Friday, November 18, 2011

possibly bright eyed

"OK, do you want to tell me... what's going on?" Sage set Gage's steaming hot tomato soup in front of him and then a BLT beside it.

He looked up at her, thinking she was the only one who really knew what he liked. She sat down with her supper, too at the kitchen table. No, Ezra tonight. He was working.

Gage spooned his soup. It was too hot.

"About what?" He dipped a saltine in the soup and ate it.

"Please, you are not stupid nor dumb. Don't play that game with me. You were not on anything at that concert, either. What has gotten in to you?" She winced.

"It was..was better than acting like I shouldn't be there." His throat was parched. He didn't get it. He didn't think he was catching the flu. Although, there were a lot of coughs at work.

"You went to sleep at Lucy and Todd's. In their bed." She was not going to shut up. He let out a sigh, drank at the cold milk as if he knew it was a stupid thing to do. He couldn't explain it, but he couldn't bite into the BLT, either.

"I-I wanted to remember being there," he said. "I think I forgot." He bit his bottom lip then. But he thought of Lucy. And it was kind of a shock that he did remember exactly what it was that he didn't want to forget. "Its just, I really am..I am afraid I'll forget this too and..and I really don't want to."

Sage nodded as his she understood. She grabbed his hand. "Look, you are reading. You read the OUTSIDERS, and you loved it. Its not like your reading chapter books. You started Eragon."

"Its so long." He shook his head, thinking that was too much.

"But its worth it." She told him. "You can read. There is so much you've got going. And who knows, maybe you'll be driving."

"But I didn't drive before." He'd been told. "I can't even afford a car." He took another saltine and dipped it in his soup. He loved the crackers crunchy in tomato soup.

"Tell me about it." Sage let go of his hand. She said she wished they could find something before winter set in.

Gage nodded as she talked about fixing cars. She sounded as if it might be as good as having sex. Immediately, he thought of Lucy, again. He blinked, trying not to think it. He kept watching Sage's mouth move.

"What if I -I never have that feeling with anyone..like..like I did with Lucy?" He wished he liked cars like Sage did.

"Stop thinking about it." She was done with her sandwich and soup. "Look, you need to be in love, or its not as great as it could be."

"You're making it awful complicated." Besides, it didn't look that complicated when she was with Declan at the concert.

"Maybe I am." She went to wash her dishes. "But you have to know its the right thing to do. You have to make a commitment, other wise.."

"Other wise what?" Gage squinted.

"Well, some day you'll wish it was important to you." Sage shrugged.

"Important?" He really hoped he didn't forget this.

"Look, you can get a lot of diseases if you're with the wrong person. Then there is the chemistry, to think about, values. You don't want to rush into anything." Her dishes clanked in the sink. The intense sound gave him a shiver. The way she talked..it sounded as if he'd have to enroll in some sort of school for romance.

"Things looked pretty fast with you and Declan." Gage smiled as he finally got around to eating his sandwich.

Sage had nothing to say to that. She rinsed the dishes and went to check on some clothes in the wash.

As Gage crunched away on the toast and bacon, he thought of someone that wasn't Lucy. It was that guy at the concert who kept watching Allie. Gage knew he was suppose to know him. If only he could see him, again.

3 comments:

ellie said...

I think she's good for him.

Cafe Fashionista said...

Sounds like a mystery is brewing. :/

meg said...

Oh, he's funny!