The Silver Thread (25 page)

“I didn’t make any of this mess, so I don’t think I should have to clean it up,” was her flippant reply before she headed upstairs to take a shower.

Back in the parallel world of Eritähti, in the woods of Srebra Gora, in the village of Derbedrossivic, Finn Marinossian had his work cut out for him. He, his father and Asbjorn had spent the past two weeks collecting sap from the maple trees in the forest, bringing it to his mother and sister to cook down and make maple syrup, maple sugar, and little taffy candies with Stella and Sloan. And after the last of the snow had melted and given way to the first flowers of spring, it was time to clean out the beehives for another sweet summer of fresh honey. His mother and older sister had begun their annual spring cleaning, which they always did right before planting the gardens of vegetables and herbs. This meant nearly non-stop washing of everything in the house, and everyone’s help was enlisted. If it were a small cottage, it would have been done in a few days. But it was his family’s house, and like many things Marinossian, there was nothing small about it.

That meant weeks of work to wipe the dust from every inch of the sprawling hacienda that was his father’s pride and joy, right after his children and grandchildren. It also was taking longer because in the past, Yuri and Talvi were home to help, along with the three samodivi and a bit of magical help from the fairies. This year they weren’t there to pitch in, and Finn’s aching back and shoulders were lamenting this fact every evening. There was so much extra work that he was too tired at night to bother researching that trunk of stones in his room, so there they sat, locked up and unstudied. There was just too much to do before the planting must begin in the gardens surrounding the house.

Curtains must be shampooed, floors must be scrubbed, windows must be washed, and all of this required a steady intake of wood to fuel the fires to heat the water. The leaves must be raked out of the courtyard, the fountain with the koi must be dredged of dead plants from the winter and filled back up with fresh water, and flowerbeds must be mulched. Rugs must be beaten, furniture must be wiped clean and have paste wax applied, silverware and doorknobs needed to be polished, and door hinges and water pumps must be oiled for another year of use. And just when it seemed every chore had been completed, something else was remembered. The chimneys needed cleaning. The chandeliers still had cobwebs. The mattresses needed to be turned. It just never seemed to end.

On top of all of these extra seasonal chores, there were the daily responsibilities of bringing in wood for heat, wood for cooking, and collecting more wood when the supply began to grow low. It wasn’t just strolling around the forest to gather twigs. Oh no.

First, Finn and Asbjorn would scout the woods for dead and dying trees. Then, it was a full day’s work to harness one of the horses, then find the chosen tree, chop it down, cut off all the limbs, secure the log to the harness, haul it back home, remove it from the harness, and repeat.

There was also caring for the horses every day, which meant lunging them for a bit of exercise, hauling water, filling up feeding troughs and mucking stalls. The mares and Asbjorn’s gelding were not much trouble to contend with, and his own palomino stallion Galileo was as easygoing and laid back as ever. But just like his owner, Talvi’s stallion Ghassan had a knack for causing more trouble and needing more attention than all the other horses combined. If he had just been groomed, he would run straight to the muddiest spot in his field and have a thorough roll in it. If there was an unattended bucket of water on the ground, he would playfully prance about until it had ‘accidentally’ been kicked over. If there was a weak spot anywhere in the fence, he leaned harder on it until it broke. He and Galileo had already been caught a few times in the mares’ pasture, which would have been fine if they weren’t coming into season. It astounded Finn, how much trouble one horse could cause. If Ghassan wasn’t tied up just right, he unfastened the knot with his teeth and would wander off on an adventure. Twice already, Finn had found him in the village, with his head in a window of the Tortoise and Hare, most likely looking for Talvi. Or free barley and hops. The brewers always saved the darkest hops for their best customer’s horses, which automatically put Ghassan at the top of the VIP list.

Ghassan was probably just having fun, but Finn wasn’t laughing. Instead, he found himself cursing his brother’s absence while he groomed coats, picked cockleburs out of manes and tails, and trimmed and picked hooves in the stable. If Talvi was around, he wouldn’t be stuck with such a large list of chores that left his back aching every night. If Talvi was around, Finn probably would have figured out the precise way that the Pazachi had created those stones by now. If Talvi was around, things would just be easier, plain and simple.

