High Noon On the Sun

 The tantalizing smell of meat on the grill saturated the air around the old barn on the edge of the family property. Since I was young I had watched the men in my family hold cookouts outs, but seeing as I was the only one left on the property now that my mother was gone, grilling duty was up to me.

 This balmy, Louisiana afternoon, I was not cooking for my large family, but just for myself and my boyfriend, Malcolm. Sure, I had just experienced a rather unsettling day and of course my head was still reeling with thoughts of my missing sister, but I was never one to cancel a date. I had promised to cook out for him and by God I was going to make good on it. I made sure to throw plenty extra on the grill, though. I liked to keep the fridge stocked with leftovers in case I needed a quick fix for my odd-hour cravings. Especially when I didn't feel like cooking and I could already tell it was going to be one of those weeks.

 As we had been doing since we were teenagers, we shared our intimate moments in the bedroom on the third story of my house that I had called my own since I was old enough to sleep in a bed. Our prom picture stared at us from my little girl dresser as we went through the motions of our romantic encounter.

It seemed to me, however, that the passion had evaporated out of our relationship quicker than if it was high noon on the sun. As soon as he finished (and I myself am quite the actress), he told me he had an early day tomorrow and he wanted to get some sleep in his own bed... in his parents' house. Of course, I still technically lived in my parents' house, but even though the mortgage had been paid off before I could walk, I was still the one paying the taxes and utilities.

As I slipped under the covers, I couldn't help but wonder if it was truly his own bed he was so eager to get into.