The Silver Thread (23 page)

“He came home three weeks later and had only one thing to say to Finn.”

“What did he say?”

“According to Finn, all Talvi said was, ‘You owe me a very particular bottle of brandy.’”

“
That’s
it?
That’s
the story?”

“Well, I think the moral of the story is to listen to your older, wiser brother,” Chivanni clarified.

“Wow, you actually think there’s a
moral
to that story?” Patti snorted, and reached over to get another clump of flowers so Annika wouldn’t see the tears of silent laughter in her eyes. She wouldn’t have seen them anyway; her head was spinning too much.

“So it’s his brother’s fault that he was ever like that?” she gasped. “I thought Finn was such a gentleman!”

“He is, most of the time, but you can’t blame him for his brother’s behavior,” Chivanni reminded her. “We are all free to make our own choices in life. Finn didn’t instruct his brother to be led by his loins around the surrounding countryside, seducing ladies in every village along the way. Finn didn’t bring female guests home so frequently that his father encouraged him to pursue his sense of adventure elsewhere… That’s the main reason why Talvi’s family never minded that he was always off traveling for most of the year. He returns every winter, and typically stays until the crops are planted in spring. At one point, his mother and older sister wanted him to leave home for good, but it was because of Finn that he was allowed to stay, as long as he moved his bed chambers to the wing farthest from the rest of his family for the sake of discretion. They did not care for the example that he was setting for his young niece and nephew. Stella picks up all sorts of bad habits from him.”

“I thought his bedroom was so far away from everyone else’s because he was a light sleeper,” said Annika, feeling stupid on top of everything else she was feeling. Her spirits started to sink even further as she remembered the hefty hike from the front entry of his house to his bedroom door. Chivanni only shook his head, indicating Annika had been misled all along.

“Trust me, he has no trouble sleeping. But Annika, this was all ages ago. He truly has changed quite a bit in the time I’ve known him. You forget that he was born with that prophecy about himself and his twin sister.”

“A prophecy?” asked Patti. “That sounds mysterious.”

“Oh, it was very mysterious, until they turned three hundred last autumn,” said Chivanni. “It was foretold that his sister would die when they met their destined lovers, so he committed his heart to Yuri and made it a point never to love any of his lovers.”

“That would be enough to keep
me
from getting attached to anyone,” Patti said, looking at her friends. “Did his sister die when you two got married, Annika?”

“Well…yeah, I mean, sort of…” Annika stuttered, realizing the truth. “I guess technically, she
was
dead for a few minutes.”

“What an awful thing to go through. It sounds like he had good intentions, even though they were a little misguided,” Patti suggested.

Annika took a few moments to review this overwhelming amount of information. She wasn’t a psychologist, but she could see a connection between her husband’s sexual history, and the potential of real feelings for someone leading to his twin sister’s death. Prophecies like that weren’t exactly something to be ignored, not among the elves of Eritähti.

“It’s all in the past. As long as he sleeps in my bed at night from now on, that’s all I really care about,” she finally said before glancing up towards the roof where she heard him hammering the new cedar shingles into place. She was ready to shift the conversation to something lighter. “And he obviously loves me, or he wouldn’t be here.”

“He loves you so much, Annika,” Chivanni assured her with a sympathetic gaze. “It was terrible to see how upset he was when he lost you. He couldn’t sleep…he couldn’t eat. That’s why he looks so ghastly. We didn’t see him smile once until we reached his family’s house…and even then, he was still fairly miserable. His energy has completely changed since we arrived.”

“I still can’t believe he spent so much money just so he would have something to keep himself busy.”

Here Chivanni shook his head, snickering.

“Oh, he’s not looking for a hobby, Annika. If there’s one thing I know about Talvi, it’s that he can keep busy taking a nap. Besides, he has a lot of reading and other tasks that he’s supposed to do instead of working on James’s house.”

“Maybe you’re right,” Annika said, rolling her eyes. “He did bring a lot of books with him. So if he’s supposed to be reading, why did he agree to do all this extra work?”

“Because he made a deal with James that he would fix the house to make up for the money that you owed him, along with some future payments.” Chivanni informed her. Right away, Annika felt irritated that people were making financial arrangements involving her without asking her.

