Life Finds a Way

Chapter 10

Genesis allowed her to finish her meal. He made sure she had everything she needed before sitting back and giving her a piercing look. When she finally noticed she looked around pretending not to know what was coming. Before he could start in on the questions she could tell were coming she realized that none of the tables near them had been filled since they arrived. It prompted her to ask a question of her own without really thinking. "The hostess has been very attentive in keeping our privacy. Do you come here often?"

Genesis was surprised at her observant question. He supposed it would only take minimal intelligence to realize that the reason they had been kept isolated was out of respect for his privacy. What impressed him was that she had remained alert since their arrival and noted the absence of others throughout the meal. He had to wonder if she was always this wary or if it was just the circumstances. Either way, she had proven once again there was more to her than met the eye. He finally answered her question after his deliberating pause. "Yes, it is one of my favorites. The staff want to keep my return custom, so they make sure, within reason, that I am not bothered while I am here."

"That makes sense, it isn't like you blend in very well. I can see how adoring fans might make a meal less appetizing." She really wasn't trying to be flippant but as with most cases, her tongue didn't always ask her brain first.

She kicked herself and considered herself lucky that he appeared to be in a good mood. He chuckled at her observance before responding. "I don't suppose I do blend in, but that is a discussion for another day. For now, I would like to know more about you. We have the rest of the evening. Why don't we just talk. You don't need to see this as an interrogation."

For a crazy moment Clarissa had the insane thought that what he said almost sounded like a date. At the thought she felt her face burn under his handsome gaze. Luckily for her, if he noted it and wondered at the reason, he didn't say anything. Instead he motioned for the waiter to come over. "Would you please bring out a bottle of your house white? Two glasses please."

It took Clarissa a moment to realize he must really mean to sit there and talk with her if he was ordering an entire bottle of wine. She forced herself to shake off the unreal feel of the situation and focus before she got herself in trouble. "I'm sure you have some questions to start with? I'm not... not really sure where to start."

Genesis was a little disappointed to see she was still very obviously nervous despite his efforts to bring the situation into a more comfortable atmosphere. He wasn't surprised though. With the little that he had been able to gather so far, he understood that she was far from home with no one she knew nearby. Add to that the fact that she had obviously also blocked out the experimentation that brought her to her current state, he could only wonder why she wasn't more of a mess than she was. He tried to keep that in mind and continued to project ease in an attempt to calm her and get her to talk to him. He didn't get a chance to answer her question though as the waiter brought the wine.

Once the waiter bowed out again Genesis took a moment to pour them both a glass and handed the second one to his mysterious guest. She gave him a grateful smile before taking a sip. Once she had visibly calmed some he turned back to their earlier conversation. "I would prefer to think of this as a conversation, not a questioning. You've already told me what you do, why don't you start with where you work, or where you're from. Do you have any family that might be missing you, that might have put out alerts when you went missing?" He stopped at that point. At the mention of family her face had lost all color and it was easy to see that she was working to keep the tears that suddenly shimmered in her eyes from falling. He reached out a hand to squeeze the one she had left on the table lightly. "Take your time."

Clarissa was surprised when he reached out, but she was thankful that he was being understanding. She realized she was going to need to push back her thoughts on the people she left behind for now. She could worry about that later when she wasn't sitting in front of a Soldier. "Thank you. I'm okay now." She gave him a brief, tight lipped smile before continuing. "That's a lot to cover. Do we have that much time?"

Genesis gave her a small smirk before replying. "We have all the time you need."

She was afraid he was going to say that but pushed forward anyway. She had to figure out the fine line between telling the truth and not telling too much. "Ok, let's start with where I live. It's such a small town I doubt you've heard of it. There are less than 1000 people that live there. It's called Bayview. Obviously, it's close to the water with a name like that but I don't get to visit the beach as often as I did when I was younger." By this time, she was feeling a little more confidant since Genesis hadn't moved other than to refill her glass. She hoped she was giving him enough details to keep him satisfied without giving too much away. With another smile his way she continued. "I have always had a knack for figuring out why things didn't work and fixing them, you know, mechanical things and electronics. I ended up being trained formally and going to work for the company I mentioned earlier, Reeves' Electronics."

Genesis paused her at that point. "Reeve's? It doesn't have anything to do with Reeve Tuesti does it?"

Clarissa wasn't surprised that Genesis had jumped to that conclusion. At least she could say without a doubt there was no connection. "No, not at all. The man that started the company is named James Reeves. He started it about 20 years ago and I've been working for him since about 5 years after he opened his doors, or I was anyway."

At that she finally saw a reaction from Genesis other than calculation. "Fifteen years? How old were you when they allowed you to start?"

Clarissa snorted at his question. "That is the most round about way I have ever heard to ask a person their age. If you must know though, I was 23 when they hired me."

Genesis was floored. He had thought she was older than him but not by that much. He was still having a hard time wrapping his head around the fact that the woman across from him was not in her late 20's but in her late 30's. He had opened his mouth several times to speak and had not been able to yet. He was finally drawn out of his stupor by the sound of her laughter. She was trying to cover it up and doing a poor job. He just shook his head at her before he finally found his tongue. "There is no hate, only joy, for you are beloved by the Goddess. I apologize for my rudeness."

"Thank you but I suppose I should take it as a compliment. Don't worry about it. I figured out a long time ago that age is only a number and is very often a bad indicator for a person's actions. I've known wise people younger than me and idiots that are older."

Genesis laughed at her flippant remark. From her easy manner he derived this was a question she got often. "I would be forced to agree with you on that assessment. I myself know many that are older that don't seem to have a functioning brain between them."

Clarissa laughed louder than she should have at his response, but she couldn't help it, her mind had already conjured images of Scarlet and Heidegger trying to share a brain and failing.

When she finally got her laughter under control Genesis glanced out the window to see it was almost dark. He stood and held out a hand to help his guest to her feet. "We can continue this discussion later. If we are to get you clothing that is more appropriate, we will need to go now." Clarissa took his hand with a smile before following him out.