Remind Me

Chapter Twenty

Joey, Owen and I get back to the house at about 8:30 and decide to watch a movie. As I've learned before, the Harry Potter movies were my favorites. But since we just recently watched those movies, we are going to watch Inception.

Owen explains to me how I am a puzzle solver. I love to be confused and try to figure things out, and naturally this movie has many questions left unanswered. Of course I would want to watch this all the time.

"You used to invent a new theory every time you watched this," Owen smiles at the memory. "And it was often."

"This had better be good, then," I smile at him.

Joey puts the disc into the player, and shuts off all the lights in the living area. I snuggle up right beside Owen, and pull a thick, red blanket over the two of us. Joey sits in the cozy chair just beside the couch, claiming that he doesn't want to witness our cuddling at a close viewpoint.

Owen smells like the lake water. Even though he's already showered, and so have I, it won't go away. And for some reason, I actually am glad it isn't. The scent makes me inexplicably content.

"You know, I forgot how terrible third wheeling feels," Joey says with a sigh.

"You can leave," I shrug.

"Brinley," he gasps, "I thought you loved me."

"No," Owen says, "she loves me."

"That doesn't mean she can't love more than one person," Joey retorts, shrugging.

"Polygamy isn't practiced anymore," Owen says.

"We aren't getting married, fartbrain," Joey rolls his eyes.

"Did you just call me a fartbrain? What are we, in first grade?" Owen scoffs.

"You'd be surprised how offensive young children's vocabulary is," Joey replies.

"And you'd be surprised by how offensive it'll be when I send your mother the vocabulary you use on a regular basis," Owen says.

"I never use bad language," Joey raises his eyebrows.

"That Brinley knows of," Owen says.

"She's just so hard to please, and I want her to think I'm a saint," Joey says.

"Nobody could possibly think that-"

"My mother thinks I'm a saint," Joey raises an eyebrow.

"That's because I haven't sent that text yet," Owen says.

"Don't give the poor little lady a heart attack," Joey says. "She's all fragile and she knits and watches documentary movies a lot."

"You came from a woman like that?" I ask, unable to help my interest in the subject.

"You know," Joey says, inspecting me for a moment, "you sound more and more like yourself every time I talk to you. You sarcastic little-"

"THINK OF YOUR POOR MOTHER BEFORE YOU SPEAK THAT WAY," Owen says over Joey.

"Hey," I shout over the two of them. "The movie's starting and I'd enjoy understanding what's going on."

"Yes, ma'am," Joey says, hushing up all of a sudden.

<•>•<•>

Halfway through the attention-capturing movie, I get a call from Clarin. Let me tell you, it was kind of difficult deciding between pausing the movie or continuing and pretending I fell asleep, then calling her back in the morning.