Between the Lanterns(48)

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Samantha woke up feeling happy. Things weren’t perfect, they never were and never would be, but today was going to be a great day. Yesterday had been a little stressful, but with the incredible sex in the kitchen, and the amount of Credit August had received for his SameSoul blueprints, things were looking up.

“Always look on the bright side, as they used to say,” she muttered to herself as she slid out of bed.

And that is exactly what Samantha was doing today;: looking on the bright side. She went to use the bathroom, and afterward, Samantha went in search of her husband. It was silent in the house, so she knew he wasn’t watching any vids or shows. And that meant he was probably in the workshop.

On the way, she noticed the SameSoul prototype sitting on the kitchen counter, where August had left it last night. She picked it up to bring it to August in the workshop, but before she could enter there was a loud POP from inside his fortress of tinkering. She rushed to the workshop door, but just as she reached for the handle;, August burst out with a fierce look on his face.

“Sweets!” she cried out, startled to hell and back. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

August looked at the troubled expression on Samantha’s face, and decided not to bother her with his worries;, the reasons he was upset, and why he had made such a bonehead mistake in his shop just now.

“I’m sorry, Sam,” he said sweetly, kissing her on the forehead. “I hope I didn’t scare you or nothin’. I was just messin’ around in there, tryin’ to come up with somethin’ new, but my mind was… elsewhere and I fed too much Tesla energy into a small motor. It… well, it blew up in my dang face.”

“Are you hurt? Do we need to go to the clinic, sweets?” she asked.

August shook his head quickly and replied, “No, even if I were hurt I wouldn’t want to go back there ever again.”

Samantha looked at him curiously, then recalled all the bad memories they shared at that awful place.

“Alright, sweets,” she said, returning his kiss with a little peck on August’s cheek. “Why don’t you go shower, and I’ll make us some breakfast. How do cheese grits and bacon sound?”

He suddenly felt a good deal better at the mention of her food. Samantha had been cooking less and less lately, which worried August. She lived to cook and loved to do it. It was sad to see her glance into a kitchen full of her favorite stuff, but not have the desire to cook so much as buttered toast.

“Shoot, babe, that sounds real good,” August said, sidling up close to his wife and hugging her tight. “Did I ever tell you that I love you?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact, you might have mentioned it a time or two,” she said, returning his embrace and breathing in the smell of his shirt. “I love you, too, man of mine. Now get. I’ve got some work to do.”

Once she heard the shower running, Samantha began to cry. She sobbed deep and long, gasping for breath when she could. There were so many things going through her head at that moment. August was acting differently, and it worried her. The home that they had known for so long, Cheryl’s old house, would soon be empty of life. Everything was piling up inside of her to the point where it all came out as tears. Sure, she was sad. She was worried. Samantha was regretting past decisions. But mostly, she was just overwhelmed with everything and needed to let it out.

She didn’t want to bother August with her worries and problems – not with everything that was going on. He had enough to worry about. Samantha looked down and noticed the SameSoul on the counter again. She picked it up and placed it in her apron pocket so she would remember to give it to him later.

Samantha was still puzzled as to why he had kept this prototype. What was he going to use it for, anyways? She didn’t want to be trapped in some little box and not get to join her friends and family in Heaven. And she didn’t want her husband, the love of her life, to be trapped inside it, either.

The shower stopped, and Samantha noticed that the food was done. She had been thinking so deeply that she had just cooked on auto.

“Well, damn,” she said to herself. “I hope it tastes good. I don’t remember seasoning a thing!”

But before she could taste anything, Samantha heard footsteps approaching from behind.

“Sam,” August suddenly whispered into her ear, “I’m sure it’s as delicious as always. Your food never disappoints.”

They sat down and ate breakfast together. Sam felt less sad, and August seemed less mad. Neither one of them wanted to bother their spouse with negative talk, so August and Samantha only discussed positive subjects.

“I told you, babe!” he said, excited. “These are probably the best grits I have ever had! You’ve outdone yourself this time.”

Samantha grinned as her husband ate slowly, savoring every bite; exactly how you should eat real food. She spooned some grits into her mouth and thought August must be just being nice. The grits were ok, but it for sure wasn’t her best. They were almost bland.

After they cleaned up together, August grabbed his bike helmet and headed for the front door. He didn’t say a word; he seemed lost in his own thoughts.

“Sweets, where are you going?” Samantha asked him.

Surprised at being interrupted, he spun around suddenly to see Sam standing in the kitchen looking at him curiously.