Angel’s face fell a little as he picked out his computers---a laptop and a desktop. The desktop had just come out that month and was a dual monitor, taking up half the left side of the desk. He went underneath, wiring things together on a power strip and storing it away in the back wall of the desk. “It must be such a lonely life.” He sighed, sitting up to collect his phone cables and find the correct jack in the wall. He couldn’t imagine it. Couldn’t imagine not trying to befriend whomever he met. He loved people. While it was true there were people that didn’t share that ability to befriend others, he’d never heard of someone refusing to attempt to be the friend of someone ‘lower’ than them.

He started unpacking his clothes and other cloth items. “Besides, I don’t see how you can take an immediate inspection of someone and just decide they’re of a lower social scale without knowing them in any way.” Maybe he and William were alike in status. His father’s ranch was huge, supplied horses for private lessons and cows for small-time farmers, independent butchers, and large meat companies alike. It grew apples for families to pick, sold chickens, eggs, milk, wool and sheep, and even offered landscaping services. His mother ran her own company independent of the house, catering big events and small, from birthdays to close connections to not only the mayor, but other state officials as well. She also had her own pair of stores in town, one that sold sweets and one that sold jarred jellies, jams, and picked eggs or vegetables, as well as dried meats. The former catered to her love of baking, while the latter was centered around the family’s habits of growing too much in their personal gardens or having a surplus of meat on hand.

So just how far away from one another were they? William seemed to come from a place of high society and a world of numbers, electronics, perhaps clothing and fashion lines. Angel, however, came from a homey place of animals, food, and art. Just because they lived differently didn’t mean one of them stood any higher than the other. Angel solemnly folded clothes to go into his closet’s drawers, and fetched hangers to hang his shirts and pants.