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The position I had seen her in this morning told me she had slept well, but I could be wrong. I wanted to be sure that she had been able to sleep as well as she could last night, especially since this was going to be the place we stayed until we could get our flight out of here approved.
“I slept well.” She smiled a little. “Much better than I have in a room with two windows in years, actually. I think you had something to do with that. Thank you for everything you did last night… even if it felt silly to you. I appreciate that you did it.”
I smiled a little.
“Sometimes, it’s the silly rituals that allow us to feel safe,” I said.
“Honestly, if there was still another room available… I don’t think I’d feel safe enough to use it after that experience. I want a second person there.”
I didn’t tell her that I thought it was all a piece of security theater, but the fact that she had been able to sleep after we had done all of that last night made me feel much better about suggesting what I did. The clip on the curtains was the only thing I had been planning to do anyway since hotel curtains didn’t always close over the window completely.
She started to eat. I had finished peeling my orange by this time. Our conversation stalled simply because we were hungry. Dinner last night had left something to be desired, but they had managed to make up for it this morning. There was plenty here.
Then again, we hadn’t even bothered to stop for food at the airport. I wondered if that might have been a smarter idea – stopping for food at the airport and making sure we could eat in the hotel after we had arrived and checked in.
Whatever the case, I was glad that Grace didn’t seem to be holding it against me. She must have realized that I was only doing my best to get us to shelter. After all, until I got her back to Tulsa, she was my client. My responsibility.
I didn’t realize I was staring at her until she turned to look at me, with a deep blush on her face. I felt my cheeks heating up, and I turned my attention back to the cereal that I had yet to open. The opening of one of the boxes made a loud ripping sound as I tore the thin cardboard apart.
“What about your family, Gabe?” Grace started talking abruptly. “I know you called plenty of clients yesterday. Did you tell your family that you’re safe, despite being stranded?”
“I haven’t told them, but they know that I know how to handle situations like this,” I replied after swallowing what cereal was in my mouth. “They’ve learned to trust my instincts when it comes to travel. At the very least, they no longer freak out when I share that something has been delayed when I travel. When I share my plans, at least. I haven’t shared any of the plans with you with them because they were so last minute.”
I shrugged.
I continued to eat as she nodded slowly.
“What’s your family like?”
“I have three brothers,” I replied. “My parents live in Texas, but the four of us are spread across the country. Despite that, we’re all very close.”
Grace nodded as she spread cream cheese on the other half of the bagel. Then, she looked up at me and said, “I really am so grateful to you for sharing your room last night. That was more helpful than just being in there with me. I’m not sure what I would have done had I had to sleep out here. There are more windows here in the lobby than there are in the room.”
She must have still been half-asleep because she yawned as she spoke. I only smiled at her.
“You’re quite welcome, Grace. You’re the client, after all. I think you deserve to be able to sleep more than I do right now, at least comfortably. After having spent some time in the military, anything can be comfortable.”
I was basically blabbering. It wasn’t like me to randomly share things about my life. As I stopped, I wondered if I was nervous because the only time this had happened before is when I had been nervous asking a woman to join me for a military ball. My words only ever came like this – word vomit, my father used to call it – when I was nervous.
But what would I have to be nervous around her about?
Our conversation trailed off again, but this time, I wasn’t upset about it. I didn’t mind the questions she’d asked or the fact that I’d shared more than I meant to, and the silence was comfortable as we ate in peace. I finished my cereal and ate the last few slices of my orange – it was a giant orange, almost as big as my palm. I could only imagine what they were doing to get oranges that big at the farm. It tasted absolutely divine, too. Whatever they were doing, it worked, and I didn’t think they needed to stop unless it was illegal.
Grace remained quiet after she had finished her meal too. However, she didn’t remain seated for long. She walked up to the table set up with all the food to get herself some more. I had probably underestimated her stomach, but it was always better to underestimate than overestimate if you didn’t know someone well, in my opinion.
She sat down with a banana, another bagel, and more cream cheese. I supposed she was a fan of carbs in the morning. I couldn’t eat straight-up bread in any form like that in the morning and was slightly envious of her. Too much bread in the morning made me feel a little nauseous, and that was not good for flying.
Chapter twelve
Grace
I learned a little bit about Gabe’s family, but soon after realized that I was still asleep enough that I’d only caught that one of his brothers had gotten married. And that he had three brothers. Three? I think it was three… but I could have misheard him. I’d have to ask again, but in a way that didn’t admit that I was too exhausted to listen properly. That was slightly more embarrassing than catching him staring at me.
After I finished my second helping of food, however, I felt much more awake. That was usually how it went in the mornings. I needed food to wake up. Some people required a trip to the bathroom, or water, or something else. I just needed food. Since we hadn’t eaten a lot since we had taken off, I figured that had something to do with the fact that I had been so sluggish this morning.
A few minutes after I finished eating, I turned to look out the window. There was plenty of snow on the ground – I estimated nearly eight or nine inches, but it appeared that the worst of the storm was over.
I took in the sight with a small smile. It had been a while since I had been able to appreciate snow like this. Then again, it always felt like the snow in Tulsa didn’t remain pristine and white. It quickly became this brown sludge as it mixed with the dirt on people’s cars and shoes. The snow here in Dawn, however, had remained untouched overnight.
