Suspended in Time

Chapter 9 - A Visit Back to That Vast Field Exudes Hot Emotions

Talking woke me up the next morning, talking that was coming from outside in the hallway. I sat up in bed and rubbed my face with my hands, trying to wake up. I looked at the clock on the wall and saw that it was a little after nine.

"Wow, I slept in..." I muttered and pulled the covers off of me. That talking continued outside, and I heard my name in the muffled female voices. Curious, I stood up and slowly went over to the door, and I heard the conversation a lot clearer through the crack in the doorway.

"Don't wake him up, Violet," Darina whispered. "He's been through a lot in the past couple of weeks."

"Almost three," Violet added in a whisper. "Honestly, you two have been dancing around it long enough."

"Never mind that. Now let's go downstairs and let him sleep."

"But you want to get started on your date with him today."

"It's not a date, just... an outing."

"A man and a woman on an outing, alone, is called a date. Your sister who has never been on a date before shouldn't be telling you this."

"My sister should be going down the stairs now," she said tersely. "C'mon."

They both left the hallway, and I heard them going down the stairs. I had to laugh at their sisterly banter. Well, Violet had a point—the excursion back to Butterfly Lane and that field, just the two of us, in the vastness of the countryside under a cloudless sky... Yeah, it seemed like a date. Very romantic. I didn't think about that when I agreed to the outing.

I got ready and headed downstairs at around 9:30. I came into an empty living room, but I heard talking from the kitchen. I went that way and found Eliza in there doing dishes. She saw me and smiled.

"Good morning sleepyhead."

"Good morning. I apologize for missing breakfast."

She waved a wet hand. "Don't worry about it. Saturdays are meant for sleeping in—something that my girls never really understood. They were up at daybreak."

"I see. Where are they?"

"They scampered off to the backyard so they could freshen up the vase of flowers on the dining room table. Do you want some breakfast? There is plenty left over. We had something light—boiled eggs and toast."

"Sounds perfect since I'm not too hungry this morning."

Worry came to her hazel eyes. "Oh, are you not feeling well? I hear that you and Darina are going out places today. Maybe you should reschedule."

I smirked, liking that she cared about me is a very motherly way. "No, it's not that. It's just one of those mornings, I guess. Usually if I don't have much of an appetite in the morning, I'm ravenous by lunch."

"Well, stop at the diner while you're out. It's really the only restaurant here in town that serves hearty food."