Page 75 of The Sorcerer's Thief
Chapter 26
Julian
Even the all-powerful Roslyn can only hold the neighbors off for a day before everyone demands to greet Cricket for themselves. We spent most of that time sleeping and eating and then sleeping again.
A feast has been arranged in his honor, which turned Cricket’s cheeks bright red when he learned as much, and I still don’t think he believes it, even though we’re on the way there right now.
The largest of the neighbors’ barns serves as the location. As we approach, Cricket tells me of the time Hopper and he once won first place in the community’s talent show in this barn with a juggling routine they’d made up themselves.
“You can juggle?”
“You can’t?”
I hold up my hands with their prominently missing fingers. “Machete accident. I hate jugglers.”
He smacks me. “Stop it.”
“Never.”
I’m glad to have lightened the mood. It’s obvious he’s nervous. He’s been worrying the skin around his nails and can’t sit down without jiggling a foot or a knee. I asked him what’s the matter, but he either doesn’t know or doesn’t have the words to voice his fears.
As we arrive, a young boy wriggles out of the arms of a woman—his mother, I assume—and races full speed toward us.
“Cricket, Cricket, Cricket, help!” He’s maybe five or six years old with a full head of red hair and skinny legs working as fast as they can to cover the distance.
“Help what, Button?” Cricket kneels and opens his arms.
The boy slams into him and knocks them both over. The mother and two other women jog after him.
Button, if that’s this youngster’s real name, has a red face and wet eyes like he’s been crying. “I got a splinter.”
“Is that all?” Cricket stands him back up in front of him. “You had me worried. I thought it was something really bad.”
“Itisreally bad,” he says in the way only a small child can argue and make it look cute.
“Show me.”
“Sorry, Cricket,” says the woman. “Button, you’re hogging him. Everyone wants to say hi.”
“Everyone doesn’t have a splinter.” Cricket smiles at the young lady. “Hiya, Holly.”
“Welcome home, Bean.” She ruffles his hair. “You’ve been missed.”
Button is holding out his finger for inspection, and sure enough, a tiny brown shard is buried in the pad. “Hurts.”
“He won’t let us take it out,” says Holly. She offers me a smile. “Kids, you know?”
I don’t know, but I return the smile anyway.
Cricket hefts Button onto his hip and introduces me to the small group. The word “boyfriend” drops so casually from hislips, like it’s perfectly normal to call me that, for me tobethat to someone, to Cricket, I’m left quite breathless.
Luckily, the others carry on chatting and catching up while I walk along as if my entire world hasn’t just rotated on its axis.
He’s called me partner before, but for some reason, it didn’t sink in until now in front of his entire town as they spill out of the barn to greet him.
I could have a place here with him if I wanted. It’s what he wants. A boyfriend, a village, a community.
A life together.
