After we had warmed up by the fire following our sexual escapade in the snow, Jessi put on her jeans and the pink turtleneck sweater. She then took the hardback copy of Maia that I had purchased at the used book store and settled onto the couch to read it while I made dinner. With her legs tucked underneath her and her hair pulled back into a ponytail, she looked both studious and alluring as she read. At one point, I took out my phone and took a surreptitious picture of her so I could capture the moment.
Nearly an hour after I had started dinner, I called Jessi into to the kitchen. The young blonde walked over and sat at the table, putting the book beside the plate of mashed potatoes that I had ready for her. As I sat across from her, a steak and mashed potatoes on my plate, I saw that she had an expression on her small, elfin face that I could not quite read.
"Thank you for dinner," she said, then she started eating her mashed potatoes.
"Do you want some steak?" I asked, thinking her expression might have been because I had not put any meat on her plate."
"I don't know," she shrugged. "Let me try the potatoes and see how it goes."
After A few bites, I saw that Jessi was swallowing the potatoes without visible discomfort even though she had not used any throat spray. This, combined with the fact that her speech had returned to normal, at least most of the time, encouraged me that the injury to her throat had not been as bad as it seemed at first, or as bad as it still looked on the outside. Relaxing, I took a few bites of my steak. I did not realize Jessi had stopped eating until she spoke.
"It's about a slave girl."
"What?" I asked after swallowing the bite of steak I had in my mouth.
"The book you bought today," she said, the odd expression back on her face. "The one you suggested I read."
"It is about a young woman who is a slave for a time, but she is also more than that," I replied, choosing my words with care. "It is also about the culture in which she lives and the social issues in that society."
"I see," Jessi said, then she took a few more bites of her potatoes. But just when I had taken another bite, this time of my potatoes, she spoke again.
"And it's by the same guy who wrote Watership Down?" she asked.
"Yes, it is. He wrote a few other books, including Shardik, which is one of my favorite books. That one is about a bear who may or may not have been a divine bear and may or may not have fulfilled a prophecy. It is set in the same world as Maia, but it happens years later."
The blonde nodded, then started eating again. After several seconds, I did so as well. We ate in silence for a few minutes, although I kept a close watch on her in case she was going to say anything else. So, I was not surprised when she paused to speak again, although I was surprised by what she asked.
"Can I have a small piece of steak, Mark?"
"Um, sure," I agreed. "Let me get it for you. May I have your plate?"
Jessi smiled and handed me her plate, and I went to the cast iron grill on the stove. I cut the other steak that I had cooked into thirds and put one piece on her plate. As I did so, Jessi asked another question.
"When did you first read this book, Mark?"
"Um, high school. I read it after I first read Shardik. I had read Watership Down in middle school, which is why I picked up Shardik in the first place."
"So, in high school you read a book about a blonde slave girl?"
I sat Jessi's plate back in front of her and saw that the odd expression I had noted twice earlier was back.
"What is it you really want to ask me, Jessi?" I responded, hoping to get to the root of her line of questioning.
"Nothing particular," she said, cutting up her steak into small pieces. "Just trying to figure some things out."
"Such as?" I pushed.
"Such as why you're letting your steak get cold," she replied, clearly savoring the small bite she was chewing. "It's delicious."
With a deep sigh, I went back to eating. I did still keep an eye on Jessi, but other than wince once when the piece of steak she swallowed must have been too big, the only expression on her face was a slight smile.
When we were both finished (Jessi had eaten all the steak I gave her and most of the mashed potatoes), I cleared the table, washed the plates and utensils, then cleaned up the kitchen and put away the leftover steak and potatoes. Jessi moved back to the couch and resumed reading Maia, which I was now regretting suggesting to her, although I was not exactly sure what thoughts it was prompting in her.
When I was done in the kitchen, I went to the bedroom, retrieved my e-reader from my bag, and walked back out into the front room. Jessi was reclining against one arm of the couch, her legs tucked underneath her again, as she read. When I sat down, she looked up at me, smiled, and then returned to the book. I started reading as well, and soon I was immersed in my book.
After about forty minutes or so, I looked up when a movement caught my eye. I saw that Jessi had put Maia on the coffee table and was staring at me. I lowered my e-reader, not sure what to expect.
"I'm taking a rest," she informed me. "There's a lot of politics and government and stuff in there, for a book about a slave girl, anyway."
"Yes," I nodded. "But it is about more..."
"It's about more than a slave girl, and she's more than a slave girl anyway," Jessi interrupted, loosely paraphrasing what I had told her earlier.
"Right," I said, somewhat concerned that the expression I was not sure how to read was back on the young woman's face.
After several seconds of silence, Jessi asked, "Is this why it weirds you out?"
"Is it why what 'weirds me out'?" I asked.
