The Silver Thread (7 page)

Annika turned away from him, irritated.

“Why does it always have to be about sex with you?”

“I wasn’t referring to sex at all,” he said innocently, but then his tone shifted to a much more devious one. “If I was, you would know.” He pulled her backwards against his chest and picked up the bar of soap, turning it in his hands until there was an abundance of suds sliding between their bodies. “See, right now I only want to get you cleaned up. You are very dirty,” he said in her ear, inhaling deeply. “Gods, I can
sme
ll
you.”

“I’m not
that
dirty,” she warned. She kept trying to free herself from his arms, but he outmaneuvered her every time. His soapy hands slid up and down her body, coming back to the same places he had just washed before sliding under her breasts and over her waist. “I think I’m clean now,” she said, trying one last time to escape the arms that held her close.

“I think otherwise.”

It was like playing cat and mouse in a very, very small room. The odds were not in her favor.

“We’re never going to get out of the shower if you don’t stop doing that,” she scolded.

“You make that sound downright undesirable,” he remarked, ignoring her protest. He gave her inner thigh a squeeze, moaning as he did so. “Let’s get better acquainted, shall we?”

“Talvi, I can’t keep up with you. I need a break,” she insisted, and he finally surrendered his hold on her and set the bar of soap down. Annika began to massage conditioner into her hair at a fast pace. “I have to be to work by ten, and then my friend Patti’s birthday dinner is tonight.”

“Patti as in ‘Patti Cake’?” he joked as he washed his own hair at a much less frenzied degree. He was so tall that he had to lean down awkwardly under the nozzle to get the suds out of his hair.

“That’s the one,” said Annika, nudging him aside so she could rinse her own hair. “I haven’t seen her in months, so tonight is kinda a big deal. Plus, I was hoping to tidy up a bit before I go, but now I’m out of time, thanks to you.”

She hurried out of the shower and wrapped herself up in a towel before tossing the second one to Talvi. He dried his hair haphazardly with it before wrapping it around his waist. Then he followed her back into the much darker bedroom, remembering to duck under the doorway this time.

“I wonder what I could do to make up for the inconvenience I’ve caused you?” he asked. Right on cue, Annika dodged his question, and tripped over a large messenger bag that hadn’t been in her room twenty-four hours ago, stubbing her toe.

“Arrggh!” she yelped as the pain hit her, making her almost fall over. “Where the hell did that come from? Is it yours?” she accused, hopping about the hardwood floor with her throbbing foot in her hands.

“Oh, sorry about that, love. I didn’t know where else to put it.” Talvi motioned to the various laundry baskets full of clothes and piles of shoes strewn about the room, some items still in moving boxes and on hangers. It was a bit of a disheveled disaster. He was concerned for her foot, but was also trying not to laugh at her. She did look ridiculous, hopping around on one foot as her towel fell to the floor. He thought it was unclear if he should try to comfort her or keep his distance. She seemed pretty irritated, the way a hornet is irritated when it’s swatted at.

“What the hell is in there? Bricks? Lead? Lead bricks?” she cried.

“Actually, the correct answer is
books
.”

“Yeah, well, I think I just broke my toe on your stupid bag of books,” she whined, and sank onto the edge of the bed. “How am I supposed to stand at work all day and then go out tonight if I can’t wear any shoes?”

“You could stay home and lie on your back, and let me take care of the work,” he quipped.

Annika shot a withering look at him, but it withered him not.

“Why don’t you wear these shoes with the red feathers? Then you won’t have to walk… with a little fairy dust, you can simply fly wherever you wish to go,” he snickered, picking up a pair of shoes that was sitting on top of one of the boxes.

“Don’t make fun of my Manolo’s!”

Talvi responded by making the shoes fly around the room, complete with rooster sound effects.

“Are you intentionally trying to pick a fight with me?” she asked as she slipped on a fresh pair of panties and grabbed a bra off the ironing board. “Because that’s what it seems like.”

“Of course I’m trying to have a row with you,” he confessed with coveting eyes while she adjusted her bra. “Especially if it’s for no other reason than reconciliation.”

“You would, wouldn’t you?” she said, trying not to smile, but it was useless around him. The pain in her foot was quickly fading. He set the pair of shoes down back on the box and turned to her.

