Juniper Blue (NaNoWriMo2023; manxman)

Chapter 3

At nine in the morning, the man was still asleep. I thought maybe I'd remember his name, but I still drew a blank. With everything that happened last night, I didn't think to ask him. I wondered if he even knew his name. I mean, he couldn't even tell me his address. With the man sleeping in the living room, I made myself a cup of coffee and sat at my rectangular dining room table adjacent to my messy kitchen. I was a great baker, but I was also messy and hated cleaning up after myself.

With my coffee, I sat at my table, reviewing upcoming lesson plans. School started in two days. Papers covered my table. As a new teacher, I stressed before the start of the school year, wanting everything to be perfect. Nothing was ever perfect, though. I bit the tip of my pen, concentrating so hard on my upcoming lessons that I didn't notice the man get up.

As I looked up from my papers, I noticed him wandering around the first floor, scratching the back of his head. I noticed him scratch his head last night when he was drunk and disoriented. He was no longer drunk, but just as confused. I wondered if he realized he was naked. Nudity never bothered me. I often wandered around my cabin naked. I hated doing laundry and I lived by myself, so what was the point of getting dressed all the time? Growing up, my sisters and I bathed in the nearby stream. Everyone around here did it. I still did it.

Besides, this man was nice to look at. I said nothing to bring attention to his nudity.

"Good morning," I said as he stood in front of the table. "Would you like some coffee?"

He stared at me for a second. Suddenly, he recognized me. "You're the white-water river guide. You have a cool name. It's... it's... uh... shit, I can't remember..."

I got up and went to him to formally introduce myself. "It's Juniper Doiron," I said, extending my hand to shake his. He accepted my handshake. "It's nice to meet you... I'm sorry I didn't get your name."

"Gabriel Benowitz," he said. "I'm so fucking embarrassed. I never drink. I just had a really bad couple of months, and a really shitty week... and... and I think I'll just go now." Tears filled his eyes as they scanned my cabin. "I have no fucking idea where I am. I don't even know how I got here. I don't know how--"

"Sit and have breakfast if you're up for it."

He nodded, sitting at the table, sniffing back tears. I'd never seen a grown man cry. Even though he didn't ask for coffee, I made him a cup and placed it in front of him, along with a homemade blueberry muffin. He leaned on his elbows, sobbing quietly, staring down at his coffee. I retrieved the blanket from the living room and draped it over his shoulders. I sat beside him with my own cup of coffee. I felt bad for him and wanted to make him feel better. I hated to see anyone upset.

"I didn't think there was any kindness left in the world," Gabriel said. "I'm sorry if I tried anything last night. I have a feeling I did. I get hypersexual when I'm drunk. One day I'm gonna come on to the wrong guy and get myself killed. You could have shot me. Everyone has a gun in Maine, don't they?"

"I don't own a gun, but my dad does. He owns all kinds of guns. He keeps them locked up, though, and only uses them for hunting. I could never kill anyone. I can't even kill a deer, but I eat them. I don't eat people, though. Last night you said some really messed up things."

Gabriel sat upright, turning to me. "What did I say?"

"You said my cabin reminded you of a movie called Wrong Turn. There's no internet service out here, so I couldn't look it up. You said it's a movie about--"

"Yeah, I know what it's about. I'm so sorry. This cabin looks nothing like the cabin in the movie. That was a horrible thing for me to say."

"People say stupid things when they're drunk."