by Aimee Laine
Tripp eyed Ian, who slow-bobbed his head to the side and mouthed, ‘I told you so.’
“Think he still has his gift?” Lexi asked. “Is that possible?”
“When we were here …” Tripp started. “She said something. ‘They still play the game.’ Do you think they meant—”
“Have sex?” Ian’s question hung in the air until Emma burst out a laugh.
“Only you, Ian.” Missy sat against one wall, her sketch materials in hand.
Lexi’s eyes brimmed with excitement. “Even in their old age, as a couple, they could have still had it? Their gifts, I mean?”
Tripp drew her to him. “Is that what you want? Both the relationship and the gift?”
“I like what I do. I was looking for something a little more exciting—maybe not with so much danger, but yeah. I want to be old and get to go on adventures.”
“Can you guys give us a second?” Tripp waved the group out the door.
They all groaned.
“We’ll be downstairs. Don’t take too long, or we’ll know you’re up to more than conversation,” Ian said.
Tripp grinned at Lexi. He tugged her toward the middle of the room, sat on the floor and lowered with her.
“I think you like this straddle position.”
Her smile warmed him, pushed him to run with his thoughts. “Ian thinks we need to sacrifice our gifts to make a final connection.”
“Emma said something similar.”
“If that’s the case, do you think they—” He waved in a circle. “—really still had it? Or was this all wishful thinking?”
“How, I don’t know, but my gut says they still had it.”
He dropped his forehead to hers.
“What’s wrong?” Lexi asked.
“I’ve got to go back to New York for a little while.” Tripp looked to their entwined fingers.
“When?”
“Tonight.”
“Why?”
“Finish up a business deal.” Though true, the lie tugged at his heart as if it were a new experience.
“Your sister has some serious plans for renovation here, you know? I can handle the details for you down here while you do that.”
His hands made their way to the back of her neck, tugging her forward so his lips and tongue could tease—to show her what he really meant but didn’t say. Her whole body shivered.
“Going to miss me?”
She shook her head, laughing. “I think I will.”
“That’s some mixed signals if ever I saw them.”
Lexi’s smile faded though a hint of it remained. “I keep coming back to George and Marge and how they figured it all out.”
“We’re working right now, aren’t we? Maybe that’s enough? Being together?”
“We’re beyond the scope of what the myth supposedly lets us do already. But … add in family, kids … right now, our magnets are hovering around each other, touching, playing at the edges, forced by our own hand, but they won’t stick. Something will break it, and we’ll be done. I don’t want to love a man who goes invisible because some force causes him to, whether you faked it or not.”
Tripp stiffened. “What did you say?”
She sighed. “Weren’t you listening? The magnets—”
He touched his lips to hers again. “Not that.”
She laughed against him.
“You said you don’t want to love a man—” He stopped as red seeped into her cheeks. “Do you love me, Lexi? Because if you don’t, that’s going to suck since I’ve already fallen in love with you.”
She wrapped her arms around him, pressed her lips against his neck. “Yes, I love you. I don’t understand it, the feelings, or the speed in which this has come up, but I do. I want to find a way to keep these tingles and still find myself.”
“You said you had a feeling George and Marge had. I do, too.” Tripp imagined the empty room full of maps and charts. “We’ll figure it out.”
She nodded against him. “What if this was all for show because they lost it all and the memory of giving up what they loved for each other was too much?”
• • •
Lexi noted the two stairs creaked as they walked back down. She loved the character, even the flaws in the house. Happy voices reached them from the kitchen where they found Emma and Ian with Missy—hands moving through the air, animating her words.
“Oh, good, you’re back.” Missy slid out a sketch from her case.
Lexi eyed Emma, found a raised brow and a smile facing her.
“Here’s my idea.” Missy whirled a colorful page toward Lexi. “It’s rough, but what do you think?”
Her design mimicked a kitchen of the fifties with a contemporary bent. Pots and pans hung from the ceiling, recessed lights accented aged cabinetry, and modern stainless steel appliances maintained the ambience but added the ‘modern’.
It’s exactly what I’d want. “It’s really nice, Missy.” Lexi handed the sketch to Tripp and headed out the side door. It clanged behind her as she let go, slapping the wood a second time as someone followed.
“Lexi?” Emma’s voice reached Lexi as the breeze blew her hair to the side. “What’s going on?”
“He’s leaving.” She said it into the wind.
Emma stepped in front of her. “Yeah, Ian said. Back to New York for some business. You’re not the clingy type, though.”
“No, I know.”
“It’s the house then?”
“This is supposed to be mine, Em. Mine. I thought I could let it go, be happy he bought it, but he could just remodel it, resell it and leave.”
“You didn’t hear Missy say this, but she’s over the moon excited about the two of you, says you’re the best thing that ever happened to Tripp. Even Ian agrees with her. And Tripp’s the best thing that ever happened to you. He’s not going to sell your house out from under you. There’s more to you guys.”
Lexi turned to the house, reflecting on the work needed. “It’s going to take more than luck to make that happen.”
Emma rolled her eyes in a grandiose show of irritation. “Thinking the worst again.”
