there.”
“It's
on the coffee table. You know what? Let me put these up. Any of these you want
to read, you're welcome. These are yours.” He looked at her pointedly. “But,
I'm about to kill your afternoon.”
He
motioned her to the couch and opened up the laptop. “All you do is open it and
it will come on. Then at the password prompt, type 'Jag65' and that will get
you to the home screen.” He placed it on her lap. “You see the line of pictures
on the left? They're called icons. Touch the top one.”
Shula
hesitantly touched the triangle and watched the screen change entirely.
“Now.
Type in something general, like 'pasta recipes'.
Shula
did. Very slowly. She thanked her mother that she wasn't illiterate. Once the
screen changed again, there were over one million options for pasta recipes. “Wow...how
do you choose?”
“You
be more specific. Like 'chicken' 'pasta' 'vegetables'. Or 'cheesy pasta'. Or
you can select 'images' at the top and get lost for days. To save the website,
you can press the triangle on the top right. That makes it easier to find it
later. Save as many things as you want and I can teach you to organize it
later. If it's something you won't think I'll like, save it anyway. We both
might be surprised. And if this starts to get a bit overwhelming, you can go
get a book.” He wasn't sure if she was listening to him anymore. He stood and
walked to the kitchen. He made them both sandwiches, so that there was a
pretense of his hunger and poured her a glass of tea.
She
didn't look up when he sat back down. He smiled. He ate his sandwich and
watched her. She'd saved nearly twenty when he was half done. “Sustenance,
Shula.”
She
blinked up at him and frowned when she saw the sandwich on the coffee table,
along with the tea.
“I'm
going to work on the fence for a few more hours. Your job today is finding food
you'd like to cook.” He continued hesitantly. “I don't need a caretaker, but
I'd appreciate a partner. I think you should have some time to get used to all
this, and to ignore everything you think you should be doing to make me happy.
Your purpose isn't my happiness.”
Shula
was lost. “Then what is the point of me?”
Jared
smiled gently and ran fingers through her short crop. “What is the point of any
of us? On a spiritual level, well, that's not something that interests me, nor
do I believe you care to have a lengthy discussion on it. But, on a practical
level? You're seeking your fit here with me. You want to pull your weight and
the only practice you have doing that is caring for your father.”
She
nodded. “Yes. I want to learn.”
“Good.
That's good. I want you to be happy. But, I don't want you to think that I'm
unhappy if I do things that your father wouldn't do. I've lived here alone, and
know how to keep a house. It's not my favorite thing, but I don't mind it. But,
I imagine you'll be doing things when I'm out there and I'll be grateful for
it. But some days, I'll want to be lazy, because we can , and I'd like to
have someone who indulges me.” Jared could tell that Shula was almost grasping
it. He bent and kissed her temple. “Don't make me command you to be lazy.
Because I will.”
Shula
laughed.
“I
command you to eat. And find food for us to try. Got it?”
“I
think so, yes.” She smiled at him.
“Good.
I'll be back inside in a few hours to start the potatoes. You can dig through
the cupboards if you like. If I've got it, you can cook it.” He grabbed his
water bottle and left out the backdoor.
She
watched after him for a few moments, then turned back around and noticed her
sandwich. The last time someone made a meal solely for her was her mother.
Jared
seemed to be adjusting to having her here without any problems at all. He
seemed to genuinely enjoy having her. She wondered how long it would take for
her to believe it truly. She had no reason to think him a liar, but from what
she understood, husbands didn't work that way. She'd known
“It's
on the coffee table. You know what? Let me put these up. Any of these you want
to read, you're welcome. These are yours.” He looked at her pointedly. “But,
I'm about to kill your afternoon.”
He
motioned her to the couch and opened up the laptop. “All you do is open it and
it will come on. Then at the password prompt, type 'Jag65' and that will get
you to the home screen.” He placed it on her lap. “You see the line of pictures
on the left? They're called icons. Touch the top one.”
Shula
hesitantly touched the triangle and watched the screen change entirely.
“Now.
Type in something general, like 'pasta recipes'.
Shula
did. Very slowly. She thanked her mother that she wasn't illiterate. Once the
screen changed again, there were over one million options for pasta recipes. “Wow...how
do you choose?”
“You
be more specific. Like 'chicken' 'pasta' 'vegetables'. Or 'cheesy pasta'. Or
you can select 'images' at the top and get lost for days. To save the website,
you can press the triangle on the top right. That makes it easier to find it
later. Save as many things as you want and I can teach you to organize it
later. If it's something you won't think I'll like, save it anyway. We both
might be surprised. And if this starts to get a bit overwhelming, you can go
get a book.” He wasn't sure if she was listening to him anymore. He stood and
walked to the kitchen. He made them both sandwiches, so that there was a
pretense of his hunger and poured her a glass of tea.
She
didn't look up when he sat back down. He smiled. He ate his sandwich and
watched her. She'd saved nearly twenty when he was half done. “Sustenance,
Shula.”
She
blinked up at him and frowned when she saw the sandwich on the coffee table,
along with the tea.
“I'm
going to work on the fence for a few more hours. Your job today is finding food
you'd like to cook.” He continued hesitantly. “I don't need a caretaker, but
I'd appreciate a partner. I think you should have some time to get used to all
this, and to ignore everything you think you should be doing to make me happy.
Your purpose isn't my happiness.”
Shula
was lost. “Then what is the point of me?”
Jared
smiled gently and ran fingers through her short crop. “What is the point of any
of us? On a spiritual level, well, that's not something that interests me, nor
do I believe you care to have a lengthy discussion on it. But, on a practical
level? You're seeking your fit here with me. You want to pull your weight and
the only practice you have doing that is caring for your father.”
She
nodded. “Yes. I want to learn.”
“Good.
That's good. I want you to be happy. But, I don't want you to think that I'm
unhappy if I do things that your father wouldn't do. I've lived here alone, and
know how to keep a house. It's not my favorite thing, but I don't mind it. But,
I imagine you'll be doing things when I'm out there and I'll be grateful for
it. But some days, I'll want to be lazy, because we can , and I'd like to
have someone who indulges me.” Jared could tell that Shula was almost grasping
it. He bent and kissed her temple. “Don't make me command you to be lazy.
Because I will.”
Shula
laughed.
“I
command you to eat. And find food for us to try. Got it?”
“I
think so, yes.” She smiled at him.
“Good.
I'll be back inside in a few hours to start the potatoes. You can dig through
the cupboards if you like. If I've got it, you can cook it.” He grabbed his
water bottle and left out the backdoor.
She
watched after him for a few moments, then turned back around and noticed her
sandwich. The last time someone made a meal solely for her was her mother.
Jared
seemed to be adjusting to having her here without any problems at all. He
seemed to genuinely enjoy having her. She wondered how long it would take for
her to believe it truly. She had no reason to think him a liar, but from what
she understood, husbands didn't work that way. She'd known
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