Some of them Witches

Chapter 3

Marianne wandered up the gravel path to the Miller house and stood in front of the door, poised to ring the doorbell. It seemed an insurmountable task without Miller in it but she inched her finger toward it, however reluctant. The door opened right as she was pressing it and square in front of her was Nathan.

She realized neither of them had said anything and instead, raised her hand and attempted to smile, by way of greeting.

"You do know Jay isn't here, right?" Miller hated being Joseph Jr. and called himself "Miller" to anyone who asked, but of course, his fellow Millers would have to be exempt.

"Not yet, anyway. Uh... I'm here to see you." Ugh.

His eyebrows went up a little but he didn't say anything. She swallowed. Nathan looked a little like Miller with his dark hair, dark skin, dark eyes, but he didn't give the easy relaxed feeling that Miller did. Marianne typically liked it when people steered clear of her but Nathan's focus when it landed on her was intense. He was always surrounded by people when they were in school, even at home, always with friends or girlfriends, making him difficult to approach for someone like Marianne who avoided groups or crowds that she believed could quickly turn into mobs.

He was waiting for her to explain. "I spoke with Miller yesterday and he said you were home, so I just wanted to stop by and say, welcome back."

"Oh."

"How-- how are you?" Why did I come here?

"Good." He'd elongated the word and it sounded less statement than question.

"Well, I should probably be--"

"Is that for me?"

Shit. Marianne handed the bag of candied pecans over. "From our own tree."

"Thanks. Would you like to come in?"

"No." The word came out abruptly. "I have work I need to do, it's actually part of the reason I stopped by," now the words were coming fast. "I have this room I'm doing the interior design for and Miller said you might be able to help me move some of the um... materials around, but I mean, if you're busy I totally understand." She forced her mouth to close, ushering in the dreaded awkward silence.

Mercifully, he didn't let it go on for too long. "Now?"

"What? No. I-- I'm going to look at the space tomorrow and then figure out what I want to do."

"What time?"

Time for... what? "Two o'clock."

"I can be at your place at 1:30."

There will be literally nothing for you to move, I'm just looking at it and measuring. "Okay."

She was still replaying her strange interaction with Nathan in her mind while she stuffed all her rumpled clothes inside the large trunk that doubled as her dresser. As of yet Marianne could not motivate herself to fold it but patted herself on the back regardless for the marked improvement it made on the appearance of cleanliness in the small space. With her few books and papers stacked back on their little shelf, a little vacuuming, clean dishes, and less garbage the place would look suitable for human company, and right on time.

"Welcome back." She smiled coldly as she opened the door. "I hope you'll find the place a suitable learning environment."

Lily gave a shrug of her thin shoulders as she looked around. She sat at the window seat, Huckleberry leaping up after her, and absentmindedly stroked the dog's rich black fur which he reciprocated by curling up happily in her lap. Marianne couldn't help thinking he almost looked like a little boar on account of his two bottom teeth that stuck out like tiny tusks.