seven
.
August 19th
Christen looks through the magnifying screen before her, concentrating as she delicately brushes the dust from the golden scarab, gently using the soft sable brush tip to remove the particles away to display the inscription. It’s an ornate dung beetle, which was one of the manifestations of the sun god. It’s small, measuring only a half an inch long by a quarter inch wide and an inch and a quarter inch high. Christen believes it is carved from soapstone due to it’s light red-brown coloring which is native to the Luxor region. As she works, she can see the appearance of a green-blue glaze covering the amulet.
The item rests on a soft bed of thick cotton resting upside down and is surrounded by a clear plexi-glass box that covers the top, bottom and sides, leaving open one side for Christen to easily get her hands in there to work. The purpose of encasing the artifact is to protect from being knocked off the table or lost and as well as for the dust to stay within the area for easy clean up. She is working on the bottom side now and has started at the bottle left and is working her way methodically across the surface. She has her airline ready to give a gentle puff of air to clear the dust she’s dislodged of the item. It’s taken her two days to completely clean the top of the tiny object. The work is tedious and needs complete concentration, especially when she’s forced to use the metal dental pick to carefully remove any stubborn dirt.
Currently, she has a student sitting next to her at another station who is using a sable brush to clean a near twelve-inch square and two inch thick tablet covered with hieroglyphs. Christen is supervising her work, checking in by occasionally looking over the woman’s shoulder and giving her an approving nod. It’s quiet work, only interrupted when Sarah, the student, has a question about the tablet or if she should skip over an exceptionally stubborn area.
A quiet timer chimes and Sarah sets down her brush with a sigh. “I don’t want to leave,” she admits with a chuckle, “it’s so soothing,”
“It is, isn’t it?” Christen agrees, pulling back her brush and setting it down as well. She looks over at the tablet, “you’ve made some nice progress,” she says approvingly.
“Thanks,” Sarah says and pushes back her chair, “I’ll see you next week,” she says as she removes the white cotton gloves she’s wearing.
“Yes,” Christen grins, “remember, there’s the online quiz due by Tuesday,”
“I’m going to take it tonight,” she replies with a smile, “that way I can have a fun weekend,”
“Well, good luck on the quiz and have a great weekend!” Christen enthuses as she sits back in her chair, covering her mouth to let a yawn escape.
“See ya!” Sarah waves as she makes her way to the glass door to depart. Christen watches her pass through the double doors of the small foyer of the temperature a controlled lab area and heads for her locker where her personal items are stored. She turns her head to see Becky across the way at another table, scowling down at what she’s working on. Christen decides to take a break and leaves her chair, stretching her back before walking over to where Becky sits.
She taps the table with her gloved hand before she gets close so as not to startle the woman. Becky looks up and crinkles her nose at her. “This is being difficult,” she complains, dropping the instrument in her hand and pushing back from her chair, “I think I’ll need to give it an electrolysis bath to remove the light rust,”
Christen nods as she looks at the dagger Becky is working on. “That would probably help it,” she agrees.
“We should take a chocolate break,” Becky proposes, standing up and nodding at her. Christen smiles, “Yeah, sounds good.” She knocks on the table a little louder and Ali pops her head up, looking at them expectantly.
“Chocolate break,” Becky announces and Ali smiles. The three women remove their gloves and proceed to the exit.
Exiting the airlock into the office area, Christen pokes her head in Alyssa’s office, pulling the woman from her computer screen to join them in their break room. It’s late in the day and there are no longer any visiting public coming through to watch them work behind the glass of their department. Usually, when there are a few people gathered in the gallery that stretches along two sides of the lab, staring at them silently behind the glass windows, Christen or Becky will grab the headset and speak to them through the intercom in the viewing area. They will explain what they are working on and where the item was found and answering their questions for a few minutes. Often, they will grab the camera to give a closeup on a particular piece as they speak about it, allowing the visitors to view on the flat screen monitors in the gallery. It’s great public relations and there are quite a few students who pop in as well.
