Another Life| Joel Pimentel

Seven.

That evening Joel lay in his uncomfortable bed with his arms folded behind his head thinking about everything. He closed his eyes and thought about what had happened today. The image of Elizabeth as she stood at the stairs, she looked beautiful and more than that she had a beauty inside that just made her glow.

He thought about how she had taken him in, she took him into her home not knowing who he was, only some kind of mad man who was talking about the future. But no matter how much he tried to justify it he could not deny the fact he felt something in his heart. More than gratitude for all she had done and more than friendship, it went far deeper than that far deeper.

Elizabeth got up at daybreak as normal. She washed and dressed then went downstairs to prepare breakfast for Joel . He would need a hearty breakfast today if he were to get through a whole day on the farm, she was sure he had never done any manual labour in his life, his hands were too soft. It was at that point her mind wandered to the boy asleep in her brother’s bedroom, the tall dark handsome boy who had appeared out of the fog that day.

Joel seemed to be settling down now and didn’t speak as much about his past or the future as he saw it. But he had a good heart; he was good looking and fun... Her mind wandered further as the stirred the porridge on in the stove…… his expressive brown eyes, that sweet voice she heard in the Church and those lips, those luscious lips she wanted to feel brush against her own……

“WOAH, CAREFUL!”

Elizabeth jumped as she felt Joel ’s hand around her own as he moved the saucepan onto a cool part of the stove. Blinking she looked at the smoke coming from the pan and moved her spoon around the now blackened lumpy porridge.

“Shit!”

She swore loudly as she dumped the spoon in the saucepan and wiped her hands on her apron. 
Joel could see she had been miles away in her thoughts and he worried if she was alright, he hoped she wasn’t worrying about him. He placed both his hands on the tops of her arms. Elizabeth felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end at the heat emanating from his hands through her blouse and onto her skin; she closed her eyes revelling in his touch.

“Hey, its okay, accidents happen…….To be honest it’s not the most favourite thing I’ve ever eaten.”

Elizabeth pulled away from him, recoiling in fear at her own thoughts of him. She shuddered as she turned around to look at him.

Joel stood smiling at her, she looked awkward, it was cute, and not the strong girl he first met, but a real woman inside, needing a man to care for her.

“So tell me now what are you going to eat?” She asked.

Joel took hold of the cloth that was around the handle of the saucepan and used it to pick up the coffee pot, he proceeded to fill a mug for Elizabeth and then for himself.

“Toast is fine, I love toast.”
Joel sat down and pulled a chair back for Elizabeth to sit on, which she declined.

“I can tell that you’ve never done an honest days work in your life!”

Joel frowned at her clearly shocked by her outburst and offended.

“ Eliza what on earth is wrong?”

Elizabeth didn’t answer she just continued with her work, she didn’t mean to get angry with him but part of her was angry he was so flippant about food and another part of her worried that he would find it difficult today and she wanted to send him off like she had sent all her brothers off to work, with full bellies. The same way she would send her husband off to work.