After Solitude

Chapter 4

She turns, giving me a sad smile. "I know."

Before I can push for more information, a worker comes to the counter and asks what we want.

Her big blue eyes look up for me, I assume she wants me to order first.

"I'll have a vanilla cone." I tell the worker who then turns to Zoey.

Her fingers dig into her skin, "may I have a small mint chocolate chip cup?" Her voice is small, fragile.

"Give her a large."

With enlarged eyes and a slacked mouth, she looks at me. My lips pull into a smirk, causing her to look away.

"I can't afford that, a small will be fine." She tells the worker.

"Anything else?" The worker asks.

"Yeah, a large mint chocolate chip cup. I'm paying." I look down at her silly grin.

Most women I meet don't appreciate a man who pays, she does.

As our ice cream is prepared, I usher her to a seat near the window. I've heard humans with anxiety feel better when they're in the light.

She sits across from me, my back towards the window. The light causes her blue eyes to have this desirable sparkle, a beautiful gentleness.

I can't help but watch her dig into her ice cream once it comes. The smile and tiny dimples on her cheeks draw me into this cloud of needing to protect her. I should've been able to tell from the start. She's too innocent for this world.

"Thank you." Her voice of angels hit my ears.

"Tell me about you." I ignore her thanks, feeling like I should just buy her the whole damn shop.

"Well, what would you like to know?" She says as she chews into the chocolate chips from her ice cream.

Manners, love.

"Start with what you love." I smile.

She hums while she brainstorms.

"I upcycle things. My most recent project was a vintage chair from like the nineteen thirties. I painted the old wood red and took the seat off and replaced it with a flowerpot. I don't have a garden, but the person I sold it to thinks it looks beautiful in theirs." She cheers.

"What else have you upcycled?" I ask, loving the bubbly attitude she has while talking about her hobby.

"A tire from a truck. The truck was in the scrap yard, ready to be demolished. I had my friend Poppy help me figure out how to get one of the wheels off and I turned it into an ottoman."

My eyebrows lift in surprise at her craftiness.

"How'd you do that?"

"I wrapped rope around it and used a strong glue to hold it all together."

Little Einstein.

"What do you love?" She returns the question.

I notice the rubbing of her arm has now stopped, she's comfortable.

"I like to read, whittle." I state as I finish my ice cream while hers is still basically full with a small dent.

"Whittle?" Her head cutely tilts.

"Yeah," I smile, "it's wood carving basically."

Her smile reaches her eyes as she learns this about me. Perhaps, she feels the same way we do.