Between the Lines #1

I lean back in my booth and look up at Soren. The older man is sitting there, hand over his mouth in deep thought.

“Well…” I ask him.

“Hmm…” He says back.

“Come on, you’ve got to give me more than ‘hmm…’” I exclaim. My mouth is dry from reading aloud. I sip my coffee to get some moisture into it. I look at his contemplative expression. It’s starting to chip at my composure.

I have to ask, “Is it that bad?”

Soren shakes his head. “No, just new. Wasn’t sure what you were going to pull out of that file.” His blue eyes get that intense look when he’s about to ask something meaningful. “Do you know what it means?”

“Well, you're the one supposed to interpret it,” I say. It’s a half-statement and half-question.

“That’s what people say when they don’t know what it means or think the interpretation is better than the actual meaning.”

I laugh despite myself. Soren is Soren. “No, I’ve got a good idea of what it means. Where it’s coming from.” I set the papers aside. “Peter’s an interesting guy. Not two words until you get him talking about wolf hierarchy. Then he won’t shut up.”

It’s Soren’s turn to chuckle. “Yeah, I’ve experienced that for myself.” He replies. He shifts in his chair and holds his mug in his hands, taking a moment to feel the warmth coming off the ceramic. “Well, what else have you got?”

I pull another set of papers out of the folder. “This next one is… a little disturbing,” I caution him. “It may not be everyone’s style.”

He shrugs slightly, his thumbs coming off the mug to dismiss my warning. “I’ve heard worse.”

I can believe that. I settle in and start reading the new document.