Chapter 24
Twenty-Four
The day was spent doing every touristy thing we could think of in town.
Matteo had been delighted by the campy sign at the end of the path that was still up from Halloween.
After an early breakfast at the café, Lori wanted to show Matteo her shop. She was delighted when he gushed over every trinket and crystal that cluttered the hundreds of shelves. When he spent too long staring at a particularly rough piece of jade, she insisted he take it.
“That’s yours, you can’t fight the energy when something pulls to you.”
I played with my own onyx crystal dangling from my neck and remembered when she’d told me that same thing.
After the initial shock of meeting Matteo, I found him to be rather delightful. He didn’t quite have the ability to lay low like Theo did. His outfit was…interesting. A black smock and leather pants. Something he assured me was on trend in their realm.
Thankfully, with the constant flow of tourists in extravagant outfits that drifted through, he just looked like one of them. It was relatively easy to go unnoticed in this town.
Matteo oohed and ahhed at every basic thing we showed him.
The supernatural themed park with slides painted like a galaxy.
The gag museum that he’d insisted on walking through just so he could point out every inaccuracy.
The supermarket where Lori and I selected only the best snack food delicacies for him to try.
The library where he’d asked to steal a book, but we’d politely told him no.
The bookstore where Theo bought him his very own book to take home.
Finally, we stopped at the divey tavern, appropriately named Witch’s Brew.
“Martini, shaken, please. One for each of us,” Matteo asked the bartender, a man in his sixties with a backward baseball cap and a flannel shirt. He’d raised his eyebrows and shot all of us a look, clearly questioning the drink choice.
Lori laughed. “You heard the man.”
The burly bartender rolled his eyes good naturedly and started making the cocktails.
“Are those not popular here? It’s the only outsider drink I know of,” Matteo asked, confused by the reaction.
“I mean, they technically are,” I said. “But I don’t think they get a lot of requests for that drink in this particular establishment.”
“Huh.” Matteo frowned, not quite comprehending the concept of a dive bar.
“Here ya go.” The bartender placed four glasses in front of us. The short kind you might get a whiskey coke in that bared no resemblance to a martini glass.
Lori lifted hers. “Cheers!”
“Oh, what’s that?” Matteo asked excitedly, lifting his glass.
Theo and I smiled at each other. We hadn’t had a moment alone all day. I hated it, but in a way, it was easier. It forced me to stay calm and accept the inevitability of it all.
“It’s what you do before you drink,” I said. “Like cheers to good times. We all say it and clink glasses.”
“Ah, like a toast.” Matteo nodded, eyes squinted in determination. We all clinked glasses and took a sip.
Matteo’s face contorted first. “That is disgusting,” he said loudly, setting the drink down.
The bartender barked out a laugh but didn’t say anything as he moved to the other end to take care of patrons that probably ordered something more appropriate like a beer.
“Is this really what you all drink?” he asked.
I set my glass down. “I’ve never had a martini before, although I can probably say with certainty that this isn’t a prime example of one.”
Matteo took another huge sip. “I suppose it grows on you.”
Theo took the tiniest sip ever before pushing his glass away.
Lori clapped and pointed. “Oh, Matteo, let me show you a jukebox.”
She took him by the hand and led him to the vintage machine in the back of the bar.
Theo drummed his hands against the table. He looked almost sick.
“Hey, are you sure everything is all right?” I asked, bringing my hand to his bicep and giving it a small squeeze.
He let out a burst of a breath and nodded. Was he…was he nervous? The idea confused me. Theo was a lot of things. Hard to read. Quiet. Brooding. Overly cautious. But nervous?
“It’s been nice. Getting to know Matteo. He’s not exactly who I would have expected as your closest friend.”
He shifted, leaning his weight against the bar. “We’ve known each other our whole lives. With our parents both working at the institute, we were together a lot growing up. He’s always tried to get me out of my shell but it’s never quite worked.”
I nudged my shoulder into his. “I like your shell.”
Instead of a low chuckle like I’d been expecting, he almost winced as if the simple sentiment had caused him actual pain. “I know,” he whispered.
I checked the clock hanging behind the bar, my stomach sinking when I noticed the time. Only a few hours left.
He followed my gaze and sighed. “It’s like a countdown toward death.”
