Matt & Doe | Complete

Chapter 10

At this point, I wasn't even sure if he knew what 'hungry' meant.

I stood, once again at eye level with the strange woman.

Without trying to sound rude, I asked, "Miss, who are you?"

"A specialist," her voice escaped dryly.

"She's here for Jack's screening," Doe's voice came around the corner and then she nodded her head toward the door.

I had been waiting on her all the time, now I was being rushed.

"I have to go," I said to the ground and separated Jack from my jeans. The lady immediately scooped him up and walked off.

Outside, Doe was in deep conversation with Ava. It was as if, they hadn't gotten the 'day off' part right.

"Please..." Ava whined, then pouted her lips out at me.

"What?" I stopped, figuring it out, "You want to join us?"

Ava nodded, cupping her hands together.

                               &&&

The rink was enormous in actual life, contrary to the photos circulating online. It was a bit more advanced than I had remembered it. The meal trucks were in an organised file, one after the other on one end, and opposite to the array was Canapé's best Mediterranean restaurant. The air was crisp and pleasant, it being a little after 3pm.

"Oh my gosh!" Ava screamed and ran right up to the railing, which overlooked the skaters.

I saw Doe sigh, "This is a bad idea -"

"It is. You can always go back," Ava interrupted and I could have seen straight through her, trying to bring out the worst in Doe.

"Listen, I -"

"So we should go to the arcade first," I hinted at Doe and she exhaled.

I sat through the first few hours filled with boredom, but Doe's random jokes made it all seem tolerable.

Afterwards, we visited the busy restaurant right next door. To my disappointment, Ava ordered plain fries and some water. Doe on the other hand, tried the signature dish which the place was named after, 'Spanakopita'. It was a light, savory pastry worth the price and I sampled some from her.

Finally, it was time for the main attraction. Doe, Ava and I made our way down a short flight of stairs and after getting suited up, Ava was already in the rink. She jumped high into the air, spun around and dared to race me back and forth. Before any one of us got carried away, I stopped to encourage Doe to leave the bench.

"Doe -"

"What if I fall..." she whined, holding one of the shoes in her hand.

"Then you'll get back up."

She dressed herself appropriately, helmet and all, then moved around by clutching onto the railing. Her feet slid every now and then, sending her into a short-lived panic mode.

"Matthew," she called out to me, as I skated past her, causing me to make a u-turn.

"Yes?"

"This isn't fun."

"I'm not sure how to fix that," I allowed her to replace the railing with my shoulders instead, "You've really never done this before?"

"I've tried," Doe struggled to inch farther away from the handles. Each time she would feel herself slipping, her grip on my shoulders would tighten.