Play Me A Song I Know
Who: Adnan and Coop Where: The beach near camp What: Soothing sore feet When: After dark Rating: G
Coop had settled herself in the wet sand down by the water, hiked the skirt of her long dress up to her thighs where it frothed around her in hills of crimson cotton. She sighed with pleasure as her travel-weary and scuffed up feet sunk into the cool lake water. She felt reasonably sure nothing would lunge out of the water and bite her feet off, despite the strange gargling laugher that range over the rippling surface from the other side. She believed the others when they said those monsters couldn't swim. She'd been fortunate to never have seen one thus far. If she had, she might be more willing to share Tripper's mindset on the matter. The dog hung back, watching her from the circle of light cast by the fire pit. Every now and then he'd take a couple of steps toward her, remember his fear and circle back to where he started. For her part, Coop was reveling in the alone time. Near camp there just always seemed to be so much action. After such a long day she was glad for a little bit of peace.
Adnan had been rather grateful when the sun went down. He'd stripped his shirt at some point after talking to the council, while helping to secure a couple more lean-tos for people, then had gone to wash off as best he could in the lake a ways away from camp. The soap pods were ... curious. Odd that the land would have conveniences like that. It was the first real bath he'd had since arriving, and he felt ten times better afterward. He'd eaten dinner and found himself with the bizarre feeling of free time. He wasn't tired enough to sleep, it was dark, and there wasn't really any work to do. He'd checked his guitar after the storm to make sure it wasn't damaged, but he hadn't really played the thing since he'd gotten to this strange world. Picking up the case, he started to wander off somewhere a bit more private. He spotted Tripper, standing by the fire, his attention fully focused elsewhere. Following the dog's gaze, Adnan started to walk in that direction, able to make out the shape of ghostly shoulders down near the water.
The squelch of boots on damp sand was a rare enough sound around this place that Coop peered over her shoulder when the footsteps got close. Shadowy as he was, she could still make out the shape of her fellow cart-sleeper back lit by the fire. "Evening Adnan," she said, hoping he wouldn't ask her to get up just yet. Her blisters had blisters and what wasn't bubbled or burst was scratched and splintered. Basically, he feet were an ugly mess this evening. She never wanted to pull them back out of the cool surf for the rest of her life. "Is my cowardly dog still up there?" She hoped he wasn't bothering anyone. He was so spooked it was countering his natural curiosity and friendliness. Hopefully it was temporary. Hopefully he'd realize that the monsters on the prairie would never come across to get them.
"Evening," he said with a smile, even if she likely couldn't see it. "Yes, he's eagerly awaiting your return," he told her. He couldn't blame the dog, honestly. His first couple of nights had been absolutely sleepless, and he -- like Coop -- had the benefit of not ever having seen a laugher. Which he still believed was a macabre name. He stepped a bit to the side, so as not to block the fire from her completely, and made a vague gesture to the area beside her. "Do you mind if I join you?" he asked, not wanting to interrupt her alone-time if she was needing it. He knew how that was.
Coop made a gracious gesture encompassing the stretch of beach. "By all means," she said. "I left your jacket over at the cart. It's too nice tonight to use it." It was breezy but warm enough. Even with her feet in the water and the sun all but a blush on the western horizon. "Or maybe I should move. Someplace drier." The last thing she wanted was for him to soak his guitar. That would be a tragedy! He'd told her that he could play but she hadn't actually heard him yet. "You can tell me if the flagstone idea is working out on the new lean-tos. I haven't been in camp all day." Her long walk with Nefertiti hadn't been in vain though. She'd come back to camp with her skirt full of eggs and dinner had been delicious. The smell of frying eggs still lingered.
"It is," Adnan agreed to the first part, throwing a glance up at the unfamiliar night sky. "You're fine where you are," he said, and sat down mostly-next to her, though a bit farther up from the water. He crossed his long legs indian-style and set his guitar case down. It was thankfully sturdy -- had to be, with his old life -- and waterproofed. He left it where it was for the moment, lacing his fingers together in his lap and looked at her with a faint smile. "The idea was a hit with the council, though I haven't had a chance quite yet to go get enough of the stones to really try it. I have no doubt it will work, however. What have you spent your day doing?" he asked, curious. And hoping that wasn't outside of his asking boundaries.
"It was me and Nefertiti who found all of those eggs for dinner but it was a bit of a long walk to find them. We were exploring and as awesome as finding those birds were, I sort of wish I'd waited until I could make myself some kind of sandals." She winced as she flexed her toes in the cold water. "I'm covered in cuts and blisters below the ankles." She was a bit tickled that her idea had gone over so well with the council. She also found herself quietly pleased that her suggestion could maybe make him look better in the eyes of those in charge.