Hanging her head, Lexi said, “I don’t know what’s going on with me. All this talk about our connections, being the right ones for each other, him picking my house and his sister designing the exact kitchen I’d want—it’s getting to be too much—for me.”
Emma shook her head. “Wow.” She drew Lexi into a quick embrace. “I gotta tell ya, Lex, I didn’t figure you’d be so unnerved by this. You’re the one who hangs in long after you should, who tries and fails, gets up and goes after it again. Like I said from the beginning. Remember when that was?” She cocked her head. “I said take it a day at a time. Play it out and see what happens. No one said you had to jump into anything.”
“I know, but he already bought my house!”
“You told him it was his to buy.” Emma’s tone grew frustrated.
“I know. Because it showed up in my head. Damn stupid mental pictures. Some days, I don’t want this. I want it to go away. I want to be regular, average, or whatever most people are.”
Emma’s laugh gushed from her.
“What’s got you so tickled?”
“Listening to you rant. You’re so normal it’s not even funny. Your gift is an added bonus. Everyone has their ‘thing’, you know, and this is yours. For others it might be simple, like eating cheese with carrots or crushing up their pills to take medication. You get something magical. It’s just a ‘thing’.”
As Tripp stepped from the front porch, Lexi caught his gaze.
“I’m going to leave you two alone for a moment.” Emma disappeared into the house.
“Are you okay?” Tripp wrapped his arms around Lexi.
“Not really.”
“I could hear most of your conversation. Unfortunately for you, the wind carries, the walls are thin, and you weren’t very far away.” He chuckled behind her.
Dammit.
“I need
to tell you something.”
Uh-oh.
“My New York trip includes a stop to see Jill.”
Lexi spun against him. “What?” She imagined her eyes blazed while fury burned her heart. “You lied to me?”
Tripp backed away, holding up his hands in surrender. “No. I didn’t lie, but I didn’t tell you the full truth either.”
She whirled, jogged toward the fence line, and propped a foot on the bottom rail. He lied because he can. At the bump on her arm, she turned. “What’s that?”
A light coat of dust covered the top of a bible-sized book.
“Open it.” Tripp leaned on the fence, his elbows balancing on the top plant.
“Why?”
“Open the fucking book, Lexi.”
She blew, wiped off what remained on the cover, though no notations or information existed on either side. She flipped it open to the first parchment-like page. “This is old.”
Tripp’s gaze stayed focused out into the pasture. “Yup.”
“Whose is it?”
“Keep going.”
‘Keep going,’ she mouthed as she flipped the page. “Oh.”
“Yup.”
“Think it’s George’s or Marge’s?”
“Haven’t read it. I was hoping you might glean some insight from it while I’m away, so when I get back—” He turned to her. “—we can figure all this out.”
Lexi stared up into his blue eyes, intense with whatever he held back. “If you come back.”
“When, Lexi. When. It’s just business. On that, I’m telling you the absolute truth.”
His selective choice of information had already created the chink in their connection.
20
Pepperoni pizza, topped off glasses of wine, and the breeze from the open window added to the relaxed atmosphere as Missy, Emma and Lexi sat together in the middle of the farmhouse’s living room floor.
Lexi angled her body toward Missy. “I thought we said this was a girls’ night out? Why are you working?”
Missy grinned, replying without looking up from her pages. “Because I need to see and feel the house at night, too. It’s not about what something looks like during the day but the character at all times. The creaks, moans and groans. They give life to a place.”
Lexi dripped the last of the Chardonnay into her glass. “I told Tripp I love him today.”
“You what?” Both Emma and Missy said, each stopping their activity to scoot closer.
“This deserves another bottle of wine.” Emma popped open a Pinot Grigio. She poured, filling each to the center, and held one out for a toast. “To new beginnings.”
“To my brother, who finally has a woman worth her weight in diamonds.” Missy’s glass tipped to Lexi’s.
“To hope.” Lexi clinked with Emma. “What do you tell people your brother does when you meet them, Missy?” Lexi downed her wine, held her glass out for more.
“Exactly what they call it. They are retrieval experts. Someone took something from you … if you can prove it, and well, sometimes even when you can’t, they’ll get it back. Though up to now, the same person has had to tell them where it is.” At that, she nodded toward Lexi. “They won’t, however, tell their clients how they do it, and they charge an arm and a leg, house, car, you know … a lot.”
“See, Lex? Don’t limit yourself, anymore,” Emma said as she sipped.
Missy topped off her glass with the last of the first bottle. “I’m glad you brought a few. We’re going to go through this quick. What do you mean limit, Emma?”
“She doesn’t want to get into anything which crosses moral boundaries.”
“Gotcha. Keep it simple, mundane and you won’t have to worry about consequences.”
“She’s always been like that.” Emma filled her glass again. “Big sister Lexi, here, might be older by a minute, but she’s got the fortitude and stubbornness to keep herself away from anything unethical.”
Lexi slapped Emma’s foot with little force, the buzz from the wine taking away a little of her coordination. “When did he get the earring?”
Missy stretched out along the floor. “When he was eighteen. Ma wouldn’t let him before.”
