Eleven

"Dinner was good, huh."

Archer rests his hip against the counter near the sink where Maddy is washing dishes. He folds his arms over his chest and tilts his head completely to the side in an attempt to catch Maddy's gaze. Her eyes are downcast on the soapy water her arms are elbow-deep in. Archer can hear the dishes floating against each other and against the sides of the sink.

"I'm glad you liked it," she says.

He nods. "Ja, ja, for a journalist, you're not too bad of a cook."

Archer catches a glint of a smile race across her thin lips. He gnaws on the inside corner of his lips as Maddy turns the tap on. She rinses three round plates under the warm flow of water and Archer grabs a dry dish cloth from the counter.

"I'll dry them," he offers, holding his hand out.

Maddy doesn't look at him when she hands him the plates.

"Where do they go, huh?"

"In the cupboard above the toaster."

Archer nods. He goes to open the cupboard before beginning to dry the plates. Maddy is very meticulous about her dishes, he notices. They're all arranged by size. Dinner plates, snack plates, dessert plates, and then bowls. She only has six of each and Archer assumes she isn't used to having much company. Maddy turns the tap off and Archer looks over his shoulder at her. She's drying the silverware and cups.

"Where do the cups go?" Archer approaches the counter and picks the three clear glass objects up.

"In the cupboard to the right of the toaster."

Archer nods and goes to put them away. He leans the small of his back against the edge of the counter when he closes the cupboard to look at her. She tilts her head from side to side and she dries each fork and knife individually. She puts each piece down to the side before taking a new one up in her cloth. Archer rings his fingers as he watches her.

Maddy turns around to put the cutlery in the drawers and she's surprised to be met by Archer's intense stare. His mouth is in a line across his face and his eyes look black in the dimly lit kitchen.

"I've got these," she says as she approaches the drawer. She puts the forks down in their place before putting the knives in. "You can go watch television with Solomon, you know."

"I do know, ja," he nods. "I don't want to."

"What do you want to do?"

"Well I just helped you with the dishes."

"Yes you did, thank you."

He waves a dismissive hand in the air in front of his chest.

"Now we're done the dishes."

"Ja, I would say so."

"What do you want, Archer?"

Maddy is too tired and too frustrated for Archer's cryptic games. She's been off her keel since arguing with Archer earlier and the only thing she wants now is to lie down and sleep for the next twelve hours. They've already discussed the sleeping arrangements for the night — Archer and Solomon are to share her bed and she will sleep on the sofa. Both men protested that plan, but Maddy insisted that the couch was perfectly comfortable and that the bed was meant for two people, so her sleeping in it alone while the two men squeezed onto the sofa would be ridiculous.

"I want you thank you for dinner," he tells her in a low voice.

"You're welcome."

"And for everything else, Maddy."

"You're welcome," she repeats, this time with a slight bow of her head. "It's fine, really, you don't have to thank me every time I do something. It's fine."

She turns and leaves the kitchen to join Solomon on the sofa. He's watching CNN. He looks to Maddy to ask about why the happenings in Sierra Leone aren't being covered on the news and she explains the media and society and what society expects out of the media. Meanwhile, Archer is seething in the kitchen. He grits his teeth and clenches his fists and rolls his shoulders back. He doesn't move for several minutes, and when he does, he's rigid.

"I need a smoke, huh," he barks.

Maddy looks at him. "The window above the reading table pushes open," she motions towards the table and stools in the corner of her apartment. "You can smoke there."

Archer marches over as he pulls his crumpled up packet of cigarettes from the pocket of his french jeans. He shakes the pack and pulls a smoke out with his lips before pulling the lighter out. He holds the flame up to the tip and inhales until it lights. He expels two thick columns of smoke from his nose as he pushes the window open. He drops himself into a stool and rests his elbow on the window sill.

He smokes his way quickly through three cigarettes before he realizes the pack is empty. He crumples up the cardboard packet with annoyance and frustration. He winds up to throw it off to the side, but he remembers where he is, and instead, he shoves it back into his pocket. He enjoys the last few puffs of his third cigarette more steadily. He flicks the butt out the window.

