hard topics. It confuses and intrigues her.
“Yeah, I can be a little sketchy sometimes.”
“Aren’t we all,” he says, changing the topic. “So, what do you have for me to do today?”
“I’m absolutely starving. Do you think that you could make me some eggs and toast?” she asks. She decides to start the day exactly like she started it with Gillian. She wants to see how Gabriel holds up. If he can’t make a decent egg, she’s going to start to worry. If he burns her toast, she’ll know to keep him away from anything of value when dusting.
“Of course. Coming right up. Eggs are my specialty,” he says, pulling a pan out of the drawer and placing on the oven.
She looks at him strangely. He knew exactly where the pans and the utensils were kept. It’s as if he’s been in her kitchen before. She doesn’t say anything about it. She just makes a mental note of it. She’s not sure if what happened is a good thing or a bad thing just yet.
She sits down at the kitchen table and waits for her eggs. Eva feels awkward. She’s not sure if she should speak or just stay quiet. She is happy when Gabriel speaks.
“Well, I guess I should tell you a little bit about myself.”
“Sure, that would be nice. I’ve been wondering what your story is,” Eva says, fidgeting. She fidgets when she is nervous.
“Well, I’m twenty-seven years old. Right out of high school, I joined the Navy. I trained hard and became a Navy Seal. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in my life, but it’s was the most rewarding.”
“Wow. I’ve read some things about the Seals. The Seals are the toughest of the tough. So, why are you standing in my kitchen making me eggs and not out somewhere protecting our country?”
“Well, me and some guys were out on a mission in Iraq and our Humvee hit an IED.”
“What is an IED?” Eva interrupts.
“An IED stands for an Improvised Explosive Device. It’s a bomb basically.”
“Oh, okay. Continue,” Eva says, listening attentively to Gabriel’s story.
“Some of my friends died that day. It was a pretty horrifying experience to say the least. When we hit the IED, debris from it damaged my eye. I received some other minor injuries, but my eye took the most damage. When my eye injury first occurred, the Doctor couldn’t give me a definite answer about whether I would be able to see again. I had to wait for it to completely heal.”
“So, I’m going to guess and say that it didn’t heal properly.”
“You’d guess right. I’m partially blind now. When I came and got the key from my Aunt was the day I found out that I could no longer be in the Navy.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. It must be hard to have to walk away from something that you’ve done practically your whole life.”
“It was probably the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, besides bury my parents and the friends I lost to war.”
“You’re parents died?”
“They were killed in a plane crash while on vacation.”
“Gabriel, I’m so sorry for your loss. You’ve been through a lot in your short life.”
“You have too, so I guess that we have something in common,” Gabriel says, placing a plate full of eggs with a couple of pieces of toast to accompany them in front of her. He hands her a fork. Eva stares at the eggs. They are perfectly cooked – nice and fluffy, like she likes them. The toast is
“Yeah, I can be a little sketchy sometimes.”
“Aren’t we all,” he says, changing the topic. “So, what do you have for me to do today?”
“I’m absolutely starving. Do you think that you could make me some eggs and toast?” she asks. She decides to start the day exactly like she started it with Gillian. She wants to see how Gabriel holds up. If he can’t make a decent egg, she’s going to start to worry. If he burns her toast, she’ll know to keep him away from anything of value when dusting.
“Of course. Coming right up. Eggs are my specialty,” he says, pulling a pan out of the drawer and placing on the oven.
She looks at him strangely. He knew exactly where the pans and the utensils were kept. It’s as if he’s been in her kitchen before. She doesn’t say anything about it. She just makes a mental note of it. She’s not sure if what happened is a good thing or a bad thing just yet.
She sits down at the kitchen table and waits for her eggs. Eva feels awkward. She’s not sure if she should speak or just stay quiet. She is happy when Gabriel speaks.
“Well, I guess I should tell you a little bit about myself.”
“Sure, that would be nice. I’ve been wondering what your story is,” Eva says, fidgeting. She fidgets when she is nervous.
“Well, I’m twenty-seven years old. Right out of high school, I joined the Navy. I trained hard and became a Navy Seal. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in my life, but it’s was the most rewarding.”
“Wow. I’ve read some things about the Seals. The Seals are the toughest of the tough. So, why are you standing in my kitchen making me eggs and not out somewhere protecting our country?”
“Well, me and some guys were out on a mission in Iraq and our Humvee hit an IED.”
“What is an IED?” Eva interrupts.
“An IED stands for an Improvised Explosive Device. It’s a bomb basically.”
“Oh, okay. Continue,” Eva says, listening attentively to Gabriel’s story.
“Some of my friends died that day. It was a pretty horrifying experience to say the least. When we hit the IED, debris from it damaged my eye. I received some other minor injuries, but my eye took the most damage. When my eye injury first occurred, the Doctor couldn’t give me a definite answer about whether I would be able to see again. I had to wait for it to completely heal.”
“So, I’m going to guess and say that it didn’t heal properly.”
“You’d guess right. I’m partially blind now. When I came and got the key from my Aunt was the day I found out that I could no longer be in the Navy.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. It must be hard to have to walk away from something that you’ve done practically your whole life.”
“It was probably the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do, besides bury my parents and the friends I lost to war.”
“You’re parents died?”
“They were killed in a plane crash while on vacation.”
“Gabriel, I’m so sorry for your loss. You’ve been through a lot in your short life.”
“You have too, so I guess that we have something in common,” Gabriel says, placing a plate full of eggs with a couple of pieces of toast to accompany them in front of her. He hands her a fork. Eva stares at the eggs. They are perfectly cooked – nice and fluffy, like she likes them. The toast is
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