Free The Fate of Nations Book II The Harvest by Laura Watson Page A

goofing around about something. She put her fork down and placed her hand over her mouth to cover the smile that had crept over it. Her eyes darted to the window again, looking for Ralph. She saw him emerging from one of the many shops that lined the opposite side of the street, a small bag clutched in his hand. Ralph glanced at her as he climbed back into his red Subaru wagon. He sat there in his car. What is he doing? She wondered. A few, terribly long, moments passed as Leslie held her breath, watching him. Just when Leslie thought he might get back out and cross the street to the restaurant, she saw the car pull away from the curb and merge into the busy lunch hour traffic. He's heading back to his office, she thought, relieved. Maybe he finally gets it, she thought, maybe he'll just leave me alone from now on. She hoped he would. She really did.
    Leslie cleared her throat and sipped some water from the tall sweating glass in front of her. “Bob, you are such a dope sometimes, you know that?” she replied, the smile threatening to emerge again. “I don't think that way. I eat meat too. I just think that an animal shouldn't have to suffer it's whole life before it's killed, that's all. There are humane ways to treat animals, you know. They don't have to be crammed into cages and pens where they can't even turn around or breathe because they're crammed in there so tightly. I mean, these factory farms have reduced animals to a product .
    These are living, breathing, thinking, feeling, beings. It's just sickening.”
    Bob listened as Leslie stood on her soapbox, preaching the evils of factory farming and when she had finished her long tirade, he cut another chunk from his juicy sirloin, stuffed it into his mouth and replied, “Mmmm...good.” Leslie laughed, “you're impossible.”
    He shrugged his shoulders “it is what it is Leslie,” he stated indifferently. He finished off his meal, washing the thick steak down with a good, long, sip of his beer.
    “So,” Bob asked teasingly, as the waitress placed the bill on the table, leaving it there while she fetched a steaming pot of coffee for the table beside of theirs.
    “What's the deal with you and Ralph?” he finished.
    “Oh,” she sighed, “there's no deal actually.” “Really?”
    Bob said, his eyebrows rising, “I thought that the two of you were an “item.” “Well, Bob, not that it's any of your business, but we stopped seeing each other about three weeks ago.” “Oh I see,” Bob replied, “No, you don't see,” Leslie started, and then caught herself, “I'm sorry Bob, it's just been a tough few weeks for me.” “What happened,? Bob asked, concern replacing his usual sarcasm. “I thought you two got along really well. I mean you both have the same interests, the same tastes, practically the same personalities, so what happened?”
    “ That's what happened, Bob,” Leslie replied ruefully. “I just think that we might have been too much alike, like magnets , she thought, we are so alike that we repel each other. Even the strongest outside forces can only bind magnets of the same polarity together for so long.
    Eventually the bonds fray and then burst apart, sending the two magnets flying topsy turvy into opposite directions.
    “We are very much alike,” she continued, “and that was probably just not a good thing.” she paused a moment and tossed her napkin on the table, “Anyway,”
    she continued, “I tried to leave the relationship on friendly terms, but Ralph didn't see eye to eye with me about it.
    “Ralph doesn't sound like such a bad guy to me, Leslie,” Bob said quietly, “It sounds like he just knew a good thing when he had it,” “Yeah, well.” Leslie continued, “I just needed some breathing room, but this guy, he just doesn't get it, you know?” “Give him some time, Leslie, people don't just turn their feelings on and off like the kitchen faucet... damn.”
    Bob felt for old Ralphie, he'd been kicked in the nuts his