Bee Mine

Friday: Ten Minutes into Lunch

"Eleanor, hie!" Matthew's voice rang through the empty hallway causing Eleanor to drop her cleaning equipment down. His eyes landed on them and before he could ask, she said, "I'm cleaning the hallway as my punishment for my tardiness."

It was ten minutes into lunch, and she was curious why he was here so she asked, "What're you doing here? If Sr..."

"Don't worry, I talked with her. I wanted to eat with you, but while I'm here, I can help you with this." He replied as he set his bag on the floor and grabbed a mop. She reluctantly agreed, and they worked together in peace.

When they were done they walked to one of the benches near his car. The silence felt bigger than anything the bench could contain. Eleanor braved the silence for a remarkable length of time until she asked timidly, " Matt, why did you come?"

"You've been acting weird since that day, and I was just checking to see if you're breathing." He admitted, grinning. Eleanor smiled, touched by his concern, and she pushed back her brown hair behind her ear.

"Plus, you never allowed me to explain myself."

"God, no!" Eleanor whispered wearily.

"Zoe had asked me a long time ago to be her date. It would have been an awful thing to do if I had bailed on her. I guess the guy she's been waiting for finally asked her out." Eleanor's stoicism belied the inner turmoil of her mind, but she waited for him to finish.

"Would you want to go with me to the Honey, Bee Mine dance, El?" he asked suddenly, and a slow grin spread on Matthew's face - and his eyes glittered with anticipation.

"Yes!" Eleanor said proudly, and she openly smiled.

In the pause that followed, the two glanced shyly at each other until Matthew gave half of his piece of sandwich to her. The conversation came easily after that.

As soon as Winnie stopped her buggy, Eleanor jumped into the front seat and inquired, "Are we still shopping because I now want to go?" Winnie gave a nod, yes, and she drove the car perplexed by the sudden shift in attitude by her granddaughter.