They haven’t even opened the bag of Ghirardelli chocolate when Sydney strolls in, setting her briefcase on an empty chair. “Chocolate break?” she asks, pulling out a chair and joining them. Becky opens the bag and randomly selects a wrapped treat and passes the bag to Alyssa.
“Oh, I almost forgot,” Ali exclaims and removes four small envelops from her apron pocket, “I’ve been meaning to give you guys these all day,” she remarks as she passes them out.
“Aw, a Labor Day party? Awesome” Sydney exclaims with a grin, “Dom and I have no plans, we’ll be there,” she states, “What can we bring?” They dip into a second piece of chocolate as they discuss the party and appetizers before deciding to get another hour of work in before calling it a day.
----
“Yeah, Mom, I’m doing alright,” Christen speaks as she stirs the chicken she’s cooking on the stove, “everything has been going good,” she assure her.
“Well, you’ve certainly had your face all over the news,” her Mom says proudly. “I can’t wait to see more photos of the things you’ve found,”
“Well, I’ll be over Sunday for brunch, so I’ll show you then,” she promises, “my dinner is almost done, so I’m going to let you go,”
“Okay honey,” her Mom says, “give my little grand puppies a treat from me,”
Christen smiles, “I will, give Dad a hug and a kiss from me and I’ll see you Sunday.”
After her chicken dinner was eaten and the dishes cleaned, Christen decided to finally unpack her extra bag from her expedition. Yes, it had been over a month, but she’s been so busy with everything going on, she just tucked it in her spare bedroom and kind of forgot about it. So, now she’s got the aluminum suitcase open on the bed, sorting through the reference books and heavy clothing she had brought just in case the weather turned cool. As she shelved the books, she noticed the sketchbook. The sketchbook Tobin had been drawing in. She can't believe she forgot all about it, but she reasons with getting back and working in the artifacts plus preparing for her lectures on the expedition, doing press and teaching her classes, it slipped her mind. She shelves the other books in her study and returns to the spare bedroom and sits on the bed, taking a breath before opening the sketchbook.
The first couple of pages are simple doodles, the ones she saw of Tobin practicing and getting the feel of the pencils. She flips through and sees more defined sketches of the pyramids which was the view in the daylight from her tent. She continues to turn pages, seeing house, a dramatic drawing of a pair of eyes and then one that makes her hold her breath.
It’s a drawing of her, lying casually on the bed, reading a book. The detail is indescribable, capturing her concentrating as she read. It’s incredibly accurate, down the faint scar on her shin from a soccer match years ago. How she captured her curls, making them so natural and her body so well proportioned and not awkward as some drawings can be. It was impressive.
There’s one more drawing a few pages after the one of her on the bed. It takes her breath away. It’s a woman in full ancient Egypt royal attire. A long white gown, with the delicate neck piece and what looked like beaded trim work on the ends of the single short sleeve and the bottom of the gown. A thin belt draws the eyes to a thin waist. A decorative armor breast plate emblazoned with the uraeus, the upright form of a cobra, the symbol of sovereignty, royalty and divine authority.
The woman’s strong arms have bracelets at the wrists and biceps, most likely of gold, and are holding the classic crook and flail in her hands crossed over chest. She’s looking face forward with a regal expression, her eyes made up with the Eyes of Horus make up, which the symbolism for it was intended to protect the pharaoh in the afterlife. A beaded false beard completes the elements of traditional ceremonial attire. As she looks it over closely, Christen realizes it’s her own eyes she’s looking at.
As she scans the paper, she realizes it’s in fact her, her features in the face, her limbs, her body. She’s impressed with Tobin’s talents, especially since she only had a few days to learn how to use the pencils. She thinks they must have had similar writing utensils, perhaps the pencil marked the paper in a similar fashion the quills did to the papyrus they used. She wonders if Tobin drew her this way to connect her to her own time period, in clothing she would find attractive. But then, why would she draw her as royalty? Either way, it’s an extremely wonderful drawing and Christen knows exactly where she’ll put it.
