16
Huxley
An older woman flags us down as soon as we get to the museum’s main room. There’s only a table in front of her, not even a sign. I don’t know if she even works here. “Oh, young love. Come, come. Get your songs of truth.”
Yeah, that’s not gonna happen.
I look down at Valentina to ask her if she’s ready to leave, but she’s smiling at the woman. Then she turns that blinding smile up to me.
I have no choice. I have to cave.
“Alright. Let’s do it.”
She squeezes my hand tighter in excitement as she pulls me over to the woman. This is such a joke. But if it makes Val happy, I’ll do it.
“Which one of you would like to go first?” The woman asks, extending her hand out for one of us to take.
Val nudges my arm, and I roll my eyes. “I guess I will.”
I reluctantly remove my hand from Vals and place it in the woman’s hand. She wraps her fingers around me and closes her eyes. Seriously, does this woman even work here? I don’t think I’ve ever seen her before.
I look down at Val and glance at the woman, trying to tell her with my eyes that this is utter nonsense. But she just smiles up at me, happy that I’m still playing along.
The woman suddenly lets go of my hand and opens her eyes. She writes something on a piece of paper, then puts it in an envelope and writes something on it as well. She smiles at me as she hands the envelope over.
Val leans over to read what she wrote. “What’s the date for?” she asks.
“That is the day you may open your envelope and reveal your song.” The woman adds a haunting effect to her voice that is so dramatic, I can feel my brain melting. Val laughs softly beside me at my dismay.
“Would you like to go, dear?” the woman asks her. She nods happily and places her small hand into the older woman’s outstretched one. The woman starts to close her eyes to begin her nonsense ritual, but stops. She pulls Val's hand, bringing her closer to the table. “Strange,” she says quietly.
Val looks up at me with wide eyes. I shrug. The woman’s reaction almost seemed natural. Like she could actually feel something. But this is all a joke, so why did she say strange to Val?
The woman lets go of her hand and immediately writes something down, then shoves it into another envelope. As she starts to write the date, a smile spreads on her face. Val takes the envelope, and I glance down, seeing the same date she wrote on mine.
“I strongly encourage you to listen to your songs together.” She lifts her hands to us before closing them. “The power of that moment will bring you both even closer.”
Her words do something to my chest that I can’t describe. Maybe it’s because I know Val and I won’t get any closer, but I also want nothing more than that to happen. I guess we’ll just have to see what this date in January brings.
I glance at Val, but she’s staring at the woman, holding her envelope to her chest. She doesn’t look as excited as before, and I’d give anything to read her mind right now.
“Would you like to go together?” the woman asks. Valentina looks up at me for an answer.
I shrug. “It’s up to you, Love.”
She looks at the woman again and smiles weakly. “Sure.”
Where did all her excitement go? And what can I do to bring it back?
The woman lifts her hands, and Val and I each take one. The woman nods. “Now the two of you hold hands.”
I grab Val’s hand immediately. Maybe if she thinks I’m excited about this, her excitement will come back. I glance down at her as the woman strokes our hands. She still doesn’t look excited. She doesn’t even look as happy as before. God, I need to fix this fast.
The woman lets go of our hands, writes our song, then our date, before handing everything over to me.
Val leans over me again. “Wow,” she barely breathes out, and I feel my heart stutter in my chest.
“Is something wrong, dear?” the woman asks.
Val shakes her head. “Oh no. It’s just the date you wrote for this one is the day after we graduate.” The day after our deal is supposed to end.
The woman smiles again. “I hope it brings you both great peace and understanding.”
Peace and understanding? For what—oh fuck. Val turns and walks away, pushing her way through the crowd. I’m ready to shove everyone out of my way to run after her.
“That girl has a heavy heart.”
I turn back to the woman. “What?”
“She is strong, but she will need more than that to make it through.”
“Make it through what? What are you talking about?”
She reaches over and squeezes my hand. “You have your own demons. Don’t let them become hers.”
I just stare at her. There’s no way she can really see inside me. No way she can know what I’ve been through. I’m the only one who knows. Well. Aside from the person who did those things to me.
The woman smiles softly and lets go of my hand. “She will understand. As will you.”
What does that even mean? But the woman turns and walks away from the table. Yeah, she definitely doesn’t work here, and without her holding me back, I take off after Val.
I make it outside, finding her on the sidewalk. She looks ready to rip her envelope in half. Slowly, I approach her and touch her arm.
“Valentine. Hey.” I move in front of her, gently holding her shoulders. “What’s wrong? What happened?”
