The Big Fish by Madison Henley (best free e reader .TXT) 📕

more empty shelves than food stocked. Georgia was the type to either eat out or order in. Cooking had never been her forte. The silence between the two was anything but comfortable. Keliah didn't want to bring up the fact that she knew Georgia had gotten good and drunk last night and certainly didn't want to ask how she felt since the burial of her father. So Keliah remained silent and continued to eat, stealing glances at Georgia when she could. Georgia looked up at Keliah a few times, careful not to make eye contact. She was trying to come up with an excuse that sounded at least half better than the real situation. Georgia couldn’t come up with anything. She bit her lip and put down her fork.

“I’m sorry for last night. My behavior was highly inappropriate. I shouldn’t have left you here all alone either. That was wrong of me.”

Georgia refused to look at Keliah. She was embarrassed. How could she act like such a child?

“Georgia, it’s completely fine. You’re grieving.”

“That was no way to do it though.”

“Hey,”

Keliah reached across the table and touched Georgia’s hand, making her look up at her.

“everyone grieves in their own way.”

Georgia smiled warmly and Keliah retracted her hand back to continue eating her breakfast in total silence, except this time, some of the heavy tension was lifted. Keliah’s eyes remained on Georgia who was gulfing down her plate of food at the moment. She knew she shouldn’t feel bad for Georgia. Georgia was a woman and could handle her own but it just seemed like Georgia was so lonely. Her eyes didn’t have that sparkle in it like it used to. They were now a dark blue, reflecting her soul from within. Keliah hated that. Keliah would give Georgia the world if she could but there was so little that she could do for a woman who didn’t want anything. All she had was her passionate love for her, and Georgia didn’t want that.

“I made you something.”

Keliah stood up and walked over to the coffee table in the living room where she picked up a green card and walked back over to Georgia. Keliah placed the card beside Georgia’s now empty plate of food. Georgia put down her fork and softly traced the drawings on the front of the card with her index finger. It was a drawing of a tall stick figure and a shorter one next to it and they were holding mugs of hot tea. Georgia gasped inwardly and she felt the hot tears well up in her eyes.

“Obviously I’m not Picasso but that’s supposed to be you and me and we’re both drinking tea. I decided to try it once for the occasion. Clearly this wouldn't happen in real life. It's sort of nasty.”

Keliah stated timidly.

“What’s this square at the bottom of our feet?”

“It’s your cake.”

Keliah stated like it was obvious to see. Georgia let her tears roll down the hill of her cheeks and traced her thumb against the poor drawing of the cake with soccer ball candles lit on top.

“Happy birthday, Georgia.”

Georgia wiped her eyes and smiled. Keliah had made her a card out of construction paper that she found buried in Georgia's office with her favorite color and a mechanical pencil for her drawings. She had limited resources to use but it was beautiful. Georgia began to open the card when Keliah shouted at her.

“Please don’t open it! I don’t want you to read it. At least, not when I’m here.”

Georgia simply smiled and closed the card back.

“Come here.”

Keliah backed her chair from the kitchen table and walked over slowly to Georgia. Georgia wrapped her arms around Keliah’s waist and buried her forehead into her stomach.

“Thank you. Thank you so much.”

They stood like that for a while, silence taking over the two. Georgia softly cried on Keliah’s shirt as Keliah stroked her arm and kissed the top of her head. Neither one of them wanted to pull away. It just felt…right. Georgia needed this. Being in each other arms. When they were together, they escaped from reality for a moment. Fears, worries, and pain were all gone and it was just the two of them. Georgia liked it that way. Being with Keliah showed Georgia that there was a possibility of seeing light out of the dark tunnel. Georgia was the first to pull away, wiping under her eyes.

“I’m sorry, I got your shirt all wet.”

“It’s technically your shirt so- -”

Keliah joked and Georgia showed a slight reaction of a smile. Georgia wiped underneath her eyes and backed away from the kitchen table.

“I need to get dressed and pick up my car.”

“How are you going to do that?”

“I have another car. You’re going to drive the Porsche.

Keliah furrowed her brows.

“Georgia, I can’t…”

“What? You don’t have your driver’s license…Keliah, you can’t drive?”

“No, it’s not that. You just put a huge responsibility on me. We’re talking a sixty thousand dollar car. That’s like, my tuition here.”

Georgia grabbed both her plate and Keliah’s and walked over to the kitchen to rinse them off in the sink. She smiled at Keliah’s statement.

“I have insurance. I think we’ll be okay.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Georgia wiped the pool of sweat plastered against