A Different Virus - Laura's Story

Chapter 32

The food was good, as per usual. Diane ate a few bites before waving at someone, I glanced up to see that Matthew had just entered and was heading for the food. He waved back before grabbing a tray as he started to fill it.

He took a seat across from us in his usual spot. Diane didn't even let him get a taste of his lunch before talking, "What are you doing after lunch?"

He took a sip of his tea, "I had planned to get a bit ahead on some paperwork, why?"

Diane chuckled in amusement, "Change of plans. We are heading the main library to cross reference foraging areas and soil types."

He blinked and regarded Diane in confusion, "Why are we doing that?"

Diane made a face, "Either you have to pretend to drag me off to the library for it or I have to go play a game of hide and go seek in the barn with creepy guy one and creepier guy two. If no one else is around, you can work on your paperwork."

Matthew focused his gaze intensely on her, but Diane interrupted him, "We can talk later on. The library will likely have no one in it, the better to concentrate of course."

Diane sounded like a spy in the middle of a conspiracy. Matthew frowned and tilted his head in confusion, "The barn with the Swift?"

I giggled, "You don't want to hear it right here. They will probably show up at the barn anyways. I don't think they know that the Swift is in that barn either."

He turned his gaze to me. I decided to help Diane. I turned my head to look pointedly at the food lineup where Trish and Nathan were grabbing plates. Distraction, distraction, distraction.

Matthew took the hint with a sigh, "This had better be worth it."

I giggled as another thought occurred to me, "I think Diane was almost ready to get them to try tasting the Oleander flower petals."

Matthew looked surprised, "Those things are extremely poisonous. Even a dozen flower petals could be a fatal dosage."

Diane carefully inspected a piece of salad on her fork and responded in a dry voice, "Indeed, they are extremely toxic. Oddly enough they are often planted in school yards, parks, and they were even growing in the garden we happened to be in." She paused and glanced over with a suddenly cheerful grin, "Hey Trish, how is the role of fiancé suiting you?"

From distraction to derailment. Matthew was out of chances to pry the story out of us, and with his curiosity piqued, he would definitely play along now. She smiled as she took a seat, "Great. How was your day so far?"

She had looked at me with the last question. Trish always tried to include me in the conversation. I grinned, "We played in the sand and made a model of the base and how it was laid out. Then we inspected the gardens. Did you know that they have several very toxic plants in the ornamental flower section?"

Diane was watching Matthew's neutral expression with amusement. I had not mentioned the two men, so he would know that something was up.

Nathan shook his head, "No, but it doesn't surprise me. Many of the prettier flowers are also quite poisonous."

I nodded, "Just be sure not to give Trish any of them in case she gets sick from smelling them. I can help you pick the safe ones if you want."

Nathan was a good guy, but he had a bad habit of picking flowers for Trish even if he didn't know that they were safe. As a Raider he should know better, but if he wasn't eating it, he didn't see any harm in smelling any flowers. Nathan smiled, "How about you help show me the safe ones later tonight?"