Mountain Love

Chapter 5 - Monday

I woke up. I was still kind of sitting on the sofa but we both had kind of shifted so that he was kind of lying on the sofa and I was leaning against Qualeb and resting my head on his chest. He was reading a book and I suddenly felt really shy and self conscious, so that I quickly got up and patted my hair down.
Qualeb was wearing a pair of black square shaped glasses, that he then took off and put on the little table top next to the sofa along with the book. I looked around and realised that I had slept for about 2 hours, I couldn't believe that I slept for that long. I quickly got up and apologised, "I'm so sorry. You should have woken me up. I...I was really tired, I'm sorry."

"Hey that's fine. I was just reading anyways so it's fine. I quite liked your little snores, they were quite refreshing."

He was teasing me and with success. I was turning more more red as he was speaking. I stammered, "I...I..I should get started on lunch."
He just chuckled and picked me up again. He did it with such a grace and ease and then put me down in the kitchen. He asked me, "Do you need any help?"
When I shook my head he replied, "If you need me just shout, I be in the shed outside the kitchen and I'll come." He lingered for a minute looking at me and then he went. It felt so odd the minute he left. I didn't want to dwell on the stab of pain I felt when he left the kitchen and so just started getting the roast chicken and vegetables ready.

I finished setting the table and had even made a little batch of chocolate chip cookie when I decided to sit down. The minute I sat down my ankle started to throb with pain. I had been standing on the ankle for about an hour and more and now I was paying the price.
I was rubbing my cast trying to make it feel a bit better when he walked in. I didn't even see him, I felt him come in. I couldn't help myself but to look up and smile. He however was frowning at me.

"Are you okay? Does the ankle bother you?"

He looked worried and automatically moved closer to kneel down in front of me to look at my ankle. I just started to turn red again. He was so close again and I felt just relieve and couldn't even feel the pain.

"I'm okay now. Thanks. I'll probably take some painkiller after lunch."

He stood up and said, "So we should be able to go to the little supermarket couple of meters away for you to get some clothes and anything else you need, but I don't want to risk driving further than that tomorrow. It's still snowing too much to drive on the road to town.
I just called and asked the pharmacy and they said that the earliest that they could get the clutches would be in a week times anyway. So I made you this for when we go to the supermarket tomorrow."
He went back out and came back with something. It was a walking stick. I don't know the wood type but it was a beautiful dark brown and the top was curved and had a little rose on the tip. I was in awe. I couldn't believe he made that. It was beautiful. Qualeb passed the walking stick to me and I gave it a try. It did help a little bit. I could put a little bit less pressure on my broken ankle but it still was hurting and I somehow felt unbalanced.
All of a sudden Qualeb was next to me, supporting the other side of me.
Having him by my side made the world all okay. I felt at ease and I turned and smiled at him. He also smiled at me and then we both sat down to eat. He finished his food quietly and I ate my lunch deep in thoughts. I just started to think about the fact that I don't know much about Qualeb's personal life. If he had a girlfriend or maybe he was married. I quickly glanced at his hands and was relieved to see no ring. It didn't mean he didn't have someone in his life. There weren't any photos in the house anyway so that didn't help. I also couldn't think of a way to ask him without sounding obvious, obvious that I was trying to figure out if he was single.
Since we both had finished, Qualeb came and took our plates and started to wash them. That's when it came to me. I asked him: "Qualeb, would it be okay if I made a quick phone call?"
He turned around and looked at me: " Of course. I'm sorry I forgot to offer. I mean you obviously have to call your family."