"Unconditional"

... is a condition.





It didn't matter much what I said, most of the responses were clipped one words sentences.

Tal

Tal

Its good to see you.

That lift of gaze flat .. empty to meet mine then lower back to what he was doing.

How have you been? How did the drive go?

Well.

Those small hands constant slow methodical motion rubbing oil into his saddle. Squeezing the padding to insure every crevice was well emoliated.

Any subject I brought up, squelched with a dull monotonous tone and maybe a slicing glare. At least that was different than the empty flat one.

Each time I mentioned a personal reference, it was met with a tersly polite .. "Good for you."

The ihns ticked away in patches of awkward silence before I bid my farewells and rose to go. I was just about to dip beneath the flap when he got in his parting shot.

That's it go. You are good at that aren't you?

If nothing else in the events that have unfolded since coming here ... now there was the one thing I had learned and learned well. I turned to offer a smile and soft spoken words ...

Yes, but I'll be back.

After I bounded down the steps, I breathed in a deep breath of the night air and thought to myself, he sounds like a pretty normal Tuchuk male.


~*~For Robert~*~