Page 96 of Awestruck at Dusk
William and Zara took their conversation to the garden, way past the pool, and I wondered what the hell Zara wanted to talk to him about as I looked for the damn strainer.
There it is.
Tobias chatted with his father as I analyzed the fancy industrial-looking stove, searching for the correct dial to turn it off, and I did. I placed the strainer in the faucet and heard, “Incoming.”
Tobias carried the huge pot for me and emptied it into the strainer.
“Thanks, Tob.” I couldn’t help but glance at Zara and William through the window as they talked. Their conversation appeared to be a heated one. Zara kept gesturing with her hands as William stared at her with his arms crossed at his chest, lifting his beer now and then to take a sip.
William pinched the bridge of his nose and nodded a few times. And there I was staring at them when I had a few pounds of new potatoes to start chopping in half. It was best to jump right into the task at hand.
William had left a cutting board and a knife on the counter, so I was planning to use those. I just needed to look around the cabinets and find a large bowl, which I did, eventually.
I brought the strainer to the counter and began with my chore, transferring the potatoes into the big bowl once the cutting board was full of halves. I’ve got to say that working in the kitchen was somewhat therapeutic.
Nathanfinallyarrived, and I was halfway done with the potatoes, but I dropped my knife and went out to greet him.
“Hey, you!” Nathan put his duffel bag on the ground and hugged me, lifting me off the floor.
“God, I missed you,” he said, kissing me.
“I missed you too.”
He put me back down, and I instinctively looked in Zara and William’s direction. They were still arguing.
“What’s he doing here?” Nathan said, jerking his chin at them.
“Apparently, he decided to come at the last minute,” I replied. “He arrived early in the morning.”
“And what’sthatabout?”
“I’ve no idea, but they’ve been arguing over there for a while. Sivert asked William about this Rachel girl he’s sort of—dating in South Africa, and then Zara asked to talk to him, and that’s all we know.”
I could’ve ended the sentence inI’ve no idea. But I guess we can all be a bit toxic at times. I knew I would probably regret planting the seed that could easily sprout into chaos.
Nathan didn’t say a word.
“Let’s go inside,” I said to him. He picked up his duffel bag, and we walked into William’s house, wondering if we should’ve just grabbed our things and asked the guys to drive us back to New York.
Spoiler alert: That’s what he should’ve done. And we didn’t.
Sleeping Arrangements
“HEY MAN,”Tobias said to Nathan as we moved into the house. “Glad you made it.” They shook their hands with a loud clap and pulled themselves in for a hug with a few firm pats on the back.
“Glad to be here, mate,” Nathan replied. “Sivert, nice to see you again. It’s been a while.”
I shuffled back behind the kitchen counter and resumed the potato task. Nathan grabbed a beer and offered one to Sivert and Tobias, who obviously accepted.
“You’re cooking, love?” Nathan asked, standing behind me, dropping his beer on the counter. He ran a hand around my waist and kissed my cheek.
“Well, I’m chopping potatoes,” I replied as he rested his chin on my shoulder. “Just don’t ask me to use the oven.” I kissed him back.
Zara and William sauntered back to the house, his arm around her shoulders as she wiped what I assumed were tears under her eyes. He kept whispering things to her while she nodded. Nathan still stood behind me, holding me tight.
“Natey! Hi!” Zara rushed our way. Nathan kissed my cheek one last time and released me to hug Zara.
“What’s wrong?” He asked her in a stern tone. “Have you been crying?”
