FIC: "Silent Hunt," 1/? (Colby/OFC, Don, Charlie, Alan, PG-13)
Title: "A childhood friend."
Series: Silent Hunt, Part 1/?
Characters: Colby/OFC, Don, Charlie, Alan
Genre: HET.
Rating: PG-13.
Spoilers: None.
Warnings: None.
Summary: Colby meets a woman that seems to be sweet and mysterious.
Feedback: I love it. :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Numb3rs or anything related to it. But I do own the original ideas used and my OCs.
Beta: The lovely
toomuchfandom .
Previous chapter: Prologue
Silent hunt
Part 1: “A childhood friend”
After a very stressful week, Don and Charlie had invited Colby to have dinner with them so they could get some hours to relax and talk. It was eight o’ clock at night when the three of them sat at the table, exhausted because of all the hard work.
“I can cook something for us in five minutes,” Charlie announced with a tired voice.
“Oh, I highly doubt that,” Don responded with a smirk.
“Ha-ha,” his brother said, and went to the kitchen, leaving Don and Colby alone. They just stayed there, on their own chairs, breathing heavily. It was one of those moments when Colby could actually feel the weight of his body and it seemed to be dragging him onto the floor.
“This is nice. Just… relaxing for a while,” he muttered, starting to close his eyes.
“Yes… finally,” Don agreed, and Colby saw him lay against the back of the chair; he would probably fall asleep at any second.
However, the sound of a ringtone woke him up. Don grabbed his phone with one hand and rubbed his eyes with the other. Taking a deep breath and glancing at Colby, who covered his mouth to hide a yawn, he said, “Eppes.” His face immediately tensed a little, like he didn’t know who he was talking to. A few seconds later, his eyes sparkled, and he smiled in amusement. “Sarah, is that really you?” he asked, and Colby paid attention to the conversation. After all, that woman had to be special if she could make Don smile like that.
“Here? Yeah, I know that nostalgic feeling. Believe me, with my job and all, I’d love to be able to spend some more time with my family,” Don continued. “Sure, sure, we’re both here. But wait, how did you find out my number? Oh, I see... I’m so going to kill Charlie.” Then he laughed and muttered, “Ok, ok... I can’t wait to see you, we’ll be waiting for you.”
Don ended the call and put away his cell phone. Then he stared at a wall, and yelled, “Charlie… did Sarah Mayers contact you today?”
Charlie’s voice came from the kitchen. “Oh, yeah! I forgot to tell you. She sent me an e-mail today, and we met in a chat room later, a while ago. She wants to see us, she’s feeling a little melancholic about her childhood. Besides, she says she needs some information for a project she’s involved in.”
Surprised, Colby watched Don’s face tense again, meaning that he was totally annoyed by his brother’s attitude. “He’s very good with numbers, but he stills forgets to tell me the important daily stuff,” Don whispered, speaking to himself.
Soon, Charlie approached the table, carrying the dishes. “Why? Did you talk to her too?” he asked.
“Yeah, she just called me. She says she’s arriving in ten minutes, that you told her she could stay here for a few days. I was supposed to know about it, you know. You were supposed to tell me.”
“Ok, ok, I get it. I’m sorry,” Charlie shook his head, and put the dishes on the table. “Dad knows, anyway. Oh, I can’t believe we’re going to see her again. It’s been so long.”
It seemed that Don had realized that Colby didn’t have a clue of what he and his brother were talking about, because he explained, “Sarah’s an old friend of us, and basically the only one Charlie and I shared when we were kids. She used to live next door.”
“But then her parents divorced and she had to move to another state with her mother, so we didn’t see her anymore. It was a shame…” Charlie added, and went to the kitchen to get the food.
A few minutes later they were eating the sandwiches Charlie had prepared. While they talked about whether they were good or not, Colby watched Don bug his Charlie for not telling him about Sarah coming, but then the conversation took another direction. Still, it seemed that both brothers were very excited about her arrival.
