The Decks and the Road
book 1- Freeborn
Chapter 16
Dr. Kat Shepherd- Shepherd was a distant cat. Sometimes it seemed like a day or two would
pass without our path crossing. We lived
like roommates. He was the prettiest
shade of gray you’d ever seen. This day
he’d decided to lay up under me. It was
a routine Tuesday otherwise. I was
working at home; studying and looking at planning the course for my upcoming
visits. I wasn’t too busy though, and I
was happy Tayeton had decided to pull us out of the recess we’d been in. I liked the pace. It suited me and all that I had happening,
but I was ready to see where we were going.
The blog was more than interesting, and it kept the blood of it all
flowing. I’d taken many of them into my
pores. His notes were sensitive and
thoughtful that way. Anyway, I’d suggested
we meet at this really cool spot I knew near the beaches. I’d taken a meeting there once, and had been
hooked ever since.
He was early and appeared like Shepherd; distant. He stood at the entry observing the people
around. I was able to get within just a
few feet before I saw his demeanor change.
It was cool to know I had that effect on him.
“Hey there.”
“Hi
Kat. I see you bring the day and the
evening with you.”
“It’s just a
little something I learned to do. Stick
around. I’ll show you how.”
“So this is
a pretty cool spot. I never heard of
it. Pretty popular it seems.”
“Yeah
everyone around here knows Simple Fish.
They have the best fish anywhere.”
“I like the
name. Simple is always inviting.”
“I could
agree.”
“I
called. They should have something for
us…”
We entered
the large two story restaurant, where a few groups were standing. Tayeton quickly grabbed my hand as we cut
through all the excitement and bubbly conversations. There were no pictures or plaques of fishes
anywhere. It was simple. There was a lot of glass everywhere however,
and the lights kept everything sparkling.
The further in we went the more and more quiet and appropriate it all
became. We sat among many variations of
blue; sky blue, ocean blue, aqua blue. It
was all the calm. The food in the
atmosphere could be picked up, but still the air was light and clean. Our area was filled with couples, and I was
glad. It was one of the things I’d
observed about Simple Fish. They’d seem
to pay close attention to the flow. We
sat on the first level, which was also appropriate. I’d worn white jeans, with a black and white
plaid shirt that had larger blocks of white than black. I’d twisted my hair up in the back and simply
stuck a pin in it. There were a few
pieces that weren’t long enough to stay pinned, and they fell out for a soft
and care-free look. It was pretty much
one of two ways I always wore my hair.
Tayeton also wore jeans. After
all it was Tuesday—like mine, his shirt also had a collar. I was mostly checking out his bomber. It was black, but had these really cool rips
that exposed a silver metallic. It was
more than the graphic tee he’d worn before.
I didn’t mine either way, I was a good idea I thought; graduated levels
of personality and style. I was not the
style icon, nor did I try to be. I liked
Kat, and never thought to deflect from her.
His skin was mocha—eyes were these really thin slits, and of course they
were dancing. I wasn’t very hungry, I
just felt like sharing something special, and that was why I’d made the
suggestion. After dinner we sat for a
while. We spoke about the blog, my work,
and the lecture we’d attended. We also
made plans to attend another. I’d
suggested that he speak to the facilitators.
I thought he would make a great presenter. He certainly had lots of deep thoughts and
abstract ideas. He was taken aback—I
could see that he had never considered the concept. It was always interesting to me—to see how
differently people perceived themselves in comparison to how the world actually
saw them. Tayeton surely appeared
understated. It almost felt as though he
was in an unfamiliar space. I wanted to
know if it was all the pleasantries, or if it was just his way. It was no rush though, and it was nothing
new to me. We slowly lifted the edges of
the surface layer of our relationship.
Chapter 17
Tayeton- Dinner went
well. She didn’t eat much, but she did
come alive at dessert—not that she wasn’t present before that, but whatever was
still chilly between us had melted. I
walked her to her car. We held hands
again. When we got there, I suddenly
knew that it would be too much to see us live and then die. I thought, let it die now. I suppose it was the reason I’d thrown the
purple card up before. I was hoping to
find an escape. So just like that—I said
it. She’d just made her final turn. I’d already kissed her on the cheek. The key was halfway in the door.
“Kat. I’m HIV positive.” She was supposed to make a swift turn around. She was supposed to drop her key in
shock. But instead she stopped, she must
have taken a few deep breaths, maybe even closed her eyes and prayed, and then
suddenly she pulled her key from the door and faced me.
“You’re kidding right?” It was the one response I hadn’t thought
of. Her eyes were already filled with
tears. It was the moment I realized that
we were already an item. It was news to
me. I’d tried to time it. I’d tried to keep my finger on the pulse of
it, but I’d missed a few beats. The more
I thought of it, her response wasn’t so unimaginable. In fact, I think it was just about the size
of the response I had to the news also.
I took the two steps forward and held her. I didn’t stop to consider that she might push
me away, but she allowed me to hold her.
She was younger than me; only twenty-six. I knew it was a hell of a load, and so I
tried to take it back, but I couldn’t.
It was only the first of these moments for me, and it cut me in
two. I didn’t know how I would survive
the others, or if there’d be others. It
was still such a scary topic, and I didn’t have the heart to ignore it.
“No. It’s real.” My answer was again very familiar to me. It was the response I’d given to myself when
I’d learned about my mother. For months
I’d thought, “This can’t be real” and again there was a voice that spoke
boastfully, “No. It’s real.” A few
moments had passed, and I could feel that she’d gotten her grip, so I released
her.
“I like you. I think you’re great…
I just don’t know if I want to walk this road.”
It was tough. It was
upfront. It was respectable. Yet, it was painful. The word road. It got me.
It was not that I was dying; we all were. But it was for her with all her beauty and
all the promise you could just see all over her, a road she didn’t need to
take. I got it.
“I understand.”
“Do you?” I didn’t fall apart, and
it must have worried her.
“I do.”
“I hope we can still communicate.”
I heard the Doctor, and I knew what it meant.
“Sure.” I waited again for her to
get into her car. This time I had no
words to pull her back, so I let her go.
Freeborn, a novel
Freeborn
© Grace Call Communications,
LLC
Copyright © 2017
by Natisha Renee Williams
All Rights Reserved
Comments
Post a Comment