Page 33 of Peach

Haisley put the bun top on her burger, then looked up and met his gaze. "I don't want to be a burden on you."

“You aren’t a burden.”

"I would be once this kid is born unless I get a job and provide some money for rent."

His knee-jerk reaction was to deny her words, but he didn’t want to dismiss her. Peach glanced outside, seeing that the small table and chairs he had out there were in the shade. “How about we sit outside?”

“Sure.”

He took out their drinks, him another beer and her tea, and then brought out his food. The weather was perfect, and so was the company. Having Haisley around was like a breath of fresh air. Having someone to talk to and watch TV with was nice. He liked having her in his space.

“You know, with the sale of the land and house, I have a lot of extra money.”

“But that’s your money, not mine.”

“Exactly, and I want to spend it making sure you have a place to live and aren’t put in a bad position.”

She swallowed the bite she’d been chewing on and shook her head. “You need to keep hold of your money. Listen, I’m sure you have plenty of money, but I need to find something that would allow me to pay my way. It’s notthat I don’t want your help, but I need to be able to survive on my own.”

Her words were agitating him. Instead of responding immediately, Peach set his burger down and glanced around. It would be easy to dismiss her desire to take care of herself, but he wouldn’t degrade her that way. “I get it. I want to be able to pay my way, so yeah, I understand your desire to take care of stuff on your own. What do you feel like you’re good at?”

She shrugged. “That’s the thing, I don’t know. I feel like I spent the last few years not really knowing what I wanted or what to do. It feels like it has been forever since I finished high school. I mean, I guess it has been a while. I took extra summer classes and got out when I was seventeen. So five years.”

“Five years can seem like a long time.”

"I just don't know what to do, and when I look at what other people do, I realize I don't have the skill to do what they are doing."

Peach didn't think they could solve Haisley's problems right now, so he picked up his burger and started asking questions.

“What did you want to be when you were a little kid?” he asked.

Haisley shrugged. “A cat.”

He had to forcibly stop himself from laughing. Her answer caught him off guard.

“You can laugh. It’s funny. I wanted to grow up and become a cat.”

“It would be a good life.”

“Unless you had an awful owner. Or if you were a stray in a bad area.”

"That's true." Peach chuckled. "You know, people whowere cast in the musicalCatsprobably never thought they would grow up to be cats.

She shook her head. "I need to see that."

“I’ve never watched the entire thing, only bits and pieces of it.”

“I heard it wasn’t good.”

He shook his head. "It was interesting. Some say it's disturbing. I don't know. It was art, and sometimes art is weird."

Haisley laughed. “Ain’t that the truth.”

Peach took a sip of his beer and sat back, studying Haisley. “Are you excited to go to the beach tomorrow?”

“Excited, yes. And nervous.”

“Why are you nervous?”

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