At nine o’clock, when Charlie had just gone to the kitchen again, there were noises outside the house. Don went to look through the window, and Colby followed him. A gloved hand opened the door of the vehicle, and a woman who was dressed in a nice grey coat and a winter cap stepped out of it. The taxi driver helped her to unload at least four heavy suitcases that had been settled in the passenger’s seat, the back seat and the trunk. Then she paid him for the ride and shook some snow off her clothes.
It was a little bit dark and it was snowing, but Don seemed to recognize his friend. Colby could tell because of his smile when he followed her moves. And when she turned around and Don laughed, Colby was sure of it.
Of course, Colby paid attention to who that woman was. Even if darkness wasn’t helping, he could see that her hair was brown and it fell a little over her shoulder, because it wasn’t too long. The winter cap was actually cute.
“She’s been into those winter caps since we were kids,” Don muttered, still smiling. “She’s here, Charlie!” he yelled, and he went outside to receive her. Colby followed him again but he stood at the door because it seemed to be the most appropriate thing to do until Charlie or Don introduced him to the lady.
“Sarah?” Don went towards her, and she smiled waving her hand in a friendly way. Her face shined with excitement. Her chocolate brown eyes were warm and confident. She was a nice, beautiful woman, but then again, physical beauty wasn’t something that could turn him on in a second. He was looking for someone who had more than that… Maybe what David had said once was true. Maybe he did have “high standards” when it came to relationships.
Or maybe he just kept making excuses and raising those standards so he could hold his heart together. Not getting involved with anyone was a good way to avoid people to have to bear his past.
Colby found himself noticing all those things, and he tried to get himself together. He didn’t know her. How could she make him think about all that? He hadn’t even talked to her yet. As far as he knew, she could be a total fiasco.
And then she spoke. “Hey, Don!” Sarah said, and Colby felt his chest start to go on fire. It was like her simple presence there, that sweet voice, had made his world come apart. For no reason at all.
He shook his head, put his hands into his pockets and continued listening to her and Don.
“Sarah Emma Mayers, I can’t believe you’re here,” Don said and kissed her on the cheek. Then he hugged her, and she seemed to be very happy to see him.
“Well, I guess some things never change. I had the feeling I would be called by my entire name by you, just like in the old days,” Sarah joked, and then she tried to grab three of the four suitcases she had brought with her. She immediately stumbled with a little back that had fallen from her hand, and fell to the floor. “And apparently, I’m as clumsy as usual.”
While Colby watched her curse the snow in amusement, Charlie passed by him and went to meet Sarah, too. Her eyes sparkled when she saw him, and apparently she forgot about the snow, because she ran towards him and hugged him. Then she tugged at his curls. “My god, your hair is still so hard to dominate.”
“Hey, it got better and you know it,” Charlie said, a little offended.
She laughed. “Well… yeah, I guess that’s true.”
“Oh, c’mon. Tell me, how have you been?” Charlie asked.
“Yeah, where have you been working, what’s been going on with your life?” Don continued.
“Are you married? Because if you are, we’d definitely like to meet your husband.” Charlie added.
“Of course.” Don nodded, smiling.
Sarah lifted her hands and waved them to the sides. “Hey, hey, guys. Time out, I’ve just arrived. One question at a time. I can’t tell you everything in five seconds. It’s been like a million years since we saw each other for the last time!”
“And that’s exactly why we need to catch up. C’mon, Chuck, let’s take her luggage to the house.”
“You still call him ‘Chuck’? Ok, things haven’t changed here at all,” Sarah giggled, and went towards the front door, carrying a very heavy suitcase. He found Colby at the doorframe. “Hi, I’m Sarah Mayers,” she introduced herself and firmly shook Colby’s hand. “Could you give me a hand with this? ‘Cause I’m predicting some serious trouble if the tons of papers I have in here get damaged.”
“Sure, sure,” Colby responded and took the suitcase. It was weird that she was so honest and confident with him, like she’d known him forever. In a few seconds, her personality had made him curious. He helped her to bring some other stuff to the house, and every time she stumbled with the snow and cursed it, he couldn’t help staring at her.
