Chapter 5:

I stare at Walt’s sleeping face half smooshed into a pillow. I’ve never felt like I’m lying to him before. Keeping secrets maybe, but it’s always been more like me waiting for him to find out. Not exactly hiding anything, but not exactly telling him anything either. Like there’s an elephant in the room and Walt just hasn’t noticed it yet. This feels like lying though. Meeting with Kelsey and Lainey without telling him anything about it feels like a betrayal.

I sit up and pick through the clothes on the floor to separate his from mine. By the time I’ve got boxers and a t-shirt on Walt wakes up.

“Why are you getting dressed?” He mumbles sleepily while he loops an arm around my waist and gently pulls me back down to the bed.

I smile back at him, “Because cooking while naked feels dirty.” I retort back playfully.

He grins and rolls onto his back, “Now that’s an image to wake up to.” He says with his eyes still closed. I shake my head and stand back up. “What time is it anyway?” He asks before I step away.

I check my phone on the nightstand. “Six.” I answer.

He groans dramatically in response, “That's too early.” He complains. “The sun’s not even out yet.” I roll my eyes but leave him to catch a few more z’s while I get breakfast started.

I have a simple setup for my kitchen. A small pantry I use to store my food, a few pots and pans and cooking utensils, and a small camping stove. I get a small pot and fill it with oil before I get a bowl and start mixing together flour, baking soda, salt, and water. As the oil starts heating up I mix my concoction until I get a loose dough and then I plop a few small globs into 

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the hot oil. While my fry bread is cooking I get out some of the eggs I’d taken from the chicken coop a few days ago and crack them into a bowl before whisking them up.

The only thing I don’t like about living in the barn is that I don’t have a real kitchen. I’d love to have a real stove and a fridge and actual running water, but even this meager situation is still better than nothing. I remember as a kid eating soup straight out of the can after it had been heated up by a campfire. That had been breakfast, lunch, and dinner for a depressing number of years. At least on the farm I have access to fresh ingredients and can make real food.

I get a couple small tomatoes, a green pepper, and an onion and start dicing them up on the cutting board. When I finish with the vegetables I set them aside next to the bowl with the eggs and focus my attention back on the bread. I fish out the finished fry bread and leave them in a bowl lined with a tea towel to absorb the excess oil out of them. Carefully I pour most of the leftover oil back into its container. I leave a little bit to fry the vegetables I diced. As soon as the veggies start cooking that’s when everything starts coming together. The barn is filled with the heady aroma of the onions and peppers with earthy undertones of tomato. I mix in a blend of spices to give it that extra pop and get everything good and seasoned before I pour in the eggs. The eggs scramble together with the vegetables and within a few moments everything is done.

As I’m setting the pot with the steaming food on my table with the bowl of bread Walt finally comes out. He’d put his pants on, but not a shirt and I take a second to admire his abs and biceps before focusing on the task at hand. I go back to my pantry and grab plates and forks to eat with.

“Almost done.” I tell him. “Did you want coffee?” I ask as I fill a clean pot with a bottle of water. I turn the camping stove to its highest setting so it heats up fast.