“But James knows that I’m good for it,” she insisted. “That’s why I’m working at the music store.” She knew the amount she brought home wasn’t going to start any trust funds, but the employee discount would come in handy, and at least she was able to put her knowledge of guitars, amps and what Charlie had taught her about drums to good use.

“James told me that you didn’t have any savings left,” Chivanni said matter-of-factly, not realizing what a raw nerve he was hitting. “I think the way he put it was that you ‘blew through it like a tornado hitting a tailor park’. What kind of park is that? Does one bring their clothes with them for alterations while you have a picnic? It sounds absolutely divine.”

Patti blurted out a loud laugh, but Annika was less amused.

“No, he meant a
trailer
park. They’re just places that seem to attract disasters,” she muttered. She wasn’t sure she appreciated his type of honesty anymore. She was getting so much more than she had bargained for.

“I don’t know why it seems to bother you that he wants to be helpful around the house,” Chivanni said. “I find it adorable that he’s so eager to take care of you and show off his talents. You know that back home, his father made him build entire rooms as a form of punishment, right?”

Annika smiled faintly and nodded. She did recall hearing about that fact, on more than one occasion.

“It seemed that every time I stopped by, he was always working on one thing or another…when he was home long enough, that is,” Chivanni said, sighing wistfully. “It’s a good thing he misbehaved so often. His family’s home is beautiful.” The fairy’s eyes looked up into the tall pine trees above, caught up in a daydream about his life in another society.

“So have you been there a lot? What’s his house like?” Patti asked. Along with Annika, she was all too happy to lead the conversation away from their piss-poor financial planning or Talvi’s recovery from sex addiction.

“He did so much of the work, I’m sure he would take more pleasure telling you all about it. You should ask him when you have at least an hour to spare for each ear,” Chivanni snickered, and then spoke in an aloof tone, mimicking Talvi’s accent perfectly; “
This
is the courtyard that I laid all of the tile for…and
here’s
the greenhouse that my brother and I built for our dear mother, and here’s where I painted
all
of the Roman gods on the library ceiling for my father, and
here’s
the mural that my sister and I created for the foyer…” Chivanni trailed off as he realized this list could go on and on. “He does tend to boast, but then, I suppose I would too if I had a house as grand as his.”

“With that accent of his, I could listen to him brag about his house all day,” Patti said, deeply interested. “I didn’t know he was an artist. He actually painted a mural on a ceiling? I’ll have to ask him how he did that without breaking his neck.” She stood up, setting her flower on the ground next to Annika before walking up the front steps.

“You’re going to go ask him right now?” Annika called to her friend.

“No, dufus! I’m thirsty. It’s starting to get hot out,” Patti called back with a laugh as she walked into the house.

Annika was quiet as she and Chivanni continued to plant flowers in the warm sunshine. She was still mulling over all the information she’d learned in a very short amount of time. It truly shocked her that it was Finn who had sent Talvi in search of the Samodivi of the East. That wasn’t the sort of thing he would do…was it?

Oh, Finn…

Where was the flaw in him? He was so intelligent, polite, and kind, and pretty easy on the eyes as well, with his loose brown curls perpetually falling into his dark brown eyes. He was so different from his reckless and impulsive younger brother. Finn was much more mature, a committed bookworm, but he wasn’t an old fuddy-duddy either. He thought things through carefully and always seemed to consider everyone else’s feelings before he considered his own. He liked to stay close to home, and while he enjoyed a few drinks at the local tavern, he was not the one known for having too many too often. The worst thing Annika had ever seen him do was lace a couple cigarettes with pixie dust and help himself to his father’s best brandy, but no harm had been done to anyone.

He was also very tender, affectionate, protective and caring. So much so, that at one point Annika thought perhaps Finn wanted her to be more than just a friend.

Oh Finn…

“Annika? Are you coming or not?”

“Huh?” She blushed as she squinted up at Chivanni, who was hovering in front of her, interrupting her daydream.

“Patti was right; it
is
getting quite warm out here,” he replied. “You should get out of the sun. You look a bit flushed.” The fairy wiped his forehead with a dainty hand, leaving behind a thin crescent-shaped smear of dirt on his luminous skin.

