My mouth was dry, desperate for a drink. Back home, the crick water had been so clear and clean that you could drink it. The Mississippi lived up to its nickname as the muddy river. I wouldn’t drink it unless I were already dying. I gulped a full glass of water down quickly, filled it up, and walked outside with it. I sat down in the other chair.
“You smell… ripe,” he said.
“Thanks… I guess,” I said.
“It's not exactly a bad thing… just… was your run good?” he asked.
“Yeah… I ran the bank until it ended.”
“Just watch for the wildlife,” he said.
“I know… dad. Alligators and snakes are mostly dormant, and any bears should also be hibernating…” I snarked.
“If you don’t want to be alone, you could go stay at Lina’s,” he said.
“No, I’ll be alright,” I told him.
“Well, I’m sure she will probably stop by tomorrow to check on you, so don’t be alarmed,” he said.
“Oh, okay, that’s good to know,” I said.
We sat there for several minutes, in silence. Something both of us were comfortable sitting in. I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. I thought about what Lina had told me about taking my anger out on him and him wrestling with his siblings.
“Do you… Would you.. Um…” I said, struggling to get the right words out.
“Ask it, Zalayuh,” he said.
“Would you teach me self-defense?”
“What?”
“You know, show me how to fight? Fend off, someone?”
“Who do you need to fend off?”
“Maybe you?”
“No amount of training could train you if I wanted you,” he said. My head spun to look at him. He was still staring at his book.
“Yes or No, Quinnlyn?” I asked. He lifted his head and turned to stare at me.
“Just Quinn, and sure. When do you want to start?”
“Today,” I said, without skipping a beat.
“Today?” he repeated.
“Yeah, is that a problem?”
“Not exactly… would you be opposed to waiting until Sunday?”
“Why Sun—oh, after your wolfy thing?”
“If you insist, we can do it today, but I’d really prefer to wait until after,” he said, his eyes back on his book.
“Sunday is fi—that’s Christmas. Oh my lord, we haven’t done anything,” I said.
“Do you want to do anything? Do you want a tree?” he asked.