“That reminds me." I dug into my book bag and pulled out a white cardboard box tied with a string. "I brought these back for you."He looked at the box, then at me, before slowly reaching out. "What are they?""Poisonous snakes. Open it."Zachary untied the string. "They seem like very quiet snakes.""They're stealthy. Or maybe dead.”

“You're right. And so was my snake."Snake?"He pulled my arm out to expose my bracelet. "When I carved this my thoughts were on you, love. Your life is like this snake's coils. No matter how many turns it makes, you'll end up back where you belong. With me.”

“Marriage is like putting your hand into a bag of snakes in the hope of pulling out an eel.”

“When her hands reached out and poured the tea, it was as if she also poured something into me while I sat there sweating in my cab. It was like she held a string and pulled on it just slightly to open me up. She got in, put a piece of herself inside me, and left again.”

“That earns him a smack with my book bag."Ow." He clutches his arm. "What do you have in there? Books?" A grin snakes across his face. "I like my women feisty."He adds, "I like my broken.”

“He lifted his gaze to hers. "I have a lot of other things I should be doing, but I'm here." He stared into her eyes for several heartbeats before he returned his attention to the big box. "I've tried to stay away. After you threw me out of the house, I thought it was probably for the best. You're a distraction, and I don't need a distraction right now." He handed the screwdriver back to her and ripped the box open with his big hands. "I've got tapes I need to review, and plays I need to go over in my head before today's practice, yet here I am. Putting baby furniture together for you because I can't get you out of my head. I plug in a tape, and all I do is think about you." He peeled back the cardboard and reached for the instruction sheet that had fallen to the floor. "But the thing is, Adele, I'm not really sure whether you want me to be here or not." His polo shirt pulled out of the waistband of his Levi's and slid up the tan muscles of his back. He straightened and looked at her over the top of the instructions. "I don't know what you want.”