When they came inside, they saw Patti at the kitchen counter, cutting lemons. The large glass pitcher filled with water and the bag of sugar beside it were the only clues Annika needed to see what was going on. Talvi was leaning against the counter beside her, shirtless and chatting away. He wasn’t helping at all, unless it was solely in the form of moral support.

“I refuse to believe that a girl like you would be so willing to give up with only two months left in the semester,” Talvi told Patti. “That seems a bit daft, when you’ve already invested so much time and effort into your classes.”

“Well, right now I need to focus on keeping a roof over my head and my bills paid. Even if James is okay with me moving in, I can’t live here for free. Maybe I can finish the semester, but I’m a year away from finishing my degree. I know that I want to be a professor, but I keep changing my mind about what I want to teach for the rest of my life. I like everything…painting, pottery, drawing, sculpture…if I went to school to become a doctor, I’d have finished by now.” Patti was trying not to frown.

“How can anyone be expected to only do one thing for their entire life?” Talvi asked her. “I’m three hundred and still have yet to do one thing for the rest of my life. You know, there is a school where I live that you would love. My sister Yuri studied ceramics there and created all the dishes we use in our home. My mother used to teach weaving classes quite often. I remember brushing countless angora rabbits with Yuri when we were little. To this day, every time I see a rabbit, my first thought is, ‘what kind of yarn might he make?’”

“Rabbits?” Patti repeated. “You mean she spun the yarn and dyed it and everything?” Talvi nodded.

“I believe you would absolutely adore this place. My brother Finn teaches there as well…physics, astronomy, biology and such. I know they’ve never had much luck finding painting instructors. If you were to instruct there, you may take a class for every one you teach, and if you are popular with your students, you make some income as well. Not everyone pays in eggs and cheese, you know.”

“I don’t care, I
love
cheese!” she cried, looking considerably uplifted. Talvi glanced up to see his wife coming towards them. He smiled sweetly and blew her a kiss. Annika caught it midair and pressed it to her cheek.

“Shit! Oww!” There was a clatter as the knife Patti was using fell to the floor.

“What happened?” Talvi asked as he turned around to join Patti at the sink, forgetting all about the kiss he’d just blown to Annika.

“I cut my stupid finger and got lemon juice in it,” she groaned, trying not to cry as she rinsed her finger under the faucet. “What a week I’m having.”

“Now that wasn’t a very clever thing to do,” he said softly, shaking his head in reprimand as he enclosed her wet hand into his. “I think you’re just using me,
Patagonia
.” She glared at him a little, but he just brandished a smug smile back at her.

“Who told you my real name?” she asked, eyeing Annika suspiciously, but Annika shook her head.

“So you honestly do prefer Patti
Cake
, Miss Kaeke?” he said, raising an eyebrow. She was trying her best to look annoyed, but Talvi had a way of disarming and charming that was far stronger. “Well, Patti Cake, perhaps you should skip the lemonade and bake me a cake as fast as you can. But then, I really shouldn’t let you near the oven…you’d probably burn yourself again.”

“I probably would,” Patti’s smile was beginning to reveal itself. “My clumsy ass will keep you busy, that’s for sure. It’s a good thing you don’t charge for your doctoring services or I’d be in debt up to my ears in less than a week. It’s not like I have health insurance.”

“Oh, don’t mistake me for a charitable organization,” he snickered. He opened his hand and inspected her finger carefully, seeing that it had healed up. “I’m certain you have something that I would accept as payment, and it won’t be trivial, either. You owe your doctor a very, very big favor, Professor Patti Cake,” he teased. She snatched her hand out of his and flicked his pointed ear with her mended finger.

“And
you
owe me a car, smart ass. I’ll let you finish making the damn lemonade,” she said, grabbing her apron off the kitchen table as she headed for the fireplace in the living room. Talvi watched her pass through the door and laughed to himself, before gazing at the cut lemons with a faint smile. When he looked at Annika, she was watching him with a faint frown. Maybe it had been all that backstory that she’d just learned, but whatever it was, she hadn’t appreciated the lighthearted tone of his voice, or the length of time that he’d spent healing Patti’s hand, or the believable image of him playing doctor with her, of him telling her to open up and say “ahh”.