2:4

Rowan stood by the coffee bar and and pondered the panda bear in her latte. Whenever she glanced across the room she could feel the waves of tension, fear and anger emanating from Gareth and his dad, but she thought she could sense them evening out. Certainly the body language seemed a bit less frantic than it had five minutes ago.

It’s funny, she thought, I never worried about other people’s relationships all that much before. Rowan snorted and reflected on all her rows with her own parents. I suppose I never had time for other people’s issues with all the crap I thought I was dealing with. She shook her head like a sneezing cat and stared hard at the cinnamon-tinged bear. Christ, next thing you know I’ll be asking for Gareth’s help. Wouldn’t that be a hoot.

Rowan had liked Gareth for a long time. They’d first met in the playground when one of Rowan’s nannies had been looking to distract her from a particularly bratty mood. That had only lasted a few weeks before Father had found better ways for them to spend their time. But she remembered Gareth as a skinny kid with a lot of energy and little sense. “Seriously, who lets a kid hang from the crossbar on the swings?” But Gareth was often unsupervised, and fear seemed to be a foreign concept to that version of him. Things certainly have changed, haven’t they, she mused.

Rowan glanced at the tall, lanky figure gesturing at his father. He seems so balanced between this new fear of everything and that old energy. I wonder what it’s like to ride that wave? I certainly couldn’t do it; but I guess I’m lucky I don’t have to. In the back of her mind Rowan wondered why she was even here. The idea that somehow she was out of place, out of step with events, tickled her in a way she just wasn’t comfortable with. Just what was Gareth to her anyway?

With a stab of her spoon, the panda disintegrated into foamy white turbulence. Rowan picked up the cup and sipped the bitter-and-sweet liquid. Then she grabbed her iPhone and settled back to catch up on some Bejeweled. I guess I’ve got some time to fill.