When the four of them entered the house, Don said “Hey, why don’t you let me take your coat?” and Sarah accepted the suggestion. She also took off her gloves and her winter cap and rubbed her hands together. Inside of the Eppes’ residence it was warm and nice and comfortable, and she sat on the couch when Charlie invited her to.
“This place, unlike the people, has changed a lot. It’s too… calm, it seems,” she muttered, looking at the furniture and the family pictures. “Your mother looks so beautiful in that picture. How is she, by the way? ‘Cause I’d love to say ‘hi’ to her.”
Charlie and Don’s faces lost their happy grins and became worried and sad. Considering the way Sarah looked at then without understanding, it was more than obvious that she didn’t know anything about Margaret’s death. Colby decided that a moment of giving such bad news was not meant for him to be there, so he retired to the kitchen. However, he could still hear them speak in whispers.
“Don, Charlie, what’s going on? Did something happen to Margaret?”
“Mom… she passed away,” Don muttered.
Silence was kept for a few seconds.
“What?” Sarah said, in shock, her voice breaking. “When? How?”
Charlie answered her questions. “Five years ago. Cancer.”
“Oh my god…”
Colby heard some noises in the living room and took a peek. He found Don and Charlie still seated on the couch, but being held by Sarah’s support. The Eppes’ brothers were holding her too, while she cried softly.
Colby said to himself that he should have gone home. He didn’t need to be there. Maybe he could grab his jacket and leave without anyone noticing it.
But then he heard the front door opening and Alan’s voice. “Oh, hello!” Charlie and Don’s father said when he saw a somehow familiar, female figure holding his sons. “Did something bad happen while I was gone?”
“No. It happened while I was gone,” Sarah answered, and got up. Alan received a very sad, old friend in his arms. He recognized her bright eyes, so curious as they had always been, and carried her pain.
After a little while, Sarah stopped crying. She kissed Alan’s cheek and then shook his hand. “I’m sorry for taking the bad memories back, but I couldn’t hold myself…”
“Don’t apologize, Sarah. We all mourned my wife. We all still miss her so much, there’s not a day we don’t suffer her absence,” Alan said to calm her down, and after those words, Sarah seemed to relax a little.
Then the ambience got somehow melancholic. Everybody joined Colby in the kitchen and insisted him not to leave, so he ended up accepting the invitation to stay and have a real meal for the first time in what it seemed to be ages.
The five of them ate a very good spaghetti Alan prepared with Charlie’s help, even if there was already food at the table. The conversation was nice, and slowly all the good memories came back to life, even the ones that involved Margaret.
So that night Colby discovered that Sarah Mayers had been the Eppes’ neighbor for more than ten years. When Charlie and Don were kids, they had spent a lot of time with her, playing games in the backyard of their house. Now she was an economist who worked for a national research institute. She was also doing some work she had left that included theories related to childhood, psychology and the election of a career, and how that could contribute to the nation’s development.
“Don’t say it like that. It sounds like you only came here to study us,” Don said, and smiled, because he was obviously joking.
“I know, I know. It’s interesting to get to know about how the two of you, being so different, ended up working for the FBI,” she responded. “But I really, really wanted to see you. That time of our lives was very important to me, believe me.”
She spoke from the heart, and seemed to be very honest about everything. She would probably spend several days with the Eppes family, no matter what her plans for later could be. Colby thought that it would be interesting to see what Amita would think about another woman living with her boyfriend.
Sarah didn’t seem to be able to put that relationship at risk at all, though. She was just being friendly; there wasn’t any underlying intention to get any kind of romantic interaction with the brothers. And that was weird, considering that most of the women Colby had met had been interested in one of them Well… all of them except Megan. But Megan was a special case; she had been seduced by the most awkward physicist in the world, something that Colby still couldn’t figure out.
There was a moment when Colby and Sarah were left alone. Alan, Charlie and Don went to wash the dishes and insisted that they kept talking while they finished cleaning everything up.
It was almost a tense moment, because Colby and Sarah didn’t know each other and they haven’t talked much that night. She took a sip of her glass of water and he started to speak.
