“Wow, I’ve never heard someone say that before.”
“That’s because you’ve been surrounded by people who belong,” he says, with no hint of envy or irony.
I nod. I guess there’s truth to that. “Probably. Lucky us.”
“You have no idea.”
I want to ask him more, but it feels like it’s too soon. Like he’s already given me more than he would give anyone.
The only way I know this is, because I’ve done the same for him.
“Hey.” He stands up, brushing the dirt from his hands. “Come on.”
“Come on, what?”
He’s grins and holds his hand out again. “You game?”
I take his hand even before I’ve answered.
“Fuck, yes.”
***
We’re standing in front of Home Depot.
This can’t be right.
But we are, standing here, right outside the opening and closing sliding doors. Into Home Depot.
“Um.” I say, once he hasn’t given me any idea of why we’re here.
“Shush. You said you were game, remember? Well, come on, start walking.”
I want to grumble, but the last thing I want is to seem like a brat.
“Where am I walking to?”
“Follow me.” He grabs my wrist and drags me through the towering aisles filled with nails and hammers and all sorts of tools that look like medieval torture devices.
This place is huge. I never noticed just how big it was before. Things seem larger when you’re being dragged through them by a virtual stranger with no knowledge of the destination.
“Stop,” he says as he comes to an abrupt standstill and I bang into him.
“Sorry,” I mumble as I look around. We’re in the paint department.
“We’re here!” he says, with a flourish. He seems to be enjoying this, his initial shyness or whatever it was, seemingly faded into the breeze as we ran.
“Er, and ‘here’ is where exactly.” I turn around in a full circle half expecting to see a prank camera crew jump out from behind a shelf.
“Here. Look.” He points to the rows and rows and rows of paint swatches. Perfect squares of color in every possible imaginable shade.
I have to close my eyes for a moment, before taking it all in again. The wall of graduating shades is hypnotizing, the order amongst what could be complete chaos so oddly satisfying.
“You ready?” he asks, as confusingly as ever.
“For what?” I feel a jolt of adrenalin rush through me, I could get used to not knowing. Every surprise has been fun so far.
“Well, you said you like color,” he replies as he gestures again to the swatches. “I’m going to give you 30 seconds to grab all the paint color swatches that you like. Okay?” He looks down at his watch.
“Wait! What for?”
“No questions! 5… 4…”
“Why am I doing this?” I grab his arm, yelling at him, the excitement making me giddy.
He ignores me and continues to count through his giant grin. “3… 2…”
“Ahhh!” I scream, turning to the display, frozen to the spot.
“1! Go! GRAB!”
“Holy shit!” I scream, more excited than I can process.
“What are you doing? You’ve wasted five seconds already!”
“I don’t know what I’m supposed to do! I don’t know what to choose! Help me!”
He comes up behind me and covers my eyes, leaning in to whisper against my ear.
“Close your eyes and quiet your mind for a moment. Remember those colors you say you love?”
An explosion happens somewhere in the darkest corner of my mind and I see them. The colors.
“Yes!”
“Let them guide you.” He pulls his hand away. “Go! You only have twenty seconds left!”
I scramble forwards, grabbing paper strips of color off the wall, handfuls and handfuls. It’s like I can taste them. Feel the color through my fingertips. I’m almost drunk on them. I grab some more, and they spill out of my hands and splay into a puddle of dyes on the floor.
In the corner of my eye, I can see him leaning over to pick them up. “I’ve got ’em! Keep going!”
There’s a striking purple, and a neon pink, a royal blue. The more I see, the more I want.
“Five more seconds!” he warns.
“It’s not enough!”
It feels like there wouldn’t ever be enough time.
“Three. Two. One. And stop!! Step away from the wall!”
I cheat and reach for two more before he laughs and grabs the back of my collar dragging me back through the store, until we’re standing where we were just a few minutes ago. I stare at him, panting for breath.
“‘Wait here. Don’t move.” he says, and runs back into the store before I say anything.
I clutch my stack of paint swatches to my chest, already attached to them, despite having no idea what’s going on. My whole body is buzzing with adrenaline and anticipation, I can’t remember the last time I felt like this.
It feels like an hour before he appears again, but it was probably mere minutes.
“Are you going to tell me what that was about?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “Where’s the fun in that? And it was fun, wasn’t it?”
All he has to do is look at my face to know that answer to that.
“Let’s go,” he says. And starts to walk away.
“Now where?” I yell after him.
“You’re going to have to trust me one last time,” he yells back over his shoulder.
And I do.
We walk in silence. Down along the main street of town and turn into an area I don’t know too well. There are abandoned houses and neglected gardens. A little different from the perfectly mowed lawns of the houses near my own.
I move a little closer to him as we walk. He smiles, slowing his step.
“It’s okay, you’re safe with me. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
But the way his promise makes a shiver travel down my spine makes me wonder if that’s true. I follow him through what looks like an abandoned high school to an empty basketball court.