Roots [Completed]

Chapter 2 - Part 5

"My friend Tana and I were going to go peach-picking," I tell Christopher as I start up the car. "There's a farm a few miles out of town. One of my moms knew the owner in college, so he gives us a deal - if we help him out, we get to keep a crate. Does that sound okay?"

The first part is a little bit of a lie. I was planning on going today, last week, but Tana wasn't. I had arranged it with her earlier when we were talking. It's a pretty seamless way to make them meet, though.

Christopher falls silent. When I glance at him, he's looking at me.

"What?" I ask. I was worried that he'd think it was a stupid date idea. It kind of is, I realize, now. And bringing Tana - that's dumb. I wish I could rewind ten seconds and reconsider.

But then Christopher smiles, turning back face-forward. "Jane," he says, and his voice is smiling, too, lilting and happy, "that sounds wonderful."

The drive takes us out of the city and into the farming areas attached to a nearby town. Christopher watches as the concrete building are replaced with stretches of pivots and fields.

I have loved going for peaches since Momma first took me in fifth grade. There's something so peaceful in the movement of the peaches, from tree to basket to crate to table. It's not too hard work, but incredibly satisfying. I once spent an entire afternoon stripping one tree of every single peach.

In my mind, adding Christopher to the equation would only improve it. Two ladders, joking and tossing peaches into the same basket. I glance over at him, flushing when I find that he's already looking at me.

"Jane," Christopher begins but stops, seeming to lose courage. Then, he leans forward , fingering the fake leather lining the dashboard. "Tell me something that I missed."

I laugh. "What?"

"Something that I missed." His dark eyes flicker to mine, then to the place where the scar hides under my curls. "Like the car accident. Something that happened while I was gone."

I pause, considering this. It's hard, all at once, to remember anything about myself, but after a second I decide.

"I won the school spelling bee. 9th grade."

His lips twitch. "Really?"

I sit up straighter.

"Nihilism," I demonstrate, using the winning word that decimated Johnny Munoz, "N-I-H-I-L-I-S-M."

"Impressive."

"Okay. Your turn."

"N-I-H - "

I swat at his arm and he laughs. "Something that happened while you were gone," I clarify, trying to act vehement but smiling too much.

He sobers a little. Pauses in thought.

"I got a little sister."

"What! Really?"

"She's only 11," he says, "Her name is Cassie. I think you'd like her."

I beam. "Maybe I can meet her some day! Make you show me around your home town."

He doesn't respond. I look back over to him. It seems like his spirits have fallen, a bit, all at once. "That would be nice," he eventually agrees when he catches me watching.