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“Exactly! I made one ‘picking out China patterns’ joke last night, and Cas flies off the handle, bringing up the move again, defending her choice to not rush things. Like, old news, babe, we’re already living together. I wish the long-term commitment stuff didn’t spook her so much.”
“Shoot, um… that may be my fault.”
“What do you mean?”
“I brought up the move thing the other day. Cas got me so mad about something totally unrelated, and I called her out on dragging her feet with you. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“Aw, don’t beat yourself up about it. Believe me, with the way she reacted, I think the fight would have happened anyway. That’s why lunch today. Trying to placate the wildebeest.”
“Wait…” Jeffrey suddenly sounds calculating. “Long-term commitment stuff? China patterns?” I hear a sharp intake of breath. “Do you want Cas to propose?”
“Don’t tell her that!” SJ hisses, almost too low for me to keep eavesdropping. “She would freak even worse. I can wait. And I need to wait for her to ask me. If I try asking outright, she might cart my stuff right down to the sidewalk. I just hope I’m not waiting for another two years. I don’t need any more time to know I never want to be with anyone else, ya know?”
“Cas loves you,” Jeffrey says earnestly. “It’ll happen. I think, like you said, she just gets spooked sometimes. And you two really are perfect for each other. Don’t worry about me and Odai either. Slow pacing is not how we have been doing things.”
SJ giggles. “Good.”
“I am starving!” Cas’s voice filters up as she ascends the stairs. “Ready to go, babe?”
In a flurry, the conversation ends, and once Cas and SJ are gone, Jeffrey peeks his head into the office. “Odai?”
“Yes, Jeffrey? What do you desire?”
“I wish—”
There is the elation again, but it is muted, proving our timeline continues to shorten. I need more—and more, and more. SJ might want a faster pace for her relationship, but with ours, we have no choice and might be doomed to have our time run out.
“—for lunch? Maybe a turkey and Swiss sandwich on white bread?”
“Granted.” I place an immediately conjured plate with the wished for sandwich on the end of the desk.
Jeffrey comes forward to claim it. “Thanks. I skipped breakfast, and now I’m paying for it.” He takes a large bite and hums in enjoyment. I made certain it is the best of its kind he has ever tasted.
I can tell something is still bothering him, and though he did not give specifics to SJ, I wonder if it is about more than the situation between us. He said he saw someone he didn’t want to. I do not think he meant The Owner, but then who?
And can I grant for him to never see that person again?
“Was your search productive at The Magic Shop?” I ask.
Jeffrey swallows, and as delicious as the sandwich may be for him, he scowls. “Not really. But I will figure this out, Odai. I promise.”
“Even if you do not, please know that it means the world to me that you are trying.”
His eyes flick up from staring distantly to meet my gaze. He smiles and some of his tension fades, enough that some of mine does too. “What are you working on?” he asks.
“Come. Allow me to show you.”
“People are going to start coming up from that last tour.” Jeffrey glances at the checkout counter. There are no new patrons at least, since there isn’t a noon tour to better accommodate the lunch hour. “But… sure. Show me what you’ve got.”
I do not show Jeffrey the window on Mrs. Sherman but one with new ad designs. I do not want him worrying more than he already is, and what I might have to do to her to fulfill his wishes would definitely be worrying.
Chapter thirteen
Jeffrey
Ifeel so stupid how much it deflated me seeing College Boy again— Chance—with someone like a real version of a Mattie-me. I promised Odai I’d fix this, but if fixing me is how I do it, I don’t know where to start. I want to fix this, and soon, before everything unravels, becoming more and more dangerous, until I’m eventually… afraid of him.
I don’t want to be afraid of Odai.
