Stranded! by Pepper Pace Page A

from her beautiful dark eyes. Now, life was a routine of cooking, foraging, repairing, eating and sleeping. She didn't even have the comfort of her best friend, for Marshall barely spoke to her--or when he did speak to her he never looked at her.

She knew that he couldn't stand the sight of her, which is the reason he found more and more of a reason to be outside of the hut. And truthfully, when he was around, the tension made it difficult for her. The guilt of abortion had to be relived over and over at his silent accusation. He never verbally threw the act in her face. He didn't have to. His silence and reluctance was word enough. Sometimes she'd watch him as he slept and remembered a time when neither could stand not to touch the other, and then she would long for the pleasure that he always brought her.

She left the hut and went out to the fire where Marshall was whittling a flat spatula. The other had gotten burned when he'd left it in the pot unattended. That had been very boneheaded of him. He was usually more responsible than that. These items were precious as they took a lot of effort to create. It wasn't like he could just walk over to the nearest TARGET to buy more utensils! He heard her approach and wondered what she wanted this time. She had her tasks, he had his, so why did her tasks become his?! 'Marshall,' she'd say, 'this ackee fruit is under-ripe the berries aren't fully exposed. 'Marshall the hut is too dark,' or 'Marshall your lobster trap won't work, the opening is too large.' Worse is when she'd come to him and say, 'Marshall lets swim like we used to.' Or 'Marshall lets watch the fire together.' Then he'd have to think of a nice way to say no.

No Oceans, I don't want to cuddle with you. No Oceans I don't want to listen to you tell me all the shit I'm doing wrong. Oceans, why should you care when my birthday is? I'll be 28 forever because time has stopped here. And I'm trapped. I'm trapped with a woman that I can't even look at!

"Marshall?"

"Yes?" He said as he delicately thinned out the wood with the blade. He concentrated very hard on the knife and on the spatula.

"It's been sixty days since we said we'd go to the other side of the Island." He didn't say anything and she squatted down on the mat and sat down next to him.

"Marshall?" She prompted after a full minute of silence. He lowered the knife.

"I heard you Oceans." Then he gave her a steady look. "The other side of the Island? What EXACTLY is the other side of the Island? Is it the RIGHT side? The LEFT side? This is a freaking circle! All sides are going to have the exact same thing as this one. EXCEPT it won't have a hut, a clearing, a fire pit, and ALL of the work that we put into making this camp...HOME."

Oceans' gaze didn't waver. "You're just trying to start an argument because you don't want to go anymore-"

"I never wanted to go." He resumed his delicate whittling. "I was just going to go because you wanted to."

Oceans waited. "And now you're not?"

"Right. I'm not."

Oceans gave him a sad look. "It doesn't have to be like this between us."

"Like what?" His expression was a cool mask. He set the half formed spatula and knife down to the side of him. She wanted to do this then he'd do this.

"It's like you're punishing me-"

He shook his head. "No." He said adamantly. "Oceans DON'T make this about what I'm doing to you. I've done nothing to you but take care of you. Really, if there is something that is not right between us then that's because of you."

Oceans resumed rubbing her elbows miserably. She felt a lump forming in her throat and tears stinging her eyes. "I know." She said in a voice thick with emotion. "You think that I don't realize how badly I hurt you? And that I don't understand that only a portion of this has to do with a baby that won't ever get born? So much of this has to do with ME making the decision to do this without your okay."

Marshall looked at her for the first time in weeks.

"I'm sorry." She whispered.