He had urged his brother to go find Annika as soon as possible, which any good brother would have done. So why was he so irritated by his decision? Partially, because he had wanted to go with Talvi to help find her. Talvi wasn’t the only one who found himself missing Annika’s endearing humor and inquisitive nature. She had formed lasting relationships with her new friends and family, in particular with Runa and Finn. Based on everything Annika had told him about America, it sounded like a fascinating place to visit, from an anthropological point of view. He was envious of his brother, who might have mastered the use of a computer by now. He was deeply jealous of the art, science, music, and culture that Talvi was no doubt swimming in with his new wife.

Tethered by his responsibilities at home, Finn had stayed behind. If he thought things were tough now, he could only imagine how difficult it would be for his family if he wasn’t there. Sure, Asbjorn was home, and others from Derbedrossivic would lend a hand if it was needed, but they had their own crops to plant, their own spring cleaning to complete.

He made up his mind that as soon as the gardens were in the ground, he was going to visit Sofia and make long-awaited use of that electric mailbox.

Upstairs in her own bathroom, Annika let the water pour down her shoulders for a long time as she washed her hair twice, making sure to rinse all the sugar out. The little spat between her and Talvi had left her feeling confused.

He hasn’t even been here a week and we’re already fighting? My brain is ready to explode! How can Talvi look at Patti the way he does, and then blow me a kiss? Could he have flirted just a little more with her, right in front of me? He didn’t deny that he wants her to stay, but why is he so interested in her? Oh right, because she’s go
t boobs.

She only felt more frustrated that her thoughts didn’t sort themselves out in her head as she proceeded to put on a mud mask, give herself a pedicure, and then a manicure in the privacy of her locked bathroom. Surely he wasn’t so brazen as to start making advances at other women right in front of his wife. She wanted to believe that she was just over-reacting, but at the same time, there was a fear that perhaps he had not changed his ways like he claimed.

Annika also knew that there was always going to be an aspect of their relationship that other people would never be able to understand, being that they both came from two different worlds, and really belonged to neither. That perpetual sense of displacement had brought them together, yet it had also placed somewhat of a wedge between them.

Like Charlie said, it took time to get to know someone. Annika had only known Talvi for a handful of weeks, on
his
turf, among
his
friends. Now the tables were turned.

Annika heard her phone make a little beep, which indicated she had a new voicemail. Apparently it was urgent, because she had missed three calls from him as well. With nails that were not quite dry, she carefully tapped the buttons on her phone to play her voicemail aloud on speakerphone. It was Danny, saying that he needed to talk to her as soon as she had some time. Annika wasn’t quite ready to leave the safe zone of her bathroom, back into the chaotic world of downstairs, so now seemed as good of a time as any. Besides, Danny’s voice had sounded anxious, which instantly made Annika wonder if those home pregnancy tests had been wrong all along. She thought about raising mentally handicapped elf twins as a single mother and found herself wasting no time getting ahold of him.

“I’m glad you finally called back,” he said, still sounding urgent. “I’ve got those blood test results; do you have a minute?”

“Yeah,” she replied, trying not to move her mouth too much because of the dry mud masque, “but you sound strange. Is something wrong?”

“Not exactly wrong…but not normal, either,” he said, sounding uncertain. “I think something tainted your sample, because the tests I ran don’t make any sense.”

“What do you mean, they don’t make sense?”

“Your hemoglobin levels are really high, and your T-cells are different, too. They’re bigger. And your cells have so many polymorphonuclear leukocytes with enhanced phagocytic activity that it’s off the chart.”

“Danny, I need layman’s terms,” Annika said, so exasperated that some of the dried mud masque flaked off her cheeks. “I don’t have a clue what phagocytic activity is.”

“Okay, so it’s like this. Think of your immune system as being a bouncer at a club. You need someone who can take care of the riff-raff, like viruses and bacteria. Otherwise you get really sick.”

“I’m with you so far. So is my bouncer working the door, or is he flirting with the cocktail waitress?”

“Oh, he’s working the door alright, but this isn’t just any bouncer. He’s more like Wolverine.”

