Woman Overboard

Chapter 12 : Looking (3)

Jaiye

August 29th, 1820

(6:52 AM)

Aless and Afiba seemed to have an arrangement where if one was looking, the other had to look away.

They had been alternating like this since they sat down across from each other at the table ten minutes ago. Without fail, every minute or so they traded off: Aless would go back to sipping her coffee and Afiba would gaze in her direction. Then Afiba would snap her stare down to her porridge and Aless's eyes would reach across the table for her.

Jaiye found it almost comical, like a still, silent game of tag. He looked from Aless to Afiba, swivelling his head and crossing his eyes, but they never took notice.

The two of them had taken the seats that joined the loop of blacks and whites. On Afiba's other side sat Danielle, grappling for her mother's attention by drawing pictures in her porridge with the tip of her spoon, and to Aless's right sat Nia, who joined Jaiye in his silent observation of them.

He told himself that their obvious infatuation with each other was amusing -- that he didn't find it enviable at all. After all, he was the one who told Aless they were good together. But he had never thought this would actually happen.

Then again, he had no evidence that anything had happened. Perhaps they were just particularly curious about one another's faces this morning. Who was he to say?

Aless was back, after less than half of her prescribed bed rest period. She looked fine, but if Jaiye looked closely, he could see her hands shaking as she lifted her mug to her mouth. She still looked clammy and her cheeks remained a rashy red, but she seemed able enough to function.

Jaiye knew he should also be in bed. He had grown used to seeing out one eye, but he still bumped into things (and people) frequently. Luckily, he had not gotten tetanus or anything else from the nail, which Abby attributed to the fact that it had pierced a part of his hand without many veins to penetrate.

Afiba, taking her turn to stare at Aless, lifted her spoon absently and stuck it in her coffee. Nia looked away, stifling a giggle. Jaiye laughed out loud. Neither noticed.

Of course, Danielle, never one for subtlety, couldn't let this go undocumented. "Your spoon is in your cup," she informed Afiba. Afi continued gazing at the girl's mother. Danielle gave her sleeve an impatient tug. "Look!" she demanded. "Your drink will taste like porridge, now!"

This seemed to shake Afiba from her trance. "Oh, sorry, sweetie," she said. "You say somethin'?"

"Yes," Danielle snapped. "Your spoon is in your drink and you ought to stop gawking at mother and take it out. What is wrong with you, anyway?"

Afiba blinked at her. "Wha's wrong . . . with me?"

"Yes!"

"I'm . . ." Afiba frowned. She touched the handle of her mug, but didn't remove the spoon. "I'm real tired, hon. Tha's all."

Jaiye couldn't resist. He elbowed her in the ribs, eyebrows raised. "That's all, huh?"

Aless looked up, prepared for a shift of staring at Afi, but seemed to snap out of it when she saw Jaiye and Danielle talking to her. She cleared her throat and went back to buttering her bread.

Afiba glared at him. While she looked away, Aless peeked through her eyelashes to watch her. "What're ye sayin'?" she said.

Jaiye put his hands up in surrender. "Nothin', nothin'," he assured her. "Jus' tryna figure out what's wrong with you."

"Well, there ain't nothing wrong with me. If y'all'll 'scuse me, I'm gonna check our course." Without another word, she snatched up her coffee and stomped off, spoon and all.