my friend!” Micah shouted, his small voice suddenly loud in the closed up car. “He’s a bully! He’s worse than Team Rocket everis!”

Rick pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. Oh God, he thought, trying not to laugh. It’s like he’s speaking Greek. When did I get so damn old all of a sudden?At thirty, Rick didn’t think of himself as middle-aged, but whenever he tried to talk with his son, references to Team Rocket and Pikachu and who knew what else made him feel ancient. Had his mother ever felt this way when he was younger, listening to him ramble on about Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Darth Vader when Star Warsfirst came out? If so, she never let on, just smiled and let him tell her all about his favorite characters until he was talked out.

“Okay, look,” Rick said calmly, “that kid sounds like a jerk. If he isn’t your friend, why do you even care what he thinks?”

Micah nibbled on his straw. “I don’t.”

“Then ignore him.” Rick gave his son a tight smile. “He isn’t here right now, is he?”

Micah made a show of looking out the window, and Rick had to suppress a sigh. Seriously?he thought. You’re actually going to look?

Satisfied, Micah shook his head. “No, he’s not here.”

“Good.” Rick unbuckled his seat belt. “Then he won’t know you’re here, will he? And really, what does it matter? You want to see this movie, so we’re going to see it. Ifwe get out of the car right now. So come on. Let’s go catch those things, or something.”

Micah laughed. “Hey! It’s gotta catch ‘em all.”

“Yeah, whatever.” Rick rolled his eyes. “I’m not going to let some jackass bully you into not doing something you’ve been waiting so long to do.”

“Dad!” Micah squealed in delight. “You just called Brian a—”

“Don’t repeat that,” Rick warned him. “Surefire way to get your butt kicked, trust me.”

With a giggle, Micah slurped the last of his drink, his eyes twinkling mischievously over the top of his straw.

* * * *

The movie theater entrance was inside the shopping mall’s food court, a stupid design if Rick ever saw one. As soon as they stepped through the glass doors, Micah started to drift in the direction of McDonald’s, drawn by the scent of hot french fries wafting towards them. But Rick grabbed his arm and steered him back into the middle of the wide center aisle.

“Nuh-uh, mister,” Rick said with a shake of his head. “You can have popcorn once we’re in the movies.”

“Daaaad!” Micah whined, but only for show. He loved hot, buttery popcorn, and would take it over french fries any day.

Once they were past Micky D’s, he shook off Rick’s hand, and Rick let him go. They might be about to watch a cartoon movie, and Rick secretly had to admit it was a little babyish, but the boy had to hold onto somesemblance of pride.