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With the antique wooden furniture, the floral curtains and the quilts draped over the arm of the sofa, it’s exactly like the pages of a child’s bedtime story. The air is warm and smells of pine needles and firewood.
“Thank you, Dear.” Rainbow beams. “Make yourselves at home. Actually, we were just about to sit down for dinner. We’d love for you to join us.”
Beside her, Jimmy grunts bitterly and it’s clear he’s not in agreement with his wife. Rainbow elbows him, trying to usher us into the small dining room.
“Oh no, ma’am. We couldn’t intrude,” I rush out. “If you point us to the cabin, we’ll get out of your hair so you can enjoy your quiet evening.”
“Nonsense! Come in, warm up, and let me feed you poor souls.”
I want to decline, but Alana moves ahead of me, already graciously thanking our hosts. With no other choice, I follow her through the house.
Rainbow fills large ceramic bowls with a hearty looking soup and the four of us crowd around their cozy dinner table. “Soup is good for the rainy weather. It’s a warm hug from Mother Nature herself.” Rainbow wears a proud grin as she settles in her wooden chair. “I pulled the tubers right from the yard myself, too.”
“It looks wonderful,” Alana says gratefully.
At first, I have no idea what tubers are, but as I inspect the soup, I realize it probably has something to do with the potatoes, yams, or carrots. Hell, maybe all three.
A small wood stove flickers in the corner of the room, casting an amber glow against the paneled walls. Rain taps persistently against the windows.
Jimmy holds his hands out, palms facing the ceiling. It takes me a second to finally understand what he’s doing. I reluctantly reach out to clasp hands with Rainbow and Alana, on either side of me. I try to keep my stomach from growling too loud as Rainbow says a few words of thanks to Mother Nature for tonight’s nourishment.
The minute we get around to eating, our hostess starts questioning Alana and me. “So, tell us—when did you lovebirds meet?”
Alana nervously brushes her bangs from her eyes. “We met in high school,” she answers with a strained smile.
“Oh! High school sweethearts. Isn't that special?” She asks, gripping her husband’s forearm as he slurps from his spoon.
The old man’s only response is a grunt.
His wife goes on. “And when did you two get married?”
“We didn’t get married until we were twenty-one,” I reply and, instead of leaving it at that, for some reason, I ramble on. “Not for my lack of trying though. I was ready to marry Alana straight out of high school, but it was important to her to start college first.” Waiting a few years seemed like the smartest move at the time, but now I’m not sure if it helped or worked against us.
Guess it doesn’t really matter now, does it?
Alana glances at me. Our eyes hold and a dozen emotions flash through those crystal blue irises. She drops her gaze to her bowl before I can fully decipher her expression.
“Any children?” Rainbow goes on.
My eyes flick away from Alana before I answer. “No, not…not yet.” It feels like my throat is closing in. The ‘not yet’ part is a lie. Because Alana and I are done. There are no babies for us in our future.
Rainbow’s eyes dart between the two of us as she tries to decipher the weird body language we must be putting off. “That’s okay,” she says kindly. “Kids aren’t for everyone. Sometimes nieces and nephews are way better.” She winks at her husband and he squeezes her hand. The interaction makes me wonder about their story.
But I don’t ask. All these questions about my quote-unquote relationship with Alana are making me nervous. However, I soon realize that I don't have to make much of it up. Everything about our past is the truth. Our future, though? That’s the tricky part.
This old woman continues to pepper us with questions while her husband wordlessly slurps his soup. I just speak from memory about my relationship with Alana. It’s easier than I expected to actually speak from the heart. I just have to leave out all the bits about how our relationship eventually crashed and burned.
Toward the end of our meal, I feel Rainbow studying us closely, her eyes darting back and forth between us. It makes me itchy. “Did the two of you just have an argument?”
My gut tightens. “No, ma’am!”
“Oh, no,” Alana answers at the same time, forcing a smile.
Rainbow's eyes crinkle at the corners. “You can’t lie to me. I read auras, and you two are putting off a dark gray-blue aura. I’m…concerned.”
Geez. This woman really is related to Ziggy.
“It was…it was just a little spat,” I say, sending a flat smile Alana’s way. “Nothing to worry about.”