She makes a note to purchase a black frame with a white mat when she’s out this weekend. She wants to hang this up for display. She figures she’ll explain it away as paying a street vendor for the item, down plying it down as a touristy thing she purchased. She closes the sketchbook, holding it to her chest and thinks of Tobin. Oh, how she hopes she finds her. Soon.
After a few minutes, she finds her fleece jacket, frowning at the thought of it being in here. She thought she had already unpacked it and now she should wash it before she’ll want to wear with the cooler weather approaching in the evenings. She lifts it up and feels something in the pocket. When her fingers feel something smooth in the pocket, her heart begins to race. Slowly she withdraws a necklace.
Tobin’s necklace. She marvels at it, cradling it both palms, her mouth open with shock. She begins to cry, her hands now shaking, bringing her closed hands to her chest.
“Please,” she cries out in her empty room, “please, find me,” she urges.
XXXX
September 4th
Christen looks in the mirror one final time, checking that her straighten hair looks good, satisfied with how it turned out. Ali had said it was a casual affair, they have a pool and it was certainly nice enough to swim. She’s packed a swimsuit in case it gets hot, but she’s unsure if she wants to swim. Either way, she’s got her bag near the door holding the suit, a change of clothes, a sweater that goes with her outfit, sunscreen and whatever else she thought she’d need. She wants to be prepared for whatever this Labor Day party may bring. Her small purse lays in top of the bag. All she’ll have to do is grab it on her way out.
She’s nervous. Very nervous. So nervous that she changed her outfit three different times before settling on this white sundress with flowers on it. It’s one of her favorites, she loves how it flares out and it’s comfortable to wear. It shows of her complexion which has only grown a little darker with her weekends at her parent’s pool.
The reason she’s so nervous, is that when she was in the shower this morning, this noticed something. Something huge.
Her soulmark has changed. Just slightly. Nothing dramatic but it’s worded differently. Ever since she was a child, she had memorized the hieroglyphs, often drawing them on construction paper.
Before it stated, Its beauty pales in comparison to yours which she has always found as romantic.
Now it states, That’s nothing compared to how gorgeous you are
Similar statement, yet maybe not as romantic. She wonders if this means Tobin will be at Ali’s party today. If today will be the day she meets her.
While she is nervous, she’s not going to let it distract her from having a good time. She leaves her bathroom, lets the dogs in and says goodbye after she gives them each a Kong with stuffed with organic peanut butter to keep themselves occupied for a while after she leaves.
She grabs her foil covered tray of tortilla wraps, picks up her keys and her bag and is out the door, ready to have a good time. And maybe meet her soulmate.
----
“You make the best drinks,” Becky gushes as she takes another sip of the tropical beverage Christen has just handed her.
“Thanks,” she says, lifting her glass, “Cheers!” They clink glasses and drink.
“If only they had those little umbrellas,” Sydney comments, looking over the bar area that is set up near the sliding glass doors leading to the patio.
“Your wish is my command,” a voice from behind makes them turn around to see Ashlyn wheeling towards them, “I don’t know why I didn’t think to pull them out,” she says as she deftly maneuvers behind the long table to a cabinet. She tosses a plastic baggie on the table, “Have it at,” she grins, “nothing says goodbye to summer like drinks with umbrellas,”
“Yay!” Sydney cheers, grabbing at the bag and plucking umbrellas into everyone’s drinks.
“Thanks,” Christen laughs, “would you like one?”
“Nah, not right now,” Ashlyn replies, “I’m gonna blaze up with some friends,” she says, “any of you want to join us?”
“I will,” Becky nods, “I brought some real smooth Hawaiian if you want to try it,”
Ashlyn’s eyes grow big, “What strain?”
“Durban Poison,” she replies with a sly smile.
“Ooh,” Alyssa cuts in, “what that the one we smoked last weekend?”
Becky nods, “Lead the way Ash,” she says and then looks at Sydney and Christen, “we’ll find you guys later.”
Ash looks over her shoulder as she wheels out onto the patio, “I haven’t had Durban in forever,” she comments.
Sydney and Christen look on with amusement. Both of them smoke occasionally, Christen preferring edibles and not being high with a bunch of strangers. Syd isn’t smoking now because and Dom are trying to get pregnant, so she’s laid of the drug.
