Survival

Chapter 39 The truths we bury

With a mixing bowl in hand, Vita sauntered over to the frying pans to ladle on globs of berry pancakes. The task of feeding hundreds of people exhausted her daily, but she slept soundly after the hard work. Her feet usually begged for mercy, and her co-worker Deidra only confirmed that it would get worse with each passing month.

She was probably around five or six weeks along now, but still passing unnoticed. She planned to rely on the large women's shirts Mr. M had provided as camouflage as long as possible.  Vita had only chosen to confine in Deidra since she had had her own son at nineteen and didn't seem quick to judge.

"Fresh order's up," Deidra called out to one of the servers as she placed the last of her order on a large serving tray.

"Thanks, Dee," Ricardo said, flashing both women a smile despite the tired look in his eyes.

The pancake recipe had needed a bit of tweaking to accommodate the fact that they had neither eggs nor milk, but the women found a way to make it work along with a bit of fruit from their plants. Each compliment accompanied by an empty plate made Vita gleam.

After a long shift in the kitchen, she noticed a head of dark curls poking out from around the corner. A small smile tugged at her lips. She started to undo her apron as she sneaked toward the corner.

"Winston, is that you again?"

There wasn't an answer, which she found weird since he usually got the giggles when he had been found. She put a clean frying pan on the metal shelf.

"Who is it?"

She kept walking until she found a lanky boy her age wearing a nervous smile. "Sorry, I just, you're just-"

"Did you get something to eat? The grill's still hot if you want me to whip something up quick." She didn't really want to wipe down the kitchen again, but she knew the feeling of going to bed hungry and refused to let others feel the same.

"I already had some, and they were delicious. Thank you, Vita."

"No problem, so what can I help you with?"

The boy smiled, revealing dimples in his freckled cheeks. "I think you're beautiful."

Vita could only blink. She had been called a lot of things these past few months, but beautiful was not one of them. He seemed so sweet and innocent while she knew the child growing inside her was proof enough she had left that trait in a dark room in Rob's basement along with her dignity. Pre-disaster Vita would have jumped at this chance, blushing, giggling, running back to get Mischa's opinion. She couldn't be bothered in her current state.

"Anything else?"

His face fell and she smiled on the inside. He shook his head and shuffled out of the kitchen with his eyes on the floor.

Maybe Gunnar had been right all along; she was a bitch. At times like this, when relationships could only lead to complications, she couldn't see how things could be any different. She had to respect Gunnar's style a bit; he saw Rob for what he was and ran fast. She had been too blind and dependent to bother. Now that the opportunity presented itself once again and she wasn't prepared to bite.

In the sleeping area, Vita sought out her friends right away. Winston fought with some wood project, which had been frustrating him for days, while Cynthia watched, a small smile on her lips.

"Hey little man, how's that project going?"

"It's impossible! I don't know how to make this fit together."

Vita sat down beside him and watched his hands fumble with the pieces that clearly weren't meant to be joined. He frowned down at them and handed them off to her. Vita ran her hand over the uneven groove and the large notch. "You just have to match this part smaller and the other one a bit smoother and you'll get it."