Page 57 of Chips & Checks
“Do I remember?” Ash gasps. “I printed it out. Color-coded it. There were subheadings, Vi.”
“Well, guess what.” I scroll to the note where I’ve saved it. “I’ve decided to treat it like a playbook.”
Ash blinks. “A what now?”
“A playbook. If a man sends me a map, I’m going to use it.”
There’s a beat of stunned silence.
And then Ash flings a throw pillow at me. “You evil, beautiful genius.”
I grin. “I know his tells now. His weak spots. I’ve got intel.”
“You’re weaponizing his trauma.”
“I’m strategically undermining his defenses. His ‘I don’t do relationships’ schtick is straight bullshit.”
“You’re seducing him via psychological warfare.”
I pause, thoughtful. “Am I the villain when it’s for his own good?”
Ash doesn’t hesitate. “Absolutely. And I support you.”
We dissolve into giggles. But underneath the laughter, I feel something shift. Because I am using his rules against him. But not to hurt him. Not really.
I just want to be the exception.
* * *
“Hey, champ.” I crouch down in front of a kid I’ve seen around at these events, though I can’t for the life of me remember his name. “How’s it going?”
The kid reaches up to tug at the chinstrap of his helmet. “Okay,” he mumbles.
I click my tongue. “That wasn’t very convincing.”
The kid—I finally spot his nametag, which readsJoey—glances up at his mom. “Well… it kind of sucks. Wearing the helmet.”
“Language,” his mom says, but her voice is gentle. To me, she adds, “Kids tease him a lot for wearing it.”
I don’t know the particulars of Joey’s situation. The organization I volunteer with,HeadSpace, supports a lot of people with traumatic brain injuries. I’m not going to give this kid medical advice on the fly, but at least I havesomethingto offer him. “Have you tried decorating your helmet?”
Joey’s fingers fall still on the helmet strap. “Huh?”
“Have you ever seen someone with a decorated cast? You can do the same thing with your helmet. Get some cool stickers on there. Or paint it. Make it yours. Rock it like you would a new pair of sneakers.”
Joey’s eyes widen. “I candothat?”
“As long as you’re wearing it when you need to be, it doesn’t have to be boring.”
Bowen, who has been silently observing the rest of this interaction, adds, “If you make it cool enough, those other kids will be totally jealous.”
“And even if they aren’t, ifyou’reproud of it, you won’t mind so much. Your helmet keeps you safe. That’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”
Joey considers this. After a moment, he asks his mom, “Can we make it look like Toad?”
“From Mario?” Bowen laughs. “That would beawesome.”
Joey nods shyly and reaches for his mom’s hand.
