Page 31 of His Middle

“Noah?” Daddy called out from the kitchen. “Do you have your shoes on?”

“Yes, Daddy!”

He supposed that had been a bit loud. He shrugged then rushed into the den with the big sectional and enormous TV. After slipping the Mario Kart card thingy into the Switch, he grabbed a joy con and fired up the game. In minutes, he was lost in the land of Mario racing through Boo’s Twisted Mansion in his souped-up scooter, playing his favorite character, Yoshi.

The doorbell sounded in the background, but it barely registered. Now he was on Rainbow Bridge and that doo-doo head Bowzer kept pelting him with green tortoise shells. Right as Bowzer tried to zoom past him, Noah jerked the controller to the side and rammed into the big bully.

“Ha ha!” Noah yelled. “Take that, you loser!”

“Noah.” Daddy appeared in the doorway. “It’s time to shut off the game. The pizza’s here.”

“Aww, just one more—” Noah got hit by a lightning bolt and his scooter shrunk. “Dammit!”

“Noah! Not cool, buddy.”

Noah shut off the game. He was in fourth place anyway because Bowzer, Waluigi and Daisy were big meanies and cheaters.

He slumped his shoulders. “Sorry, Daddy.”

Then he straightened.Wait. Daddy said the pizza was here! Noah leapt to his feet in excitement, but Daddy’s tired sigh caught his attention. He glanced all around him, trying to figure out what he’d done this time.

“Noah. Why aren’t you wearing your shoes?”

He hadn’t noticed. Noah stared at his bare feet then checked the area in front of the TV. “I guess they came off while I was playing.”

He’d been sitting on the rug in front of the TV, but like always, he hadn’t been still for a second. At some point, they either slid or were kicked off in his enthusiasm.

Daddy scratched his head in seeming contemplation. “Well. I suppose if you’re in the den and not running around, you don’t need the shoes.”

“Cool! Time for pizza!”

“Whoa, wait a minute, sport.” Daddy grabbed his arm. “Slow down. The pizza isn’t in here, it’s in the kitchen.” He arched his eyebrows. “The shoes go back on.”

Noah threw his hands in the air as he rolled his eyes. He was sotiredof hearing about shoes. But as long as they got him some greasy goodness, he supposed he could put up with them for now.

After heading into the kitchen, Noah saw that Daddy had set everything up at the dinette. His reality shifted for a moment when the realization that this would be their first time sharing a meal in the house at a table, instead of the breakfast bar, entered his mind. But the mouth-watering aroma of the savory meat and spices from the best pizza in the whole world jolted him back into his middle space.

“Take a seat here, and after you’ve eaten at least half your salad, I’ll give you a piece of pizza.”

Noah had already dragged the chair out but froze at Daddy’s words. “I have to wait? No way! I promised I’d eat the salad. Why can’t I have some pizza first? It’ll get all cold and gross!”

Daddy kept his voice even as he set a small bowl of Caesar salad in front of him. “I have the pizza on a tray in the oven on warm. Now get started. The sooner you finish your salad, the sooner you can have your first piece.”

“Can I have five pieces?”

Laughter tumbled from Daddy’s mouth then he coughed into his fist. “Why don’t we take it one at a time then go from there.” He ruffled Noah’s hair then planted a kiss on his head. “What would you like to drink?”

Noah had already shoved a huge forkful of lettuce into his mouth, so had to chew around it to answer. “Root beer, please.”

Daddy slammed his fists on his hips. “What did I tell you earlier about the root beer?”

Noah swallowed his second mouthful of salad, squinting as he brought the conversation back to mind.

Oh yeah.

“That I can’t have any because I had too much soda already?”

“That’s right. How about some milk instead?”

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