“He listened to his Mom—what with his never-get-caught ability?”
“He never crossed our ma.” Missy’s head jerked back and forth. “Oh, no, that he never did. She had her ways of finding out what he was up to.” She rolled onto her stomach, taking her sketch pad with her. “How’d you figure out what you can do?”
“When I was a kid, I always just thought it was coincidence. In my teens, I figured out how to control it. By college, Emma had found the myth and we knew.”
“And your folks? They know, or just you, Emma?”
“Just me. Somehow, we knew to keep it between us.”
Missy nodded. “Tripp’s that way, too. He told me because I wouldn’t stop bugging him. Luckily, I know how to keep secrets.” She tipped her glass.
Lexi poured more wine for herself as she leaned against a wall. “And secrets are exactly what I need to know.” She tapped the journal. “Time to read, ladies.”
“You know this would be more comfortable at home, right?” Emma said before Lexi had even cracked the spine.
“But then Missy wouldn’t have gotten the feel for the house at night since she’s heading home tomorrow.”
“My biggest thanks to you both for this opportunity.” Missy’s gaze flitted from one spot to another in the room as she spoke.
“Okay,” Emma said. “Let’s hear it.”
Lexi opened the book, propping it on her knees. “This first entry is dated July fifth but no year.” She flipped through a few more pages. “Looks like they’re all like that.”
“So we won’t get a feel for time, but at least we found a season. Hot.” Emma waved a hand as if she needed to cool herself.
“So it starts off with ‘Margie.’ Aw! He had a sweet name for her.” She put a hand against her heart.
Emma pointed to the book. “Keep reading, lovesick woman.”
“Margie, my love. Every day your beauty calls to me like a butterfly to a flower in the springtime. I’ve searched for you for far too long and desire your presence in my life on a permanent basis,” Lexi read.
“So this is before they officially got together,” Emma said.
Lexi continued, “The day is bright with wonder and anticipation. I know you feel the same about me if only you would make that decision, the one that would allow us to remain together.”
Emma placed a hand on Lexi’s. “Okay, he can’t be about to tell you how, can he?”
Lexi proceeded, “Your father has given his blessing despite our young age. Your mother has, as well, though she understands what you can do far better than anyone. Your ability to be selfless in your works and deeds exceeds the maturity of your age. An old soul, one might say, with the light of youth and love in your wake.”
“They got married really young, didn’t they? Like in their teens?” Emma asked.
With a nod, Lexi carried on. “Tonight we make our promises to live a life of love and courage. To do with our abilities the best that we can and to promise to each other the best and worst of ourselves for the rest of our lives. I will love you forever, my beauty, no matter where you take us, how many adventures we have or the adversity we find. Bound forever we will be, my heart has been yours since our creation. And he signed it George.”
“For as gruff as he was when we sat down with him, he sounds full out romantic here.” Lexi bumped her head back against the wall. “You think the gruffness came with the binding to Marge? If they’re a pair like Tripp and I, she said it’s like the bound magnets. That’s it afterward. No chance to move on, ever. Think he was stuck? If—”
Emma grabbed the book, flipped pages at random. “No, I think George is jealous of you and Tripp.”
“What? Why?”
“They’re old, Lex. They’ve had years together, decades even, hell maybe centuri
es by the looks of them.” A small giggle erupted before Emma controlled herself again. “I’m sure as they aged, they couldn’t get around well enough to do what you guys get to do right now. And with modern technology, travel access and money, they look at the possibilities in you and Tripp and are just plain jealous.” Paper swished against itself as Emma flipped through the pages. “Listen to this. It’s a short entry: George and I returned from a trip to Paris. It has been my dream to visit that city, to experience life there. Mara stayed with friends for our eleven-day excursion. She was happy to be free of her parents. I laugh, though I would have loved to take her with us. Our time on the ship was spent in exquisite splendor in each other’s arms. The ship’s captain even lost his cap thanks to a mischievous child. George and I took the advantage to find it for him—a small, but exciting moment. I look forward to at least a few more years of this.”
“See?” Emma handed the journal back to Lexi. “They were still at it. Maybe in a smaller way because they didn’t have all the resources you do, but they were.”
“Who’s Mara?” Missy scooted close to Lexi’s feet.
“Their daughter. Marge had all sorts of pictures throughout this room of her.” Lexi waved her arms as if to encompass the space.
“And she didn’t get the gift passed on? Or did she?”
“Who knows? I don’t even know how I got it.” Lexi took the journal back. “No one, that I have found, understands what Tripp or I can or can’t do in its entirety. We don’t have the condensed or even full version of the Mayo Clinic’s medical journal for people with ties to Zeus’s paradox. Just a star emblazoned on our skin.”
“You read more. I gotta pee.” Emma’s laugh carried as she walked away.
Missy waved her papers at them. “And I’ve got some first floor sketches I want to refine.”
Lexi opened to the second entry. She read it and turned the page to the third and fourth, continuing on as her sister and Missy chatted, poured more wine and finished off the cold pizza. A quarter of the way through, the tone changed, a saddness overtaking it.
