“I try not to,” he agreed. “That doesn’t mean it always works that way.”
“It works mostly though,” she stated. “It’s disgusting actually.”
“Why is that?”
“Because I really love bagels.”
“Oh, I didn’t know that,” he said. “I could have picked up some.”
“You could have,” she agreed cheerfully. “But, in the meantime, I’ll take care of this.” She snatched a second burger.
He did finish off his burger, but now it tasted like sawdust to him, though she was able to eat hers with great relish. “I do appreciate an appetite. I just wish it came from commonsense eating habits and not because your stomach is finally getting fed.”
She grinned at him. “It’ll be hard to break those habits.”
“I’ll work on it though,” he muttered.
She shrugged. “More power to you, just don’t expect any cooperation out of me.”
He sighed. “You don’t have to be difficult about it.”
“I’m not, but I really don’t see the point of worrying about it. When the next meal comes, I eat. When it doesn’t come, well then, I guess I don’t eat.”
“You know that you can’t keep on like that.”
“So people keep telling me,” she admitted, feeling the frustration build.
He immediately held up his hand. “Hey, I’m not here to nag you.”
“Could have fooled me.”
He sighed. “Why don’t you just pour some coffee? That’ll make you feel better.”
She immediately brightened. “You know what? You’re right. Can’t argue if you’ve got a coffee in your hand.”
He chuckled. “Is that all it takes to stop an argument?”
She nodded. “Pretty much, but, in your case, you need a bottle of wine, a beer, or a shot of whiskey. Me? I’m good with coffee.”
“Do you ever think about switching to tea?”
She stopped in the act of reaching for the big jug of coffee in the back seat and stared at him.
“Hey, hey, hey, calm down,” he said, interpreting her look as one of complete madness. “It was just a question.”
“For the future,” she noted, “I have found very little tea that’s actually drinkable.”
He sighed. “You know that people all over the world would argue with you.”
“Then they can drink it,” she stated instantly.
He started to laugh. “You’re never short of an answer either, are you?”
“Doesn’t do me any good to be short on answers,” she replied. “People around me are always talking in circles. Or asking endless questions. It’s irritating.”
“I can’t imagine that anybody is doing that,” he argued in surprise. “You always seem to be one up on every conversation.”
“No, not at all,” she admitted. “Sometimes I feel like I’m being completely left out of conversations.”