“Do you remember that time we were in Egypt at that hookah bar?” Sydney giggles.
Christen laughs at the fuzzy memory, “I can’t believe we thought hash was weaker than pot,”
“I can’t believe the room service bill when from the hotel that night!” Syd roars at the memory.
“What’s so funny?” Ali asks as she approaches, a smile on her face.
They give her a condensed version of the story, making her laugh hard at their antics. She looks around for Ashlyn. “I wanted her to get the grill started,” she frowns.
“She’s smoking somewhere,” Syd informs her.
“We can grill,” Christen offers, “it’s no problem.”
“Really? That would be so helpful,” Ali says gratefully, “she’ll be pretty stoned and starving in a little bit,”
“Yeah, just show us the way,” Syd smiles, “Chris is a grill master,”
There is a crowd at this party, Christen notices from her spot on the patio, and all of them are having a great time. She admits to herself that she’s been scanning the crowd quite a bit in hopes of possibly catching sight of Tobin but she hasn’t seen her. Maybe they won’t meet tonight. Other than that, she’s having fun, it’s so nice when there’s a mix of people and they all get along, there’s just this good energy in the air. She’s met Ali’s brother Kyle who is a fitness trainer, some of Ashlyn’s friends and teammates from her basketball and hockey teams and then there’s the university group.
Over the sounds of voices and mixed with the music playing, Christen can hear the rowdy sounds coming from the driveway. A group of Ashlyn’s friends are playing basketball with shouts of scorn and cheers as they shoot the ball. Occasional crashes of wheelchairs colliding gives her the impression this isn’t a casual shoot around. There’s much laughter and swearing coming from the lit up two car width blacktop area. She notices the game has come to a close, five players holding their arms up in victory while the others hurl colorful and hilarious insults and accusations of cheating at them.
There’s about ten players and huddle together and soon Christen can see smoke wafting into the air. Smoking pot isn’t unusual around here. It’s California and has been legal forever it seems and Christen has been surrounded by it all of her life. It’s like alcohol, some people prefer to drink others like to get stoned. She doesn’t like to get stoned as much as she likes to relax and she’s grateful that there are so many options of different strains and potency levels that she can when she feels like it. She feels it’s safer than taking a Xanax or other prescription medications and offers the same relaxation effect and helps her when her anxiety is high.
“Christen,” Ali calls to her, making her turn to head, “what do say we make another round of drinks? I think Ash would like to try one of yours now,”
“Sure,” she smiles, thinking she would make one for herself. It would only be her second of the day and the evening is young. She’s pacing herself since she’s driving and if there’s a chance she’s going to meet her soulmate, she wants to be sober.
A few minutes later, she’s following Ali out the back patio door, noting how the ranch house has smooth transitions to accommodate wheelchairs, to present Ashlyn with her colorful tropical drink, complete with an umbrella and garnish of an orange slice.
As they approach, she hears someone cough and low voice that stirs her stomach. “Yo, Ash, what the hell is that? I’m so fucking stoned?” and musical laughter follows.
“You’re a lightweight Heath,” Ashlyn laughs over her shoulder, then turning and seeing Ali and Christen approaching and wheeling towards her to the edge of the driveway. The others are following her, some still jawing about the game and others pulling their drinks from cup holders on their chairs.
“Nice game babe,” Ali says and leans down to give her wife a kiss. “Christen made you a special drink,” she announces, turning to gesture to her.
Christen takes a few steps forward, holding Ashlyn’s drink forward and presenting it with a flourish. “Isn’t it a beauty?” she boasts playfully, chuckling at the sight of the obnoxious looking thing. If Ali had a coconut glass it would have been even funnier.
”That’s nothing compared to how gorgeous you are,” a low drawl states earnestly in Coptic.
Christen’s eyes widen and her head shoots in the direction of the voice and she sees the woman who said it who is looking just as shocked by her own words. It’s Tobin and she’s in a wheelchair next to Ashlyn, her voice was the one asking Ashlyn a few minutes ago what they were smoking.
