Lavender

Bologna and Cheese

Episode 2

Bologna and Cheese

One leather boot touches the ground to keep his balance while he puts the kickstand down on the other side of the bike. To my disappointment, I realize I'm slightly interested in what this strange man has to say. Is this one of my father's new work buddies? He doesn't look like the normal geeky type to be digging for dinosaur fossils. I watch while he pulls off his helmet which was previously covering his face entirely. His chin becomes visible first, strong but lightly covered by a dark beard. His skin is tan and rugged, he must spend a lot of time in the sun. Once the helmet is fully off, I can see his thick, wavy hair fall just past his shoulders. He shakes his head lightly, then he opens his eyes to reveal a startling icy blue. Holy f**k, this man is gorgeous! I have to know who he is now, he just cannot be a friend of my dad's.

He strides towards me as if on a mission and stops right in front of me. He looks down at me with a grin full of perfectly straight teeth... "Ah finally, I knew I smelled you, little one."

WHAT!!! I must be dreaming, or perhaps having a nightmare. What in the world is going on here? I stand there in front of him with my mouth hanging open, before I realize I look like a gaping i***t. I snap my mouth shut and put my guard up, glaring up at him once I regain my composure. Before I can find a witty comeback in my bogged down brain, he starts to look confused.

"Do you not know who I am? I've been looking for you for so long..." He holds a hand out to me and his eyebrows furrow when I don't take it. My brain just cannot process this right now. "I... I don't know who you think you are... but you have no business here, and especially no business with me. You... you can turn around and... and leave." That last part was especially hard to say because I really want to know what business he THINKS he has with me. I can't believe I'm standing here stuttering like a child. I've raised myself for 17 years, always been the tough girl with the bad attitude, and here I am faltering right in front of a stranger in my own front yard. Get your s**t together Gwen!!

He just lets out a booming laugh as if I've told the joke of the century. It's at that point that I realize I am in big trouble because not only is this handsome, strange man speaking like he's known me forever, but I can't get a read on his feelings or his intentions. It's SILENT and the silence is blinding when I reach out emotionally, my aura trying to find his, only to come up blank.

When he's finally done laughing at me, to my embarrassment I might add, he just stalks off in the direction of the house. "Hey! You can't go in there! You don't belong here and you've yet to tell me your reason for being here!" I'm yelling to his back while I follow behind. He just glances back in my direction and sits on the steps of the rickety house, still with that stupid grin on his face.

"I belong wherever you are. I'm baffled as to why you don't know who I am, but I'll wait patiently for you." He just smiles, and balances his chin on the hand resting on his knee. My pale cheeks grow warm and this seems to amuse him. I turn on my heel and stalk back off towards the mower. If he wants to wait, that's on him. He'll realize what a bad decision he's made when my dad wakes up.

I resume mowing the lawn, finishing the last few rows I had left. I head to the back with the mower and see a large shed in the distance. Deciding that's where the mower belongs, that's where I go. But of course, it's padlocked. I'll have to cut that off later. I pull my phone out of my pocket and see it's already late afternoon, I should probably get some lunch. I think there's some food in the fridge I can use to make a weak sandwich. Focused on my growling stomach and my sweat-covered brow, I'd completely forgotten about the man waiting on the porch, the sight of him comfortably resting on the steps startles me when I round the corner of the house.

He doesn't seem to notice me approaching, maybe he fell asleep? How odd to sleep on someone else's porch, but it certainly isn't the weirdest thing I've seen over the years. I push that thought out of my mind and I'm tiptoeing past him on the steps when one of his eyes peek open. Once again, I'm disappointed that I can't feel any emotion from him. I continue my trek into the house and look into the poorly lit living room on my way towards the kitchen. s**t, dad is awake. "Rosie, where have you been all day? Why didn't you wake me?" Rosie is the nickname he's always used for me. My middle name is Rose, after my mother. "I went to the school dad, got myself enrolled. I took care of the yard today since they wouldn't let me go to class. You should head out for a while, it's a nice day." I smirk to myself, remembering the guy on the porch, that'd be a nice surprise for the both of them.

I continue walking towards the kitchen and find bologna, cheese, and mayo in the fridge. I don't see any bread but there's some tortillas that look mostly good. I roll all the ingredients up in the tortilla and look around for something to drink. I thought I remembered dad bringing home some lemonade mix or something awhile back. Sure enough, I find the canister in the pantry. We don't have bottled water or a filter so I just fill the pitcher with tap water from the sink. You've had worse, it won't kill you. I pour myself a glass and get some ice from the tray in the freezer. I hear the front door open and smart to myself, I guess I should fill two more glasses and maybe make an ice pack while I'm at it.

I grab all the glasses and my plate and head back to the front door. Balancing everything carefully in one arm, I'm barely able to get the door open. Once the door is open I see my father... hugging... the man??? What? "Dad?" His excitement is mixed with relief and the sheer power of his emotions overwhelms me like always. He pulls back slightly and spares me a glance before turning back to the guy. "Rosie, this is Dean. You were meant to marry him."

My mouth drops open, I'm sure my eyebrows are blending in with my hairline, and I turn to Dean, "What is he talking about? Who are you? Dad, what does that mean, I'm meant to marry him?"

Dean doesn't take his eyes away from my dad, I suddenly realize his fists are tight and he hasn't been hugging my dad back. "Gideon, haven't you told her anything? Doesn't she know anything about what or who she is? I know you took off and have been avoiding all of this since Rose passed, but this is completely irresponsible. She should have been training, honing her skills and abilities, so much time lost..." Dean keeps talking but I'm in such shock I block it out and find a seat on the broken porch swing, hoping it holds my weight.

What does this mean? Honing my skills, my abilities? Is he talking about the emotions I feel from people? The way my aura reaches out to theirs? How would he know about this? What is going on with my life?