The words surprised Noah; he’d thought she’d simply eat, then leave.
“Nice.”
“It can be, but it can be lonely too.”
“I bet.” He didn’t push; if she wanted to talk, she would.
“I like it most often, but sometimes....” Her words fell away.
“Sometimes you want to put down roots and just have a place to hang your pictures. I travelled for while, thinking it would be cool, but I missed my family pretty much most of the time.”
She turned again, impaling him with a serious look.
“Tell me about your family.” It wasn’t a demand exactly, but pretty close to it.
He told her about Faith, his twin sister, and his mom who was in a home, and his father who passed away a few years ago.
She ate, drank her wine, and listened. A good listener, he thought, really good. People who didn’t like to talk often were.
“I can hear the love in your voice when you talk about them. You’re a nice guy, aren’t you, Noah?”
“I try to be.”
“There’s not that many of you around.”
“Maybe you’re looking in the wrong places, Lani?”
“Maybe. I need to go for a walk now. I don’t usually drink, and that third glass of wine has gone to my head.”
Which explained why she had opened up a bit.
“You want company on that walk?”
“No, that’s okay, you finish your meal.”
“I’m done.”
She hesitated.
“I don’t bite, Lani, nor would I ever hurt you.”
“I know that.”
“How do you know that?”
“I’ve been around some bad people, so you learn to pick the good ones.”
Her words were spoken in an even voice, no emotion, but they told him someone had hurt her, and that made him angry.
“That’s a good skill to have.” He put a hand on her back and urged her toward the door. She stiffened at his touch, but he kept it there. “Where to?”
“The lake,” she said, heading in that direction when they left the bar.
He fell in beside her.
“Did you find work here, Lani?”
“No, I’ll move on soon.”
