12 Tantalizing (1/2)

My aunt's house was one she had bought with her late husband, who wanted to live in peace after being discharged from the military and they lived happily until he passed away because of a heart attack. Hence, my aunt was pretty much the older lady of the town who everyone loved and was invited over to dine with.

When I entered her house that evening, there were a group of people in the living room, already. There seemed to be three excited adults, two men and one woman, who were chatting about the current weather and how Town X was suffering because of low funds for maintaining infrastructure. Apparently, even the small town of X had recently been prey to a couple of car accidents because of grievously bad road conditions. As I entered the room, I saw everyone pause and look up.

They seemed a little confused until I was introduced.

”Evie Lewis,” I said and extended my hand. ”It's a pleasure to meet you. I don't think you saw me when I was in town a few years ago.”

”Oh, yes. You were sick and recuperating at Rachel's house, I remember.”

The woman was pleasant, as I had imagined, having brought up a well behaved, rational boy like Seth.

By the time we were having dinner, I had molded my behavior into that of a polite young lady.

”I saw you at the grocery store yesterday,” Seth began when he noticed that the older generation was busy in some other discussion. ”I couldn't recognize you at all.”

”It's been years and I look better.”

He laughed at the sass.

”Yes, you do look better.”

”I hear that you made it as a detective.” I didn't quite love the job description but he had achieved his dream, I would give him that.

”Yeah, I studied hard and worked harder and made it.” And he had a right to be proud.

”I just graduated,” I informed him knowing he was curious but didn't know how much to ask. I was sure that he knew some of why I had ended up in Town X because he was close to Aunt and he was in the law enforcement. ”I start work next month.”

His eyes lit up at the mention of that.

Of course, it was a safer topic to talk about.

”What did you study?”

So I went on to explain what I did in the five years and what job I was taking up. It felt like I was compensating him for the time he had spent talking to me and helping me feel more human. I felt like I had repaid my debt.

He noticed my diet towards the end of the meal.

”You don't eat chicken?” He said, pointing towards the dish. I was sure that it tasted delicious without tasting it.

”No. I don't eat any meats. I don't like the smell of fish. So my diet consists of eggs and endless amounts of vegetables.”

”Are you transitioning to a vegan?” I shook my head.

”Just a personal choice. I can't stomach it,” I said truthfully, and he didn't dig further.