Playing House

Dave woke up and wasn’t sure where he was. When he saw the posters on the walls and the stacks of paperback books, he figured that he had fallen asleep in his treehouse. But aren’t I too old for a treehouse? Dave asked himself. He couldn’t quite remember his age, but after thinking it over, he shrugged. Apparently he was still a kid, and he didn’t give it any more thought.

“Hey!”

Dave walked towards the entrance and saw a girl around his age at the bottom of the tree. Dave couldn’t remember ever seeing the girl at school or at a neighbor’s party, and wondered if she had just moved in. She held a doll in her hand, and looked at the treehouse, grinning in approval. 

“My name is Lisa. What’s your name?”

“Dave.”

“Hi, Dave. Can I join you in your treehouse?”

Dave wasn’t sure how to respond. Usually he didn’t feel nervous around girls or women, but something about Lisa gave him a funny feeling. And he could have sworn that there was a rule about only letting a select few into the treehouse. But his guts told him that none of his friends would be coming over today. Not wanting to be alone, he said yes and let Lisa join him.

Once she had climbed in, she immediately began surveying the room. She studied the different posters, like she was at an art museum instead of a boy’s treehouse. She rummaged through the pile of books, not really searching for anything but seeing if she would recognize a title. 

Dave meanwhile was taking the time to just stare at his guest. That odd sensation in his chest wouldn’t go away, and he was beginning to get flustered by it. He was thankful when Lisa interrupted his thoughts by pulling a book out of the pile.

“This guy has the same name as you,” Lisa said, pointing at the book’s cover.

Dave read the front, and like Lisa said, the author shared the same first name as him. Dave frowned when he realized that the author also shared the same last name as him. Taking the book out of Lisa’s hand, Dave turned it over to read the description on the back. 

He saw the author’s picture and was confused to find that the author bore a strong resemblance to his father. As he continued to read, his confusion only grew when he recognized the plot of the story. The ideas in his head- the ones he would daydream about in class and scribble into his notebook- were all there. Dave was intrigued by the similarities and opened the novel to read the contents, but was then distracted by who it was dedicated to.

“My brother’s name is in the book too!” Dave said, astonished by his discovery.

“You have a brother?” Lisa said. “Where is he?”

Dave’s mind grew foggy. Where was his brother? He didn’t remember his brother saying anything about a baseball game or going to a friend’s house. He concentrated and an answer finally popped into his head.

“He’s playing war.”

“War? How long has he been playing war?”

“I don’t know.” 

Dave didn’t know why, but he felt sad thinking about his brother. Like he had lost something, and he didn’t have the words to vocalize it. His brother couldn’t have been gone for too long, but Dave missed him terribly and teared up.

Lisa, startled by the reaction, said, “Oh, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to make you cry!” 

Her hand went into her pocket and she brought out a tissue for Dave to use. He took it wordlessly, and was too embarrassed to offer his thanks. After Dave had wiped his face, Lisa suggested they play a game.

“What do you want to play?” Dave said.

“How about we play house?”

“House. Isn’t that game for girls?” Dave asked timidly. 

Lisa shook her head. “If it was only for girls, then how come there’s a husband role?”

Dave couldn’t find a reason to say no and agreed to the game. Making Lisa promise to never tell anyone, the two kids played house, which Dave had to admit was fun. The two had a wedding- stirring up more strange feelings in Dave- and then lived out their lives as a married couple. They acted out all the things they’ve seen their parents do. They got jobs, lived together, ate together, and now it was time to have a baby.

Lisa, cradling her doll, smiled at Dave and asked, “What do you want to name him?”

Dave was secretly panicked by the question. He had always been bad at naming things. A painful memory of his that still replayed in his head occasionally was the time the other kids had laughed at his name idea for the class hamster. Since then, he let his brother name all of the pets.

An idea struck Dave. Shyly, he said, “Can we name him after my brother?”

The expression on Lisa’s face had an understanding to it that didn’t look right on a child, and was far too mature for her age. She nodded, and went back to cradling their baby. 

The game went on for hours after that. There were no breaks, and only when Dave saw how late it was getting did he realize how tired he was. The setting sun shaded everything in a red and purple hue. From the top of the treehouse, he could see the cars of fathers and mothers pulling up into driveways, and bicycles returning to garages. The day was coming to its end, and Dave felt content.

“Dave! It’s dinner time!”

His mother was calling for him. His stomach growled at the mention of dinner. Had he eaten that day? He didn’t remember breakfast or lunch, so he had to assume he hadn’t. His mouth salivated from just thinking about finally eating his mom’s cooking again. He turned around to tell Lisa that he was heading back, but was met with a surprising sight. She was crying.

“Lisa,” Dave said, concerned. “What’s wrong?”

She wiped her face, trying in vain to hide her tears, and replied, “It’s just that I had such a fun day today. And I’m going to miss you.”

Dave felt a strong affection for the girl sitting in front of him. He held her hands and said, “This isn’t the last time we’ll see each other. Next time, you can even come over to eat dinner at my house.”

Lisa sniffled. “Promise?”

Dave nodded. Reluctantly, the two separated their hands, and Dave climbed out of the treehouse. Once his feet touched the ground, he glanced up to say bye to Lisa again, but it was now too dark for him to see her. Even so, he waved and hoped she was waving back at him.

“Dave!”

Dave jumped at the voice. He turned around and saw a boy standing at their house’s backdoor, a couple of scratches and bandaids on him from his time playing war, but otherwise fine. His brother grinned and waited eagerly for him to join the rest of the family. Dave ran.