Page 225 of Sing with Me

“Never heard of him.” Skye put on a pair of disposable gloves, and started dividing up the shrimp in the sink. She bagged some of them and put them in a stainless steel mixing bowl before she put them in the refrigerator. “To be fair, I only visit Midtown whenever I’m in Atlanta, but I haven’t had time to get to know the church."

“He’s about ninety going on seventy, and he’s the head of the counseling department at Midtown,” Diehl said. “He said he’d meet me one Wednesday night at the midweek service, and next thing you know, I’ve been in his office twice a week for the last two weeks. He’s been helping me sort through my past and how I got here.”

“That’s good. We all have pasts we need to figure out. I still miss my parents—but I miss my aunt and uncle more. And they’ve all been long gone. They will always affect me.”

“I miss my grandpa too, and yes, he had an impact on my life.” Diehl stared at the bowl of shrimp with eyes and legs pointing at him. “You need any help with that?”

Diehl hoped Skye would say no. He wasn’t up to peeling shrimp.

“No need.”

What a relief.“How else can I help?”

“You can wash and cut some vegetables for a side dish. I bought some squash and zucchini.”

“I can do that. They don’t have bulbous eyes.”

Skye laughed.

“Wash all of them?” Diehl asked.

“Yes, I have other vegetables for tomorrow.” Skye pointed to the sink by an empty bar. “Use that sink. I’ve got shrimp in this one.”

Diehl was disappointed at being banished to another corner. He wanted to be with Skye—standing next to her.

“I can still hear you from here,” Skye said. “The kitchen is not very big.”

“It’s tiny,” Diehl said as Skye pointed to colanders he could use to rinse the vegetables.

“Yeah. Too small for a test kitchen. I don’t test new dishes at Sage Café on Friday nights when their kitchen is busy.”

“Makes sense. Why not get a bigger place for yourself?” Diehl washed the vegetables but wasn’t sure what to do with them.

“I have one piece of land but I haven’t decided what to build on it. They won’t let me park an RV there.”

A recreational vehicle?

Diehl almost laughed. If it was the land he suspected, there was no way she could build a house smaller than three thousand square feet on that oceanfront property. The covenant association wouldn’t allow it.

“I’m just kidding.” Skye laughed. She rinsed the shrimp she had peeled.

“I almost believed you.” Diehl carried the vegetables back to the island counter. He realized he had left a trail of water on the floor. He looked around for a rag.

Skye pointed to a closet. “There’s a mop in there.”

When Diehl returned, Skye was stirring rice in a pot of briskly boiling water. “I hope you like brown rice.”

“I like all types of rice.”

“Me too.” Skye put two chopping boards on the island and took out two knives.

“Those look sharp.” Diehl made quick work of mopping the floor, and then he returned the mop to the closet.

“Sharp knives are the safest ones in a kitchen.” Skye said. “Please wash your hands so we can cut some vegetables.”

“Again?”

“I wash my hands all the time in the kitchen.”

---