Story: Buoyed

[nsfwords]

This fill was inspired by a prompt from ysabetwordsmith at the February 2022 Crowdfunding Creative Jam. 641 words, it is next in the RePrint series after "Guarded."

This series has reached four entries now, so I'll be working on creating a landing page soon. Once done, I'll edit this post with the link to the series page. New RePrint Landing Page completed!

Buoyed

Meeting Shea, and sending them away, had been the end of Althea’s emotional fortitude for the night. Before Nurse Manning could approach the door with another Familial Guardian prospect, Althea used the intercom system to buzz and request dinner. It arrived in short order and came with a choice of chamomile or kava tea. 
 

Nurse Manning had said, in their soothing tones, “Both of these herbs have been found to have excellent calming effects with no negative interactions with the RePrint process. Enjoy whichever you’d like this evening after you’ve finished your meal. Either will help you sleep.”
 

Althea had chosen the chamomile, the grassy floral smell another comfort in her warm honey toned room. She enjoyed dinner alone, quiet, and worked on progressively releasing the tension from her muscles that had creeped in while meeting the prospects.
 

She was glad of the tea’s help getting to sleep as well because she knew, without something to help her relax, she’d have replayed every casual touch experience over and over until her stomach turned sour and she didn’t find sleep at all.   
 

***
 

The next morning, showered, invigorated, and buoyed by a confident Dr. Carey’s continued enthusiasm and reassurances, Althea had settled back into her armchair. The galaxy blanket, velvety soft on one side, thick fleece on the other, was draped over the arm of the chair. She could pet it as much as she wanted, but currently didn’t feel the need to have it swaddling her.
 

Nurse Manning had also seemed in a sunny mood that morning and was wearing a bright smile as they brought the morning’s first candidate into her room. He’s so Big was Althea’s immediate thought, the man entering the room well over six feet and wide everywhere, and she felt herself flush with embarrassment. The feeling made nerves blossom in her gut, and she fumbled her grab for his reaction card. 
 

“Oh shit! I’m sorry,” Althea exclaimed as the digipaper tablet tumbled to the carpet between the two armchairs.  He then did the last thing Althea expected. Instead of immediately reaching to fix her mistake, he took a large step back and squatted down onto his haunches, leaving the reaction card on the floor.
 

“Hey. No worries. Let’s settle a sec, then try that again.” On this lower level, his face came even with hers where she was seated in the cushy chair, and she noticed his features. Red brown hair, many freckles, and a small quiet smile. There was no visceral attraction as she’d experienced with Shea, but he seemed friendly, and less intimidating closer to her level.
 

“Yeah, uh, sure. That’d, that works,” she gulped.

 

His smile stayed small, calm, and unworried. He didn’t move from his crouch, and Althea continued a visual assessment of this new prospect. He was wearing an open red flannel over a soft grey cotton t-shirt and well-worn blue jeans. A memory, distant and hazed, fought to surface in her mind and she blurted out, “You look like my dead cousin Reed.”
 

“That good or bad?” he responded.
 

“I’m not sure. Seems…ok? I liked him? I think I might miss him?”
 

“That’s alright then. If I look like a cousin, I could be your Cuz Alfred, or just Freddie.” He nodded as he spoke, and she noticed his eyes were grey blue. The fuzzy memory of cousin Reed had brown eyes.
 

“Hey Freddie. I’m Althea. I’m, yeah. Hopeful?” she replied.
 

“That’s perfect. Because my big goal here is to discover the things that inspire hope for you. Shouldn’t that be what we do for each other as family?” Freddie finally reached out and scooped up the reaction card, stood, and handed it back out to Althea. She grabbed it with steadier hands, her fingers casually brushing against his as he held the device still until she definitely had it.