Page 44 of Casualties of War
She dropped the tablecloth as Rubén appeared at the foot of the mattress. His smile was small, meant only to reassure. He lifted a hand. “I thought, if you would like, I will stay to visit for a while.”
Téra didn’t bother asking if he had any wicked intentions. There were over twenty womenin the room and the lengths of cloths between the mattresses provided only the illusion of privacy.
Besides, he had said he would wait for her to come to him. He seemed to know, without her having to explain, about the fears and the uncertainties that wreathed her mind and made sleep impossible.
Téra looked at the narrow strip of scratched and dusty floorboards between her and the wall. “Thereis no room for a chair. There is no chair, either.”
Rubén shook his head. “I am not so old that the lack of a chair is a hindrance.” He eased around the mattress in front of hers and up alongside her bed, then lowered himself and arranged his legs, crossing them. He leaned against the wall.
Téra smoothed the sheet over her knees.
“Why don’t you lie down?” he suggested. “The wall is not themost comfortable of back rests and you don’t wear a jacket, like I do.”
Cautiously, she settled on the mattress and arranged the pillow under her head and looked at him.
“Close your eyes,” he suggested.
Her heart thudded. She knew what he was doing. He had come here to ensure she slept. At the motel, he had seen for himself how his presence allowed her to lower her guard.
Warmth crept alongher limbs, relaxing them. She sighed and closed her eyes.
“Shall I tell you about my day?” he asked.
“You don’t have to, if you don’t want to,” she whispered.
“Silence is nice,” he admitted.
“Mmm.” She sighed, relaxing even more. Her body settled heavily upon the mattress.
On the other side of the room, someone dropped something heavy. “Shit!” they breathed, as other women chuckled.
Térajumped, startled, her eyes snapping open and her heart hurrying.
Rubén plucked her hand from the mattress and enfolded it in his. “It’s fine. I’m here.”
Téra blew out a shuddering breath and laid back down again. “I can’t close my eyes, now,” she whispered.
“Then don’t.” He leaned over and picked up the paperback sitting at the top of the short pile of books beside her pillow. He flipped itover to read the cover. “A Tale of Two Cities. And in English.”
“My English sucks,” Téra said. “There’s too many people who use English in this house. I don’t like people talking around me and not knowing what they’re saying.”
“Especially when they laugh, right?” Rubén said. He put the book on the floor and opened it with the one hand. He didn’t let go of hers with the other. “My English isbad, too. I read it better than I speak it.”
“Geek,” she teased.
His smile was easy. “I thought I was, only I spent time with Chloe today, going over what she needs to hack the satellites. She makes me feel like a two-year-old, when it comes to computers.” He cleared his throat. “’It was the best of times. It was the worst of times…’” he said, in English.
Téra kept her eyes on his face as heread, stumbling over words every now and again, or pausing to figure out pronunciations. She barely absorbed the story itself. Instead, she let his voice flow over her. She didn’t remember closing her eyes or drifting to sleep. She only realized both had happened when she woke at dawn as the other women stirred. She found the floor beside her empty and the book returned to the pile by her head.
She had slept the night through.
Rubén returned every night after that to stay long enough for her to drop into sleep. The second night, she didn’t wait for him to take her hand. She slid hers into his as soon as he settled by her.
On the third night, she kissed his hand and closed her eyes.
Every night since, he had arrived as she was settling to sleep, except last night, when he didn’t show.
Téra heard Rubén was helping with the supply ship, which was delayed by an accident. She had laid down and tried to relax, telling herself she was a grown woman who didn’t need a teddy bear to sleep. The habit of sleeping well was set, now. If she relaxed, she would sleep.
