Waters of Oblivion

Chapter 12.3: The Kiss

Reine's fever finally dropped from the medicine and she was able to sleep. Neither of her friends must have been very far away from her side because when she awoke, they were still basically in the same places as before.

Noor was reading in the kitchen, and Gabe was now standing with his back to her, looking at the painting above the mantel.

She stretched her cramped limbs. "Do you like it?" she asked.

"Oh, hey, you're up," he said as he looked over his shoulder. "Sure, I guess. It's a bit kinky though, isn't it?"

The scene showed a large white bird lying on a reclining naked woman.

Reine sat up with a smile. "It's Leda and the Swan. You know, the story of how Zeus seduced her in the form of a bird, and she bore two eggs with both his children and with those of her husband, the king of Sparta."

He sat down next to her on the couch. "I can't imagine that turned out well in the end."

"No good Greek tragedy ever does," she replied, gently leaning her shoulder into his and catching his eyes.

Noor conspicuously cleared her throat as she walked into the room. "Ahem. I hate to leave, but I have dinner plans that really can't be cancelled."

"Is it that late already?" Reine asked, looking out the window to confirm it was getting dark again. "Don't worry about it. I'm fine. Go ahead."

"I can stay to make sure she's taken care of," Gabe added.

"I'm sure you can," the girl muttered, as she picked up her purse by the door. "See you, Rennie."

Once she was gone, Reine didn't quite know what to do next. "You know, you can leave, too if you have something better to do. This cold is probably just a fluke," she said.

Gabe smiled. "I'll go if you want me to go."

"That's not what I said." She bit her lip. "But I don't want you to sit around here bored."

He jumped up. "Movie marathons always make me feel better when I'm sick. At least they make the time pass quicker. Let me run out to my car, I should have some DVDs in there."

"Do you always carry movies around with you in your car?" Reine yelled after him.

Already at the door, Gabe turned around. "Of course not. But since I've recently become unemployed, I've had to give up my apartment downtown and move back into my parents' house in Virginia. I'm in the middle of dropping off a batch of boxes, and I bet the DVDs happen to still be in there. You know, I should probably be thankful the Captain – I mean Max – gave me the car, otherwise I'd really be screwed."

She hadn't realized that leaving the Confraternity would put Gabe out of a job. Watching him step outside, she impatiently waited for his return. She couldn't stand being alone lately, and the feeling was very foreign to her. Luckily, he was back within minutes.

He proudly held up a plastic case. "We should probably order some food, too 'cause this will take a while."

"Fellowship of the Ring? I should have known you'd be a total fan boy."

Gabe grinned from ear to ear as he held up his other hand containing two other movies. "Oh, don't knock it because – ta dum – I have the entire trilogy."

"No way, dude." She giggled. "I'll give you a pass with the first one because you took care of me today, but I am not sitting through six hours of 'my precioussss'," she imitated as she headed toward the kitchen. "Load it up, I'll order something. Is Chinese okay? And how about some snacks while we wait?"