Page 72 of Torin and the Princess

I said, “I’m also really looking forward to our big dinner tomorrow night at Fall’s Landing. I picked out a dress.”

He yawned again and smacked his lips. “You know, don’t be mad, but I don’t think I want to anymore. I’ll cancel the reservations, we’ll do it... another time.”

“When, you think, like next weekend, or just later...?”

He shrugged. “Not sure... got a lot to think about, later.”

I nodded. “Yeah, that makes sense. Good. I’m going to go get ready for bed. Get under the sheets.”

He said, “I will.”

As I steppedinto the bathroom, and looked in the mirror, I took a good hard look. I looked harried, as if I had had some harrowing experiences: I had cooked dinner, hosted a dinner party, gotten terrible news from my ‘boyfriend’ — he was not asking me to marry him, that was clear, and I had been a referee all night. I smoothed down my mussed hair.

I also didn’t get laid.

I said, over my shoulder, “I know you’re not into making plans, right now, but maybe a plan is exactly what you need.” I squeezed toothpaste onto my brush, and brushed for a second, looking in the mirror, then said, loud enough for my voice to carry to the other room, “Let’s talk about how I can invest in your project. I mean, I know there are rules to my trust fund, but they’re not insurmountable. We just have to talk to my lawyer, right, Coop?”

There was no answer. I spit in the sink and looked out into the bedroom. Cooper was fast asleep, his feet still on the floor.

Dammit, he slept so soundly there’s no way he would get into the bed, not for hours. I finished brushing my teeth, went out, untied his shoes, and pulled them off his feet. I slid off his socks and then pushed and shoved his shoulders and legs until I got him sort of regularly lying on his side of the bed. He was on the covers so I pulled a throw blanket from the wooden chest at the end of the room and covered him with it.

He blearily smacked his lips and talked in his sleep, “Bed.”

I knew from experience it was not an invitation, he was too deeply asleep, there would be no welcome-home-bang until tomorrow. “I still need to take off my makeup, be there in a minute.”

He had already fallen fast asleep again.

I returned to the bathroom and piled my hair up in a loose bun and used makeup cleaner pads to wipe off my makeup and mascara.

Then I kicked off my shoes, peed, pulled on a pair of pajama pants, and changed into a comfortable tank top.

Finally I went to the bed to climb in, when I heard Dude meow downstairs.

I hung my head. OfcourseDude wanted out.

24

LEXI

2004 - THE PORCH

Ipulled my hoodie on and padded down the stairs to the hallway, meeting Dude by the door. “Hey, numbskull, you waited until I was almost in bed.”

He looked at the door. “Yeah, I see, you’re impatient.” I opened the door and undid the latch on the screen door. “Don’t go to the back-shack, bugging Torin, he needs his…” I looked down toward the back-shack to see Torin strolling across the middle of the lawn, still wearing the button down shirt and the chinos, whistling, looking up and around at the sky. “…sleep.”

Torin heard the door open and raised his hand, calling up to the porch, “Mistress Lexi, I assumed ye were asleep!” He had both his dirk and his broadsword sheathed on the belt, slung around his hips, looking incongruous with the chinos and Nikes.

I walked out to the edge of the wide porch. “Dude wanted out so I came down… Whatcha doing?” Dude had gone out to greet him and was rubbing against the bottom of his legs.

Torin leaned down and gave my cat a rub between the ears. “When I hae trouble sleepin’ I go on night guard, twill set m’mind that there is nothin’ tae worry on, and gets me in thefresh air. Usually tis easy tae rest after.” As he spoke he walked toward me and leaned against the pole on my porch.

I said, “You’re still wearing the clothes we picked out, are they comfortable?”

“Aye,” he did a kind of forward lunge, “the trews allow for a great deal of movement.” He crouched. “I think I could sword fight in them verra well and they are much lighter than m’great kilt, tis better in this aimsir theth.” He flapped the front of his shirt to show he meant the hot weather. “I will give them back afore I go.”

“You don’t need to, you can keep them if they’re useful, and when you go down to the back-shack there’re some plastic bags in the cupboard under the sink. They’ll be similar to the one you had, to carry your things in. Take as many as you need.”

He nodded. “I will.”

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