“So, you knew Charlie and Don since they were kids.”
“Yeah,” she rapidly said, still drinking the water. She sounded tired and not very chatty right now. Colby assumed she wasn’t paying any attention to him.
“My name’s Colby Granger. Don’s my boss and Charlie’s my friend.”
“I know. By the way, does that mean Don’s not your friend?”
“What? Why do you ask that?”
“Because you mentioned them separately, like you had a different relationship with each one of them.”
“Well…” So, she was actually listening, even when she didn’t seem to. That was something that Colby should remember from now on. “I have to say Don’s almost my friend. You know, I feel he’s still my boss even if I’m here at his house sharing a meal with his family.”
“And their childhood friend.”
Colby smiled, a little embarrassed. “Yeah. Sorry I didn’t count you there. No offense.”
“Non-taken.”
“Oh. All right.”
He watched her get up and admire the pictures of the Eppes family again. Considering the way she deeply studied the ones that included Margaret, there had to have been a very special bond between her and Charlie and Don’s Mom.
Alan entered the room carrying a bunch of flowers that he was supposed to arrange the other day in the backyard.
“Those are nice, Mr. Eppes. What are they?” Colby asked, because the flowers were really beautiful.
“Oh, these? These are Callas…”
“Calla Lily… Zantedeschia aethiopica, from the Araceae family,” Sarah immediately muttered, her smile growing wider, while she went towards Alan and caressed the petals of the flowers. “I’m kind of obsessed with gardening. Sorry if I sounded a little crazy.”
“Oh, that’s ok. I’ve been hearing Charlie and Don talk about their work for years, so I’m used to obsession,” Alan joked, smiling at her.
To Colby, she looked as amazed as Charlie when he talked about math. But there was something very different about her, about the way she looked at the flowers, her eyes sparkling and her smile curved in a sweet expression of fascination.
Strangely, she seemed to have a warm aura around her. Colby couldn’t exactly tell what it meant, but whatever it was, he knew that he wouldn’t be able to get Sarah out of his head since then.
-Sarah Mayers-
Series: Silent Hunt, Part 1/?
Characters: Colby/OFC, Don, Charlie, Alan
Genre: HET.
Rating: PG-13.
Spoilers: None.
Warnings: None.
Summary: Colby meets a woman that seems to be sweet and mysterious.
Feedback: I love it. :)
Disclaimer: I do not own Numb3rs or anything related to it. But I do own the original ideas used and my OCs.
Beta: The lovely
toomuchfandom .
Previous chapter: Prologue
Silent hunt
Part 1: “A childhood friend”
After a very stressful week, Don and Charlie had invited Colby to have dinner with them so they could get some hours to relax and talk. It was eight o’ clock at night when the three of them sat at the table, exhausted because of all the hard work.
“I can cook something for us in five minutes,” Charlie announced with a tired voice.
“Oh, I highly doubt that,” Don responded with a smirk.
“Ha-ha,” his brother said, and went to the kitchen, leaving Don and Colby alone. They just stayed there, on their own chairs, breathing heavily. It was one of those moments when Colby could actually feel the weight of his body and it seemed to be dragging him onto the floor.
“This is nice. Just… relaxing for a while,” he muttered, starting to close his eyes.
“Yes… finally,” Don agreed, and Colby saw him lay against the back of the chair; he would probably fall asleep at any second.
However, the sound of a ringtone woke him up. Don grabbed his phone with one hand and rubbed his eyes with the other. Taking a deep breath and glancing at Colby, who covered his mouth to hide a yawn, he said, “Eppes.” His face immediately tensed a little, like he didn’t know who he was talking to. A few seconds later, his eyes sparkled, and he smiled in amusement. “Sarah, is that really you?” he asked, and Colby paid attention to the conversation. After all, that woman had to be special if she could make Don smile like that.
“Here? Yeah, I know that nostalgic feeling. Believe me, with my job and all, I’d love to be able to spend some more time with my family,” Don continued. “Sure, sure, we’re both here. But wait, how did you find out my number? Oh, I see... I’m so going to kill Charlie.” Then he laughed and muttered, “Ok, ok... I can’t wait to see you, we’ll be waiting for you.”
