It was time for lunch anyway. She could just image her mom's disapproval if she found out she had skipped lunch and she was talking to strangers.
He stood up with her. "Come to lunch with me."
" I have to go home. My mom will be wondering where I am and as it is I have been gone too long already."
" Please, I just need to." He looked around as if searching for the right thing to say. "Come and have lunch with me."
She did not want to refuse him, she liked his company. It felt as if he was a kindred spirit, somebody she could talk to. He had an open honest face and she still felt as if she had seen him somewhere before.
He took her hand into his. He stroked the back of her hand with his thumb. Taylor focused on the path his thumb was tracing on her skin. She was unwilling to think about going back to the hospital on Monday and maybe never leaving it again. For a moment, she wished for more than the slight contact of his hand holding hers, that he would take her in his arms and hold her tight. She considered, it would not even have to be him because at that moment she only needed the comfort of somebody other than her mom holding her close and caring for her.
She laughed nervously. "I don't even know your name?"
He smiled widely. "Daimhin. And you are?"
" Taylor."
" Pleased to meet you, Taylor. So, come with me to lunch. We'll stay in crowded areas if that makes you feel better." He started walking with her hand still in his, and she felt as if she was being dragged along. Part of her wanted to go with him and be normal, another part of her did not want to get involved, to learn what it might feel like to want to be with someone forever.
They walked along the top of the wall in silence, but it did not feel uncomfortable. He led her through the arched gates into the walled city.
Seated in a fast food restaurant, Taylor managed to eat enough so that she did not have to feel guilty. Daimhin talked about the people sitting around them. He made jokes about them and Taylor could not help laughing at his close descriptions of them. When he told her what he thought each person did for a living, or if they were happy at home and in their relationships, she could see from their demeanour when she looked at them discreetly, that he could be right. Is that the reason why he came back to find her? Did she just look so sad and pathetic that he felt she needed somebody to talk to?