The moment Ellie entered the cafeteria with Maria, she could see the changes that had taken place since her last visit. There had to be another forty tables set out with more people lined up for their meals than she remembered even seeing. Ellie could tell only by the scents that lingered in the air that there were so many more choices food choices than there had been previously. The last time she'd been there, they'd had chicken and water. Not that she hadn't appreciated what was offered, only that it was a blander choice than what they had now. Her stomach growled out her excitement. Glancing at Maria, she smiled sheepishly, "Sorry. Joel and I were running low on supplies and had to ration our food."
The blonde shook her head, wrapping a comforting arm around the young woman. "Don't worry about it. We'll get you filled up here, I'll introduce you to some of the families and then we'll go harass the boys so we can get you into a place of your own. Sound good?" Ellie nodded. "Alright, then let's get in line. Today our cook Donna has something special cooked up, from what I hear."
Together they approached the lunch line and Maria grabbed both of them trays. "Oh man, is that corn?" Ellie asked, pressing her hands against the glass that separated her from the food. "I haven't had corn since we left Boston." Another grumble erupted from her belly. "Can I get some of that?" She asked, lifting her tray.
The woman behind the counter gave a sharp nod and scooped up a large spoonful, "You better believe you can, sweetie." She looked to be in her early forties with dark blonde hair that was held back by a long braid down her back. It was her smile that really caught the eye. Something about it held such youth, it made her seem younger. "It's my absolute favorite," she explained, shooting a wink at Maria. "Told you I had a surprise."
Laughing, Maria lifted her tray for some as well. "Ellie, this here is Donna, our resident cook and the only woman I've ever been in love with." The two women shared a bout of laughter, their friendship more than apparent. Looking back to Donna, Maria nodded at Ellie. "This is Ellie. She's been traveling with Tommy's older brother, Joel. They've finally made our way back to us."
"Ooh, so this is the girl who took my horse for a joyride, huh?" Her laughter was contagious and Ellie couldn't help but join in. "Well, you're just lucky you gave him back to Tommy, or I'd have come after you myself," she teased. Her gaze moved to the people behind the two before she smiled at them again, "You two get moving, I got a long line here to feed and if I get caught chit chatting again, I'll never get through them all." Green eyes traveled to Ellie, "You and I will have to talk again. Maybe ride some horses? I heard you rode well and it's about time I beat someone besides Maria."
"Prepare to have your butt kicked, lady," Ellie said. "Cause I can ride like a champ." It felt good to joke around again. It made her feel better, she realized as she brought her tray back down. As Donna laughed again, Maria and Ellie scooted down the line to look at the other selections. After Ellie fixed herself up with some mashed potatoes, a slice of bread and what she was told was 'jello', her and Maria sat themselves down at a table not too far from the door they'd come in through.
Not waiting for permission, Ellie dug into her food. The flavors exploded in her mouth, tasting ten times better than any of the food her and Joel had been surviving on. She couldn't help the satisfied moan that left her lips as she forced a second spoonful of mashed potatoes in her mouth, not even completely finished with the first one. "This stuff 's delicious," she said over the mouthful to Maria. "Donna cooks all this? Holy fuck, she knows what's she's doing."
Chewing on her own slice of bread, Maria nodded. "Tell me about it. I'm so glad she decided to make this place her home, cause I would've been devastated to have lost her."
Looking up from the jello she was poking at, Ellie raised a scarred brow, "What do you mean? She was gonna leave?"
Maria nodded. "Yeah, she actually showed up about two months before you and Joel did the first time around. All she wanted was a place to stay for a bit before she headed out. It was actually about a week ago that she said she was gonna make this her permanent home. And let me tell you, everyone here is thankful for that. We had Tomas over there," she nodded towards the man who was helping serve food, "cooking for us. And while he tried, his food never measured up to Donna's. But needless to say, he's just as thankful to have her."
"That's pretty cool," Ellie said.
The two of them sat in silence and Ellie could easily read the curiosity in Maria's subtle looks. Ellie couldn't blame the woman, either. They'd left with the hope of a cure, and come back with no words on the subject. It would be impossible not to wonder. "You can ask, you know."
Maria chuckled, "Was I that obvious?" Ellie gave her a look and she smiled. "Yeah, should've figured. But you're right, I do want to ask. What happened?"
