Rose/Michael
“If I remember this conversation? And you’ll give me a recipe for tea? But I know how to make tea. I figured out how to make tea after graduating – why does it need a recipe?” Had Michael been using a recipe to make tea for all these years? Perhaps he preferred to add alcohol to his drinks like her Great Uncle Alvarez; everyone in the Zeller household knew not to disturb his morning coffee or to pretend they didn’t see the tiny silver bottle his elf handed to him. “Does your tea come from an Island? Mine comes from a little teabag in the canister. I wonder which tastes better.”
Rose knew exactly what Michael was getting at when he said ‘huh’. Amazing that so much could be conveyed in three short letters. Sometimes, like this, the ‘huh’ was the deepest philo..phil..thought that could happen. “Yup,” came the lip smacking reply as she nodded in assent. Michael was a good listener ; he was even better with giving her advice. She wondered if he knew that. Probably. He seemed to know his own worth and brilliance. “I don’t mind being reliable. Not all the time, I’ve got to be for my job and stuff but its..I don’t know. I was talking to someone I liked. Sorta flirting possibly but not really because I suck at that and I realised I was dull. And predictable.”
Her throat was parched after that long speech and she took another sip of her drink before blinking at it. Had her glass sprung a leak? Where had half of her drink gone? Someone had stolen it! Maybe.
“I don’t know. Exciting stuff? I’ve never really done anything exciting so I don’t know what it is. Well, obviously I’ve done things that are exciting but nothing I can share at dinner parties or with friends. Never broke a rule or had points taken, always handed in essays on time. I rostered my holiday allowance for this weekend so I wouldn’t let work down..” Rose sighed a little at her own rant. She’d always been reliable, dependable and she simply didn’t know how to be otherwise. Didn’t even know if it was possible to be another way. “You can always contact me right? If you’re drunk or..in trouble. I’m up late and rise early and have food and a couch.”
Struck by a sudden memory, Rose clicked her fingers and beamed at Michael. “You should wear underwear to Anthonys wedding. Otherwise you might catch a chill or cold and be..sniffly. Sneezes ruin a wedding, you know.”