I remove my badge and take my cell out of my pocket and place them into the glove box. I turn to Cherie and pause for a moment. I know what I am doing is wrong… possibly even illegal and grounds for termination. However, after having such a good day she deserves something more than just… grocery shopping. She deserves something that has some amount of dignity. However, in the back of my mind the idea that if anything goes wrong it will be the end of my career, possibly even my life.
“Can you do me a really big favor?” I ask as I turn to Cherie who is eyeing the Black Skillet Restaurant ahead of us.
“Of course,” Cherie says as she turns to me and looks confused.
“Do you know what a mute is?”
“Someone who cannot talk at all,” Cherie says as she nods.
“Can you pretend to be mute from when we leave the car until we get back into the car?” I ask as I gesture towards the restaurant ahead.
“I think so,” Cherie says as smiles. “Are we being sneaky?”
“We are…”
“I can do it,” Cherie says confidently.
I get out the car as casually as possible. I probably look slightly stupid, but I’m living in the moment. I open the door for Cherie and reach for her hand. We walk hand in hand into the restaurant and we are seated at a window seat in the far back. There are a few people who give us passing glances, but not the glaring looks that we’ve been getting lately.
When the waitress approaches, she if she can get us something to drink.
“I’d just like a coffee…”
“And for you, miss?” The waitress asks.
Cherie makes a gesture like something is wrong with her throat.
“I’m sorry about that, my girlfriend is mute… and I always mean to bring it up but forget. Just point at what you want. Would that be alright?”
“Of course,” the waitress says, as she nods. She turns over Cherie’s menu and points to the drink selection. “What do you want dear?”
Cherie points to a strawberry milkshake.
“Strawberry milkshake…?” The waitress asks.
Cherie gives her a thumbs up sign.
“Got it dear,” the waitress says as she flips open the menu. “Now what would you like to eat?”
Cherie points to a stack of French toast with bacon and some eggs.
I almost face-palm as there is everything we need to make it at home in the car… but I keep my silence. At least she is getting to eat out for once.
“Got it,” the waitress says and turns to me. “…and for you, sir?”
“I’ll have the vegetable omelet with extra cheese and hash browns,” I say as I do not even need to look through the menu. For years it was my after work meal.
“I’ll get that right away for you, shouldn’t be too long—we’re not very busy today.”
“Thank you.”
We eat our meal in silence. However, whenever I look into Cherie’s eyes, they are smiling back at me. I know I have done something wrong. However, it makes me feel better than any of the right things that I’ve been doing. Once we get back into the car she begins to laugh uncontrollably.
“Did you enjoy that?”
“I did, thank you so much,” Cherie says as she reaches over and hugs me tightly.
“Not a word about that though,” I say in a serious tone. “…our secret.”
“Got it,” Cherie says as she continues to laugh and smile happily.
Making sure that no one from indoors can see me; I retrieve my phone from the glove box and slide it back into my pocket. I place my badge back around my neck and pull away. I walk Cherie up to her apartment with my hands full of groceries. She opens up the door and I set them on the table.
“Can you put these away, I’ll get the rest.” I ask, knowing it will be safer if she stays indoors.
Cherie nods once in reply.
I make a few trips until the car is empty. Once back in I help Cherie put away all of the food that we purchased.
“It seems like we bought too much, given that we’re leaving on Sunday,” Cherie admits as she looks at her stocked cabinets and fridge. “I guess we won’t be gone that long though. Last time we were only in Paris for three days because we had to get back to visit your friend.”
“Yeah,” I say as I nod. I would love to tell her the truth. I wonder if it would hurt her more, or help in some way. Would it be the right thing to do? It is one of those impossible questions that I cannot seem to come up with the right answer to.
“What would you like to do now?” I ask as afternoon approaches.
She stretches out her arms almost comically and does her customary yawn.
“It’s naptime then?”
“It’s naptime then.”
I lead her to the couch and she lies down and curls up into a ball. I walk into the bedroom and get her blanket and cover her up.
“About the store…” Cherie says quietly.
“Right…” I say as I remember that she wanted to know about me working there before I became a Sitter. “There isn’t really much to say, unfortunately. I mean… I lost both of my parents on well, that day that everything changed.”
“The day people like me became… different,” Cherie adds softly.
“Yeah,” I reply as I sit down on the carpeted floor and continue. “I lost both of them at the same time. So I was kind of lost. I suppose a lot of people were at the time. So I just did what I could. I worked, at a gas station first. It was a bad time for that kind of thing. People were constantly stealing gas, and we were always getting robbed. It was a very difficult time. So I got out of that pretty quickly. Things are so much better about that now, but back then it was chaos. So anyway, I worked some odd jobs here and there. I spent some time alone… probably a bit too much time alone. I ended up working for Bobby probably three years ago I’d guess. I worked midnights, pretty much always by myself… I mean, sometimes Bobby would stay and talk to me. He lost his wife, so I think that sometimes he just came up with excuses to stay so that he didn’t have to go home and be alone. Anyway, I had applied for the C-Shapes Program and it took a while, but I worked there up until a year before I got accepted. I just couldn’t do it anymore… I wanted to do something different, be around people… not sleep all day anymore. I guess, that’s about it… I’m sorry it’s not more exciting.”
I laugh as I look over and see her fast asleep. I wonder how much of that she was actually awake for. Finding myself of little use, I begin to wander around the house. There is a room that is always shut. Out of curiosity, I open it up. I do not mean to be intrusive or rude. I just often find myself curious—to my surprise the room is filled with about twenty finished paintings. The subjects are all different. One is of a girl lying on the beach. Another one is a boat docked as a brilliant red sunset looms on the horizon, casting beautiful colors against the ocean. A lot of them are landscapes, maybe places she has been to. They are all amazing. None of them seem to be people or places outside of the United States; it makes me wonder why she chose to do a single Eiffel Tower painting. It must have been what she was working on when V-Day hit. Such a shame, I think to myself. Why people like her? Or Noah… Why not me? Not that I would want such a fate for myself—however, it just didn’t seem to make sense. Why spare the talentless?
I quietly close the door to the room and make my way to a chair across from Cherie who is still fast asleep. I lean back in the chair and rest my eyes. I was more tired than I realized. I fall asleep.
I awake to a gentle hand against my face. “Ethan…” A voice whispers.
I groggily wake up and try and regain my bearings. For a moment I feel panicked as I do not remember where I am, or what I was doing. As my mind slowly clears, the smell of food fills the air. I see Cherie standing above me. She reaches a hand out and I take it without hesitation.