“Did you just say
Wolverine
?” Annika wondered how many comic references Doctor Danny used in a week. Probably a lot.

“Yeah, isn’t it crazy?” he went on, almost giddy as he spoke. “I’ve been testing your samples ever since you came in, but I can’t figure out what’s causing every single one of your cells to be enhanced like this. From what I can tell, you’re completely free of any diseases, and your hemoglobin is even carrying extra oxygen to all of your tissues. I’ve never seen anything like it. There’s no logical explanation for any of this, and
I
sure as hell can’t figure it out. If I told my colleagues what I really think of these results, they would laugh me out of a job.”

“What do you really think?” she asked. She had never heard him sound so excited about anything work-related before.

“Oh, I don’t know,” he said, sidestepping her question. “I think I’d feel better if we did another blood draw on you and sent the samples out to a few different labs. But from what I can gather from your cells, you should be feeling like a million bucks, not throwing up and sick all the time. Wolverine’s got your back, baby.”

Annika thought about the wound in her shoulder she had watched heal in front of her eyes, and recalled how she always caught the flu by now, but she hadn’t noticed even a runny nose all winter.

“So I’m not knocked up then? What about the weird cravings? I’ve been eating blueberries nonstop.” Danny laughed a little.

“You’re definitely
not
pregnant,” he said. “That’s the only test that came back with normal results. As far as the cravings go, blueberries are really high in antioxidants, so that might be your body’s way of getting them into your system. It’s just telling you what you need, to keep your blood and tissues as pure as they are.”

“That makes sense, but what about me getting sick all the time?”

“The only thing I can come up with is that you keep introducing some kind of pollutant into your bloodstream. It could be anything…junk food, too much sugar or saturated fat, smoking, hell, even chemicals in skin care and cleaning products. Your skin’s your largest organ, you know. You’re probably getting sick because your body’s trying to keep those toxins out, and you keep putting them back in. Your immune system doesn’t want to mess with that crap when it has a potentially immortal body to take care of.”

His last words rang in Annika’s ear even louder than her phone had earlier.

“I’m sorry, did you say ‘potentially immortal’?” she repeated. She hadn’t mentioned this particular wedding present from Talvi to anyone back home, but now Danny was saying it loud and clear, with lab results to prove it.

“Yeah, I did,” he said, sounding even more excited. “That’s why I don’t want to involve any of my coworkers. I’d love it if you could come back in for a few more tests, though, so I can get more conclusive results. I don’t like assuming things without reliable evidence.”

“I’ll think about it,” she said, and hung up the phone after promising to let Danny know of any changes in her symptoms.

When Annika ventured outside the security of her bathroom wrapped in her robe, she found her bedroom quiet and still except for the sound of a page in a book being turned. There, lying on the clean bed was her dirty, sooty, saw-dusted and sweaty husband, engrossed in another one of his books. He said nothing to her as she sat down on the edge. He didn’t even glance in her direction; it seemed the book in his hands held more interest to him.

“Are you still pissed off about earlier?” she asked. “Because I’m the one who should be mad. You’re the one who dumped ten pounds of sugar on me and let James think it was my fault.” He didn’t acknowledge that she had spoken, let alone existed as she spoke again.

“You’re real mature, ignoring me like this.” But he still said nothing, only frustrating her further.

“Come on Talvi, you’re not giving me anything to work with here.” A snarky little smile played on his lips, and he reached down for his tool belt, which had been sitting on the floor. He tossed it at Annika’s feet, saying,

“The staircase for the basement needs to be assembled, so get to work.”

She rolled her eyes at him.

“What is your problem?”

“I’m not the one with the problem,” he said, and turned his piercing eyes away from his book just long enough to say, “
Y
ou
are.”

“
Me
?” she said. That was the wrong answer, according to her rules.

“Yes
you
.” He turned back to his book. “You don’t trust me as far as you could throw me, you little thing.”

“How can you say that when last night you were asking me where I was for two hours? That means you don’t trust me either.”

“It’s
him
that I don’t trust, not in
his
home, not when I know
he’s
trying to lure you back.”

“He is not,” she said feebly, feeling her argument dissolve as quickly as sugar in a pitcher of tart lemonade.