Another lull of quiet fell over them, the only noise was that chatter of the families at the surrounding tables. Ellie began poking at her green jello again, eyes downcast. "Well, we were on our way to the University, like Tommy told us. But, the Fireflies weren't there and we found a recording of where they'd move so we started off that way." There was a moment where she debated telling Maria about Joel's accident, about the cannibals, but she didn't. "They'd apparently moved to Salt Lake City so we went there. When we got there, Joel and I were crossing this thing of water, but he fell and got trapped in a bus that went under. I can't remember much, but I remember jumping on the bus and trying to get him out. Which was pretty damn stupid seeing as I can't swim." She forced a chuckle. "Then, I blacked out. Joel said the bus caught on something and I fell in and got knocked unconscious." She went back to prodding the jello. "When I woke back up, I was in the back of a car. Joel said we found the Fireflies but that there had been a bunch more people like me. He said they stopped looking for a cure."
Something about the story bothered Maria because she could sense that there was more Ellie wasn't letting on to. Half tempted to dig for more information, she could see that Ellie had been through too much for someone her age. If she wanted to share with Maria, she would. "I'm sorry. That must've been hard for both of you." Reaching across the table, she gripped the young girl's hand tightly and gave a comforting smile. "I can tell you're bothered by it all, and I can't imagine the struggles you've endured. But if you wanna talk about, I'm here. And so is Tommy."
Sighing, Ellie looked up at the other woman and nodded. While Maria's words were comforting to hear and meant a lot to her, she wasn't sure she'd ever be able to talk about it. Some things were just too hard. "Thanks," she muttered, looking back to the remains of her food. There was a feeling of guilt that laid on her shoulders. Maybe she wasn't being fair to Maria. But it was all still hard on her, all too fresh. Talking about any of it felt like prodding at an open wound and then rubbing dirt in it for good measure.
Just as she was about to apologize for her mopey attitude, the doors to the cafeteria opened and Joel emerged from the other side. Right beside him, Tommy walked. Their eyes looked around the room for only a moment before landing at Maria and Ellie. Ellie could see the way Joel's body relaxed as their eyes met. He gave her a small smile as the brother's made their way over.
"Hey there. Looks like you're eating well," Joel commenting, taking the seat next to her. "You haven't touched your jello yet."
Ellie looked to the jiggling...thing again. "What is it?"
"You got what it was but you don't know what it is?" He asked, looking at her.
She didn't even try not to roll her eyes. "No Joel, I know exactly what it is but I'm asking you for shits and giggles."
Joel snorted, "Well, it's...It's like this powder mixed with water and then stirred."
"Sounds shitty."
"Well if you're not gonna eat it..." He grabbed her tray and pulled it towards himself.
Ellie's hand shot out, pulling it back in front of her. "Hey now, I didn't say that." She quickly retrieved her spoon as well and hurriedly spoon the jello passed her lips.
Across the table, Maria and Tommy watched the encounter, unable to keep the amused expressions off their faces. Tommy's eyes stayed more so on his brother, watching the relaxed way in which Joel was able to interact with Ellie. They'd created a strong bond, if their banter was anything to go off of. But it was more than just a friendship. They'd come to rely on one another, had survived because of each other and for each other. He wasn't going to press the issue, but Tommy was more than convinced that the two of them had created a father-daughter tie with one another. And it appeared to be just what Joel had needed. The smile on Joel's face was something Tommy hadn't expected to ever see again. It had been twenty long years since he'd seen it.
He hated to break up their silly banter, but he wanted to get them settled as quickly as possible. "Alright you two," he began, leaning his elbows on the table. "Ya'll ready to get a place of your own? We've got three houses ready as of now that you can choose from. Want to go get one picked out?"
Joel looked to Ellie. "You up for it now?" He asked.
Before she answered, she wolfed down the rest of the jello - mostly so Joel didn't attempt to steal anymore. "Might as well. Not like we got anything else to do."
"Right. Well, Maria why don't you go rest up for a bit, huh? Maybe do the paperwork for them," Tommy suggested as the couple stood. "I can handle getting 'em into a place."
Maria smiled, "Good idea. Ellie, Joel, it's great to have you both back. We'll talk more tomorrow." A protective hand laid over her belly as she bid them goodbye and headed to her own place.
"Alright," Tommy said. "Let's get going."
