AllFreeNovel
Share Us
After ending the call, I went downstairs to sit next to the fire, but Luke wasn’t there.
“Crawford,” I called.
“I’m in the kitchen.”
I walked to the back of the house and turned to my left. I found Luke filling a pot from the kitchen faucet.
“What are you doing?”
He raised his eyebrows. “What does it look like I’m doing?”
“About to boil water?”
“You always were the smart one, Sweeney.” He placed the pot on top of the stove and turned the burner on. “I found some pasta in the cupboard. No fresh tomatoes to make a sauce, but I found some garlic. I can do a traditional aglio olio.”
I pursed my lips and cocked my head, thinking I hadn’t heard him. “Ai-what?”
He smirked. “Aglio olio. It’s a traditional Italian sauce. It’s just garlic and olive oil with some spices. But it tastes pretty good. Are you okay with that?”
Considering I had planned to starve until morning, I thought his idea sounded brilliant. “Sure, that works.”
“Great. Can you grab me a head of garlic over there in the pantry?”
I opened the first door to my right but found nothing except cereal boxes and cans of vegetables. I tried the next door and found the garlic. “Ha! Gotcha!”
“Do you greet all your vegetables in the same manner?”
“Yes. I find I like them better than people.”
He barked out a laugh. “I bet you do.”
“People demand things. Or they misconstrue my words or feel they are owed something when they’ve done nothing to earn it. Vegetables, numbers, and books are a lot easier to understand than people.”
“You really are strange. You know that, right?”
“You see? You just misconstrued my words.”
“No, I didn’t. I understood what you said. I just found it strange.”
“Whatever, Crawford. Just because you have a way with people doesn’t mean you understand them.”
“Look, Sweeney. It’s obvious we are both still…” He trailed off as he chopped the garlic.
“Still what?”
“How do I put this? Sensitive about what happened in the past.”
I scoffed. “I’m not sensitive, Crawford. I’m mad.”
“Fine. You’re still mad at me. And frankly, I’m still mad at you. But we’re stuck here for at least another twelve hours. Why don’t we try to forget the past for just one night and pretend we are two strangers getting to know one another?”
“I wouldn’t be spending the night with a stranger.”
He sighed. “You know what I mean.”
“Fine. One night. I’ll pretend that I never knew you in high school. Is that what you want?”
His face scrunched up. “Not exactly. But I think you get what I’m trying to say.”
