“Of course.” She reached for the pad and used the stylus to sign.
“Where are you going to put it?” a voice suddenly asked from behind her.
She whirled, not expecting that Travis had followed her downstairs. She could see him clearly standing in back of her.
“Something wrong?” the delivery man asked, as though he hadn’t heard Travis and couldn’t see him either.
“No,” she managed.
The driver kept his gaze on her. “Uh, you look like you saw a ghost or something.”
She made a choking sound. “I guess I’m not feeling well.” Quickly, she took the package and closed the door.
When she turned back toward the hall, Travis was still standing there.
“Did you do that on purpose?”
He sighed. “Okay, yeah, I wanted to find out if he could tell I was here.”
“Was that all?”
“What else?” he shot back.
“Maybe you wanted to remind me that...” Her voice trailed off when she found herself unwilling to complete the sentence.
He didn’t finish the thought for her. Brushing past him, she went back to the kitchen and retrieved the soup, wondering if she could eat it now.
“I’m sorry,” Travis said behind her.
“You want me to remember that this isn’t exactly a normal relationship.”
“I wish it were.”
She did too—with all her heart.
“I guess we have to...” She had started to say “settle,” but changed it to “be thankful for what we have.”
“I am,” he agreed. “But is it enough for you? I mean, you have a life. You interact with people who will never be able to see me.
“Are you trying to say this relationship isn’t good for me?”
He shrugged.
Wondering why he was suddenly looking on the negative side of things, she said, “Let me be the judge of that.”
After adding some half-and-half to her coffee, she brought the mug to the table and sat down.
He took the chair across from her. It was strange to see him sitting there. He should be eating breakfast, too.
I don’t need food.
I know,she answered as she sipped some soup.
She had brought her laptop to the table. While she ate, she Googled the Solomon Clinic and found out some interesting information. The place had burned down thirty years ago. And then an explosion at a research facility the doctor was still running killed him and a nurse who had worked at the clinic with him.
Travis followed along as she read. “I’m betting the fire at the clinic wasn’t an accident.”
“Yeah.”
