Friday

"Is this seat taken?" Jeff smiles and sits down across from Stacy and Ashlee in the dining hall. It was lunchtime the next day, and he'd been helping in the barn all morning without hardly a chance for even coffee this morning. So sitting down for a meal now was a much needed rest. He offers Ashlee a smile too.

"Good..." He looks at his watch. "...Afternoon, apparently." His next glance to Stacy held just a bit of curiosity... perhaps feeling her out after their little parting last night. "And how has the morning treated you two?"


"Ack! Eric!"

Eric skids to a halt, but only after running into Becky as he came out of the kitchen. His coffee was now all over the floor and... all over her too. "Aw man, I'm sorry, Beck." He leans down to clean up his dropped mug at the same time she does and all it does is run their heads together.

Straightening, now with a soaked apron and hurt head, Becky manages to roll her eyes and laugh. "Just clean up the mess ya big goon. Where were your eyes?"

Mopping up the mess with a towel, Eric chooses not to tell her that he'd been looking at a certain table across the room. "I have no idea. Your coffee is too good to waste anyhow."

She chuckles and shakes her head. "No harm done."

A few minutes later, Eric was settled at a table alone back in the corner with his lunch, quietly eating by himself.


Friday. A quarter til eleven o'clock. Brookshire. Zach wanders slowly up the sidewalk, enjoying the sunshine. He didn't remember agreeing with Beth where exactly they'd meet, so he'd arrived early and had been sitting at the main building until he'd wanted to stretch his legs. Would she even show up? He thought so. But he wasn't usually a betting man. If she didn't come, he'd visit his uncle anyway and it would hardly be a wasted trip. Although... he would be a bit disappointed.

Hearing another vehicle, he glances up to see and old pickup pull in and drive to a nearby lot. Nope. Guy driver.

Yawning, Zack glances at his watch again. He probably had a few minutes yet.

Finding a nice sunny spot on the neatly trimmed lawn, he plops down on his back and sprawls out to stare up at the clouds.