Page 15 of Abraxas

They continued to take more of his blood, and afterward, they told him to go to the cafeteria, eat a meal, and drink lots of juice. It was nothing new because he had had a lot of blood taken when he had been kept by Origin. When they were feeling generous, they would serve a meal with juice. Gloria had given blood, too. So, she went with him to the cafeteria but wasn't hungry and only wanted some juice to help refresh her.

“I have to get back to work. Amazingly, Lu isn't looking for me.” Abe commented. “Why don't you meet me for supper, and we can walk on the beach in the moonlight?”

“I'd like that.”

Abe hurried back to work, where Lu was messing with some paperwork. “Did you miss me?”

“I just got back myself. Stef had a meal fixed for us. Anything exciting happen while you were gone?” Lu asked.

“Our patient had a serious issue. They were calling for blood, and apparently, mine was a match. The lab guy said they must have done something to change her blood type.”

“They probably injected some demon DNA. That will affect her, and we won't know how until she recovers.”

That would be just one more thing the poor woman would have to deal with. Right now, there wasn't anything he could do to help her. But looking through these records on this computer might help someone. He'd already found all the records relating to her and was sure he wouldn't find any more. Now, he looked through records that could give him information on other prisoners.

“I found something," Lu observed.

“What is it?”

“It's an explanation about some medical mumbo jumbo that they did to some of our demons. I'm not sure exactly what it means, but Risa will know. It might help her get to the root of the problem some of the other demons are having.”

That was the best possible result they could get out of some of this information. They had hoped they might find something useful, which sounded like they had. Much of the information dealt with things that didn't matter to them or to prisoners no longer alive. Lu and he kept working for several more hours until it was time for him to meet Gloria.

“It's late enough that we should knock off. Gloria and I are going to eat supper in the cafeteria," Abe informed.

“You don't have to tell me twice. Stef will be waiting for me with our baby, and I can't spend enough time with them.”

Lu headed toward his apartment, and Abe headed toward the cafeteria. He was there first again, loaded up two plates, got drinks, and sat at their usual table waiting for her. Sometimes, she was a little late, but she always made it, which was the case this time.

“I'm sorry I'm late. Kiki and I were trying to work out a plan for her school. She's got to finish high school before she can go full time to nursing school. Risa said it wasn't a big deal. She could do high school and go to nursing school part time. That makes it hard for her to decide what she wants," Gloria explained. “Thank you for getting my food for me.”

He was always happy to be able to help her, and this would get them to their walk while it was still early in the evening. Abe hoped to pick up some of those wonderful shells he was trying to gather for the fish tank in the entryway of the new restaurant. He didn't have much time left and wanted to ensure an excellent selection, especially since some very rare shells often got pushed up on the shore here.

“I'm going to be gone for a week. I took a job at a low budget Halloween movie. They're going to tell me what they're looking for, and then they're going to let me have one hundred percent control of creativity. I know they probably won't really do that, but it will be better than it usually is. Most of the stars in this will be new, and they won't want to rock the boat. I'll get to do anything I want to.”

“That sounds exciting. What exactly are you going to do?” Abe asked.

“Halloween is such a cool holiday. I'm sure we'll be doing something here for Halloween. Maybe we can show the movie because it should be out by then?”

“If we're not at a concert, we would.”

Gloria pushed her plate away, having eaten most of her food. She grabbed the dessert plate and picked at it. It was red velvet cake, which most of the demons liked, and he had thought Gloria did as well. Something seemed to be on her mind, which had taken some of her appetite away.

“What's wrong?” Abe asked.

“You're the best friend a girl could have. I don't have a lot of close friends. Most of them are here right now. I've thought about what you said about wanting a deeper relationship. You're so good with Kiki, and I'm beginning to believe they're taking her on wouldn't bother you. Now, the next thing that worries me is, what if it doesn't work out? Can we ever go back to being friends?”

Finally, she was beginning to see what they could do together. The problem now was that she had doubts that it would last. Abe had no doubts and didn't know how to deal with hers.

“What if you never try? Won't you always wonder what we could have done together? Is that something you really want to live with?”

“I guess I don't trust myself. I've never had a long-term relationship. The short-term ones were nothing to brag about. My doubts aren't about you; they were all about me," Gloria explained.

He could tell her he'd never had any doubts about either. Abe could explain how much he wanted her and how much he cared. The problem was that he couldn't tell her what to do or how to feel.

“You don't have to make up your mind tonight. Why don't we just enjoy living in the moment? From the moment I saw you,I thought we would always be together. You don't have to make that decision right now. We just finished a lovely meal in the best possible company.” He chuckled, and so did she. “Let's finish it with a beautiful moonlit walk and see if we can find some exotic shells. You have to give more thought to this thing between us before you decide."

They cleaned up the mess at their table and headed outside. They stepped on the patio briefly to look at the surrounding area, which was washed in moonlight. There were some flowers nearby that perfumed the air, and the scent was amazing. Abe took her hand, pulling her along as he headed towards the beach. Abe had never seen a more beautiful place or had been in the company of a more beautiful woman. Pulling her toward him, he put his arms around her and dropped his mouth to her lips. It wasn't the kiss of a friend, neither was it the passionate, life-altering kiss he wanted to give her.

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