![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
fikgirl.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
crossing_lostrpAfternoon chores, foraging and in general trying to eek out survival kept Ami busy. Being busy meant that she kept her mind off of Scott, as much as it was possible to keep her mind off of Scott, and the impending conversation that she truly didn’t want to have. Her usual break of playing with Walt, Sue and River hadn’t been as uplifting as it usually was, and it was halfway through the sorting of good fruit from bad and rotation of new stock that Ami’s attention was drawn to the fact that her uneven mood hadn’t gone unnoticed.
“What’s bothering you today, child?” Rose asked.
Ami’s head jerked up. “What? Nothing.” She forced a smile, “I’m fine.”
“Mmph,” Rose stopped what she was doing and her eyebrows rose. “Don’t ever get a job where you have to lie for a living. You’ll be fired in an hour. I can tell that something’s got you down. You’re just not your usual self today.”
Ami looked down at the breadfruit. She tossed a rotten one into the jungle with considerably more force than was necessary. She was tempted to repeat that it was nothing again, but knew that would be futile. “It’s nothing important.”
“If it was nothing important you wouldn’t be upset about it,” Rose removed two more pieces of rotten fruit and set them aside. “Everything all right with Scott? You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but sometimes it helps just to talk about things.”
Ami’s first impulse was to say that she didn’t want to talk about it. But the problem was that she did. And whom was she going to talk about it with? Certainly she had a few friends she trusted with this sort of thing, but they couldn’t really understand. She wasn’t even sure that Rose could understand, but it wasn’t doing her any good to let it fester.
“Scott and I were talking today, and I found out that we have differing opinions on a certain matter.”
“Well, all relationships have hurdles. Lord knows my Bernard and I encountered enough of them. But that boy loves you, and you love him, I’m sure that you’ll work out a compromise.”
“It’s nice to think so, but this isn’t a hurdle, Rose. It’s a bloody chasm.” Ami shucked another piece of breadfruit with surprising strength. “It’s not one of those things that you can reach a compromise on. I wish that it were.”
“All problems have a solution, it just sometimes takes a little digging to get to it. Did you two talk about it yet? Or, did you just decide that there’s no way around it?”
Again, Ami’s head shot up to look at Rose. (Strewth! How did she know that?)
“Oh don’t look so surprised. You’re not fighting, and you were still looking at each other like newlyweds at lunch time, so obviously there hasn’t been any argument or discussion on the matter.” Rose paused and gave Ami a sad smile. “Before you tie yourself in knots and declare the problem insurmountable, I would suggest that you talk to the boy. You’re never going to know any more about it, or even what can be done if you two don’t talk about it.”
Ami wasn’t sure she agreed with Rose, but it didn’t particularly matter in the long run. While Ami would have preferred to avoid the topic and bury her head in the sand, Scott was much more direct and wouldn’t let this one slip through the cracks.
She took her time cleaning up after dinner, even wandering down to the community swimming hole to wash. It was a delay tactic, something intended to keep her away from Scott and the inevitable conversation as long as possible. Ami washed her hair, had Sue happily French braid it for her, and then returned to the teepee when she knew that Scott was absent. Dragging one of the mats outside, she sat on it, enjoying what was left of the day while she waited for Scott to return.
She had absolutely no idea what she was going to say to him. (You don’t want children. I do. We have a problem, isn’t exactly the most productive start to a conversation,) Ami thought, not bothering to shield it from Scott. (Although it is the most honest.)
Ami sighed and stared out at the ocean. And waited.
“What’s bothering you today, child?” Rose asked.
Ami’s head jerked up. “What? Nothing.” She forced a smile, “I’m fine.”
“Mmph,” Rose stopped what she was doing and her eyebrows rose. “Don’t ever get a job where you have to lie for a living. You’ll be fired in an hour. I can tell that something’s got you down. You’re just not your usual self today.”
Ami looked down at the breadfruit. She tossed a rotten one into the jungle with considerably more force than was necessary. She was tempted to repeat that it was nothing again, but knew that would be futile. “It’s nothing important.”
“If it was nothing important you wouldn’t be upset about it,” Rose removed two more pieces of rotten fruit and set them aside. “Everything all right with Scott? You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but sometimes it helps just to talk about things.”
Ami’s first impulse was to say that she didn’t want to talk about it. But the problem was that she did. And whom was she going to talk about it with? Certainly she had a few friends she trusted with this sort of thing, but they couldn’t really understand. She wasn’t even sure that Rose could understand, but it wasn’t doing her any good to let it fester.
“Scott and I were talking today, and I found out that we have differing opinions on a certain matter.”
“Well, all relationships have hurdles. Lord knows my Bernard and I encountered enough of them. But that boy loves you, and you love him, I’m sure that you’ll work out a compromise.”
“It’s nice to think so, but this isn’t a hurdle, Rose. It’s a bloody chasm.” Ami shucked another piece of breadfruit with surprising strength. “It’s not one of those things that you can reach a compromise on. I wish that it were.”
“All problems have a solution, it just sometimes takes a little digging to get to it. Did you two talk about it yet? Or, did you just decide that there’s no way around it?”
Again, Ami’s head shot up to look at Rose. (Strewth! How did she know that?)
“Oh don’t look so surprised. You’re not fighting, and you were still looking at each other like newlyweds at lunch time, so obviously there hasn’t been any argument or discussion on the matter.” Rose paused and gave Ami a sad smile. “Before you tie yourself in knots and declare the problem insurmountable, I would suggest that you talk to the boy. You’re never going to know any more about it, or even what can be done if you two don’t talk about it.”
Ami wasn’t sure she agreed with Rose, but it didn’t particularly matter in the long run. While Ami would have preferred to avoid the topic and bury her head in the sand, Scott was much more direct and wouldn’t let this one slip through the cracks.
She took her time cleaning up after dinner, even wandering down to the community swimming hole to wash. It was a delay tactic, something intended to keep her away from Scott and the inevitable conversation as long as possible. Ami washed her hair, had Sue happily French braid it for her, and then returned to the teepee when she knew that Scott was absent. Dragging one of the mats outside, she sat on it, enjoying what was left of the day while she waited for Scott to return.
She had absolutely no idea what she was going to say to him. (You don’t want children. I do. We have a problem, isn’t exactly the most productive start to a conversation,) Ami thought, not bothering to shield it from Scott. (Although it is the most honest.)
Ami sighed and stared out at the ocean. And waited.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}