Cursed Purple

15.

My stomach answered for me. "You read my mind."

Jack went searching for a list of take out places while I took over the job of flipping through channels. My muscles were still tensed and ready for a fight, but for the brief moment that Jack and I laid here it made me a little calmer.

I landed on a channel that was playing reruns of a nineties sitcom about six friends and their adventures. The show made me smile. Mother and I tried this show out for a few seasons, but life became busy and we lost touch with it. The familiar set and laughter from the studio audience reminded me of her. There was what was becoming all too recognizable tinge of pain as I watched and remembered her, but it didn't hurt as bad as it did at the restaurant.

Jack pulled out a menu with a triumphant look on his face. "Aha! How does Chinese food sound?" He wiggled the paper in the air.

"I think that sounds amazing."

His eyes lit up even brighter as he turned to the phone and took both of our orders. After Jack hung up the phone, he sauntered back over to the bed and curled up next to me again. I wiggled my way back to the position we were in before he got up.

Something about Jack made me comfortable with him. Something about his touch, his warmth, the vibes he was putting off made me comfortable. It was peculiar how fast I got comfortable around him. Before he came along, I was afraid of talking with the person at the checkout counter. I was afraid of my own shadow but now I felt a little bit more fearless because of him. Mother was right. I needed someone for after. I needed him; he was good for me.

I knew if she was here she'd be happy. There was a part of me that knew she was happy. Out of pain, able to move and do what she wanted, and is up in heaven with Father. Together again at last.

The knock at the door yanked me out of my reverie. Without any words, I crept to the bathroom while Jack went to the door, tossing a baseball cap on his head. It was just about the worst attempt at disguise ever but our options were limited. I listened through the bathroom door to their conversation for anything that was off. Fortunately, the delivery driver sounded normal enough and without any red flags.

I walked back out of the bathroom and saw that Jack had his arms full of Chinese take-out boxes.

"Wow. I didn't realize we ordered so much food," I said.

"Me either. I hope you're hungry."

He set the food down on the desk and we divided it up. I snatched a set of chopsticks before padding over to the bed. When I was in my twenties, Mother and Father decided to take a trip to China. I learned quickly how to use chopsticks while we were there. That was a fun trip. We promised we would do it again but no one ever made the plans. Jack settled down next to me and smiled.

"Good pick on the show," he commented, nodding towards the television. "I love this episode."

The characters on the show were competing for something, I didn't have the faintest clue for what, and they were doing so in a jeopardy-like game.

"I'm not sure if I've ever seen this one."

"Like I said, it's a great one."

I nodded and we lapsed back into silence while eating and watching the back-to-back reruns of this show.

Even though it seemed like a lot of food at first, we ended up eating all of it. Jack pulled out the fortune cookies and handed me one. I hated the taste of the cookies and only liked the fortunes inside. I broke mine open and tossed the cookie aside, keeping the slip of paper. I flipped it over to the side that had the fortune in English and read it.