“Yep,” I said sadly. “I wish you didn’t have to go.” My eyes widened at my blunder.
Theo sat upright, staring at me intently. “What did you say?”
“Nothing!” I said, too quickly. “I only meant, it stinks. I’m just getting to know you, is all.
I wish I started crashing at Lori’s a few months earlier.
” I laughed anxiously, trying to cover up my mistake.
“Hanging out with you would have been a lot better than the tetanus I probably acquired staying in that awful apartment back in the city.”
His eyes scanned mine, as if he were searching for something there. Desperate for him not to read too much into what I’d said, I added, “Who knows, maybe I’ll go back to New York after all. I kind of miss the commotion.”
He frowned but nodded.
Before he could say anything else, Matteo rushed over excitedly. “Theo, have you heard of a jukebox?”
He gave a curt nod, but Matteo was already pulling him away and pushing him in the direction. “You need to let Lori show you.”
I watched Theo as he slowly made his way to Lori’s smiling face, leaning against the jukebox. He glanced back at me and I gave him a thumbs-up like the pathetic coward I was.
“You know, this is actually delicious.” Matteo downed the remainder of his martini. “Can I get another?” he shouted at the bartender, who frowned but took the cup and started making the drink.
“Careful, they’re pretty strong,” I said, but Matteo had to be pushing six four and probably could handle it. Although I wasn’t sure what the alcohol situation was in his realm. It wasn’t a topic of conversation amongst Theo and me. I hardly drank so I never even thought to bring it up.
“My boy is quite taken with you,” Matteo said.
“You can’t possibly tell that from one day.”
“You’d be surprised. He can’t keep his eyes off you. Do you know how many women I’ve tried setting him up with back home? How many dates they called off early because he just sat there silently? He’s not much for getting to know people.”
“Or maybe they don’t take the time to get to know him.”
A grin spread across his face. “I knew I liked you. That’s exactly what the right girl for Theo would say.”
“Too bad about the whole long distance thing,” I joked, but it fell flat.
He frowned. “Maybe he’ll visit.”
“Maybe,” I said, even though he hadn’t mentioned it and I’d never dare ask for such a commitment. It would be too hard to have him in pieces. Time fragments we pretended were enough while we longed for more.
“You’ve probably guessed this by now, but Theo has always struggled to fit in,” Matteo said as we both stared at Lori and Theo, slotting quarters into the jukebox and flipping through the records.
An old song by Stevie Nicks played in the background, surely a Lori pick that Matteo had gone along with when she was showing him the machine.
“What’s he like in your world?” I wanted to know as many pieces of him as I possibly could before he left.
“Probably not too different from how he’s been here. Quiet. Withdrawn. Hesitant to trust.” The bartender handed Matteo his second martini and Matteo took an eager sip.
“It feels like a gift that I got to know him.”
He stared down at me. “Huh,” he finally said. “Man, I wish you were a witch.”
“First time in my life that’s sounded like a compliment.” I laughed.
He smiled. “Maybe it’s a good thing he stole his grandfather’s journal. I’d sworn at him that day he’d come home with it. Demanded to know what the hell he’d been thinking. He said he hadn’t been thinking at all. He just took it. Very unlike him.”
He sighed and shook his head as I waited with baited breath for more.
“When he said he was going to lie low here, I told him he was out of his mind. I thought for sure that he’d lost it.
That his grandfather dying had finally sent him over the edge.
Or I thought…I thought maybe he’d hope to find his parents somewhere.
Even though they could be a world away and clearly aren’t too keen to find their only son. ”
My stomach soured as I looked longingly at Theo. He appeared so large and so strong. But inside, he was lonely. I could see it in everything he did. His wariness to trust and the way he lingered.
He made me realize something about myself. I was lonely too—hungry for companionship I’d convinced myself didn’t exist. And now that I had to say goodbye to him in a few hours, I worried I’d never find it again.
“Thank you for knowing him,” Matteo whispered as Theo and Lori made their way back to us.
Theo’s gaze remained locked on mine.
He’d brought me to life when I hadn’t even realized I’d been skating by. He’d made me excited for the future when I used to insist on taking everything day by day.
As I watched him watch me, I wasn’t sure I could hold in my feelings any longer.