Dottie was sitting on the couch while a group of folk music singers serenaded her, courtesy of the public television station. One of the women began what Dottie knew would be a long intro, so she didn't turn the volume down when the phone rang. The caller ID showed that it was after nine on a Friday night, and the display read "Schollenwei." Her Uncle Bill's last name was Schollenweis, but it didn't fit on the screen. She wondered why he was calling and hoped everyone was okay. The voice wasn't her uncle's. "Hey, Dottie, you doin' anything?"
Since no one in that generation called her Dottie, she realized it was her cousin Kyle. "Just watchin' TV," she answered.
Kyle paused. "The Blacksmiths, right? I can hear 'em doing 'Said the Miller to the Maiden'."
"Is that the title? I never saw it written out. I just assumed it ended with 'Heavy Laden.' Anyway, I recorded it yesterday, and I just got around to watching it."
"Mind if I come over? We haven't harmonized in ages."
Dottie detected something sad in Kyle's voice. She knew she couldn't get him to talk about it on the phone, so she played along. "Sure. I'll start the popcorn." She stopped the DVR.
"See you in a few minutes."
Dottie remembered all the times that her parents or Kyle's had cooked popcorn on the stove, never a microwave. (Dottie's mom was Uncle Bill's sister.) Since Kyle lived about twenty minutes away, she knew she'd have just enough time to dig up the cooking oil and pop a bowl.
She had just turned the burner off just when the doorbell rang. She opened the door, Kyle walked in and they hugged briefly. Their ears both curved the same way their grandfather's did, but it looked feminine, so Dottie was the only one of the three who liked it. Other than that, the only resemblance between the two cousins was being white. Kyle had short, medium-brown hair, and Dottie had sandy blonde hair that came almost to her waist. They weighed the same, but the weight looked athletic on Kyle at just under six feet, and much different on Dottie, who was only five and a half feet.
Kyle saw how Dottie's breasts were hanging and concluded that she didn't have a bra on. Her drawstring shorts matched the shirt. He guessed this was what she typically wore when she was in for the night but not ready for bed yet, which made sense if she was watching TV at this time of night.
Dottie thought Kyle's shirt looked like the kind that they advertise to men by saying that their girlfriends will want to wear them. He was wearing jeans that looked relatively new. She had already guessed that he wanted to talk about something. Between his nice casual clothes and the time of night, she thought he must have come from seeing his girlfriend, but she'd let him tell her when he was ready.
Kyle sniffed the air. "You must cook popcorn the same way your mom does," he said.
"Just a slight tinge on the kernels at the bottom," Dottie replied.
Kyle followed her into the kitchen. "You mean these?"
Dottie was far enough ahead of him that only his fingertips touched her butt when he tried to slap it. She was glad he tried; it meant that his mood had improved. She took the lid off the kettle and poured the popcorn into the wooden bowl that she'd placed nearby. She picked one of the burnt kernels off the top and tossed it to him. "I mean these, dumbass." She poured salt over the bowl.
Kyle stepped in front of the other burner. He picked up the pan with the melted butter and poured it over the bowl. Dottie shook the bowl gently so they'd have butter and salt all the way to the bottom. "Shake it, baby!" Kyle exclaimed.
She did it again, but this time she shook her hips in an exaggerated fashion and asked, "You like it like this?"
Kyle smiled, both at what she did and at the way she smiled while she did it. He proceeded to sing "Shake Your Booty" in a way that allowed him to avoid admitting it.
They headed back to the living room. Dottie went to the list of shows on the DVR so she could put the concert back on. Before she could scroll down, Kyle exclaimed, "Did they bring back
Secret Message
?"
Kyle was referring to a game show that aired before either of them was born. The DVR showed that she'd recorded seven episodes. "No, one of the local stations added it to their digital subchannel."
"Let's watch those!" Kyle said.
"Sure!" Dottie agreed. They watched half an episode with Charles Nelson Reilly and Joyce DeWitt, and then Kyle sat next to the TV. For the rest of the episode Dottie gave the clues, and they did better than any of the contestants.
"This brings back great memories," Kyle said.
"Same here," Dottie agreed. "I remember all the summer days when you'd watch the reruns with me on cable. I still love communication games."
When the first episode was done, Kyle said, "Now let's switch." Dottie started the next episode and took his place. They did even better with Kyle giving the clues, but by the time that episode was halfway through, Dottie noticed that he was getting most of the popcorn, and she moved back next to him on the couch. Once the popcorn was gone, she ended up lying on his lap, and they shouted their clues for the remainder of the episodes.
As Dottie deleted the last episode, she remembered Kyle's tone on the phone and asked, "What's wrong?"
"I broke up with Judy."
"I figured it was something like that. Why?"
"I think I was just going out with her for her looks."
"I met her a couple times," Dottie pointed out. "She has a brain."
"Yeah, but we just don't have any common interests. She likes extreme sports and performance art. I like word games and blockbuster movies. I even suggested a chick flick just so I could follow the plot."
"What about music?"
"Death metal," Kyle answered.
"You poor thing," Dottie said, and she stroked his chin.
"Hey, speaking of music, let's finish that Blacksmiths concert."
"Works for me," Dottie said, and they went back to the couch. The DVR menu showed that it was the middle of the night, so she was glad it was the weekend. Dottie observed, "It's always more fun to watch something like this with someone else, so I'll start from the beginning," and she did. After a couple of Stephen Foster songs, they did a medley of bawdy songs from the 17th and 18th centuries. The lyrics were on screen, so they had no problem singing along. They stood up like they were the performers, and they both acted out the secondary meanings of the words. By the time they got to the fifth song, they were touching each other intimately.
After that part of the show was over, the station went to a pledge break. Kyle and Dottie sat on the couch again. "Did you enjoy that as much as I did?" Kyle asked.
"Probably more," Dottie answered.