Six Feet Apart

Chapter 4

The evening sunlight trickles in through the kitchen window as I set a dish in the dishwasher with a clunk. I pick up the rag and start scrubbing the contents of a glass and set it on the rack above the dish.

I take a break to stretch my fingers and peer out the window in front of the sink. Rowen's garage is open and I see his lean figure pacing across the driveway, unloading items from a big moving truck. I watch him lift some furniture from the truck and place it on the driveway. After lifting a box the size of a large dog, he sits down on it to catch his breath. That's gotta be exhausting. Maybe I should go help him? No that'd be awkward, he'd have to know that I was watching him. Maybe if I casually go sit on the porch swing for a few minutes and go over, that might work. I finish up my load of dishes, grab Jane Eyre, and head out to the porch swing.

I get so lost in the story that I forget for a while why I'm even out here in the first place. When the reason finally dawns on me, I snap the book shut and look up. I see Rowen unboxing some of the packages, and go to the fence to talk to him.

"Hey! Watcha doing?" I say, smiling.

His head snaps up from the box he was sorting through, and looks at me, seeming startled. I don't think he knew I was there. A smile spreads across his face. "Oh hello there!" He motions towards the vehicle parked in front of the house. "One of our moving trucks was a couple weeks late, and it just got here this morning. We're unloading the last of our things from Chicago."

"Oh so you used to live in Chicago, that's so cool!" My fingers find their way to my hair and they tug at one of my curls. "What was it like?"

He puts his hands on his hips, looks down, and then at me. "It was great, actually. It was definitely the best place I've ever lived."

"So you've lived in other places?" I follow up.

"Yes! I was born in Ireland, and when I was 6 we moved to Boston, then to Salt Lake City when I was 8, New York when I was 10, and Chicago when I was 12." He looks down at his feet before saying, "I had just started to feel comfortable and have a decent group of friends in Chicago before we had to leave."

I can almost feel my heart melt. "That's so hard! I can't imagine what it would be like to have to start over so many times."

He sighs. "Yeah, it actually is really hard. It's always been especially difficult for someone like me, who's generally pretty shy."

I try to give my friendliest smile. "Well, I'll try my best to make it as easy here for you as possible. When school starts again you can sit at my lunch table with me, and we can hang out!"

He looks relieved as he cracks a smile. "That sounds amazing."

The way he looks into my eyes so steadily makes my cheeks heat up. I force myself out of the eye contact as fast as it started.

"So what brought your family to Keyspring Bay?" I inquire, asking the first question I can think of to rejuvenate the conversation.

Evident from his flushed face, he appears to have noticed the suddenness of the question. He runs his fingers through his thick waves nervously. "Oh well, my dad works as a finance officer for the military, so he gets moved around every few years."

"Wow, finances! That's something I'd never be good at. I bet it comes in handy when you're struggling with math, am I right?"

Rowen chuckles. "Well, math happens to be one of my strong suits, so I don't really utilize his knowledge as much as I could, but yeah he's pretty brilliant when it comes to numbers."

This has become awkward, conversing about his dad's capabilities in finances. I notice the organizing project he has going on with the garage shelves. "Hey could I help you sort?" I offer. "You look like you could use some help, and I haven't got anything to do."