Page 42 of Flowerheart

“Oh! Hello, Miss Lucas,” they said breathlessly. They pivoted towards Papa. “Did you say Madam Ben Ammar was here?”

“I meant Clara, actually,” Papa said, beaming at me. “What sorts of things have you learned, my dear?”

I shook my head and held his hand as tightly as I could—the safest bit of affection I could give him. “That doesn’t matter,” I said. “You’rethe one I’ve been fretting over!”

Papa scoffed. “You needn’t have. Robin takes great care of me.”

I bowed my head to the apprentice magician and then helped Papa back into his chair. “How has he been, Robin?”

“You’re talking like I’m not here,” Papa mumbled.

Robin joined us in the living room with a potion case. As they unlatched it, they smiled at me. “Truthfully, he seems better and better as each day goes by.”

“And still you won’t let me leave the house!” Papa rolled his eyes.

Robin blew out through their nose in a sort-of laugh. “Madam Ben Ammar demanded bed rest, and if I can’t keep you to your bed, I’ll at least keep you to your house, Albert.”

They removed two bottles from the potion case and showed them to me. “He stopped coughing up the flowers by the end of Monday. But he has stomach pains,” they explained, “so I give him this every six hours, and he’s been eating very carefully—”

“Soup, Clara,” said Papa. “Somuch soup.”

Robin grimaced. “I thought it best.”

“Don’t listen to my father. I’m certain you’re an excellent caretaker.”

“I can’t remember the last time I had a cherry tart,” Papa said wistfully.

I felt like two people at once, loving and hating his lack of sincerity all at the same time. I sighed heavily. “Perhaps your warden will allow you to do some baking,” I said, raising a brow at Robin.

They nodded. “That should be all right.” They riffled through their box of potions, procuring a little pad of paper. I smiled, remembering something.

“Madam Ben Ammar makes you take a lot of notes, doesn’t she?”

Robin looked at me over their shoulder, their dark brown eyes crinkling. “She’s very thorough. But it’s a good habit for me to get into.”

“Do you like working with her?” I asked. My time with her had been lovely—I deeply regretted how I had failed her.

Robin beamed. “Oh, yes, I love it. She’s patient and smart, and she’s transgender like me. It’s nice to have a mentor who understands me so well.”

My heart lifted. Robin needed Madam Ben Ammar, and the two of them were a good fit, teacher and student. “That’s wonderful,” I said. “She’s probably the smartest person I know.”

“Absolutely.” Their eyes twinkled in a fond smile, and they turned back to their potion case. They hurriedly marked something down in their notebook, and then muttered,“Oh!” before handing me another bottle, filled with bright orange liquid. “Your father’s been taking this, too. For his heart.”

There: the sting of reality that dampened all of the niceties and undercut Papa’s quips and jokes. He lowered his gaze to the floor.

“How is it?” I whispered.

“It’s doing better,” Robin began, but this was not nearly enough to soothe me. Magic grasped my stomach in its fists.

You’re killing him,it said.

“It’s the poison from the flowers. His pulse is still weak,” said Robin, like that was their fault, not mine. “He can get lightheaded, and he’s too pale for my liking. But that’s why I’ve tried to keep him sitting down as much as possible. I check his heart rate every hour, at least.”

I sank onto the sofa, watching my father’s face and the dark shadows around his eyes. I bunched my skirts in my hands and found breathing to be far more difficult than usual.

Robin knelt down at Papa’s side, checking their pocket watch as they took his pulse. “With the flowers gone, it’s only their poison that’s concerning us now. But even that seems to be getting better and better.” Their cheek dimpled with a hopeful smile. “Time and magic can do wonders.” Robin gave Papa’s hand a little pat. “Excellent heartbeat.”

Papa grinned. “I try.” He turned towards Robin, playfulness making his eyes wrinkle at the corners. “Now then, myone and only daughter has finally returned home from her long apprenticeship with a faraway wizard. You don’t suppose she could handle me on her own, do you?”

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