739 Surprise Visit
Having convinced Irene to lend her aid was a burst of endorphins to my brain like no other.
I was eager to learn, practically oozing with fervor, but according to Irene, alas… not so fast.
“Give me some time to plan ahead,” She requested, downing her third refill, and drowning in paperwork. “Proceed as usual for the time being. I’ll tell you when we start.”
“Aye, aye,” I said. “Do you at least have like an estimate as to when exactly?”
“Not a good one. My schedule is pretty tight at the moment.”
“Your best guess?”
“After New Year’s, at the earliest,” She said. “And lose the cloak. The cloak’s not necessary.”
“For winter wear only, actually,” I said, trying to placate her worries. “But I get it. Cloak stays off during lessons.”
“You sound excited, don’t get excited,” She warned me with her most dreary tone. “If you’re expecting it to be fun, it isn’t. Cultivating your magic is not as interesting as it sounds. There’s a reason why not everyone can do it in Kronocia.”
.....
“You’ll make it interesting,” I said, my keenness not meddled with in the slightest. “With you, I’m sure it’ll be plenty interesting.”
“Hmph,” She grunted audibly, the vocal equivalent of rolling one’s eyes. “I’m not going to take it easy on you, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“Oh, I know you won’t,” I said, smirking. “Hence: interesting.”
“Believe me, you’ll take back those words soon enough. But for the time being,” She nudged her cup, the surface faintly rattling with a hollow, empty sound. “Get me another. More sugar this time, thanks.”
It was another hour of coffee refills and rifling through documents before Irene eventually took her leave. A generous tip under her mug, and the pressure of her lips still warm on my cheek.
This was always my favorite part of her farewells. When she arrives, approaches, she comes in the place guarded, so reserved… but when it finally came time to depart, she’d drop it all for a brief, fleeting moment, and show me the adoring, caring woman that’s always present right beneath the surface.
So yeah, maybe she was right about the lessons being all harsh and severe as she claims l, but so long as I know that loving girl is still lurking in there, I’ll know I make it through just fine.
It was a longer while later until I was free myself. My work robes caked in a vast array of fine powder of, a wastebasket brimming full with used gloves, and a bunch of satisfied patrons funneling out the door. A job well done if it weren’t for the little box stuffed in my pocket still remaining undelivered.
Oh well, there’s always next time…
“Closed for Christmas,” Nick grunted out after me as I made a beeline for my locker. “Merry Christmas.”
“Yeah, Merry Christmas, Nick.” I greeted him back.
Once I was mounted on my bike, I took a lengthy detour scouring the city for any noteworthy presents to give tomorrow.
I know Adalia counts my going out with her as her Christmas gift already. Regardless, what kind of significant other would be if I considered that good enough?
She’s getting a gift, one way or another.
Yet it seems all my extensive searching had only served to have her in my mind at all times, which meant… my thoughts had regressed back to pondering the unanswered.
It’s like the deal with Ash all over again. Her story, her history untold… and here I was itching to pull all out from the shadows.
And I knew, one way or another, I was going to find out.
I needed to.
Before I knew it, I found myself taking the familiar turn veering towards the hospital, and since I was already junction-bound, I thought – why not?
And thus, fifteen minutes later, that was how I ended up back inside the fifth-floor ward, resting on the visitor couch, watching in mild amusement as Tyler struggled stuffing a burger in his mouth that one of his homeboys smuggled inside for him for lunch.
“Y’know, pretty sure there’s a reason why the hospital sets you your own meal,” I said, eyeing the untouched tray of food sitting by the bedside.
“Yeah, to poison us so we’d stay longer, charge us more,” Tyler said, his cheeks bulging and I wasn’t too sure if it was from the burger or not. “This shit here tastes like poverty. Got me out here sympathizing with the poorer countries out there. Maybe I should make a video about ’em. Raise some awareness.”
“What, you’re gonna start your own food bank now?”
“Hey, you know what, Big Man… you might just be onto something there.”
