Page 108 of Back To Our Beginning

I sat next to Eli in the Patterson’s living room. I’d been talking to him for ten minutes, but he wasn’t opening up to me. I couldn’t get him to talk about his mom much, and he just froze when I mentioned Bruce’s name.

Inwardly, I sighed.

Then I spotted the PlayStation setup that was connected to the TV. There were a couple of games lying on the floor beside it. Bluey and Paw Patrol. I pointed to the two games. “Do you play those games?” I asked.

For the first time since I arrived, he gave me a gap-toothed grin. “Yeah. With Mr. Patterson. He’s not very good.”

“Do you think you could teach me?”

He gave me a long look. “I dunno. You’re old and you’re a girl.”

I managed not to laugh. “Please? I really want to try.”

He gave a big, put-upon sigh. “All right.” He wiggled off the sofa and went over to the TV and turned everything on. Then he sat cross-legged on the floor. He looked over his shoulder and stared at me. “Come on.”

I took my cue and sat down next to him, cross-legged. He handed me a controller.

“Okay, now we’re going to start. Are you ready?”

I shrugged. “Sure.” I looked at the screen. Nothing was happening.

“You’re holding it upside down. Give it to me.” Eli took the controller out of my hand and flipped it over, then handed it back. “Now you can play.”

Again, I had to suppress a grin. Now I was seeing the little boy I’d hoped to see. “Now what?” I asked.

He leaned over and pointed at my controller. “See this button? This is the ‘X’. That one makes them jump. The stick makes them run or walk. Mostly they just walk, cause they’re puppies. You know?” He turned his head sideways to look up at me.

“Makes sense,” I agreed.

“Give it to me and I’ll show you.” He took the controller again, moved the joystick and wiggled it. One puppy ran around. “If you press the circle button he barks. Watch.” The dog on the screen barked. “But don’t let him bark at people. That would be bad.”

“Why?”

“That’s rude. We can’t be rude.”

“Who says? Your mom?”

He continued to fiddle with the joystick, but slower. He shook his head. “Not Mom. Mrs. Patterson. She knows a lot. She’s teaching me things. So is Mr. Patterson. He’s not ever mean. He doesn’t even yell.” Eli handed the controller back to me.

“That’s really good, Eli.”

“I like it here.” He went silent.

I softly bumped him with my shoulder. “Show me some more,” I encouraged.

He grinned at me. “Now you get to pick your puppy. Press the ‘X’.”

I deliberately pressed the square.

“No, you did it wrong. Give it to me.”

I relinquished the controller again, and he pressed the ‘X’.

“Oh wow, Eli. Look at all those puppies. I get to have one?”

“Yep.” He was grinning really wide. Then, in a flash, his grin turned wobbly, and I saw his eyes fill up with tears.

“What is it, Eli?”