Thea cocked a brow but her cheeks went pink. “Baby, eh?” She leaned into the waitress. “We’re having a big week,” she said in confidential tones. Then she clapped her hands together. “Okay, gimme that chalk, and I’ll whip something up for you.”
The waitress—her name was Paula—and I watched as Thea used the colored chalks to write up the restaurant specials in that same precise handwriting she’d used to make her word chains. She framed it with pink and blue flowers bursting from the corners and green vines that curled and trailed down the sides.
“Holy shit, that’s beautiful,” Paula said. “You’ve even added shading. And depth. With chalk. Amazing. But… hell, they’re going to want me to do this every week.”
“Tell them it was a one-time deal. But you can erase the specials as they change and leave the flowers.”
“Thank you,” Paula said, hugging her. “Thank you so much. You saved my ass.”
“Thank you,” she said to Paula. “That should hold me for the rest of the trip.”
Thea wiped her chalky hands on her shorts, promptly covering them in pink and green, and we continued down the street.
After a minute, Thea glanced up at me. “Baby?”
“If you don’t like it, I won’t use it,” I said. “It just slipped out.”
“I like it,” Thea said. “I went warm all over when you said it. It makes me feel taken care of. Like I’m still myself, but I’m yours too.”
“You are yourself,” I said, pulling her to me. “You are always one hundred percent yourself. I could see it from the moment I met you in front of that painting. It’s what I…” I stopped, that nameless feeling starting to become not-so-nameless. “It’s what attracted me to you most.”
“You and your perfect words.” Thea sighed.
Her eyes fell shut as she leaned in to kiss me, soft and sweet, then reached for her backpack.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m calling Jonathan.”
“Reporting back already?” I asked and slung my arm around her neck as we kept walking. “How’d I do?”
Thea grinned. “A-plus, baby.”
Chapter 32
Jim
We found a little dive bar near the tattoo shop and took a small booth in the back. Loud rock music filled the small, dark space, blaring from speakers tucked in the corners.
“I just sent Delia the pic Nicholas took of our ink,” Thea said. “I’m trying not to be in-your-face about it, but she’s always hated tattoos.”
“Too late now,” I said, trying not to be smug myself. I nodded toward the bar. “Drink?”
“White Russian, please,” Thea said with a grin. “It’s been a while.”
I went to the bar, ordered the cocktail for Thea and a beer for myself. When I returned, Thea had her phone pressed to her ear, a finger plugging her other, and a look on her face I didn’t like.
Damn you, Delia, I thought, sliding back into the booth. Leave her alone. Let her be happy.
“What?” Thea shouted. “I can’t… I can hardly hear you.” She listened for a few seconds more, her brows furrowed. Then her eyes widened and her lips parted. “You’re lying. You’re…” She glanced at me furtively.
“What?” I asked, every nerve-ending in my body lit up. “What’s she saying?”
Thea huffed a sigh and rolled her eyes. “I can’t hear anything. Hold on.” She covered her phone with her hand and said to me, “It’s too loud in here. I’m going outside to let Delia bitch at me for a minute about the tattoos. I’ll be right back.”
“Thea…”
But she scooted out of the booth and out of the bar, her back straight and stiff.
I tugged at the label on my beer bottle watching the door. I couldn’t see Thea, so I started a mental timer. Fifteen minutes. That was our agreement.
Thea returned just as I was ready to go find her. She speed-walked through the bar and slid into the booth breathlessly. Her eyes were bright and glassy.
“My sister, I swear…” She took a long pull from her White Russian, nearly draining it.
“What did she want?”
“Nothing,” she said. “She’s pissed about the tattoos. I knew she’d freak out.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
“I’m not about to be arrested, am I?”
She let out a short, loud laugh. “No, no, nothing like that. Just Delia being her Delia-self.” She finished her drink and clanked the glass down. “Oh my God, I think I’ve got that post-tattoo endorphin rush they tell you about. Are you done with your beer? Let’s blow this joint. We got more New York-ing to do.”
She was already sliding back out of the booth but I caught her hand.
“Hey. Are you okay? What did Delia say to you?”
“It’s nothing, I swear. Just… stuff about our parents. She’s trying to make me feel guilty.”
My phone rang from the inner pocket of my leather jacket. I fished it out. “It’s her.”
“Don’t answer it.” Thea’s eyes were hard and intense; a look I’d never seen her wear before. “She wants to ruin this. Don’t let her. Please.”
The phone’s ringing seemed loud even under the thrashing music.
Thea’s gaze never wavered from mine. “I want this time with you, Jimmy. I’m not ready to give it up.”
Neither am I.
I shut off the phone and put it back in my pocket. “Just until tomorrow morning,” I said. “Then we touch base enough to let her know you’re okay. Like usual.”
Thea’s tight, tense expression broke up into a radiant smile. “Absolutely. I thought of where I want to go next,” she said, practically vibrating in her seat. “To a club. Dancing. I need a fix of my techno-slash-EDM music.”
I watched her for a moment, studying her.
Something is wrong. She looked almost terrified…
The thought floated in and out. I caught sight of her new tattoo.
Keep me safe.
It was my vow and it included keeping her happiness safe. Protecting her from Delia’s attempts to tear it down.
“Okay,” I said. “Let’s hit it.”
We took an Uber to a Korean barbecue restaurant on West 50th Street, near the piers on the Hudson. We ate a quick dinner, then crossed the street toward a massive, five-story dance club called FREQ.
“Night clubs aren’t really your thing, are they?” Thea asked.
“Not so much,” I said. “But I’ll survive.”
“You’re so good to me,” she said, sudden tears in her eyes. All during dinner she’d been on the edge of her seat, jumping at every noise. One second seeming on the verge of tears, then bursting out laughing.
“What’s wrong,” I asked.
She wiped her eyes. “Nothing, I’m just so… happy with you. And this trip has been so amazing. I hate that it’s ending. I need to celebrate everything tonight. I need to dance. And drink. And then dance some more.”