Don ended the call and put away his cell phone. Then he stared at a wall, and yelled, “Charlie… did Sarah Mayers contact you today?”
Charlie’s voice came from the kitchen. “Oh, yeah! I forgot to tell you. She sent me an e-mail today, and we met in a chat room later, a while ago. She wants to see us, she’s feeling a little melancholic about her childhood. Besides, she says she needs some information for a project she’s involved in.”
Surprised, Colby watched Don’s face tense again, meaning that he was totally annoyed by his brother’s attitude. “He’s very good with numbers, but he stills forgets to tell me the important daily stuff,” Don whispered, speaking to himself.
Soon, Charlie approached the table, carrying the dishes. “Why? Did you talk to her too?” he asked.
“Yeah, she just called me. She says she’s arriving in ten minutes, that you told her she could stay here for a few days. I was supposed to know about it, you know. You were supposed to tell me.”
“Ok, ok, I get it. I’m sorry,” Charlie shook his head, and put the dishes on the table. “Dad knows, anyway. Oh, I can’t believe we’re going to see her again. It’s been so long.”
It seemed that Don had realized that Colby didn’t have a clue of what he and his brother were talking about, because he explained, “Sarah’s an old friend of us, and basically the only one Charlie and I shared when we were kids. She used to live next door.”
“But then her parents divorced and she had to move to another state with her mother, so we didn’t see her anymore. It was a shame…” Charlie added, and went to the kitchen to get the food.
A few minutes later they were eating the sandwiches Charlie had prepared. While they talked about whether they were good or not, Colby watched Don bug his Charlie for not telling him about Sarah coming, but then the conversation took another direction. Still, it seemed that both brothers were very excited about her arrival.
At nine o’clock, when Charlie had just gone to the kitchen again, there were noises outside the house. Don went to look through the window, and Colby followed him. A gloved hand opened the door of the vehicle, and a woman who was dressed in a nice grey coat and a winter cap stepped out of it. The taxi driver helped her to unload at least four heavy suitcases that had been settled in the passenger’s seat, the back seat and the trunk. Then she paid him for the ride and shook some snow off her clothes.
It was a little bit dark and it was snowing, but Don seemed to recognize his friend. Colby could tell because of his smile when he followed her moves. And when she turned around and Don laughed, Colby was sure of it.
Of course, Colby paid attention to who that woman was. Even if darkness wasn’t helping, he could see that her hair was brown and it fell a little over her shoulder, because it wasn’t too long. The winter cap was actually cute.
“She’s been into those winter caps since we were kids,” Don muttered, still smiling. “She’s here, Charlie!” he yelled, and he went outside to receive her. Colby followed him again but he stood at the door because it seemed to be the most appropriate thing to do until Charlie or Don introduced him to the lady.
“Sarah?” Don went towards her, and she smiled waving her hand in a friendly way. Her face shined with excitement. Her chocolate brown eyes were warm and confident. She was a nice, beautiful woman, but then again, physical beauty wasn’t something that could turn him on in a second. He was looking for someone who had more than that… Maybe what David had said once was true. Maybe he did have “high standards” when it came to relationships.
Or maybe he just kept making excuses and raising those standards so he could hold his heart together. Not getting involved with anyone was a good way to avoid people to have to bear his past.
Colby found himself noticing all those things, and he tried to get himself together. He didn’t know her. How could she make him think about all that? He hadn’t even talked to her yet. As far as he knew, she could be a total fiasco.
And then she spoke. “Hey, Don!” Sarah said, and Colby felt his chest start to go on fire. It was like her simple presence there, that sweet voice, had made his world come apart. For no reason at all.
He shook his head, put his hands into his pockets and continued listening to her and Don.
“Sarah Emma Mayers, I can’t believe you’re here,” Don said and kissed her on the cheek. Then he hugged her, and she seemed to be very happy to see him.
