MADMAN'S HAVEN

52

Beverly Frazier

"I have been thinking,"

Brandon suddenly broke the settled silence between us, and the curiousness inside me lit up along with my eyes.

"About what?" I replied, trying to examine his facial language to figure out what I was in for.

"I barely know you," He murmured. He almost sounded ashamed of his words, like he had been avoiding asking me about my life because he was afraid to get even more emotionally involved with me.

"I don't even know how old you are,"

I smiled gently and corrected my now seated position in the bed so that I could face him properly. It never really occurred to me that Brandon didn't know such simple things about me.

He deserved to know more now that we were so close.

"Do you want to play twenty-one questions?" I asked, and Brandon slightly pulled his lips as he nodded.

"You can ask me what you want, but you have to answer as well, is that fair enough?" I continued.

"Sounds fair to me," He responded flirtatiously.

"First question then?" I said, eager to begin the game and tell him everything he wanted to know about me and also find out things I still didn't know about him.

"When's your birthday?" Asked Brandon.

"January third 1933," I replied and waited for his own answer. I already knew when Brandon was born since it was all registered in his file, but this was a game where we both had to answer all the questions.

"I missed your birthday," He remarked with a rather saddened tone.

"You couldn't know," I explained, grabbing his left hand into both of my own.

"You should have told me,"

"I'm sorry I didn't... At least you know now for next year,"

"I guess," Sighed Brandon.

"Now tell me yours," I added.

"June twenty-first 1932. What's your middle name?" Brandon's eyes sparkled with curiousness, and I was glad I could entertain him in such an easy way.

"It's Ave. Yours?"

I noticed I never read another name than Barlowe, Brandon in his journal. Maybe he didn't have a middle name?

"Beverly Ave Frazier. It's a beautiful name," He stated calmly, and my insides curled in affection.

"Thank you, Brandon,"

"You remember I told you you had a beautiful name the first time I met you? I meant that," He added. Once again my lips formed a smile as my body was warmed by his words.

"I could never forget," I assured under my breath.

"I got my father's name as middle name. But after what happened to my family I applied to remove it. I wanted nothing to do with that man,"