"Not sure," he replied. “Resting isn’t really my strong suit.
"Would you like to come over to my place, maybe watch some Netflix and relax on the sofa? It would do you good, I think."
He smiled. "Yes, I think it would actually do me a lot of good."
***
"What do you feel like watching?" I asked as I turned on the TV.
"Too much to ask for you to just walk back and forth?” he joked.
“Cute. But today is my rest day too. Nice try, though. So…preferences?”
“Oh, I don't know. Maybe a movie before I head back to the hospital? What's on here?"
"Pretty much whatever you want to watch. Do you seriously not have Netflix? What kind of American are you?” I teased.
“The kind who watches Disney more than Netflix,” he smiled.
“Well, before your Disney days, what sorta movies were you into?"
"Light-hearted stuff," he replied with a smile. "Life's too heavy as it is to watch serious stuff when you're trying to relax."
"Agreed. You like comedies?"
"Sure, comedies are my favorite! Who doesn't like laughing?" he asked.
I chuckled. "Any specific comedies in mind?"
"I'm a big fan of The Hangover movies," he replied with a grin.
"Why? Wait. Let me guess. Because they are based on your life experiences?" I shot an insinuating grin at him. I was enjoying the playful banter. It was nice to see that he had a humorous side to him, despite all of the seriousness that accompanied his character.
"Never! I’m a father, remember? Hell, I've never had a drop to
drink in my life," he replied with a wink. “That’s my story, and I’m stickin’ to it.”
"Yeah, yeah. Let's see what's on before you say something that sends lightning down to strike you," I said, easing myself back into the couch, and subtly shifting closer to him.
I pulled up the movies menu on Netflix and began scrolling through it.
"Ooh," I said. "Saving Private Ryan. That's supposed to be a classic. Can you believe I've never actually seen it?"
His face changed instantly, and his smile vanished, replaced with a look that was cool and detached. He shook his head.
"No war movies," he mumbled.
I had obviously struck a nerve that made me instantly wonder what kind of past this man had that he could just shrug off a gunshot wound and refused to watch war movies? He had to have been a soldier. He had to have been. I wanted to ask him about it, but judging from the look that came over his face when I had even brought up that movie, I guessed it was a pretty sensitive subject, so I left it alone.
"Hmm, alright, no war movies. Well, let's keep scrolling... Here we go, The Hangover 3; you fine with that?"
His smile returned as quickly as it had disappeared, and he nodded.
"Sounds great. Let's put it on."
"Alright. Before I do, though, would you like some popcorn?"
"Sure."