Free Sentinel of Heaven by Mera Trishos Lee Page A

forearm were covered in a network of shining white
scars, bright against his darker skin. 
    “Jesus, look
at these!”  It looked like he'd stuck his limb into a thresher up to the
elbow.  His left arm had some stripes as well but not to the same extent.  Up higher
on his right the gouges got larger and deeper, as wide as her finger in places.
    “How did you
get all these?” she asked, her discomfort lost for a moment in her curiosity.
    He took his
hands back, curled them lightly into fists and boxed the air for a second,
looking embarrassed.
    “You fight,
huh?  With this many scars you must be a fierce warrior.”
    He nodded, his
face serious.  He tapped her breastbone again.
    Yes.  Just
like you.
    Her lips
pressed tight; her smile was twisted.   She hung her head, turning to go to the
kitchen – but Leo captured her wrist and pulled her into a gentle hug instead,
his scarred arms careful around her waist and back.
    After a moment
she returned it with her embrace around his shoulders, his neck.  His scent
rose again from his warm grey hair, spicy and sweet.  She swallowed hard
against a welter of conflicting emotions.
    “Be my friend,
okay?” Moira managed at last.  “Just... be my friend.”
    He nodded
enthusiastically, and when he pulled away to stand up and take her by the hand he
wore his meek little smile.  He squired her into the kitchen and shooed her
into her seat as he got down a clean glass and filled it with water, then
retrieved her medicine.
    When he opened
the fridge she spoke up.  “I can't manage anything heavy right now... not
feeling hungry at all.  I think I still had some grapefruit.  Hopefully they've
not all gone bad yet.”
    Leo retrieved
one from the crisper drawer, inspected it thoroughly, then rinsed it and sliced
it in half on a plate.  He handed half to her along with the serrated spoon
from the drawer, his expression wry.
    “You don't
like grapefruit?  These are the good ones; not too sour.”  He shook his head
and made a face.
    “Good, more
for me – assuming I can eat them before they grow legs and walk out of the
kitchen on their own.”
    More familiar
now with the dimensions of her house, he was able to flip his wings a bit out
of the way and lean back against the counter, his arms folded across his broad
chest and his ankles crossed.  She speared out a wedge of the juicy flesh and
let it dissolve in her mouth, amused at his scrutiny.
    “Is this a
thing for you, to watch humans eat?”
    He smiled and
shook his head, dropping his eyes only an instant before focusing on her again.
    “Well, I'm
going to take my time on this one and I've got to make myself eat the whole
thing, both halves.  I'm going to need my strength.  It's Laundry Day.”
    He cocked his
head, his eyebrows arching.   She sighed and played with the spoon.
    “We're way way
out in the boonies here, if you haven't noticed.  I drive a two hour round-trip
every day to get to work and back.  The closest real town is still about thirty
miles away.  It only has one laundromat.
    “I go early;
if at all possible, I go during the week.  Jeanine likes to work early, before
her 'stories' come on the TV.”  She ate another bite.  “Jeanine's decent.”
    Jeanine looked
to be about mid-sixties, Moira went on to explain.  She cut her hair in a
chin-length bob, and it was a shade of blue-black that Moira was personally
certain came out of a bottle.  She liked to wear white t-shirts; Moira had seen
a tattoo through the fabric of one sleeve but had never quite dared to ask her
what it was.  Jeanine was as tough as a strip of old jerky and meaner than a
rattlesnake but she was polite in her own rough style if you stayed respectful.
    The problem
was Chester.
    Leo's face
looked like a gathering storm.  He motioned for her to continue.
    “I swear to
God, that's actually his name.  Chester, the molester.”
    Most people
didn't recognize Moira as the girl that had attended their public school