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Chapter Eleven

Eitan

I lead Brodie back to the bed, where I've put down her dinner and brought out a board game. I know she used to love to play Monopoly when we were kids. I hope she remembers that now.

First, we sit together and eat. I've made us spaghetti with mince for dinner. It’s a rich and flavorsome tomato-based dish.

She hasn't said anything since the bath, and I'm a little worried I'm losing her.

"You know, you loved spaghetti when you were a kid," I comment as I eat. "It was your favorite, but you couldn't say spaghetti, so you used to call it 'getti'."

"I remember," she says quietly. "Mom used to get so mad because I wasn't pronouncing it correctly."

"Eventually you only ever asked me to make it," I say with a small smile. "Because I would never correct you or moan at you."

"I don't remember that," she says, looking up at me.

"It's true," I say. "You used to love it when mom worked late and I made dinner. You would eat every last bite before I bathed you and got you ready for bed. "

"Dad used to..."

"Dad left when you were a couple of months old," I say. "I used to show you pictures of him and tell you stories, but that man never did fuck all for you, Brodie." I sigh. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get angry just now."

"It's okay," she says softly. "What else did you use to do?"

"We used to play Monopoly. You used to be the bank and constantly cheated." I grin at her. "Every time without fail."

"I didn't cheat," she says, and I think that's the first time she's genuinely smiled since being here. A proper smile. One that reaches her ears. "You just couldn't do math."

"And yet I went on to become an engineer," I say. "While you failed math."

"C minus," she says. "It was the teacher. Mr. Hawkins."

"Oh, God, he was a terrible teacher," I say. "He was so boring, and he would talk at you, not to you. I thought I was going to fail math with him."

She giggles and finishes her food. She puts the plate to the side and pulls the Monopoly toward her. "And you want to play now? "

"It isn't too late, is it?" I ask. "We can have at least one game before bed." I get up. "You set up. I'll clear the dishes." I take our plates to the kitchen and stack them in the dishwasher. I turn it on and grab a bottle of wine and two cups. I take it back to the room and set it on the bedside table.

Brodie has set up the game on the bed. "You're the shoe. I'm the top hat." She looks up at me. "That's right, right?"

"Yes," I grin. "I'm always the shoe. You're always the top hat."

It's a fun game, and we play until late into the night when Brodie whips me by buying the best properties. We laugh. We talk about how things were growing up and I realize that Brodie doesn't remember things correctly from our childhood.

There's a lot that she remembers that didn't happen, and some things that happened differently from what she remembered.

Maybe she chooses to live that way, but I can't help but tell her how it really was.

When the game is over, I start to pack it up.

"We should do this again," she says softly. "It was fun. "

"We can play again tomorrow. I have other games in my room." I grin as I put the board away.

"Other games like?"

"Cluedo. Pictionary. Charades. Balderdash."

"I love Pictionary," she squeals. "And I'm really good at it."

"Okay, Pictionary, it is then," I say as I stand and put the Monopoly by the door. "Come on, let's get some sleep."

I climb onto the bed next to her. She turns her back to me like she normally does, but this time, when I spoon her, she isn't tense in my arms.