When he stands, he notices the television is off. Solomon is walking towards Maddy's bed and Maddy is spreading a blanket on the sofa. He glances at Solomon as he approaches Maddy in the living room.

"I need cigarettes, huh."

"Do you smoke in your sleep?"

He narrows his eyes and shakes his head. "I finished my last one."

"We'll go to the corner store tomorrow and buy you a new pack in the morning."

"And what if I want a cigarette right now?"

"Then you're out of luck, Archer. It's almost ten o'clock. Solomon is tired, I'm tired, and you should be tired too."

He shakes his head. "I'm not tired."

"Then just go lie down and rest."

Another shake.

"Archer, please," she says urgently, holding her hand up. "I am exhausted, too exhausted to be having this conversation. Go lie down, sleep will come to you quickly. My bed is comfortable."

"Ja, and I suppose this couch will be comfortable for you," he scoffs.

"It will suffice, yes."

Archer shakes his head as he turns on his heel to walk to the back of the apartment to Maddy's bed. Solomon is sleeping on the far right side and there is plenty of space for Archer. He lowers himself onto the low bed slowly and lies on his back with one arm folded under his head and the other resting over his stomach. He listens to Maddy rustling around in the living room for a few minutes before the apartment is overwhelmed by a piercing silence.

No gunfire. No bombs. No loud music. No rustling leaves. No animals. No insects buzzing by his ears. His heart nearly explodes in his chest as the silence takes hold of him. He doesn't like the quiet. He stirs restlessly in the bed for several hours while Solomon snores quietly beside him. He is out like a light, but Archer is more wide awake now than he's ever been in his entire life.

He gets out of bed the moment he feels a sweat coming on. He pulls his shirt off and drops it by his feet. The cool air in her apartment is a welcome relief against his bare torso. He goes to pull his pack of cigarettes from his pocket, but he quickly remembers he has none left and he kisses the back of his teeth in frustration. He looks around. The only light in the space is coming from the dim glow from the city outside the windows. Cars, street lamps, traffic lights. He stares out the window for a few minutes before wandering into the living room.

Maddy is dead asleep on the sofa wrapped completely in the blanket. She's lying on her side with her knees pulled close to her chest. She looks tiny. Archer smiles. He walks around to the front of the couch and sits down with his back against the armrest Maddy's head is close to. He can feel her exhales graze the back of his shoulder and the sensation feels completely foreign to him. He learns that Maddy doesn't snore. Or drool. Or move around much. She's still and quiet, like a doll.

He looks at her from over his shoulder after a few minutes and he nearly jumps out of his skin when he notices her eyes are open. He turns his body completely to face her.

"What are you doing here, Archer?" She asks him in a sleepy voice.

"Can't sleep, huh."

"I told you to go lie down."

"I don't want to lie down beside Solomon."

"And I suppose sitting on the floor in front of me is more comfortable?"

A brief pause swells in the air between them. Archer's eyes flicker over her face but Maddy doesn't move. She's still holding the blanket closed tight against her chest on her side. Archer licks his lips and nods.

Maddy pushes herself up on her elbow. Archer watches her move, not quite sure of how she's going to react. Instead of shooing him back to bed, she moves closer to the edge of the sofa and holds the blanket open.

"See if you can get in back there," she tells him tiredly.

Archer gets up and takes the blanket's edge from Maddy's hand to hold it open more. He manages to get over Maddy to lie down behind her and he's reminded of how wafer thin she is when he settles behind her. He drapes his arm over her and makes sure she's covered. She clutches the blanket to her chest again.

"Better?" she asks him.

Archer nods.

"Go to sleep."

Archer closes his eyes for a few minutes before opening them again. He has a feeling that he won't sleep at all tonight. He lets out a silent sigh. He puts his hand on the back of Maddy's shoulder and moves it slowly and gently down her bicep to the bend in her arm to her wrist to rest on the back of her clenched hand. She's holding onto the blanket like her life depends on it and the tension in her knuckles nearly makes him laugh.

He brushes the tips of his fingers between the grooves of her knuckles until he feels her loosen her grip on the blanket. Archer slides his fingers between hers to lace them together. Maddy presses herself into him and Archer accepts the gesture by lowering his lips to the nape of her neck.