“Well, I guess some things never change. I had the feeling I would be called by my entire name by you, just like in the old days,” Sarah joked, and then she tried to grab three of the four suitcases she had brought with her. She immediately stumbled with a little back that had fallen from her hand, and fell to the floor. “And apparently, I’m as clumsy as usual.”
While Colby watched her curse the snow in amusement, Charlie passed by him and went to meet Sarah, too. Her eyes sparkled when she saw him, and apparently she forgot about the snow, because she ran towards him and hugged him. Then she tugged at his curls. “My god, your hair is still so hard to dominate.”
“Hey, it got better and you know it,” Charlie said, a little offended.
She laughed. “Well… yeah, I guess that’s true.”
“Oh, c’mon. Tell me, how have you been?” Charlie asked.
“Yeah, where have you been working, what’s been going on with your life?” Don continued.
“Are you married? Because if you are, we’d definitely like to meet your husband.” Charlie added.
“Of course.” Don nodded, smiling.
Sarah lifted her hands and waved them to the sides. “Hey, hey, guys. Time out, I’ve just arrived. One question at a time. I can’t tell you everything in five seconds. It’s been like a million years since we saw each other for the last time!”
“And that’s exactly why we need to catch up. C’mon, Chuck, let’s take her luggage to the house.”
“You still call him ‘Chuck’? Ok, things haven’t changed here at all,” Sarah giggled, and went towards the front door, carrying a very heavy suitcase. He found Colby at the doorframe. “Hi, I’m Sarah Mayers,” she introduced herself and firmly shook Colby’s hand. “Could you give me a hand with this? ‘Cause I’m predicting some serious trouble if the tons of papers I have in here get damaged.”
“Sure, sure,” Colby responded and took the suitcase. It was weird that she was so honest and confident with him, like she’d known him forever. In a few seconds, her personality had made him curious. He helped her to bring some other stuff to the house, and every time she stumbled with the snow and cursed it, he couldn’t help staring at her.
When the four of them entered the house, Don said “Hey, why don’t you let me take your coat?” and Sarah accepted the suggestion. She also took off her gloves and her winter cap and rubbed her hands together. Inside of the Eppes’ residence it was warm and nice and comfortable, and she sat on the couch when Charlie invited her to.
“This place, unlike the people, has changed a lot. It’s too… calm, it seems,” she muttered, looking at the furniture and the family pictures. “Your mother looks so beautiful in that picture. How is she, by the way? ‘Cause I’d love to say ‘hi’ to her.”
Charlie and Don’s faces lost their happy grins and became worried and sad. Considering the way Sarah looked at then without understanding, it was more than obvious that she didn’t know anything about Margaret’s death. Colby decided that a moment of giving such bad news was not meant for him to be there, so he retired to the kitchen. However, he could still hear them speak in whispers.
“Don, Charlie, what’s going on? Did something happen to Margaret?”
“Mom… she passed away,” Don muttered.
Silence was kept for a few seconds.
“What?” Sarah said, in shock, her voice breaking. “When? How?”
Charlie answered her questions. “Five years ago. Cancer.”
“Oh my god…”
Colby heard some noises in the living room and took a peek. He found Don and Charlie still seated on the couch, but being held by Sarah’s support. The Eppes’ brothers were holding her too, while she cried softly.
Colby said to himself that he should have gone home. He didn’t need to be there. Maybe he could grab his jacket and leave without anyone noticing it.
But then he heard the front door opening and Alan’s voice. “Oh, hello!” Charlie and Don’s father said when he saw a somehow familiar, female figure holding his sons. “Did something bad happen while I was gone?”
“No. It happened while I was gone,” Sarah answered, and got up. Alan received a very sad, old friend in his arms. He recognized her bright eyes, so curious as they had always been, and carried her pain.
After a little while, Sarah stopped crying. She kissed Alan’s cheek and then shook his hand. “I’m sorry for taking the bad memories back, but I couldn’t hold myself…”
“Don’t apologize, Sarah. We all mourned my wife. We all still miss her so much, there’s not a day we don’t suffer her absence,” Alan said to calm her down, and after those words, Sarah seemed to relax a little.