“I don’t know.” Her voice cracks as she shakes her head a little frantically. “I don’t know, I’m sorry. I guess she said something that got to me, or it just all felt too much. I don’t know.”
Tears slip from her eyes that she tries to hide from me with her hand. I pull her to my chest and stroke her hair, trying to give her as much comfort as I can. I don’t know why she’s upset, and apparently neither does she, but I’ll be here for her no matter what.
Her hand grips my shirt as she buries her face into my chest. I tighten my arms around her, sinking into the feeling of her wanting me close.
“I don’t think you’re supposed to cry on a date,” I softly whisper to her.
“I can cry whenever I want to.”
I lift her chin, bringing those dark eyes up to mine. Tears still roll down her cheeks, so I try to wipe them away as best as I can. “Very true.”
After I wipe all her tears away, I hold her face in my hands, keeping her eyes on me. “Are you okay?” She nods. “Are you sure?”
She smiles weakly. “I’m alright, Huxley. Don’t worry about me.”
Earlier, I would have listened to her. I would have considered this a random moment where she needed to cry, and I would have moved past it. But after what that older woman said, I can’t help but wonder if I need to worry more about Valentina Demarco.
I try to shove all that aside, dropping my hands from her face. “Well, the date’s not over yet.”
Her eyes widen. “It’s not?”
I take her hand and start pulling her behind me.
She jogs to match my pace. “Where are we going?” she asks, gripping my hand tighter.
“Have I spoiled a surprise yet?”
She huffs. “Fine.”
We continue making our way down the sidewalk until we come across an ice cream truck.
“How is this still open?” Val asks as we get closer.
“It’s only open at night.”
“Isn’t that risky? To only operate at night?”
I smile down at her as she stares up at the menu. Clearly, it’s not that much of a worry for her. I shrug. “The college isn’t too far from here. Drunk kids wanting something to eat come here to ease the hangover.”
She nods as her eyes scan the flavors. Why do I have a feeling she’ll pick something that isn’t common? She seems like a rarity. Even when it comes to ice cream.
“What can I get you two?” the man asks, leaning down to see us. Well, to see Val, at least. I move my arm around her waist and pull her closer.
She leans into me as she points up at the sign. “Can I get a scoop of the Raspberry Chocolate Chip?” Yup. Weird flavor.
“And you, son?”
I glare up at him. This guy can only be five years older than me, and who calls people son anymore? Val tugs on my jacket, pulling my attention from the guy.
She tilts her head. “You look like a Rocky Road kind of guy.”
“And why’s that, Love?”
She moves her arms around me, and I can’t help but think about how far she’s come in one date. She barely wanted to hold my hand earlier, but now she’s pulling me closer on her own. And if that doesn’t make my heart beat a little faster, I don’t know what will.
“Because you’re sweet and fluffy,” she says with her bright smile shining up at me.
“Fluffy?”
“And a little bit nuts.”
I pull her closer to me. “Well, is Raspberry Chocolate Chip adorable? Because that’s what you are.”
There it is. The happiness I’ve been trying to bring back for the past five minutes finally shows on her face. Did…did we just compliment each other with ice cream?
“That’ll be $7.50.” My head snaps back in the man's direction as he holds out the smallest cups of ice cream I’ve ever seen.
I reach for my wallet as Val pulls away from me. “I’m gonna go find a place to sit down.”
I nod as she walks off. With the money in my hand, I look back up at the ice cream guy. Who is watching Val walk away.
“Hey.” He looks down at me. “Don’t watch my girl.”
He rolls his eyes. “A man can look.”
“Not at her.”
“Look, Leather Jacket, the Tough Guy Act ended years ago. Girls can take care of themselves now. So don’t be so possessive.”
I step closer to the window of the truck, and the prick backs up a little. “You’re right. She can take care of herself, and I’ll encourage her to do so. But that’s not going to stop me from making sure creeps like you don’t look at her the way you were. She’s her own woman, but she’s also mine.”
I toss the money through the window, not caring where it lands or if he even gets all of it. I grab our ice cream and head in search of my girl.
About half a block away, Val is sitting on a table, her legs dangling off while she watches the few stragglers walk by. She turns her head in my direction, and her bright smile returns for me.
I’m convinced she only smiles like that at me. At least I hope that’s the case.
“Just a table?” I ask as I hand her her ice cream.
She shrugs and scoops up a small bite. “It’s bolted to the ground. The chairs were probably stolen, but this was too much of a hassle.”