Page 38 of Dancing with a Ghost

The shower was amazing, feeling the hot water cascading down my body. It'd been a while since I'd experienced anything like that. We showered quickly, knowing the food wouldn’t be long. Toby got out first when a knock on the door signalled the arrival of our breakfast.

With a towel wrapped around my waist, I stepped out of the bathroom to an array of food; pastries, toast, bacon, sausage, eggs, fruit. Everything and anything you could think of.

"I didn't know what you wanted, so I ordered all of it. I really hope you are hungry."

"There's so much food here, Toby. We'll never eat it all," I said, sitting down at the small table.

"Oh, we will or we could save it until later," he said, popping a grape into my mouth.

I gazed at him, watching how he placed some food on a plate, handing it to me before filling another. I'd waited many years for this, too many to contemplate. It'd been worth it though, every darn second of every year.

"I love you, Toby," I said, stopping him mid mouthful.

He placed his fork on his plate, looking me dead in the eye.

"And I love you, Matty. I'm glad you stepped into my life. Never leave me again."

"No, I'll never leave you again. You're stuck with me, now and forever."

And he was. We'd never be apart again, not in this life anyway.

Epilogue - One Year Later

Toby

GazingatMatthiasashe slept was something I loved to do. Every morning I woke before him and every morning I watched his sleeping form, remembering how lucky I was to have him in my life.

It had been touch and go for a while, not knowing if we’d done enough to bring him back to life. Not that he’d been dead. No, he’d just been there, his molecules floating around in the ether, only ever appearing to me. That was what she’d done to him, let him have that limited existence until he could find his kindred soul.

For seventy-nine years he’d done that, waiting for that one person who could make him whole again.

Waiting for me.

It had taken courage for him to talk to me, hell even appear to me, but he’d taken the plunge, made that leap of faith, not knowing if it would lead to failure. I could have rejected him, but from the first moment I saw him, I knew we’d have something special. I just didn’t know how perfect we’d be together.

That morning, when he’d walked through the mist toward me, so handsome in his uniform, despite his burns, I could have cried. In fact, I did cry. My Matthias had come back to me.

I loved him, and he loved me; that was all that mattered.

When Sister Mary disappeared that fateful night, she’d never come back, leaving us to live our lives and for that, I was grateful. I’d never understood fully why ‘they’ did it. All I knew was that Matty had come back to me and that’s all I needed.

It had taken a while for him to get used to 2022. So much to see and learn. Every day he’d surprise me with this enthusiasm and wide-eyed wonder, never once getting annoyed or frustrated at things he didn’t understand.

He was better than me at technology, having taken to it like a duck to water. I was stuck in his time, still preferring my pen and paper to the iPad and the cloud. He was a real expert and handled his mobile phone like a pro.

The family had finally accepted him, although we’d purposely kept back how we’d met. It wasn’t pertinent. They just needed to know we were together and would never be apart. Mother had been our biggest supporter, despite my shock announcement. Dad had been a little off at first. I don’t think he knew quite how to handle having a gay son. He was getting better though, and since Matty had proved his worth as a gardener, bringing the kitchen garden to life, he’d been much more accepting.

“I know you’re watching me. You do it every morning, Toby,” he said, his eyes still closed.

I stroked his cheek, placing a soft kiss on his lips. “Good morning. I can’t help it. You’re so beautiful in the morning. What’s not to love about your face?”

He was less conscious of the burns he’d sustained. It had taken him some time to finally show me how he really was, preferring to appear to me as he used to look, before his accident.

“Are you ready for today? For all the attention?” I brushed a stray lock of hair from his face, looking for any sign of discomfort in his face.

“I am. I can’t wait, actually. Can’t wait to tell everyone that you mean the world to me.”

I looked over to the wardrobe, our matching suits hanging side by side, ready for today.

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