Chapter 19: Home, Part 4

Seth filled the bucket with water from the stream and was surprised by its weight. The contents sloshed over the brim and onto his shirt as he placed it onto his shoulder, and then carried it into the house. Once inside, Seth and Briana began working on the dishes.

"Would you like to wash or dry?" Seth asked, stacking the last of the dishes on the table.

"I will wash and you will dry," Briana replied confidently, pouring half the water into one bucket on the table then placing the other bucket beside it for rinse water. She threw something into the wash bucket. Seth assumed it was a type of soap, and strong from the smell.

"How long have you lived here?" Seth asked after a moment, drying a bowl and placing it in a nearby oak cabinet.

For a moment, Seth saw the faraway look in her eyes return, and quickly disappear. "For a while." Briana shifted her eyes toward Seth, but never moved her head.

Seth nodded, drying a cup then placing it in the same cabinet. Seth noticed that Briana did not appear to be talkative, or maybe just not willing to talk to him. After another moment, he asked gently, "If you don't mind my asking, what happened to your mother?"

Briana appeared to be concentrating on washing the dishes, for she did not look up. At first, Seth wondered if she'd heard his question, but then she answered softly, "I never knew my mother."

Seth nodded, understanding, for he, too, had never known his father. Seth thought about the irony: neither of them had known one of their parents. Seth guessed that desertion was not uncommon even in this time. Or maybe her mother had died. Seth wondered, but dropped the subject. He knew that either way, Briana was not going to talk about it willingly.

"What about your two brothers?" Seth wondered, studying Briana's delicate features, her pale beauty, noticing that she did not resemble either of her brothers.

"What about them?" Briana's eyes shifted toward Seth again, but she didn't move her head.

"Do you get along with them?" Seth broached the subject gently.

Briana laughed; a twinkling sound. "What difference does it make?"

Seth thought for a moment, taken aback by her response. He guessed that in this time, it probably didn't matter. Families were born together, lived together, and died together, regardless. "I guess none, but I think it's nice when you get along with your family."

Briana nodded, understanding. "I like Reese the best. He is quiet and has a kind heart. Bryce is more mischievous and opinionated, as you found out. But he's a good person, mind you."

Seth thought as much. He would probably need to be cautious around Bryce. "Does he pick on you much?"

"He knows better." Briana laughed. "Besides, I can take care of myself." Of that, Seth had no doubt, having discovered the fact at the point of her sword.

"Which of your brothers is more like you?"

"Neither." Briana laughed, placing another bowl into the rinse bucket.

Seth thought for a moment, and then decided to change the subject. "Where did you learn to use a sword like that?"

"In my youth, my father made certain that I could defend myself, so he taught me how to use a sword. I also know the arts of fencing and archery," Briana said, looking down at the dish water, clearly amused.

Seth was impressed.

Having seen his reaction, Briana laughed. "Do you not know how to fight with a sword?"

Seth smiled, looking at her out of the corner of his eye, and then replied sheepishly, "I was never taught."

Briana nodded in understanding. "Not having a father has its disadvantages."

Seth nodded in agreement, not looking at her, with a wistful look in his eyes. Seth knew all too well how different his life would be if his father was still around. For one thing, his mother would not be breaking her back at the Piggly Wiggly providing for him. Seth laughed to himself at the store's name. How far away that world seemed to Seth now, standing in Cambria! Another thing that would be different, that is if his father wasn't a lazy bum, is that they would probably not be so broke, not that that was important. To Seth, money was not the most important thing in life, despite their lack of it.

But Seth had often wondered about his father: who he was, or what he looked like. But he could never bring himself to ask his mother about him. His mother had always shied away from any conversation leading to a discussion of his father. So after a while, he just never brought it up.

"Do you like it here so far?" Briana asked, interrupting his reverie.

"Yes, I do," Seth replied with his crooked half smile, which Briana tried not to notice. "It's very different, but, yes, I like it so far."

Briana thought for a moment, washing each dish carefully, deliberately extending the time. "What is it like where you come from?"

Seth looked away wistfully, and then replied carefully, not wanting to give anything away, "It is a busier place with a lot more people, and not as much open land." He was about to say with buildings, sidewalks, and pavement, but thought better of it.

Briana rinsed a dish slowly before handing it to Seth. "What is your mother like?" she asked in a low voice.

Seth laughed, smiling broadly, taking the dish from Briana to dry. "She's very funny, a hard worker, and has a big heart. I am the most important thing in her world." Seth thought for a moment, and then continued, "I worry about her, because she works so hard taking care of me. I wish there was a way I could take care of her instead." Seth couldn't believe that he was telling Briana this. He was telling her things that he had never told Sam, or Lisa-another friend who he told everything to. They grew up together and had always been just friends, nothing more. He could tell Lisa things he couldn't tell the guys, and she always understood. But he felt even more comfortable with Briana, as if he had known her all of his life.

"Do you like it here?" Seth asked with a smile as he took another bowl from Briana to dry.

She met his gaze for a moment, surprised by the question, then quickly directed her attention back to washing the dish in her hand. "It is all I have known," she shrugged, "but, yes, I do."

"So do I," Seth agreed with a smile.

"Well, then, the best is yet to come," Briana replied with a mischievous smile, carefully drying the last bowl and placing it safely into the cupboard, as Seth wondered what she meant.