Here and back again

 "Nonnie, you know, you've got to take your medication," Tristan gave her a hard look. They were having lunch where she was now working at the pizzeria. He hadn't seen her in months but they had been in a support group back at the work camp he'd been in before his last job. It was just an accident they'd seen each other and she'd looked pretty down so he couldn't say no. "You just can't ask strangers to do everything for you."

"I know," she looked as if she was still disappointed in herself. "I knew it was wrong, but I..I felt so out of it...like I didn't know what I was doing." Nonnie winced hard, "And then I end up working with him at the coffee shop. I knew he'd hate me for sure." That was why she was at the pizzeria now. They'd needed help in the evenings recently.

"Are you sure you can manage this?" Tristan hoped she would tell him the truth. But from listening to her past from before, he knew she'd been in a worse family situation than his own. She'd lived with a lot of violence. He could see why she was so traumatized with so many shootings and theft. But he hoped she could overcome it. 

"So how are things for you?" Nonnie asked as if this wasn't all about her. 

"OK, pretty much," Tristan nodded with a sigh. "I like where I live. I like my roommates. But-" He almost wanted to laugh, but then it wasn't that funny. "There's this..um, I don't know if she's a doctor or a researcher or what..at work..that I get a little nervous around."

"Like how?" Nonnie finally cracked a smile.

"Like I'm going to lose my shit, you know." He cracked up. "I have nightmares of making the loudest fart you would ever want to hear."

"Couldn't you blame it on an elephant or something?" Nonnie smirked.

"I may have to," he said he felt very uncomfortable around her. "She's from Australia I think. Maybe Austria."

"Maybe you like her."

"No, I don't." He was adamant about it. "My ex is seeing my roommate." He then told her.

"Wow, how are you handling that?" She knew he had problems with his ex. He had talked about Mona. As if maybe she was the one who made him have all his anger issues.

"Not bad. Really." He bit into another slice of pepperoni pizza.

Tristan swallowed, yet found himself nursing his bottom lip. "I think I'm in a good place right now. I have one really close friend. I just don't know if we can really be anything else."

"It's good not to rush things," Nonnie told him. Even though she said she might have rushed about quitting at the coffee shop, she thought she was doing that guy a favor after all. "I'd hate for him to hate me."