My Neighbor, Mr. Rogers

Chapter Thirteen - Shiny

A few days later, Steve told me how he became Captain America. From the innumerable failed attempts at enlisting in the army, Dr. Erskine and his super-soldier serum, Peggy, selling war bonds, going overseas as a part of the USO, rescuing Bucky, losing Bucky, crashing into the ice, waking up in New York seventy years later, moving into his current apartment, and finally being recruited for the Avengers.

"Wow."

"Yeah."

"Are you like, really great at hockey?"

His face rumples in response to my apparent non sequitur.

I finish, "'Cause you have to be strong and agile and know how to fight and, and do well on ice."

He glances to the ceiling, giving a flat 'help me' look.

"You know," Steve says after a pause. "There's still something we need to talk about..." He waits for me to meet his gaze.

"What's that?" My stomach flips in my nervousness.

"You lied to me. Our friendship started in a lie." Steve's face is stern in his seriousness.

My mind scrambles. "What are you talking about?"

"Your name isn't Anne." His firm façade cracks with his smile.

I drop my head into my hands. "Ugh."

"So I'm assuming that your name came from the Éowyn that's in 'The Lord of the Rings'?" The amusement in his voice makes me want to hide under a blanket.

"Yes," I groan out. "My mom loves- loved literature. My middle name is from a character in a book called 'Anne of Green Gables' and also an entirely unrelated book called 'Persuasion'. That's easy enough, Anne is a plain, not embarrassing name. My dad chose my first name. He knew how much my mom loved literature, so he tried to choose something from a good book. Unfortunately for me, he was reading 'The Lord of the Rings' when my mom found out she was pregnant. Dad loved the character Éowyn, loved how strong and brave and fierce she was for her family and her people. But he also loved that when the war was over, she was able to put that part of her aside and live happily without needing to find glory in war. My mom loved the suggestion immediately, of course. So, I guess that was that." I sigh. "I don't dislike the name. It just is so ill-fitting that it's honestly embarrassing. I'm not a warrior. I can't even smush a spider. They might as well have named me Radagast for all the similarities we share."

Steve shares a soft smile. "I think you have more strength and bravery and fierceness in you than you know. But I sincerely hope that you are never in the position to learn your limits."

≈o≈

It's my day off and I'm spending the afternoon at a park, just a bit of a bus drive away. Yes, it's winter and I don't really exercise so you're probably wondering why I'm doing this. Truth is, after my mom passed, I found that I have a lot of time to myself, which isn't always a good thing. So when my walls feel too close, I go to the park and go for a walk or just sit on a bench and read or people watch. It's too cold today to just sit, so I'm going to walk.

I've made it about half of a circuit when I spy the coffee stand. I don't care for coffee, but they have some amazing hot chocolate. I order my usual – a medium with extra marshmallows, and hand Benny the cash. He's the owner and since I've made a habit of stopping by whenever I'm in the park, I've gotten comfortable enough with him to make some small talk.

"So how's Kennedy liking first grade?" She's his six-year-old daughter.

He smiles in pride. "She's loving it. She's already made some great little friends and she gets A's in every class. She says she want to be a teacher like Ms. Halbrook when she grows up."