To Love And Be Loved

Chapter 15

The tap tap sound the dripping tap made was strangely loud in the kitchen. Cass stood by the countertop cutting water leaves. She couldn't cut them as fast or as expertly as Zara.

Gabriel stood a few feet away fixing a new bulb on the light fixture on the wall. His back was to her, so Cass could see the stiff set of his shoulder- he was worried about something.

They hadn't talked to each other since the day Victor came. Cass often had fights with Gabriel but they never lasted long. They never held grudges against each other.

She remembered the day she had mistakenly sat on his first phone and broken the screen, he had been very mad and didn't speak with her throughout the day but by nightfall they were in talking terms again. And also the day he had spilt red ink on her fourteenth birthday dress- a lovely white princess dress. She had been upset all day long and had cried herself to sleep. She had woken up the next morning to find him at the edge of her bed, holding an exact replica of her dress. And with that lopsided smile of his, Gabriel had said, "happy birthday to us. "
Cass had later learnt from her mother that he had spent all the money he had saved throughout the holiday to buy her the new dress.

Now Cass yearned to hear him talk, to see his smile and to argue with him about previous episodes of History Time.

Cass yelped and dropped the knife with a clang as it cut her finger. She hadn't realised she was at the end of the stalk and the other end of the knife had cut her. It was a small cut but blood pooled on her thumb.

Gabriel turned with a frown on his face, it was the first time in three days he had looked her in the eye. "Be careful", he said and turned back to his work. It was the first words he had said to her her in three days.

Cass nodded and sucked the blood, trying to hide the grin that split her face. The cut hurt like hell but perhaps the pain was a blessing in disguise. "I told mum you'd like to have some friends over", she said.

Gabriel turned, a look of disbelief on his face. "You did? What did she say?"

"I knew you'd want your friends over today so I asked mum and she said it was fine as long as there was no alcohol."

Gabriel smiled and said, "thanks, I owe you one."

Cass walked to the tap and soaked the vegetables just as Zara had instructed. She turned to Gabriel as the tap ran. "Are we cool?"

"Yeah", said Gabriel. "We're cool."

Just then the doorbell rang. "I'll go get it", said Gabriel.

Cass watched him walk out of the kitchen, something he had said the other day bout Victor still bothered her. All the time she had been with Victor, he hadn't given the impression of being a playboy or whatever Gabriel had called him. No, he was just intense and strange and different. There was a force of attraction that Cass felt towards him, it was like a bolt being forced out of its hinges.

"Cassie." Gabriel's voice broke her out of her reverie. She untied her apron and walked to the front door. Gabriel was holding the door ajar while a man in blue overalls with Global Del. printed on the front stood on the porch. A large brown box was on a small trolley by his feet.

"Are you Cassandra and Gabriel Macaulay?" he said.

"Yes.", Cass said.

The man nodded and said, "you have a delivery but first sign this." He gave them a notepad. Gabriel and Cass both signed in the receivers box.

"Have a nice day", he said to both of them. He set the package off the trolley and onto the porch, entered his truck and drove away.

Gabriel picked up the package with both hands. "Its not heavy", he said.