Matter

CHAPTER 23

The next morning, I sit in a quiet corner sipping my coffee, listening to the conversations going on around me. Plans are being debated between some of the men regarding the basement being renovated. Women continue to discuss the process of canning the upcoming harvest. Children are chattering about the material they will be learning today.

One group of young women catch my attention with their conversation.

A long haired red-head with bright red lips hushes the rest of her group, "Wait, wait, what about that doctor guy? His name is Evan, right? I think he would be perfect for me." She says this with a giggle and flip of her rusty hair.

A short dark haired girl retorts, "No, no, no, he is for me! You need to stay away from my man!"

Another girl with straight brown hair sits back asserting her dominance, "You are both wrong. Evan is mine. I'll prove it." She darts her eyes to the door as Evan walks in to retrieve his breakfast.

She sings toward him as he passes their table, "Hi, Evan."

I chuckle under my breath as he barely acknowledges them.

The red-head stands to make a more direct distraction from his current course, "Evan, um, what is it like working with those zombies?"

I can't help but watch this comedy unfold. Almost better than Laurel and Hardy.

He furrows his brow at her, shakes his head, and ignores their shallow chatter. They're all playing out of their league. The trio sits back down as he walks on without a word. They pout at his rejection and throw silent cut downs to make themselves feel better. Soon they move on to talking about guys that are less abrasive to approach.

I look into my coffee before gulping down the last swallow. Evan startles me as he sits across from me, "May I join you, Lena?" I quickly look to the table of young girls, seeing their scornful glares burning my way. He gives a look in their direction and they look away, "Am I bothering you?"

I motion for him to sit down, "No, you're not bothering me. I just..," I pause trying to find the best explanation of my eavesdropping, "Well, I watched what just happened over there and I didn't expect you to come over here."

I look in my empty cup to avoid his eyes. The kiss we shared last night still burns on my lips. I yearn to feel my heart like I did in his arms last night. The flutter of life desires to be set free inside of me again.

His voice is smooth and silvery, "You must know that I don't look at them the same way I look at you. You understand the deep scars I carry. I know they would never understand, even if I laid it out in crayons and construction paper." We both chortle, "They may have seen some bad stuff, but they haven't seen the worst and felt the pain we have. Here, let me refill that for you." He takes my cup and walks to the carafe of coffee.

The eyes of the girls shift from me, to him, and back to me. They stand, taking their leave.

Evan sits back down and points to the table, "Well, looks like they decided they didn't like you taking over their hunt." He laughs and stirs diced vegetables into his eggs as I look curiously at him over his choice of words.

"What are you doing?" I curl my nose watching his pile of food grow larger as he mixes everything on his plate together.

He retorts with a look of shock, "Have you not ever had a breakfast burrito or an omelet? Since we don't have a restaurant here, I wing it and make the closest thing I can."

I respond to his concoction, "No, I never tried them. They just look weird to me. I like my food items to not touch." I shake my head with a look of disgust.