34
Somehow it wasn’t Aurelia or Antonia who swayed Oliver into believing the fantastical story Aurelia had told him, but Julia.
Her enthusiasm about the characters—characters from books she hadn’t even read all the way through—and the stories she told Oliver about them seemed to crack his disbelief.
Antonia’s stoic retelling of what she’d seen and heard, including her initial anger toward Aurelia for telling what she’d thought was a whopper of a lie, had also helped.
It seemed to validate his own doubt while also showing him that someone very rational, who had a daughter to worry about, already accepted the unbelievable story he was now being asked to believe.
But, understandably, he wasn’t entirely convinced just yet.
There were moments when he would ask a question or make a comment in a way that suggested he believed them, followed by moments when his skepticism was still very much in evidence.
Aurelia hoped that hearing the characters’ voices might, just as it had for Antonia, ‘seal the deal.’ He eventually agreed to join Antonia in the stairwell at midnight, and they all sat down to dinner together as Julia continued explaining what she’d seen in the shop, with Aurelia joining in and adding details about her own experiences.
Aurelia felt relieved when, as she and Oliver were washing dishes in the kitchen and Antonia and Julia were queuing up yet another version of Pride and Prejudice in the living room, he’d taken her into his arms and held her.
“This is all… pretty wild,” he said into her neck.
She squeezed him tightly for a moment, then said, “Please know that I know that. I’m not expecting you to think it’s all perfectly normal. I know it took a lot of faith to have even got this far.”
He nodded as he drew back, but worry crossed his features. Before Aurelia could try and reassure him, Julia was calling to them to hurry up so they could start the movie.
Just before midnight, Antonia and Oliver sat themselves at the bottom of the staircase while Aurelia and Julia went into the shop and waited at the Recommended Reads table.
Once the characters appeared, they seemed to sense Aurelia’s anxiety, and this time all of them agreed to come up to the mezzanine to speak with Oliver.
Like Antonia, Oliver couldn’t make out what each character was saying, but he could distinguish their voices. He asked them questions, and Aurelia and Julia translated the characters’ answers for him.
Eventually, they opened the door, and Aurelia led him over to the mezzanine railing to watch as the last few mists of parchment and words disappeared back into their books.
With her arm around his waist, she felt his body jolt at the sight, heard his breath catch in his throat.
She was certain that this final piece of proof had convinced him, though the worry she’d seen on his face earlier was there again when they all went upstairs to the flat.
Aurelia planned to ask him if he was alright once they were alone, but Julia’s excitement about the characters—and Biscuit’s matching energy at seeing them all—seemed to wipe the worry from his features.
By the time everyone had settled down and then taken their turn using one bathroom to get ready for bed, Aurelia fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit her pillow.