centre of the universe - the dreaming: Gust

07/21/2008: "Gust" As she watched his wagon rumble down the path toward the road, she rubbed her thumb and forefinger together through the bag's velvety leather. There mustn't be very much tea inside, she thought, noting how light the bag was. She glanced down at the leather, wondering if it were perhaps calf skin, or rabbit, it was so soft. When she raised her eyes again, his wagon was gone, with not even a swirl of dust in the air to show he'd been there.

She wore the bag of tea just inside the waistband of her apron as she browned the flour for gravy, and peeled potatoes, and steamed the corn. The summer kitchen sweltered, but it was only a few feet to the pump outside where she would get the water running, then douse her head in the cold water. And if she wet a towel and tied it to her head in the kitchen, it served the double purpose of keeping her cooler and of holding back her hair from her face. For the first time in weeks, she didn't peek once up to the sky.

When Marek appeared at the door, he searched her face for the worry lines he'd grown accustomed to seeing there. Instead, he was greeted with a flash of a smile. "Maeve, you're wearing a towel on your head..." he laughed, tugging at the loose end. "What have you done?"

She grinned and shooed him from the tiny kitchen. "Go get the plates," she said. "I'll bring this in. No wait. You take this," she handed him the roaster, wrapped in more towels, "and I'll bring the rest. Go!"

With a subtle tug at her apron to make sure the leather pouch was still there, she balanced one pot on top of another and didn't pay the visit another thought. In fact, the strange man in the many-layered coat was entirely forgotten until she removed her apron after the supper dishes were put away, and the pouch fell to the dirt floor at her feet. She stared at it, nudged it gently with the toe of her shoe, then kicked it solidly under the cupboard when Marek called to her from the bedroom.

"I've got a little list (still)" "Travel Plans"

1 Comment

The Ms. S , on Monday, 21st July:

I like this very much.

distractions