Sliced Trees and Dead Words

29 - Not dating, my ass.

- LUNA -

What is he doing here?

I assumed he'd be sleeping in late or figuring out a way to leave politely without hurting my feelings. Not standing in the doorway of my work looking very much confused, watching me deal with Bobby, Poppy, Justin, Steve and Heath, and holding what looks like an almond vanilla chai from next door.

"I dunno, Luna. He doesn't look like a man easily scared," Bobby said, eyeing me closely and waiting for a more obvious reaction from me that I was trying hard not to give. "Besides, why would anyone be afraid of you? You're an angel."

I'm sure I blushed a little at his compliment, mostly out of anticipation of Wolfe's reply. I obviously expected him to be candid and brash as brutal honesty seems to be his favourite style, but I still never anticipated his exact words, especially in front of a handful of homeless people waiting for their clothes spinning in the washing machine and dryer out back.

"Because she makes it hard to remember anyone else exists in the world besides her," Wolfe stated, completely unfazed by the gasps of everyone else, the questioning eyebrow of Bobby beneath me, nor the way my heart raced, my cheeks flushed or hands shook.

No man has ever said anything like that to me before, not even Dalen. I don't understand why he keeps saying things like this. I infuriate the hell out of him, just like he does me. Though it's becoming harder to figure out why and exercise self-control when all I seem to want to do is grab and kiss him.

But everytime those urges enter my consciousness, another particularly vivid image of Dalen does too, and I can't shake the constant feelings of guilt I have that I may very well like his best friend and never felt the same way about him.

The washing machine beeped in the back room, giving me an excuse to leave the nervous energy Wolfe and I were filling this room with and head in there to transfer Poppy and Heath's clothes from the washing machine to the dryer, and start a whole new cycle with Bobby, Justin and Steve's clothes. I do this for them every week, along with a few others who know that Sunday mornings are free cut and wash days at Moonlight for them. I've been hosting them now for years, coming in at the crack ass of dawn on a Sunday and opening my doors to those who need a little hand at caring for themselves. Bobby and Poppy were my firsts. I'd found them sleeping on the floor outside my front windows one morning under the most filthy and flimsy mess of tattered blankets imaginable, bought them a hot drink and offered them a chance to wash their clothes and blankets inside, as well as a free haircut because it physically pained me to look at the knotted dreadlocks that had formed in their hair simply from not having access to a brush, conditioner or warm water.

Word spread fairly quickly around Byron Bay's homeless network about what I was doing, and Bobby and Poppy would hesitantly bring a person or two with them when they came back the next time to expand my new clientele. They couldn't afford to pay me my usual rate, which was quite excessive considering my experience and the high end reputation of Moonlight. They weren't in a position to really pay anything at all. But that wasn't why I did it, and their company more than made up for the lack of financial exchange. They kept me laughing for hours with their unfiltered tirades and bickering, and more importantly, they reminded me of Dalen, who often looked every bit the unkempt mess that they all did whenever he came back into town. Especially young Heath, who looks and is just as messy as Dalen was when I first met him.

I didn't really think of how hard it would be to see them today after Dalen's death. I just figured maintaining routine would be the healthiest thing to do, but I've been floating in and out of grief just as much as they've been keeping me propped up with their jokes and wild stories. They had known him too, which I think is why they've made the extra effort to be so over the top today after I'd answered their questions about why I looked so sad.