Page 52 of The Fates We Tame
“The turquoise?”
“Yeah. Those. And then I watched a documentary on the Amazon rainforest. That deep green was so beautiful. What about you?”
“Used to be navy blue. Now I’m thinking it’s red.”
His eyes rove over my dress, and I feel heat hitting my cheeks. “Sweet talker.”
Theo winks at me. “Swear I never even thought about the color until I saw you in it. You look real fucking pretty today, Sparrow.”
I slide my eye patch off and reveal my prosthetic eye. I figure if I can’t sit here as myself in front of my pretend husband who is starting to feel more real every moment, then I shouldn’t even be here.
“You okay?” he asks.
I stuff a pillow into the soft case. “The elastic on the band feels like it gets tighter and tighter as the day goes on. It gives me a headache eventually.”
“Then don’t wear it. Not around me. Or in our home. Or even outside with everyone else. Niro doesn’t give a fuck about what everyone else thinks.”
I shake my head. “You may think that because of the confident way he deals with life, but I will guarantee he does care. Favorite movie?”
“Hmm. I watched an older movie while I was in the hospital.The Shawshank Redemption. Great actors. Great plot. I really liked it. You?”
“You’ll laugh.”
Theo stops where he’s stuffing a duvet into the corner of its cover. “You got me intrigued. Tell me.”
“I started watching all these Christmas romance movies that were streaming.”
“We only just hit fall,” Theo says with a chuckle.
“Why can’t Christmas be year round? In my favorite one, this woman’s husband tells her he wants a divorce and leaves her the day their son leaves for college. So, she goes off on safari and ends up working at an elephant sanctuary and hooks up with a hot pilot who flies these small planes. I want to go see the world, Theo. Can we go sometime?”
“You ask me with that look on your face and that wistful tone to your voice and I’d move heaven or hell to make it happen.” He holds my gaze for a moment and doesn’t make me feel patheticfor wanting something I could never afford given I have no job prospects and my family will likely cut me off.
We work in silence. Theo hands me a small pocketknife and passes me boxes and packages. He doesn’t assume I can’t help or that I’m too weak. Just that I need to accommodate the pain of standing.
Our things get unpacked and put away. Clothes get hung. Toiletries are placed in the bathroom. I place my smashed phone and driver’s license in the drawer next to the bed. For some reason, the police had kept both, and an officer came to the rehab center to return them.
Theo disappears for a moment to his room and returns with some clothes. He places one of his T-shirts on a pillow.
“For you to sleep in,” he says.
“Thank you,” I say as I open another box and find a lamp.
Theo chuckles. “You’re welcome. I know this isn’t as plush as the rooms at the center, but it’s ours, and that makes it a million times better. Can’t wait to fall into bed.”
A knock at the door makes me jump, and Halo appears, holding a stack of pizza boxes. “Got you some pies from the pizza place down the street. Remembered your usual order, Switch. No clue what you like, sweetheart, so I got you what I usually get for Ari. But I’m sure Switch’ll share.”
“Smells so good,” I say as he places it on the desk.
Another man I haven’t met brings the drinks in and leaves without a word. The patch on his back saysProspect.
“You finding everything?” Halo asks.
“It’s like Christmas undoing all the boxes,” I say.
He smiles at me. “I’ll be back with some glasses. Otherwise, are you two good?”
“We are.” Theo places his hand on my shoulder. “Was everyone okay with us just hanging here tonight?”
