Page 50 of New Roots
It didn’t feel like an odd question, but the mood in the car changed. The minute I asked, his hand—which was still connected to mine—flinched his face became stoic, and his mood had definitely soured.
“I’m sorry. You don’t have to answer that.” I didn’t want to make him any more uncomfortable than I already had.
He squeezed my hand again, but this time softer, like he had earlier. “Sorry. I’m not upset with you. It is just a…how do you say…touchy subject. Or is it touching subject?”
“If it’s something heartfelt or sensitive in a positive way, then it would be a touching subject,” I replied. “But if it’s more sensitive in an uncomfortable way and upsets you, then it is a touchy subject.”
He nodded and appeared to catalogue that for memory later. “Then I mean touchy.”
“Oh. You don’t have to talk about that,” I said softly.
I was trying to think of something else to ask that would still give me insight into him, but we exited off the highway. Resigned for now, I put the topic to rest as I guided Axel the last few streets to get to my parents’ neighborhood.
Hopefully, time with my family wasn’t going to be even more awkward than the last few minutes of this car ride had been.
However, I knew my parents, which meant there was a high probability of embarrassing moments in my immediate future.
