Despite the Falling Snow by Shamim Sarif

Author:Shamim Sarif [Sarif, Shamim]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
ISBN: 9781439281352
Publisher: Enlightenment Press
Published: 2013-11-25T19:00:00+00:00

Chapter Thirteen

Boston

THE EVENING SHADOWS ARE stretching fingers of dusk into the kitchen. Lauren stands before the stove and notices the reflection of the weak, late winter sunshine slipping down the walls of the room. It is a warm colour that slides away, and it leaves a solemn darkness in its place. It is the kind of twilight that she loves, that has an atmosphere of early spring about it, and she glances quickly at Alexander. He is busy whisking together eggs and milk, and has not yet noticed the fading light. She is glad of it. In this house she can rarely indulge her appetite for the quiet dusk, or the velvet cover of nighttime. A surfeit of lights and lamps and candles chase these tones away whenever Alexander is near.

“When do you plan to leave?” he asks her, grinding salt and pepper into his eggs.

“I was hoping we would leave next week.”

With a deliberately cavalier gesture, Alexander cuts a large knob of butter and puts it into a saucepan.

“I wanted scrambled eggs, not a heart attack,” Lauren comments.

“You wanted to learn to make my scrambled eggs,” he says. “And I’m not running a health farm. Wait till the butter is just foaming.”

Obediently, she watches it melt.

“I’m not going on this trip,” Alexander says suddenly. “I told you that from the start, and nothing has changed. If you really think you can find something, then fine. Come back and let me know what it is.”

Lauren tips the eggs into the pan.

“Keep stirring,” Alexander instructs.

“So you do want to know more?”

“No!”

She is startled by the harsh decisiveness of the reply, but she will not look up from the stove. She moves her wooden spoon back and forth amongst the gently setting eggs. Watches them intently, giving herself time to harness her instinct to yell back at him, and giving him time to gather himself. She can feel that he has taken a step back and is standing awkwardly beside her. He takes out his handkerchief and wipes at his face. A long minute or two passes this way, during which he dare not guide her about the eggs, even though he is longing to take over. Instinctively, she lets go of the spoon and turns the handle of the pan so that it is within his reach. Then she looks up.

“Well, maybe you should start wanting to know, Uncle Alex. Or stop pretending that you don’t. No,” she cuts him off before he can utter even a sound in defence. “And don’t think of trying that terse tone again with me. It might work in business meetings, but I’m your family.”

“Keep stirring, Lauren,” is all he says.

She takes up the spoon again. “Looks like they’re nearly done.”

He sets two places at the kitchen table, and puts slices of bread into the toaster. Within a few moments, she brings the saucepan over to him and he checks the eggs and nods approval. She divides the contents between their plates and waits for him to sit down.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.