Emma tucked into her grilled chicken sandwich more delicately, but pieces of lettuce, tomato and avocado as well as the large hunk of chicken kept slipping out of the sandwich and occasionally out of her mouth. She kept furiously looking to see if I was watching whenever it happened. Instead, I kept my attention to my salad. I had silently blessed my food and theirs even though they’d already started eating.
It was strange to eat with other people, especially coupled with casual conversation. At the Temple, I ate alone in my quarters while everyone else took their meals in the dining halls.
It took less than ten minutes for Travis to finish his burger and fries. He slouched down in the booth moaning and holding his stomach. “I think I ate too fast.”
Our waitress, an-ample bosomed, dark-skinned woman with braids, came over with a hand perched on her hip and a knowing smile. “Didn’t save room for pie did you, honey? That’s a shame because we have chocolate silk, cherry, and a special honey custard pie today.”
Travis’s face brightened. He straightened in earnest only to contract in pain once again. “Give me a minute.” He grasped the booth and propelled himself out of the seat, headed straight to the restroom. The waitress walked off chuckling.
I stared after him. “Do you think he needs my assistance?”
“Definitely not,” Emma said in thinly veiled disgust. “I’m sure he’ll be out in fifteen minutes, asking for two pieces of pie. One of these days his binge eating is going to catch up to his skinny frame. He’s already gotten a paunch started in the last couple years. I remember in high school he once had three pizzas delivered to the cafeteria and ate all of them in one sitting for a five-dollar bet. The idiot spent far more on those pizzas than he got in the end.” Putting down the second half of her sandwich, she asked, “Did you want to split a piece of pie?”
My instincts told me to agree with anything she wanted. “No, thank you. I don’t eat such things.”
Her eyes swept up and down me over her coffee cup. “Yeah, I figured.”
I shifted in my seat causing it to obnoxiously squeak again. “The body is a temple. It is important to feed it with respect and nutrients.” I was talking too much. Why was I still talking?
She straightened in her seat, setting her mug on the table. “Oh my god, you haven’t had pie before in your life?”
“Well no…”
“What about cake? Or ice cream? I live for ice cream. I’ve been in a serious long-term relationship with Ben and Jerry since I was twelve.”
My mouth pulled down into a scowl. Never before had it bothered me that I hadn’t tried these things, but it was one more brick in the wall between Emma and me. Also, I didn’t know who Ben or Jerry were, but I automatically didn’t care to ever meet either of them.
“What about pizza?”
I shook my head.
Then the smile ever so slowly slid off her face. “Did you even drink that wine you bought?”
I blinked.
She burst out in incredulous giggles. “Oh my god. You haven’t ever drank alcohol, have you? Here I thought you were a funny guy buying all these different types of wine and that you were maybe on a mission to try them all to pin down what you really liked.” She frowned then flattened her palms on the table. “Wait, you lied to me. For a guy who makes such a big deal out of lying to others, you lied to me about why you were there.”
My back and shoulders tensed. “No, I did not lie to you. I was letting you lead the conversation.”
She leaned in, setting an elbow on the counter to point at me as she gave me a glare. “It’s called a double standard bucko, and you totally did lie.” Then she threw both hands up in the air. “Finally, something about you that isn’t perfect. I can take this and run with it until I don’t think about attacking you every second of the day.”
Emma’s smile faltered when she saw the intensity on my face. I tried to relax and clear my features, but I knew bitterness and disappointment were evident. I hated being so transparent. “Good.”
Travis slipped back in the booth next to Emma. “Pie time?’
#
Travis was slouched, moaning in his seat, two plates with vestiges of whipped cream pushed just out of his reach. Impatience prickled at my scalp. I didn’t like lingering here for so long. We were putting the diners in danger the longer we stayed.
As Travis demolished the cherry and honey custard pie pieces, I took a few moments to tap into my inner flow. What I imagined to be a cool flowing waterfall now felt like a rushing river full of choppy, tumultuous waves. Part of me wondered if the soul eater had done something to me in the liquor store, some kind of curse or spell to block me from my own powers. After seeing it come to flesh, I couldn’t rule out any possibility.
Just as I was about to announce we needed to leave, someone slipped into the seat next to me, dressed in all black. She turned to speak into my ear so only I could hear. “The back corner table. Come alone.”
Then as quickly as the woman appeared she was gone and heading for a table back by the restroom. She joined a man wearing all black as well. Both looked down into their mugs, but their lips were moving.
Travis and Emma blinked at me, expectantly.
“Who was that?” Emma asked.
