"The Scavenger Bride"
Chapter 10: Questions

Eventually, I became a bit stir-crazy; I was too lazy to get dressed to go out to do anything, yet I was tired of just schlepping around, so I went down into the basement and studied while West worked. I didn't want to be alone that day, and even if neither of us said much of anything to each other while downstairs, his presence was comforting. After awhile, I went to help him. But eventually I grew tired, and at about three, I stopped.

"Alright. I'm done. For now, at least." I made my way for the stairs.

"Where are you going?"

"I need to rest," I told him, smiling sleepily. "You may be able to power through on little sleep, but…." I shrugged. "I need a break."

"You do look tired," he nodded.

"Yeah, well, I feel it, that's for sure. Be good, you."

West gave a short chuckle. "I'll certainly try."

I fell back onto my bed and slept without even moving. Dark, dreamless sleep came to me before my head even hit the pillow, and when my eyes fluttered open again, the sun had begun to set.

"Imogen." West's hand was on my stomach; he gave me the tiniest of shakes.

"Mmm…." I rubbed my eyes. "What time is it?"

"Seven o'clock."

"What? Really?"

"Mm-hmm," he nodded. "C'mon, I've made dinner. And then we can continue to work. I need your help."

"Wait, wait - you cooked?" I smiled up at him.

"What, you've never seen me cook before?" He cracked a small smile, too.

"Not that I can recall," I shook my head. "What did you make?"

"Just pasta," he shrugged.

"That sounds good." I giggled then. "For a second I was afraid you were gonna say filet of cat."

"No cat here," West chuckled. "Well- at least upstairs."

"Oh, God, here we go again," I groaned, smiling, and it perpetuated his slight laughter.

"Yes. Well." West eventually spoke, giving a curt nod. "Dinner?"

"Dinner," I smiled.

I flicked on the radio in the living room once we emerged. "I hope you don't mind," I told West as I searched for something. "We deal with so much death, I want to liven the place up a bit for those of us who still have our pulses intact." I smiled when I found an old big band station; Frank Sinatra's voice filled the room. "Come fly with me, let's fly, let's fly away… If you can use some exotic booze, there's a bar in far Bombay, come fly with me, let's fly, let's fly away….."

From the kitchen, West made a sound of agreement. "Good idea. And excellent musical choice, I must say."

"Oh? You like Sinatra?" Smiling, I came back into the kitchen to lean against the table.

West nodded. "I like all the old singers."

"Huh," I mulled it over with a smile.

"What?" He turned to me with a smile, placing two overflowing bowls of spaghetti on the table, then turned for the fridge. "You assume I just don't listen to music?"

"Well, no," I laughed. "It's just….. your work….. It's all I've ever known when it comes to you."

"Ooh," West nodded in understanding. "Drink?"

"Uuh- yeah, please. Grab me one of the beers back there, will ya?"

He obliged, picking up two and coming to sit across from me, but not before popping the caps. I thanked him as he passed me mine.

"Okay. So. In that case, I have a challenge for you."

"Hmm," he thought for a moment. "Alright, what is it?"

"Well I know you want to get some work done tonight. I do, too. Really. I'll stay up all night with you. But I have one condition."

"I'm listening."

"The entirety of dinner must be used to discuss something other than death, work or school. And we can't just sit here and stare at each other gloomily over our plates. We're not dead, not yet."

His eyebrows raised. "Interesting. Alright, Phillips," West took a sip of his beer then held it out. "What's the phrase - 'You are on.'"

"Yesss…" I laughed, clinking our bottles together. "This should be fun."

"And you thought I was scary….." Herbert shook his head apprehensively, and I howled in laughter.

Everything went perfectly. It didn't take long for West to loosen up a bit. Not that he completely left the stoic West behind. But he was definitely warming up to the idea of talking freely about something other than work. He'd just finished his second beer and was going for another.

"So how old were you when you first drove a car?"

"Thirteen," I giggled, taking a swig of my beer.

"Thirteen?" West laughed.

"I stole my aunt's car to go to the movies one night with my cousin, Shelley, and some of our girlfriends. I went to pick them up and we had a joy ride around town for awhile before getting caught by the cops. Aunt Jane wasn't too happy about that." I was overtaken by fits of laughter then. "Shelley - yeah, my cousin - anyway, she and I were grounded for a month. What about you, you ever go on a driving rampage as a youngster?"

"No, not really," West chuckled. "But I did sleep on the roof of our local hospital for a week."

"Really? How old were you?"

"Mmm…." He thought a moment. "Seven, I suppose."

