Chapter 28: Unexpected Visitors
Why did I always seem to catch the attention of girls who were far too young? It wasn’t that I minded being admired—what thirteen-year-old boy would?—but the age gap made everything awkward and complicated.
I suppose I couldn’t really complain, given that I was still quite young myself. Thirteen years old, to be exact, though I was much older in my mind. I mean when I did I was twenty three.
But here, in a few years, I’d be considered a man by most standards, but that felt like an eternity away. The waiting was maddening.
More than anything, I wished I could skip ahead to where I truly belonged—that comfortable space where I wouldn’t have to navigate these strange social dynamics, where I could simply be myself without worrying about whether someone was too young or too old for my friendship.
"She’s quite talented, isn’t she?" Lisa’s voice interrupted my brooding as she approached.
I looked up to see her gesturing toward where Zoey sat hunched over her needlework near Martha’s old spinning wheel. The girl’s concentration was absolute, her tongue poking slightly from the corner of her mouth as she guided the thread through the fabric with surprising precision for someone her age.
"Yeah, she really is," I agreed, watching Zoey’s careful stitches. "Though I’d say it’ll probably take her ten years before she reaches Martha’s level of skill."
Lisa’s eyebrows shot up, and she gave me a look that could have frozen summer ale. "Aren’t you severely underestimating my grandmother’s abilities?"
I couldn’t help but grin at her indignant expression.
"You’re absolutely right," I said, raising my hands in mock surrender. "Martha would probably beat me senseless with her walking cane if she were here and overheard that comment."
Lisa let out a musical giggle at that. "She definitely would. And she’d enjoy every second of it too."
As if sensing our attention, Zoey lifted her gaze toward me with the shy, hesitant manner that had become so familiar. Her light brown eyes met mine for just a moment before she quickly looked away, her cheeks flushing pink as she returned her focus to her sewing needle with renewed intensity.