“Alright Annika, he definitely wants nothing to do with you,” Talvi said calmly and placed a bookmark between the pages before closing the cover. “He hasn’t thought once about what he could do to win you back. He hasn’t suggested that he should have been the one to be ticketed with you for lewd and lascivious behavior. That’s why you were simply ‘talking’ with him for two hours Sunday afternoon.”

“If you’re not jealous, and you trust me so much, then why are you giving me a hard time?” she asked, refusing to confirm his suspicions. “You’re the one who slept with over six hundred women, and now you’re making goo-goo eyes at my best friend!”

He looked like there was something extremely nasty he wanted to say, but he thought better of it. He counted to ten…then twenty… then thirty, before he spoke.

“That’s in the past, and nothing will ever change that,” he said, selecting his words with the utmost care. “I wish it didn’t upset you so much, but I’m certainly not going to feel remorse for every pleasure I had before I ever knew your name. How dare you insinuate that I would stoop so low as to pursue your dear friend, let alone anyone besides you? You have no idea what blasphemy that is to hear. How can you think that of sweet Patti Cake? How can you think that about me, after all I’ve done for you? Do you think finding you was a leisurely stroll through the trees? Do you think I came here because I had nothing else to do?” He waited for Annika to answer him, but she didn’t. She was slightly afraid to.

“I’ll have you know that I spent the past three months dodging avalanches, blizzards, frostbite and blood sucking trees to be with you! And these rings,” he said, lifting his left hand towards her face, “We’ll wear them to the grave unless someone cuts off our hands first. I just don’t understand how you can doubt my loyalty after all we have been through. I let you and James have your fun with dressing me up like a paper doll, even though I hated it, and I thought you would be relieved to have me take care of your financial burdens, not offended. At first I wondered what else I could do to prove my devotion, but now I realize it is not my duty to prove anything to you. I have done plenty to demonstrate how I feel for you. Hence,
you
are the one with the problem, not me.” Annika’s stomach plummeted as she looked away from him. He made an indestructible argument, and the only one she could be upset at was herself.

“I guess I don’t understand why you’re with me,” she said softly. “You could’ve had anyone.”

“I didn’t want ‘anyone’. I wanted
you
. Now enough of that feminine nonsense. I could make the same case that you’re attempting to make.”

“Give me a break,” she mumbled. She would admit that she was a cute girl, especially if she took the time to get dolled up properly, but Talvi had a movie star charisma that made most girls and even some boys flock to him like white on rice.

“It’s true,” he said, glancing at her. “Do you not recall being the apple of a particular vampire’s eye back home? Or what about poor Nikola? He’s still sore that he failed to win your affections. Even here, I see men looking at you wherever we go. Who wouldn’t want to wrap their hands around that little waist of yours and pull you close?”

“Why don’t you do it, then?” she taunted, ready to make up.

“Oh, I’m still cross with you,” he said, his eyes twinkling mischievously.

“Because I wanted to know how many lady skeletons there are in your closet?” she asked.

“One hardly speaks of such things,” he said. “It’s in poor taste.”

“Oh, but you can tell me in front of my friends that you lost your virginity in a week-long orgy?”

“You said you wouldn’t get upset about that. You said you wanted to know, so I told you, even though I didn’t want to. I was not exactly begging to share that story, if you recall.”

“Yeah, but you’re supposed to tell me everything. I’m your wife.”

“I’m well aware of our marital status,” he said somewhat sarcastically as he flashed his ring at her, “but that does not entitle you to have complete domain over my entire life. It’s my opinion that some things are best left unsaid…no questions asked, and if you truly trust me, then you won’t feel the need to know every little detail of my life.”

“Like knowing what your magic number is?” she insisted.

He looked at her just long enough to narrow his eyes a little, then snapped, “I honestly don’t know what that number is! You may as well ask me how many pints I’ve ever drank. I really couldn’t tell you.”

“How can you just
not know
?” she asked. Surely he could round up to the nearest tenth. Or hundredth. Or maybe he had a point, that knowing wouldn’t do her any good whatsoever. She bit her lip in frustration. She didn’t like admitting when she was wrong.