"Seven?!"

He nodded. "My father, remember?"

"Ooh," I nodded, feeling guilty I caused him to remember. "Sorry."

West shrugged. "S'okay. I haven't seen or heard from him in a long time, so….. he doesn't bother me that much. Not anymore, at least."

There was an awkward moment between us before I continued. "What about school? I mean, clearly, you- Ooh!" I remembered our list of forbidden words and covered my face with my hand, laughing.

"Oooooh, you promised!" West grinned, pointing at me. "Rather, you made me promise."

"I know, I know!" I howled, burying my face in both my hands as I could feel myself blush again. "Okay, okay-" I brushed it away. "Not that one."

"Another one, another one!"

"Um- um- okay, you read a lot. What was your favorite book when you were younger?"

"'Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea,' by Jules Verne."

"Really?"

"Mm-hmm," he smiled. "I wanted to be Captain Nemo, exploring all the oceans of the world… I wanted my own submersible, my own crew; I wanted a telescope. I used to play at it after scho- well, we did promise not to say that word." His smile widened.

"Aaw, little Captain West!" I giggled, getting up for another drink.

Herbert thought quietly to himself for a moment. "Tell me about your bracelet."

I paused ever so briefly, propping the door to the fridge open. I glanced at my wrist against the door; the ten little silver charms dangled off, catching light and memory and bouncing them back to me from across the years. I smiled in spite of the pang in my heart. "Well, what do you want to know?"

"Who gave it to you? It's very nice."

"Thank you," I smiled, sitting back down with another brewski. "It, um….. my aunt gave it to me. After my mother died. It belonged to her."

"Oh?"

I nodded. "She began collecting them when she was even younger than I am now, and continued up until she died. I don't like wearing it all the time because sometimes I get scared I'll lose it."

"I'm sure it will be fine," Herbert smiled comfortingly.

"Thanks," I smiled back.

A light went off over his head as if he had just remembered something, and a hand went to his forehead. "Oh, I'm terribly sorry." Herbert made a face.

"About what?" I chuckled.

"What were the three things we weren't supposed to talk about tonight?"

"Oh!" Realization hit me, and I wrinkled my nose in laughter. "School, work and death," we recited together.

"Aw, Imogen, I…." Herbert's laughter died down. "I'm sorry. Truly, I am. It's not my intention to upset you."

I shook my head, taking another sip of my beer. "You've not upset me." At that, Herbert smiled - really smiled. "So. My turn?"

"Your turn."

"Hmm." I hunkered down into my seat, smiling. I studied my roommate's stoic face for a moment. "What was it that Dan was talking about last night - family versus children? Love? What conversation was he referencing?"

Now it was Herbert that was in the spotlight. He thought things over awhile before answering. "We were discussing just those things. I was telling them my opinions on them; I told you, didn't I?"

"You did, yes, but I feel like I was missing the rest of it."

"Ah, I see. Well." Herbert sighed. "I told Dan….." His voice trailed off, and I noticed he began shutting down a little bit. That stoic wall with which he protected himself was coming back up. "I told him that, if I were to love a woman, it would be the most complete and fulfilling thing, and that neither of us would be better than the other because we each have the thing that the other needs. We would be equal in our love and worship for one another because we need each other."

My jaw dropped and my eyes went wide; I had to set down my beer. "Good God damn, West."

His eyes were wide. "What?"

"I-I'm sorry, it's just that - that was… that was beautiful."

Herbert's face softened into another micro-smile. "Thank you."

"Okay, now you have to ask me something."

"Alright," West sipped his beer and looked me over, clearly trying to come up with something good. "Do you want children?"

Despite it having been essentially just discussed, his question caught me off guard, and I nearly choked on my beer. I steadied myself, smiling. I guess I just wasn't expecting him to ask me. "Me?"

"Yes, you," a faint and fleeting smile of amusement flashed across West's face.

"Well….. yes. To know that a new life can be created from seemingly nothing, from those two separate yet equal parts, it's-"

"Incredible."

"Beautiful." I blushed, my eyes falling to my lap as I let our words absorb for a moment before continuing. "I'd want children with someone I loved…. I'd want to watch our child grow, knowing that we were responsible for their creation."

West gave a nod of satisfaction. We got lost in silence again until he finally broke it with a smile and a swig of his beer. "Your turn."

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MUSIC:

Of course, I listened to the songs mentioned herein soooo many times while writing these scenes! :D I have a whole playlist on my computer of songs from the swing/big band era that I pulled from. I love this genre of music!