𝕸𝖔𝖒𝖊𝖓𝖙𝖆𝖗𝖞 𝕭𝖑𝖎𝖘𝖘

chapter iv

the shared apartment was a gigantic mess of boxes and pieces of furniture, which was unusual for the both usually tidy-keeping women. it created an unlikely anxiety for them and cluttered minds.

the tape was torn open from each cardboard box, and the duo slowly unpacked their belongings. one box with nat's candles and perfumes (marked fragile), another with blue's sweaters and books, and another with ceramic plates and shiny, silver cutlery.
another packed their bedding and plush pillows, a dark, rat grey set. blue grabbed the blanket out from the box and hugged it to her chest tightly. as the blanket was brought from the safety of her parents' home, the familiar smell already brought nostalgia to the daughter of the veradin family, an endearing second of joy and sadness.
eventually, natalia spotted the box of metallic pots and pans in a box hidden in the corner behind the sofa.

"look what i found," her voice chirped in delight as she held a pot above her head. blue peered over, delighted to see the old metal pot.

"thank god," she beamed, folding the blanket back into the box.

at this point, both had built quite an appetite and rushed to the kitchen to begin making their meals. they brought out the dishes and cutlery along from the box they had fortunately opened ahead of time. blue heated the cans of soup in the pot over the stove, stirring slowly but surely. nat, with a separate pan, toasted each side of four pieces of whole wheat bread and began to prepare the sandwiches.

in between, nat figured she'd tell blue more about what had happened that day because blue's facial expression indicated that she still seemed a mile away in her head.

"ah, i met one of our neighbors today, by the way." the whiff of the warmed pieces of bread arose and the smell of warm tomato soup filled the kitchen.

"continue," blue resumed, still blending as she gazed over into the reflection of the soup without thought.

"his name is tate, and he's around our age. good looking guy—super sweet too."

blue stared up with a peculiar expression.

"tell me how you guys met?"

"well, the u-haul guy got cocky and wouldn't help me move the boxes in here, so that's when tate came out and offered to help."

"uh huh," she gestured with her hand for nat to continue the story.

"and i think he invited me over for dinner sometime?"

"oh! and when will that be?"

"not sure, i had to leave for work before we ever made it definite." all four pieces of bread were now warm and toasted, and she turned to the counter to assemble the bread, ham, mayo and vegetables together. with a butter knife, her hands were steady as she smoothed mayo onto the bread, making sure to smother all four corners. "i left really fast though, so i didn't even get to say goodbye."

"i'm sure you'll see him again. he's our neighbor, for god's sake." blue turned the knob to turn off the stove and gripped a ladle from the same box of cutlery. each bowl was filled generously halfway with hot soup. even with decently filled bowls, it was a nice sight to see that there were leftovers for seconds.
at the same time, nat was nearly finished with assembling the ham sandwiches before neatly placing them on plates.

"man. i know this is just soup and sandwiches, but this is the best thing i've seen in a long time," blue was proud of their creations.

"you're telling me," nat agreed in favor of the delectable sight in front of them.

together, they brought their meal over to the sofa. their first bites of savory goodness were too good to be true. blue dipped her sandwich and the richness of the soup was a match made in heaven to the avocado and ham in the whole wheat sandwich. such a good combination. nat ate hers separately, feeding herself a bite before following it with a spoonful of soup into her mouth. something so simple yet so heartwarming reminded her of easy days, coming home after grade school, where she'd fix some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for herself and her younger sister, maya. maya and natalia's bond was special to say the least, and out of anyone, moving made her miss maya the most out of anybody. nat thought of maya's pure laugh as she ate.