“Yo, Tobes,” Ashlyn laughs, one hand pushing Tobin’s shoulder and making her sway in the chair, “you must be really fucked up if your talking in your wacky language again!”
Tobin’s eyes are on Christen, half lidded and bloodshot, but showing as much focus as they can muster at the moment. Christen lets her eyes crawl over the woman, noticing her backwards baseball cap on her head, her long brown hair pulled over one shoulder. The whiteness of her v-neck t-shirt contrasting against her dark skin. The yellow shorts with what she thinks are colorful palm trees and surfers on them giving way to her smooth tan legs that look much too muscular for her to be in a wheelchair. As her eyes travel upwards, she notices the same scar on Tobin’s neck, about an inch long and rather thick, in the exact same spot when she last saw her in Egypt. When their eyes meet and Christen smiles, she sees how Tobin’s eyes widen with a mix of joy and wonder.
“She’s been doing that ever since the accident,” another woman shoves Tobin’s other shoulder nearly making her fall out of the chair. But Tobin keeps her eyes on Christen and they stare at each other, soft looks giving way to shy smiles.
”I could say the same thing about you,” Christen replies back in the dead language and Tobin looks like she’s about to faint.
The group has gone silent around them, taking in the exchange without knowing what’s being spoken. They watch as both women look down at their arms, their smiles widening when they read their soulmarks and look back to smile even wider at each other. It’s a special moment and not one many get to witness. It’s not every day someone meets their soulmate.
”My name is Christen,” she states calmly, unaware of the audience they have, ”are you Tobin?”
Tobin nods slowly, her smile growing as she pushes her wheelchair towards her, oblivious to those around.
”I can not believe I found you at last!” Tobin exclaims, giving her chair a final push to roll in front of her, extending her arms out. Christen blindly sticks her arm out to the side, hoping someone takes her drink and the second it leaves her hand, she’s bending over, hugging Tobin and falling into her lap. They hold each other close, both crying as the emotions overflow.
Christen buries her head into Tobin’s shoulder, feeling Tobin’s hands on her back, soothing her. A moment later, she hears a sniffle and then Tobin’s hands are gone and she’s aware of the sensation of moving, the chair expertly scooting past the crowd, the noise of people and music growing quieter. She inhales deeply and Tobin smells clean like the salt of the ocean mixed with her unique scent, just like she did back in Egypt.
“How…how are you here?” Tobin asks, smiling at her with disbelief as if she’s uncertain this is all really happening. She wipes at her eyes.
“I work with Ali,” she explains, “who do you know here, Ash?”
Tobin nods, “She’s my best friend,” she states, “we went to college together,”
“What the hell language are you two talking?” a voice asks from behind them, it’s one of Ashlyn’s teammates.
“Uh,” Tobin shakes her head, blinking exaggeratedly a few times like she’s trying to clear her head. “I don’t know,” she says, briskly wheeling her and Christen away from the group to a quiet corner of a small patio near a pond.
“How ,em>do you know Coptic?” Christen wants to know. It’s a very small circle in the US of teachers of the deal language and she’s curious about it.
“Uh, Coptic? What is that?” Tobin tilts her head and squints at her.
“It’s what we were just speaking,” Christen explains, confused Tobin doesn’t seem to know. It’s as if the spell has been broken and it upsets her a little.
Tobin looks at her as Christen slides off her lap and onto a nearby bench. Tobin starts to scratch at the back of her neck, looking uncomfortable, “It’s just something I know I guess,” she drawls, licking her lips and then away as her mood shifts.
“Tobin, I” Christen starts, then realizes she doesn’t know how to exactly state what she wants. She knows Tobin is high right now and seems like she doesn’t want to talk about knowing Coptic and it’s confusing her. So, she shuts up.
“Chris?” Tobin asks quietly, waiting for her look at her. “Listen, I’m super high and I…this has all caught me, like, totally off guard,” she admits openly, “I feel like I’m making a lousy impression on you and I’m super embarrassed,” she finishes shyly and Christen can hear how genuine she comes across. Christen is actually pretty impressed that Tobin would be sensitive enough to share this with her and choose to just tell her the truth and not make up a lame excuse or something.
