“Wow. All this effort, just for me?” he smirked, accepting the glass, and waiting for her to fill her own.
“Yep. Now you’ll think of me whenever you eat strawberries – or drink mimosas – or do both together.” She tapped her glass against his and brought it to her ruby red lips, drinking half of the glass. He watched, saying nothing, but smiling at the small gesture.
“You have just rubbed the strawberry over your nose,” he commented, pulling his own off the side of his glass. “Maybe eat them first?”
“I think that would have been a better idea, yes,” Alianna remarked, rubbing the side of her nose slightly. She watched from the corner of her eye as he opened his mouth and slid the strawberry onto his tongue, eating it with a gentle “mm.”
Alianna swallowed, averting her eyes. She returned to her glass and finished the mimosa.
“Thank you for this,” he gestured to the glasses. “It has been a while since I have been able to enjoy a calm walk with a friend, let alone a drink in the company of one, too.”
“Why? Busy with work?” she asked, waiting for him to answer as he took several gulps of his drink.
“Sort of,” he motioned to the bottle, silently requesting that their glasses be refilled. “It’s all a bit complicated.”
Alianna considered for a moment. She felt emboldened – possibly by draining her drink as quickly as she had poured it. She could hear her friend’s voice in the back of her mind:“Be the girl that’s confident enough to wear the red dress, Ali.”
“Complicated as in, it would be good to talk about it? Or complicated as in, the last thing I want to do is talk about it?”
Rionan stilled.
“I’m sorry. I pushed too far; it’s none of my business.”
“No,” Rionan shook his head, turning to face her. “It’s not that. There aren’t many people I can discuss my hardships with. I have a role to play. A person to be. I am the one people look to in times of difficulty, you see.”
“That must be hard,” Alianna said solemnly. Rionan took another few sips of his drink. “Everyone needs somebody to talk to.”
“I think you’re right. I haven’t had somebody to talk to for…a while. I have some close friends, but things back at home have been…tense. I have a role to play, and that is what I have done. I haven’t been able to speak as myself, with no pressure, for some time.”
Alianna allowed her eyes to roam over his face as he looked earnestly at her. He must have been in his early thirties, at most. How lonely had his adult life been, not to have anyone to speak to when he felt low?
“I’m sorry. I know we don’t know each other well, but you can talk to me.”
She wasn’t sure if she imagined it, but she thought she felt his hand slide closer to her own on the bench.
“Thank you. Where I am from – where I work…things have been difficult. I’m here to look for a way to resolve things. Make them better. Return things to the way they were.”
“I see. What are you looking for?”
“I’m not sure yet. I’m hoping I’ll know it when I see it.”
“Can I help, Max? As in, help you find it, or decide what it is you need?”
Rionan considered her words. She was sure his breathing faltered. “I think you might already be helping me, even if you don’t know it.”
Neither of them spoke for a moment. They stared forward, at the water fountain, in quiet, comfortable silence.
Alianna’s breath hitched in her throat as she felt his fingers graze the tips of her own. She looked down to where his hand rested next to hers. He continued to stare forward at the fountain, seemingly in deep thought, which she chose not to interrupt.
As quickly as the moment came, it seemed to pass. He looked back at her, eyes warm again, a smile on his face. Helifted his glass to his mouth and drained the remainder of his drink. “Another?” he asked.
“I’m glad I bought a good-sized bottle with me,” she laughed, refilling both of their glasses and popping a strawberry into her mouth.
The evening air rolled lazily around them as the light began fading from the sky. They walked through the gardens, exploring narrow pathways in the hedgerows, looking at weatherworn statues, stopping to watch the bees as they hopped from flower to flower. Alianna found herself feeling incredibly safe in his company.
“Are you in a rush to get home tonight?” Rionan asked, looking down at her. They stood underneath an archway which was wrapped with wisteria, hidden away from the outside world. Alianna considered.
“No, I don’t think I am.”