He looked sympathetic, though he'd been lucky enough to cross over with his boots. If that was how one wanted to phrase it. The vague, strange thought rose again that perhaps they were dead, but he pushed it to the side once more. It didn't do much good at all to think that way. "There's a doctor here," he said instead, glancing down to the pale flash of her feet in the water. "He might be able to help? I've been lucky enough not to need him at all, but with the types of plants this place has produced, I wouldn't be surprised if there's ... something like aloe around." He paused and gave her a wan smile. "The eggs were delicious, however. Thank you."
Coop smiled and wiggled her toes a bit. "You're probably right. Doctor Baker probably has some sort of plant goop that is especially wonderful for healing cut feet. Why not? There's soap pods and minty tooth brushes." She nodded to his guitar case. "Did your guitar stay dry?" She knew they could warp when too damp. That would be a tragedy, no mistake about it. To come here with the instrument just to have it destroyed. She thought that would likely break Adnan's heart, the way he carried it and touched it from time to time.
He reached over and petted the case with a little smile. "Yes," he answered. "I invested in a waterproof case a long time ago. Living on the road, it's hard to know what you will come across." He shrugged one broad shoulder and looked at his inanimate traveling companion. Would it be strange now to ask if she minded if he played? Would that look too much like he was attempting to serenade her? Here was certainly not the place and now was not the time to be ... doing something like that. Charming a woman. He was somewhat adept at it -- it had gotten him a lot of rides and temporary roofs -- but they were all going through so much.
Coop nodded, perfect understanding on her exotically elfin face. "Or when the sky might come down on you, I guess." Come down like it had the day she'd arrived. Leave it to her to make her appearance out of a tempest. Her eyes followed his hand to the case and her smile was a bit distant. She didn't really feel that way about anything inanimate, except maybe her truck. There were people she missed with that much affection but she wasn't really feeling too much longing for home at the moment. She was stuck firmly in the present by the throbbing of her feet. And her company. Unaware of Adnan's uncertainty, Coop just went ahead and absolved him of all responsibility. "Want to play something for me?" she asked with a dash of hope in her voice.
Despite the fact that he was thinking of doing that very thing already, he looked surprised and pleased that she would ask. "... sure," he said, making an effort not to sound terribly eager about it. He flipped the case down on it's side and opened it up, pulling the 12-string guitar out. He'd bargained the man he bought it from in Texas down a couple hundred dollars, and was eternally grateful that he had. He guarded that guitar almost with his life, it was a necessity for him. He put it in his lap, tucked the green plastic pick between his lips, and went through the ritual of tuning up. Just plucking the strings that much was soothing and made him feel better about life. Soon enough he was ready, and he looked at her with a little smile. "Any requests?" he asked, if only to judge what sort of music she liked.
Coop looked surprised when he offered her a request. Surprise melted away into thought as she considered what she might like to hear. She had fairly diverse musical interests. That happened when you spent all day listening to the radio in your truck. A couple of years ago her brothers had all pitched in and bought her a Sirius radio for her birthday and she'd been enjoying it ever since. Depending on her mood she'd listen to her brothers favourite rock bands or some spicy jazz or maybe some Delta blues. Tonight, though... "Do you know any Seals and Crofts? That sort of folk music always makes me think of my mom."
He thought for a moment, trying to go through the catalog of music in his mind. "I believe I do," he said after with a little smile. He strummed the strings once, then found the beginning to 'Summer Breeze' in his head. It was simple enough. "See the curtains hanging in the window, in the evening on a Friday night. A little light a-shining through the window, lets me know that everything's all right," he sang along with his own playing, smiling briefly through it at himself. He'd spent entirely too much time listening to radios in shitty motel rooms. But some things just came in handy. "Summer breeze, makes me feel fine ..."
"Blowing though the jasmine in my mind," she sang softly to finish off his chorus. Coop didn't exactly have the voice of an angel. No, it was flawed and earthly just like most people's. But she was happy singing and had whiled away plenty of hours with no one to complain but Tripper. Adnan had a nice voice, she noted. Deep and even when he was singing softly, it was resonant. Like you could hear it working it's way out of that deep chest of his before it made it past his lips. It was safe to say that Coop liked the sound and found herself glad he'd arrived with his guitar. It would give him plenty of occasion to sing.
Adnan was of the idea that he didn't have that great a voice. Passable, maybe. Perhaps a bit richer when he was singing in Kurdish or Arabic, as he was more sure of himself with the languages he'd grown up speaking. But nothing to write home about. He sang the whole song, however, since he knew it and she looked like she was enjoying listening. He finished it and smiled at her, looking worlds more relaxed already. Then his fingers went on without him, moving into a song by The Mamas and The Papas that he knew the tune for, but not all the words. So he just played it instead.
It was nice to hear music again, especially music that she knew. She didn't know the words to the Mamas and the Papas tune he was playing but she could hum along. He didn't actually finish a song so much as flowed in to the next one. Coop smiled and shook her head with a chuckle. "It's awesome that you have that skill. I never had the patience to practice any instruments I guess. I was always go-go-go when I was a kid." She looked out over the dark lake, water rippling in their direction from the splashing at the far bank. "Nothing really changed when I grew up either."
