Page 21 of Spark
“No. It’s fine,” I said with a half-smile. It was not fine. I never wanted to see another chicken stir-fry in my life, let alone eat one! My time at the warehouse had completely ruined stir-fry for me forever.
“Do you not like stir-fry?” Holly asked.
“No, it’s fine, I just… who chose our lunch for the day?”
Holly furrowed her brows in confusion. “I did,” she replied, taking a quick bite.
“Oh. Okay then.” I guess no one told her.
“But every meal required approval from Mr. Davis first,” she added.
“Ah. Of course,” I gritted.
Mr. Davis and I would be having words later.
We ate in silence for a while until Holly attempted to make small talk about the weather, which I reluctantly obliged. She talked about how summer was her favorite time of year and tried to get me to talk about my favorite season. She wanted to know my favorite everything, actually, which was rather annoying. Fall, Christmas, purple, wolf, Limp Bizkit, and ironically enough, Goodfellas.
Holly’s methods of figuring me out through means of conversation were interesting to observe as she danced around subjects I knew were forbidden for her to ask about. She neglected to ask about my family, where I was born, or where I had gone to school. I almost found it comical how she carefully tiptoed around anything that wasn’t a generic question, especially since she was doing a good job. It seemed as though she were trying to remind me of all my favorite things, to motivate me to experience them again as if they still had the power to make me happy. I appreciated the efforts, but I was more interested in turning the conversation to her.
“How did you come to accept employment here?” I asked. Holly chewed her food as her eyes focused on the table, her mind clearly deliberating her answer. Finally, she swallowed, but didn’t meet my gaze.
“I was recruited from the nearby hospital on the mainland.”
I raised my eyebrows. She didn’t exactly come off as a native.
“You live on the mainland?” I asked.
“Yes, I’m doing my residency at the hospital there.”
I furrowed my brows in confusion.
“How are you able to complete your residency and still do this?”
“I requested two months leave.” She smiled.
“Why would you do that? Won’t it screw you up?”
She folded her lips together as if she didn’t want to answer my question, but I already knew the answer.
“Never mind,” I said. “It makes sense now.” I was sure Darren was paying her a small fortune to come out here and be a live-in physical therapist.
“When an opportunity comes along to pay off your student loans, you jump on it before it disappears,” she said sadly.
“No, I get it. You don’t have to feel bad about it. I’d probably do the same thing.”
She nodded and began to push her remaining food around with her fork. I looked down at mine. I’d eaten maybe a quarter of it.
“Did you not like your lunch?” she asked.
I shrugged. “Small stomach.” It was a miracle I hadn’t thrown up yet.
After the staff had cleared our plates, Holly suggested we lounge on the beach for a while to let our stomachs digest. I was agreeable to that, as long as she remained quiet for once. We relaxed on the most comfortable chaise lounge chairs imaginable with a large beach umbrella overhead to protect us from the sun. Hank and Blondie sat next to a tree about a hundred feet from us in regular lounge chairs.
As I laid against the chaise, I realized I had done more activities in these last few hours than I had in weeks. And I was suddenly exhausted for some stupid reason. Before I knew it, I was out like a light.
9
Dark Memories