When the crazy wheel slows down...
If Anatoly had learned nothing else in his life, he had at least learned this: nothing, not even grief lasts forever. He'd hidden from the world for awhile, but the time came when he knew that as life went on despite his grief, so must he. His heart might be broken, but it would be shameful for him to broadcast it to all the world. It was only a minor affair, his feelings would pass. They always did.
It was almost like a cleansing ritual of sorts, his preparation to dive back into island life - the almost unbearably hot shower, the shaving of a few week's worth of beard, reclaiming Aeneas from Cassie. He'd banished the remnants of the past in his own fashion and now he could start over again. Everything was fine, he was happy and life was good. That was the story and he would stick to it until it became true.
Thus far, things were going reasonably well. There was the difficulty of rearranging his schedule, such as it was, to avoid being in the same place with Lex along with his desire to spend as little time in his hut as possible but all in all, it was manageable.
Today, he'd planned to settle in the rec room for a bit, maybe talk to people instead of going straight for the chessboard but the sight of a purple shirt and bald head had changed all that and so he reversed his course and settled in the kitchen instead with a cup of tea and a sandwich instead.
"I'm not in your way, am I?"
It was almost like a cleansing ritual of sorts, his preparation to dive back into island life - the almost unbearably hot shower, the shaving of a few week's worth of beard, reclaiming Aeneas from Cassie. He'd banished the remnants of the past in his own fashion and now he could start over again. Everything was fine, he was happy and life was good. That was the story and he would stick to it until it became true.
Thus far, things were going reasonably well. There was the difficulty of rearranging his schedule, such as it was, to avoid being in the same place with Lex along with his desire to spend as little time in his hut as possible but all in all, it was manageable.
Today, he'd planned to settle in the rec room for a bit, maybe talk to people instead of going straight for the chessboard but the sight of a purple shirt and bald head had changed all that and so he reversed his course and settled in the kitchen instead with a cup of tea and a sandwich instead.
"I'm not in your way, am I?"