Wires
Chapter Three
On January 7th, 2004, I worked out the formula.
On the 31st of December, 2003, at 12:59, I looked at my watch and made a new year's resolution. Thirty seconds later there were shouts and cheers, and the sky lit up and the air filled with sharp cracks. Somehow, the splendor of fireworks always makes everything final. It's like looking at your promises.
I didn't tell anyone, but my resolution was to understand Gabe/Gabriel. Or, at least work out why I didn't understand him.
On the 7th, we were at my house. My father just grinned when Gabriel followed us inside, pleased that the 'family friend' had somehow wormed his way into our lives, then began talking to Gabriel in a formal manner. He talked like any normal boy would talk in the presence of someone's father, especially since mine usually struck people as intimidating with his tall, broad frame. There were no riddles and no rhymes.
Nancy didn't even notice. She just kept walking straight into my room, and didn't come out when no one followed her. Because I didn't follow her; I was enraptured by the conversation going on right in front of my eyes. It was the rarely-seen, wireless Gabriel. Nancy had no idea what she was missing. The only time I had ever heard words as normal as these exit Gabriel's lips was at our too-early New Years party, only ten days prior.
It was so strange hearing Gabriel say, "Yes, sir."
At the end, my father just nodded and said, "Gabriel," then walked away. And Gabriel didn't complain about this either.
Instead, he just turned to me and said, "Your dad is really nice."
"Some people are scared of him."
"He looks like he could be scary if he wanted to," Gabriel agreed.
We walked into my room, and I lost Gabriel again as he turned back into Gabe and raced over to envelop Nancy in his arms.
I just sat down on the bed and waited patiently until they were done and came and sat down beside me. We sat in comfortable silence until Gabe -- I tried to force myself to think of him as Gabe instead of Gabriel -- leaned back against the wall, sighed deeply, and said, "Star-crossed wires."
I started at the mention of wires and gave him a slightly incredulous look, but remained silent. He wasn't paying attention to me anyway, but he was looking at Nancy as she turned her head to him, almost lethargically, and smiled. She didn't say anything either. Not that I could hear, at least. She just curled up closer to him, and I suspected she could have been whispering things in his ear.
I did hear him mumbling nonsense into the crook of her neck, however.
From there, Gabe leaped from subject to subject with reckless abandon, discarding one thought halfway through a sentence to be replaced by another. Nancy seemed to follow him perfectly, replying in ways I couldn't imagine. It was like watching something magical, except I had already seen it so many times and was getting desensitized.
Growing tired of listening, I clambered to my feet and exited the room, though the pair didn't seem to mind at all. That was okay, because I didn't mind either. It was how we were. It was natural.
I ended up sitting in the living room, leaning over a book. I read for about an hour before Gabe came out, asking for a reminder of where the bathroom was.
"What are you reading?" he asked, after I pointed down the hall.
I shrugged.
"Can't even answer questions?" he smirked at me, seeming to forget the reason he had exited my room in the first place.
"It doesn't matter," I said instead.
He ended up sitting on the couch beside me, leaning his head sideways on my shoulder so that he could see the words I had previously been looking at.
"Oh," he said. "So that's what you're reading."
I just rolled my eyes and pushed his head away from me.
"Bathroom," I said, when he didn't stand up. "Third door, down there."
He nodded, pushing himself up off the couch and then disappeared down the hall. It came to my attention that I had only ever been alone with him twice.
Gabe was quick to fade when Nancy wasn't around to connect the wires.
And I had to admit, I much preferred the elusive Gabriel.
On the 31st of December, 2003, at 12:59, I looked at my watch and made a new year's resolution. Thirty seconds later there were shouts and cheers, and the sky lit up and the air filled with sharp cracks. Somehow, the splendor of fireworks always makes everything final. It's like looking at your promises.
I didn't tell anyone, but my resolution was to understand Gabe/Gabriel. Or, at least work out why I didn't understand him.
On the 7th, we were at my house. My father just grinned when Gabriel followed us inside, pleased that the 'family friend' had somehow wormed his way into our lives, then began talking to Gabriel in a formal manner. He talked like any normal boy would talk in the presence of someone's father, especially since mine usually struck people as intimidating with his tall, broad frame. There were no riddles and no rhymes.
Nancy didn't even notice. She just kept walking straight into my room, and didn't come out when no one followed her. Because I didn't follow her; I was enraptured by the conversation going on right in front of my eyes. It was the rarely-seen, wireless Gabriel. Nancy had no idea what she was missing. The only time I had ever heard words as normal as these exit Gabriel's lips was at our too-early New Years party, only ten days prior.
It was so strange hearing Gabriel say, "Yes, sir."
At the end, my father just nodded and said, "Gabriel," then walked away. And Gabriel didn't complain about this either.
Instead, he just turned to me and said, "Your dad is really nice."
"Some people are scared of him."
"He looks like he could be scary if he wanted to," Gabriel agreed.
We walked into my room, and I lost Gabriel again as he turned back into Gabe and raced over to envelop Nancy in his arms.
I just sat down on the bed and waited patiently until they were done and came and sat down beside me. We sat in comfortable silence until Gabe -- I tried to force myself to think of him as Gabe instead of Gabriel -- leaned back against the wall, sighed deeply, and said, "Star-crossed wires."
I started at the mention of wires and gave him a slightly incredulous look, but remained silent. He wasn't paying attention to me anyway, but he was looking at Nancy as she turned her head to him, almost lethargically, and smiled. She didn't say anything either. Not that I could hear, at least. She just curled up closer to him, and I suspected she could have been whispering things in his ear.
I did hear him mumbling nonsense into the crook of her neck, however.
From there, Gabe leaped from subject to subject with reckless abandon, discarding one thought halfway through a sentence to be replaced by another. Nancy seemed to follow him perfectly, replying in ways I couldn't imagine. It was like watching something magical, except I had already seen it so many times and was getting desensitized.
Growing tired of listening, I clambered to my feet and exited the room, though the pair didn't seem to mind at all. That was okay, because I didn't mind either. It was how we were. It was natural.
I ended up sitting in the living room, leaning over a book. I read for about an hour before Gabe came out, asking for a reminder of where the bathroom was.
"What are you reading?" he asked, after I pointed down the hall.
I shrugged.
"Can't even answer questions?" he smirked at me, seeming to forget the reason he had exited my room in the first place.
"It doesn't matter," I said instead.
He ended up sitting on the couch beside me, leaning his head sideways on my shoulder so that he could see the words I had previously been looking at.
"Oh," he said. "So that's what you're reading."
I just rolled my eyes and pushed his head away from me.
"Bathroom," I said, when he didn't stand up. "Third door, down there."
He nodded, pushing himself up off the couch and then disappeared down the hall. It came to my attention that I had only ever been alone with him twice.
Gabe was quick to fade when Nancy wasn't around to connect the wires.
And I had to admit, I much preferred the elusive Gabriel.