Then the ambience got somehow melancholic. Everybody joined Colby in the kitchen and insisted him not to leave, so he ended up accepting the invitation to stay and have a real meal for the first time in what it seemed to be ages.
The five of them ate a very good spaghetti Alan prepared with Charlie’s help, even if there was already food at the table. The conversation was nice, and slowly all the good memories came back to life, even the ones that involved Margaret.
So that night Colby discovered that Sarah Mayers had been the Eppes’ neighbor for more than ten years. When Charlie and Don were kids, they had spent a lot of time with her, playing games in the backyard of their house. Now she was an economist who worked for a national research institute. She was also doing some work she had left that included theories related to childhood, psychology and the election of a career, and how that could contribute to the nation’s development.
“Don’t say it like that. It sounds like you only came here to study us,” Don said, and smiled, because he was obviously joking.
“I know, I know. It’s interesting to get to know about how the two of you, being so different, ended up working for the FBI,” she responded. “But I really, really wanted to see you. That time of our lives was very important to me, believe me.”
She spoke from the heart, and seemed to be very honest about everything. She would probably spend several days with the Eppes family, no matter what her plans for later could be. Colby thought that it would be interesting to see what Amita would think about another woman living with her boyfriend.
Sarah didn’t seem to be able to put that relationship at risk at all, though. She was just being friendly; there wasn’t any underlying intention to get any kind of romantic interaction with the brothers. And that was weird, considering that most of the women Colby had met had been interested in one of them Well… all of them except Megan. But Megan was a special case; she had been seduced by the most awkward physicist in the world, something that Colby still couldn’t figure out.
There was a moment when Colby and Sarah were left alone. Alan, Charlie and Don went to wash the dishes and insisted that they kept talking while they finished cleaning everything up.
It was almost a tense moment, because Colby and Sarah didn’t know each other and they haven’t talked much that night. She took a sip of her glass of water and he started to speak.
“So, you knew Charlie and Don since they were kids.”
“Yeah,” she rapidly said, still drinking the water. She sounded tired and not very chatty right now. Colby assumed she wasn’t paying any attention to him.
“My name’s Colby Granger. Don’s my boss and Charlie’s my friend.”
“I know. By the way, does that mean Don’s not your friend?”
“What? Why do you ask that?”
“Because you mentioned them separately, like you had a different relationship with each one of them.”
“Well…” So, she was actually listening, even when she didn’t seem to. That was something that Colby should remember from now on. “I have to say Don’s almost my friend. You know, I feel he’s still my boss even if I’m here at his house sharing a meal with his family.”
“And their childhood friend.”
Colby smiled, a little embarrassed. “Yeah. Sorry I didn’t count you there. No offense.”
“Non-taken.”
“Oh. All right.”
He watched her get up and admire the pictures of the Eppes family again. Considering the way she deeply studied the ones that included Margaret, there had to have been a very special bond between her and Charlie and Don’s Mom.
Alan entered the room carrying a bunch of flowers that he was supposed to arrange the other day in the backyard.
“Those are nice, Mr. Eppes. What are they?” Colby asked, because the flowers were really beautiful.
“Oh, these? These are Callas…”
“Calla Lily… Zantedeschia aethiopica, from the Araceae family,” Sarah immediately muttered, her smile growing wider, while she went towards Alan and caressed the petals of the flowers. “I’m kind of obsessed with gardening. Sorry if I sounded a little crazy.”
“Oh, that’s ok. I’ve been hearing Charlie and Don talk about their work for years, so I’m used to obsession,” Alan joked, smiling at her.
To Colby, she looked as amazed as Charlie when he talked about math. But there was something very different about her, about the way she looked at the flowers, her eyes sparkling and her smile curved in a sweet expression of fascination.
Strangely, she seemed to have a warm aura around her. Colby couldn’t exactly tell what it meant, but whatever it was, he knew that he wouldn’t be able to get Sarah out of his head since then.
-Sarah Mayers-