Re: Obed/Isobel - poolside - 7:55 p.m.
It took Obed some time to properly formulate a response. Her apology only made him more uncomfortable, and in the interests of not showing it, he busied his hands with raising the packet of cigarettes up toward her, the cheap plastic lighter he had bought from a gas station stuffed into the cellophane at the back.
"We've both picked up bad habits, I see." His feet trailed in the water, droplets falling in his wake. His hands curled around the edge of the pool, as though to still them from reaching out to her. He twitched a small smile. "You don't have to apologize. I can't imagine how strange it must have been for you." The next draw from his cigarette flared the cherry at its tip, illuminating the deep shadows beneath his eyes. "How... how have you been, Isobel? Are you feeling any better?"