Page 60 of Game Point
I focused on the boxes in the living room, opening them up and inspecting the contents. I wasn’t very far into the job when Oliver joined me, the last of the boxes in his arms. Apparently with me not around, he was happy to show off and carry multiple at a time.
We both started to open them up. I rediscovered living room cushions and blankets that I’d tucked away, while Oliver found my DVD collection.
‘Why on earth …’ Oliver asked, trailing off. I could hear him across the room, muttering a count under his breath, ‘do you have four copies ofThe Princess Diaries?’
He held them all up, fanned out.
‘First of all, one of those isThe Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement.’
He turned the boxes around, easily spotting the odd one out.
‘Second of all,’ I continued, ‘my sisters and I did not understand the concept of sharing. But when they moved out of my parents’ house, I got to keep all their old copies.’
‘Who even still watches DVDs?’ his eyebrows squished together as he frowned at them.
‘Loads of people,’ I answered. ‘Sometimes the movie you want to watch isn’t available on streaming. And there’s anexperiencewith a DVD player, the quality of the film, not having to wait for the film to buffer. The nostalgia alone.’
‘But three copies of the same film?’
I could only shrug. ‘I’ll admit that it’s a little overkill.’
‘Do you even have a DVD player? I got rid of mine years ago,’ he said, pulling out title after title, inspecting every single one with the same strange look on his face. Then he pulled out a smaller case, a CD album. ‘Or something that could play this? The speaker in the kitchen looks like it’s bluetooth only.’
I shook my head. ‘That doesn’t matter.’
‘That’s not an answer.’
‘I’m sure there will be a DVD player upstairs.’ It was a small white lie as I tried to shrug his questioning off. But his eyes only narrowed as he issued another challenge.
He stared at me, long and hard, before he said, ‘Let’s go get it then. We can plug it in and have aPrincess Diariesmarathon.’
I tried my best to stare him down, pressing my lips as I refused to tear my gaze away from him. ‘I’m sure it’s on streaming.’
‘Oh no,’ Oliver laughed, ‘I want this DVD experience you speak of so highly.’
I bit my lip, fighting the temptation topretendto go upstairs and search,pretendI couldn’t find it and hope it satisfied him enough. But the pain in my chest was still too sore, the concept of getting up, clambering up the stairs and poking at boxes for another ten minutes seemed terrible.
‘Fine. I’m pretty sure it broke,’ I relented, ‘but I’ll get a replacement.’
Oliver rolled his eyes at me as he imitated, ‘Why bother if it’s on streaming?’
‘Not the point.’
‘No, the point is that you …’ he trailed off, a gleeful glint shining brightly in his eyes, ‘are a secret hoarder.’
‘I am not.’
‘You are,’ he argued.
I motioned around the living room. ‘This placebarelyhas anything in it.’
‘Because it’s all packed away,’ he replied. ‘You are hiding your hoarding tendencies, but I know the truth.’
‘You have no idea what you are talking about,’ I said.
I grabbed my phone, opening up the browser to find and order a DVD player.Prove him wrong.Oliver huffed at the box full of DVDs, clearly refusing to unpack it, before digging into another.
My attention turned to the phone, scrolling through the admittedly very limited options when Oliver spoke.