That was just a joke, what the heck.
“By the by, Big Man, gotta ask, you ain’t gay for me or some shit, are you?”
Okay, I think I better go get a doctor. Questions like that, some nurse must have tampered with his pain meds.
“Pretend I said yes to that,” I scoffed in bemusement. “What then?”
“Sorry, bro, don’t really swing that way.”
“Oh, you heartbreaker, Tyler,” I deadpanned. “How you wound me.”
He sniggered, then jutted his puffy lips forward trying to nibble a piece of the patty sticking out from between the buns.
“You see, right…” He began to clarify, smacking loudly. “Just can’t help but notice you got enough girls with you for breakfast, lunch and dinner… and yet this is the second day in the row you’re dropping in on me like you ain’t got better things to do or something.”
“Well excuse me for being a friend, I guess,” I said. “Didn’t realize it was the wrong move to wanna check up on you.”
“Ain’t no one’s saying I don’t appreciate the gesture, alright? But I ain’t buying you don’t got better places to be on the day before Christmas, dude! Here is the last place you should be, you hear me? In fact, you know what? I’ll give you ten more mins to chill, then I want you to fuck right off all the way back to your one of your girls’ arms, whichever you prefer.”
In my heart of hearts, I knew Tyler was right. Guess I better come clean before he starts thinking less of me even more.
“I’m looking for a gift,” I said simply. “For tomorrow. For Adalia.”
“Ahh…” Tyler paused, eyes flooding with realization, a crooked smile turning him briefly to a happy-looking blowfish. “Okay, that’s more like it.”
Out on a whim, I filled Tyler in on all the ideas for gifts I thought of so far, hoping somehow, by some stroke of luck, he’ll manage to come up with something eureka-worthy.
But to my complete surprise he just laughed, chuckling in spite of the pain it brought him, wincing and smiling at me… looking somewhat constipated.
“Bruh, you’re thinking too hard. As far as I can tell, Adalia doesn’t seem like the type to give two shits about what you get for her. If it’s something, then it’s something special.”
“Enlighten me, then,” I said, tossing an arm at him and sitting back. “If you were me, what would you get her?”
He frowned, shrugged. “Anything, for fucks sake. I mean, just for example… before I actually gave Amelia some…”
It didn’t surprise me that he abruptly stopped there, and I pretended not to notice that he attempted to fill the silence right after by munching messily on his burger trying to brush off a very wrong example.
“Christmas a few years back,” He began again slowly. “I was with an ex, no one important, anyway, with her I decided to give—”
And for a second time in a row, Tyler didn’t get to finish his sentence, drowned out, beaten out, by the seamless whoosh of the sliding door. I remember glancing back, and in a single second, I remembered being taken aback… seeing the lush, striking sway of flaming red hair skirting inward.
A stranger walked in. To me at least, a complete and total stranger. A face dotted in freckles, the meekest smile forming on the thinnest of lips. The brightest, kindest blue eyes I’ve ever seen. All encompassed in the petite frame of a lady.
Indeed, a stranger-lady.
But apparently, a stranger only to me…
Tyler’s burger landed in a wet wrinkling splat of wrappers atop his lap. Shocked, speechless, pain forgotten, he immediately arched up from his bed, his ocean-blue eyes directly meeting hers, and it was almost as if they were having a conversation in silence, in a fraction of a second.
How he looked at her, and how she looked at him…
The redhead took a step forward, undressing her deep orange coat that blended seamless with the locks of her hair, and spoke, “Is this… awkward?”
Tyler didn’t answer, so again, the lady shuffled forward, high-heeled wooly boots clacking along the hardfloor.
“So,” She took a moment to look at him, really look at him, bruises-bandaged and all. “Long time no see?”
And there was something to her gaze, something that went beyond mere friends.
She smiled again.
“Hi, Tyler.”
And croaking, stuttering, choking on the thin piece of patty he nibbled, Tyler spoke.
“Hey, Jen…”
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