“What would you like to do?” she replies with her own question, thinking she should let Tobin dictate what they should do. She suddenly feels that Tobin may not remember seeing her in Egypt possibly, since getting interrupted and they’ve stopped speaking in Coptic, she’s acting nervous, as if they’ve just met instead of seeing her a few months ago.
“Well,” she drawls and licks her lips as she considers, “it’s still pretty early. What about getting some drinks and snacks and coming back over here and just chill? Like, get to know each other?” she gives her a hopeful look. Christen looks into her expressive eyes and nods.
Christen smiles, liking that idea. It takes the pressure off them both and allows them to take things slow. She can maybe figure out what Tobin remembers or doesn’t and take it from there. “I like that idea very much,” she says warmly, nodding at her. “How about I get the snacks and you take care of the drinks?”
Tobin smiles brightly and nods her head, “What would you like?”
“I’ll take a water or a juice or something,” she responds easily and stands up. “we’ll meet right back here, okay?”
Tobin nods, “See you in a few,” she smiles and wheels away.
“Tobin is your soulmate?” Ali gushes excitedly, practically bouncing behind Christen as she determinedly makes her way to the kitchen where the food is laid out.
“Yes,” Christen confirms, her eyes darting around seeking for the largest plate available, “this won’t be big enough,” she mutters under her breath, feeling that Tobin might be actually starving and won’t be satisfied with an array of light appetizers. She didn’t see her when she helped Ali and Syd put out the hot foods earlier and she’s isn’t sure when she arrived here today.
“Here,” Ali shoves a large, decorative metal tray towards her. “I’ll heat up some stuff, alright?” she offers, sensing Christen’s anxiety of what to serve Tobin. “She loves fruit and give her some of those cookies,” Ali helpfully informs her as Christen selects items.
A minute later the microwave beeps. “Here,” Ali sets a plate laden with small portions of warmed up steak and chicken.
Syd walks in with a large smile on her face, “Girl,” she starts loudly but sees the look of near panic on Christen’s face and immediately changes tactics. “What can I do?”
“Plates, napkins, silverware,” Ali orders and turns to Christen who is staring at the array of food on the tray. “Hey,” she gently touches her arm, making Christen look at her. “Tobin is an amazing person,” she says warmly, “She’s a good one, really,” she smiles and lets out a squeal, “I’m so happy for you, you guys are going to be amazing together!”
Syd drops the items on the tray and presents to her, “Go out there, honey,” she says, grinning widely, “remember, it’s her soul you love.”
Christen nods slowly, still reeling that she’s found her and this Tobin looks almost exactly like the Sitre In Tobin. As she walks back outside carefully carrying the tray, she wonders how this all happened and what does this Tobin know about it. How she abruptly stopped speaking Coptic concerns her, she wonders what is the story behind it.
“Dude!” Ashlyn slaps Tobin’s back, “You met your soulmate!”
Tobin looks up at her with her panic on full display, “And I’m fucking high as shit, Ash.” she says hurriedly, “I sound like an idiot, she’s going to think I’m such a moron,” she takes off her hat and runs her hand through her hair and replaces the hat.
“Chill, bro,” Ashlyn assures her, “it’s all good.”
Tobin is shaking her head rapidly, “No, this is not good, this is very not good,” she rushes out, pulling at the velcro straps holding her legs in place in the wheelchair, “I am not of sound mind,”
Ashlyn begins to laugh hard, “Dude, you’re never in sound mind,” she guffaws, drawing their friend Heather over.
“Yo, soulmate finder,” she greets Tobin who is now standing and moving her chair into the garage and trotting back to the bar by the patio. Of course, Ashlyn would have two bars areas set up, one inside and one outside.
“Hao,” Tobin whines, “this isn’t funny,” she starts poking through the icy water of the kiddie pool, plucking out a water bottle.
“She’s upset because she’s high,” Ashlyn informs their friend.
