“You brought movies?” A small, weak voice from the couch called out. Dallas sat up a little higher, his dark hair peeking out of the top of his blanket.
Laura smiled and turned to Ethan. “You go find out what they want to watch,” she told him. “I'll take care of putting the food away.”
Ethan walked to the couch with the bag of DVDs while Laura put the flowers in a vase and started pulling out bowls and utensils for their meal. Her hand moved on autopilot as she watched as he took off his fancy suit jacket and sat on the floor in front of the couch. He looked completely out of place with his dress pants, dress shirt, and tie.
The two kids sat up under their blankets and smiled at him. They still looked sick, but at least they weren't pouting about it anymore. Their eyes lit up as he started to pull movie after movie from his bag. Each new DVD was a present to them, and he'd gotten them about a dozen new films. Laura knew they would want to watch every single one of them at least five times. She was going to be watching kids' movies for months now.
He held up two DVDs, one in each hand. The two kids would point to the one they wanted. If they both picked the same one, it stayed in his hand. If they picked differently, he pulled out two new movies.
It took a few minutes for them to work through the selection process and come up with the choice of movie, but Ethan had the two of them giggling by the end of it. He would make silly faces and pretend to fall over when they chose differently. Laura couldn't help but smile as she watched the three of them.
She'd finished putting out bowls and cups when she heard shrieks of laughter from the living room. She looked up to see Ethan using his teeth and growling like a dog as he struggled with the DVD plastic wrap on the case. The two kids rolled with laughter as he attempted and failed at opening the DVD wrapping. When he handed the case to Ivy, she easily opened it, making the two children laugh even harder.
“I loosened it up for you,” he said.
He jumped to his feet and put the DVD in the player, pressing start before heading back over to her in the kitchen.
“They say they would like some ginger ale,” he told her. “But no soup yet.”
“Okay,” Laura said with a smile. She poured the fizzy drink into two fun colored cups with straws. “You're really great with them.”
He chuckled. “I like kids.”
“You must have nieces or nephews,” she remarked, putting the lid back on the bottle. She made sure it was tight this time so the carbonation wouldn't escape.
“No, I'm an only child,” he said, shaking his head. “Being goofy just comes naturally.”
Laura handed him the cups of ginger ale. “Well, color me impressed.”
He smiled proudly, puffing out his chest a little and it made her giggle.
“Ethan,” the kids called from the couch. Ivy sat up a little bit. “The previews are done. The movie's going to start.”
“I'm being summoned,” Ethan told her, picking up the two cups. He walked over to the two kids, handed them the drinks, and then sat on the floor in front of them.
“Laura, will you sit with me?” Dallas asked, his eyes big and hopeful. There was no way she could say no to that face.
She scooted him over on the couch so she could sit between Ivy and Dallas.
“Will you sit up here too, Ethan?” Ivy asked. She smiled when he looked back at her.
“Of course,” he told her, rising to his knees and then sitting in the only open space next to Dallas.
Ivy cuddled happily into Laura, while Dallas laid his head down on Ethan's lap. It was as if the boy had known him forever. Ethan simply smiled and rubbed the boy's back as the movie started.
“I think you've got a fan,” Laura whispered, nodding to the half-asleep smiling boy between them. Ethan just smiled.
“What can I say? I'm pretty awesome,” he told her, making her chuckle.
“Shh, I can't hear the movie,” Dallas complained. He reached for the remote and raised the volume.
They all sat on the couch watching the movie for the rest of the evening. The kids sipped on their ginger ales and managed to keep them down, which made Laura happy. The movie was about singing pigs and piano playing gorillas, and Laura found herself enjoying it. It was a good pick.
The credits rolled after the last song and Ethan reached for the remote control.
“Okay guys, what movie next?” he asked.
But there was no answer. Both kids were fast asleep. Dallas was even snoring a little bit.