He chuckled as he wrapped up the song, shrugging one broad shoulder. "I never learned until I was spending far too many nights without anything to do, as an adult," he told her with a gentle smile. "It was something to focus on." Besides his crippling grief, loneliness, and the unshakable feeling of being lost. But all that didn't need to be mentioned. He'd gotten to where he could live with things. Or had, before the world had been ripped rudely away. Which they also didn't need to be reminded of. His eyes turned skyward, to the alien stars. He'd come to know the stars ... on earth, back home, however one wanted to phrase it. The ones above them now certainly weren't them.
Coop followed his gaze heavenward and watched in silence for a few long minutes. "It's strange, isn't it?" She had been the type to lie down in the grass and just spend some time looking up. At the clearing where her father had built a cabin, on the beach in Miami or our in the desert in California. They were different but the same. Comfortingly familiar, anywhere in the western hemisphere. Up north there had even been the aurora borealis to keep her company. Here, there were two or three times more visible stars. They seemed to flow like milk into the black bowl of the sky. They were breathtaking and still unsettling in their unfamiliarity. She hoped he'd gather her meaning by her question - the awe and the terror.
"Very," Adnan murmured, in a tone that said he understood what she meant. There wasn't really a good word for it, so 'strange' functioned well enough. All that alien beauty, a whole other set of distant cold stars that didn't care about them and what they were going through. It always put things in perspective for him back home, and here ... even more so. They were strangers there, utterly and completely. It made him think that they were very lucky to have each other, even as a rag-tag thrown-together group. He lowered his dark eyes to rest on Coop's lovely elfin face. He though about how Helena had told him she was alone for several days before someone else arrived, and he vaguely wondered how she didn't go mad. Especially with the laughers.
Unaware of the direction of his thoughts, she turned her face away from all of that starlight and leaned her weight on her hand in the sand. Her bare shoulder cocked in his direction. "So how did the talk with the council go?" She'd met Kenneth first and thought the military man seemed alright. She'd only exchanged brief greetings and introductions with Helena and she, too, had heard the rumor that the Asian woman had survived along here for days. Not on the island either but in the forest they'd evacuated. She hadn't had occasion to meet the priest yet but she hoped she would soon. Coop had always found holy people to be fascinating. Catholic priests or her mothers gurus or the Elders of the Senecas.
"Ah ... very well," he said after a moment's thought, looking back over at her with a faint smile. "I believe we are going to be making progress as soon as possible. They liked your flagstone idea." His smile broadened a bit with that statement and he took in her reaction before continuing on. "With any luck, soon enough we will have roofs over our heads, and some stability. They're also discussing splitting up organized work details, which I think will be beneficial." His fingers plucked the guitar strings idly and softly, which kept them occupied and away from following the impulse to feel the skin on her shoulder.
The starlight only helped to convey the beaming smile on her face when he related his news. "That's fantastic!" Not one to really keep her hands to herself, at least not during casual conversation, she reached over and companionably patted his knee. "Good for you! You'll be the camp's Master Builder in no time." She went on grinning as she turned her face upward once more, drew in and let out a deep breath before gathering her wits about her. "Alright, I don't think the water can do any more good for me feet. I think I'm going to have to turn in."
He chuckled, and made himself not look down at the spot that she'd touched. What was he, thirteen? Adnan was no innocent, despite the conservative nature of his upbringing and manners. There was just something about this particular woman in this particular place. Maybe it was a symptom of shock. Something. "I will do my best," he said modestly, then set his guitar aside to stand up and offer her a hand up. "I hope you rest well, and your feet feel like new in the morning," he told Coop.
Coop groaned as she pushed herself upright and hobbled a few steps with the help of his supporting arm. "I doubt it. I think they're ruined forever." She gazed mornfully down at where her toes peaked out from beneath the wet hem of her dress. She heaved a big sigh. "It'll teach me for not sleeping with my flip flops on." The thought of those highly coveted footwear sitting next to an empty bed in an abandoned tractor almost brought tears to her eyes. "Maybe I'll get lucky and I won't have to walk anywhere tomorrow."
"Let's hope. I don't think I'm up to constructing wheelchairs yet," he said, going for lighter-hearted. He felt for her, however; he'd had torn up feet before, and they were precisely no fun. "Just try and take it easy on them for a few days. People seem to be finding shoes every now and then, I'll keep a look out." And if not, some rudimentary sandals could probably be fashioned. He thought for a second about handing his boots over to her. If she stuffed the toes with something, they might fit ... but that was getting a bit ahead of himself. He did have hard work to do soon.
Coop chuckled and despite her wincy hobble, still managed to seem light and airy besides. "Will do. I'll take it as the doctors orders." As they reentered the circle of light surrounding the camp, Tripper bounded over in obvious relief. "Alright, mutt," she said as she rubbed at his floppy ears. "Bed time." She looked up at Adnan's face and gave him an eye crinkling smile once again. "Night," though it was slow, she turned toward the carts and tottered off to find a place to fall down for the night.