“Dude, just chill,” Hao advises.
“Just chill,” Tobin mutters, taking out another water bottle and now looking for any type of juice. “Just chill, I can’t function like a normal person and you say just chill,”
Hao is biting her lower lip, kind of loving how frazzled her typically laid back friend is right now. She’s never really seen her so worked up since she’s known her. “What are you looking for?” she asks kindly, figuring at least she could help her out.
“Christen said she wanted water or juice,” Tobin states, “I need some juice,” she says urgently.
“It’s in the house,” Ashlyn calmly states, “there’s none out here, it’s just water, pop and beer.”
“I’ll be right back,” Hao holds up a hand, “stay put, Tobes.” She jogs off towards the house.
Tobin watches as Hao moves to the house and Ash pinches her side.
“Ow!” Tobin jerks and rubs her side. “The fuck was that for?”
“Get your shit together, Tobes,” Ashlyn grins at her, “and just chill. Christen is a cool chick, she’s super sweet. Just go slow, dude, you’ll be fine.”
“How do you know her?” Tobin is incredulous.
“Al works with her,” she explains, “look, Hao’s coming back. Just relax, it’ll all work out.”
Tobin removes her hat again and nervously runs her hand through her hair before placing it back on her head, “I hope so,” she lets out a deep breath.
Christen’s eyes grow wide as she watches Tobin walk across the yard towards her. She’s carrying an alarming amount of bottles in her hands, close up against her body. What’s more shocking than the amount of drinks she’s carrying for the two of them is the fact that she’s walking.
“You can walk?” Christen blurts out when she comes hear.
“Yeah,” Tobin nods casually, then remembers she was in a chair when they met. “Ah, I play in a chair with Ash and her friends,” she explains with a simple shrug of her shoulders and it makes Christen’s chest fill with warmth.
“That’s really sweet,” she says quietly.
“Yeah, well, if I want to play,” Tobin shrugs again like it’s not a big deal. It isn’t to her, she’s been doing that since Ashlyn first expressed an interest in shooting around years ago. Tobin went out and bought herself a sport wheelchair for them both. “So, I got you water, apple juice, there’s orange, cranberry, an iced tea,” she stops when she realizes Christen is giggling. “What?” she looks up, suddenly nervous. Her high from the pot had worn off pretty well from the shock of meeting her soulmate and the adrenalin rush and flood of emotions and anxiety she had been feeling earlier and now she was feeling a little buzzed but much more in control of herself. If anything, she's pretty anxious and not feeling any of the relaxing benefits of marijuana right now. She’s trying to be cool and calm and feels it isn’t working very well.
Christen smiles warmly at her, “I think I brought out a sample of just about everything they had to offer from inside,” she smiles widely at her, gesturing to the large serving tray next to her on the bench that Ali had helped her arrange. Tobin smiles at her, touched by her gesture. While she had been distressed about what Christen would like to drink, Christen felt the same way about what to serve her. She’s touched by it just as Christen is from the drink selection.
“Here,” Becky suddenly appears, carrying a small table and setting it down between the two and disappearing just as fast.
“That was nice,” Tobin murmurs, a small smile on her face.
“I thought you might be really hungry since you were playing and maybe were getting the munchies,” Christen explains quietly as she moves the tray onto the table.
“You would be correct,” Tobin admits, looking over the tray with approval. “Are you going to eat something?”
“Yes,” Christen grins as she produces plates and silverware with flourish. The two can feel their nerves begin to settle as they chatter about the different foods while they make their plates. Christen now believes Tobin has no clue of her past, perhaps it had been wiped away by the Gods when she was placed in this lifetime. She decides to avoid the topic about speaking Coptic for now and let this first meeting just go as naturally as possible.
“So, Christen,” Tobin says as she wipes her face with a napkin, “tell me about yourself,”
Christen grins back at her as she finishes chewing her chicken, “I will if you will,” she nods and gives her best attempt at winking at Tobin.
“Sure thing,” Tobin smiles back at her, returning her wink and forking a piece of steak.
XXXX