“Me too. Somehow it feels even more lonely to sit at a table by yourself, doesn’t it?” she asked.
Relief filled Chappy. She understood. He shouldn’t have been surprised. “Yeah,” he agreed. “So . . . tell me about this translation thing you do. What kind of books do you translate? How did you learn French well enough to be able to do that? I’m assuming it pays all right since you’ve made it your profession.”
Carlise’s face lit up. She began to tell him all about what she did, and Chappy heard only half of the words. He was more fascinated by how passionate she was about her job, how animated she became while describing it.
When she’d wound down, she gave him a sheepish grin. “Sorry. That was probably way more than you were interested in hearing.”
“No,” he said immediately. “It’s fascinating. I guess I hadn’t ever thought about it before, but it’s great that books by French-speaking authors can be made available in other languages for others to read as well. I don’t know what I’d do without books.”
“Isn’t it the best when you can lose yourself in a story? When you’re sad because you’ve finished a book? One of the greatest things about my job is that I get to communicate with authors directly. I mean, sometimes I’m hired by publishers to translate, but most of my business is with authors themselves. I have to pinch myself when they actually have a conversation with me via email.”
“That’s definitely cool,” Chappy said, leaning his elbow on the table and resting his chin on his hand as he stared at her.
“It really is,” she agreed.
“You haven’t been able to work much the last few days. Is that going to put you behind?” he asked.
Carlise shrugged. “Not too much. I mean, I should probably get back to work soon, but I always build in plenty of wiggle room for each translation. The last thing I want is to deliver a book late to an author and mess up their publication schedule.”
Considerate. Another trait Chappy added to Carlise’s plus column.
They were quiet for a moment, then she tilted her head and said, “Listen—do you hear that?”
Tensing, Chappy strained to hear what had caught her attention. “No, what?”
“It’s quiet,” she whispered. “I’d gotten so used to the wind howling outside that it sounds weird not to hear it.”
“You’re right,” Chappy said. “Hopefully that means the storm has finally decided to move on.”
“It’s about time for Baxter’s dinner,” she said. “Do you think we could mix some of this delicious pasta in with his dinner? It would be warm, which I know he’d like. And it’s cheese . . . all dogs like cheese and beef.”
Chappy chuckled. “I’m sure. It’s light on the spices, and I made a ton. Like I said, when I cook, I tend to overdo it.”
“Well, I’m glad. Because I can totally eat this for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and not get sick of it.”
“So says the woman who ate peanut butter and jelly for three days straight.”
Carlise grinned and shrugged.
“Come on, I’ll clean up while you get Baxter’s food ready. Then we’ll head out and make sure he’s good.”
“I can—”
“No.”
Carlise huffed. “You don’t know what I was going to say.”
“You were going to say that you could help me clean up. I’ve got it. If you helped me with the dishes and packaging up the leftovers, it would just take longer for Baxter to get his meal.”
“That’s devious,” Carlise said, but she was smiling, so Chappy knew she wasn’t really upset.
“Nope, it’s practical. Now, how much do you think you want to add to Baxter’s food tonight?”
It felt comfortable to work side by side with Carlise in the kitchen. The space wasn’t terribly large, so they constantly bumped into each other. It felt intimate and not awkward at all. It was crazy how content Chappy was with this woman in his space.
It didn’t take long for him to hand-wash the plates and other dishes he’d used in prepping their meal and for Carlise to get Baxter’s bowl ready. He explained that he collected his recyclables and brought them into Newton when he went home and that he burned any trash he could. In the summer, he also had a compost pile. It was important to Chappy to make the smallest impact possible on the environment and live as naturally as he could while at the cabin.