Ben sat cross legged on the floor pouring over the contents of a box.
“More purchase orders by the looks of things.” He said, flicking through a stack of papers.
“Great, I'll need those.” Said Alex, her fingers rattling across the number pad on her laptop, while her eyes darted back and forth across another monitor. Ben lifted the lid of the scanner and carefully positioned the first of the documents.
Together, they were making steady progress, chipping patiently away at the mountain of handwritten and typed documents, manually copying everything into a database. Alex couldn't imagine trying to tackle the project without Ben, it was almost laughable she thought she would be able to do it alone.
Saoirse looked dolefully from one to the other of them. She yawned with a bored whine and set her head between her paws. Alex caught the yawn and rubbed her eyes.
“Should we take a break?” Suggested Ben, stretching out his legs and leaning back.
“Yeah, I think I'm starting to go cross eyed.” She pushed away from the desk and gently stretched her arms. It had been nearly a fortnight since the accident and she was healing well.
Ben got up from the floor and dusted down his jeans, while Saoirse's head pricked up in anticipation. As soon as Ben moved towards the door she sprang up from the floor, her tail wagging.
“Yes, yes, we can go outside.”
She trotted out of the room, her toenails clicking against the wooden floor.
“Coming out for some fresh air?”
Alex looked out into the garden at the cracked skin of thawed and refrozen snow. The sun was shining, warming the frozen earth.
“How icy is it?”
“Better than it was, it's a bit wet though.”
“I'll get my boots.”
They set off from the house, down the garden path and into the woods. Saoirse wound back and forth across the path, her enthusiasm matched by Alex’s own. After being more or less housebound, it felt good to finally get out and move her body.
Ben gave a twinkling smile at the evident pleasure with which she squelched along the soggy path. She caught his look and grinned back. “I was starting to get cabin fever.”
“I got that. You've been cooped up in that office everyday since you got here.”
“I didn't want to risk taking a spill and hurting myself again.”
“Make the most of it, there will be more snow next week.” Ben laughed.
“Ahh, so we're in for a white Christmas?”
“It looks that way.”
“What are your plans? Are you staying here or visiting your family?”
“I normally spend Christmas eve with Noah and Graeme, then drive to my mum's on Christmas day.”
A secret hope blossomed in Alex's chest and she innocently asked, “Oh! Does that mean you won't make it to the party?”
He laughed, “Oh no, I'll be there. It'll be strange breaking tradition this year, but your sister is… very persuasive.” His eyes twinkled with mirth.
“Ah sorry, she is very persistent when she gets an idea in her head.” Alex apologized, deflating a little at the thought that she would still have to meet with Noah.
“I'm sure it'll be fun, that's what is important”
“So, you always spend Christmas eve with Noah?” She asked curiously.
YOU ARE READING
An Intangible Pattern
RomanceA story set in the omegaverse. Noah stood there, still staring at the fire with a hopeless expression on his blood smeared face. He repeated again. "I'm sorry." She stood on tip toe and gently kissed his lips. His sorrowful eyes fixed on her face...