“Absolutely I would,” he said, looking at her with longing. She retrieved a pair of green knee-high argyle socks from her dresser drawer, but he walked over to her and snatched them out of her hands.

“What are you doing?” she asked. “I have to get ready for work.”

“Like hell you do,” he murmured. She rolled her eyes and reached to get a different pair, but he grabbed her arm and twirled her around so her back was pressed against his bare chest. She struggled, and tried to twist out of his grasp, but he was much too strong for her to escape. “Did you honestly think I was going to let you waltz out of here and leave me alone all day with nothing but my left hand?” he purred in her ear. He began to tie her hands together behind her back with one of the socks, letting his towel drop to the floor. “Where I come from, that’s considered being a rude hostess. For shame, Annika. You ought to be punished for such bad manners. Now how shall I discipline you?”

Shivers ran up her body, and a sensation of heat flooded into her bloodstream.

“Talvi, I haven’t even been at this new job for two weeks,” she protested. “I can’t call in sick already!”

“Of course you can,” he said confidently, pulling the knot tight before picking her up. “People fall ill all the time…and you do feel quite feverish. I’m only concerned for your well-being.”

“I can’t call the store if I’m tied up,” she reasoned, trying to play coy. He carried her over to the bed and lay her down sideways on top of the down comforter and twisted sheets. He looked thoughtful for a moment.

“You are quite right about that,” he admitted, but instead of letting her go, he proceeded to tie her ankles to her wrists behind her back with the other sock while she kept trying to escape.

“Don’t struggle like that now, it will only make it worse,” he crooned. Then he reached over and picked up her phone from the nightstand, and to her dismay, he scrolled through her address book until he found the right number and dialed it. He took a long look at her, looking pleased as punch at his handiwork as he held the phone to his ear.

“Hello? Yes, I’m calling on behalf of my wife, Annika. I’m letting you know that she won’t be coming in today, as she is literally unable to get out of bed.”

Annika led her husband gingerly down the stairs, smarting from the lesson she had just learned in hospitality. She saw her older brother Charlie and her roommate James standing just outside the kitchen, having a lively conversation in strained, hushed voices. The chatter came to a halt, and they both looked curiously at Talvi, then at each other, and then at Annika.

“What the
shit
, Ani?” Charlie hissed. Typically, he was the epitome of mellow, but this morning, he looked completely unnerved.

“Huh?”

“Seriously, do either of you know what the hell’s going on in there?” James appeared as bewildered as Charlie. Talvi looked around the kitchen, but he didn’t see anything unusual.

“I think it’s a poltergeist,” Charlie whispered, and turned his head toward the sink, where a huge stack of dishes were washing themselves. Annika grinned from ear to ear and looked up at her husband.

“Did you bring anyone with you that you forgot to mention?” she asked. Her question was answered by a flash of orange light, and there stood a delicately built boy, with the brightest red hair. He smiled sweetly at her, letting a pair of orange tinted, transparent wings flutter behind him from underneath his yellow cloak, causing James and Charlie to jump backwards.

“I didn’t want to take advantage of your hospitality,” Talvi replied, smiling back at her. “Not immediately, anyway.”

“Oh, I’m so glad to see you, Chivanni,” she sighed happily as she hugged Chivanni tight, making his wings flutter even harder in response. “Where were you hiding all this time?”

“In the flower arrangement above the fireplace,” he said, letting go of her slowly as he smoothed his long bangs to one side. “I wanted to give you two lovebirds some time alone to catch up. I thought I would surprise everyone with breakfast, but there isn’t anything to eat, so I thought I would at least wash the dishes.” Turning his large cinnamon-brown eyes to James and Charlie, he said, “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“It’s okay, I just wasn’t expecting to see that…ever,” James said with wide eyes, studying Chivanni’s wings and bright skin. It slightly shimmered, and was so pale that he could see a trace of blue veins underneath a smattering of freckles.

“I think my coffee mug is being dried,” Charlie said slowly. “Is it alright if I go get it?”

Chivanni gave a quick wave and then beckoned with his hand, and the travel mug left the towel, stopped by the coffee pot, let the pot fill it three quarters full, and then floated itself over to Charlie, where it hovered patiently. Charlie hesitated for a moment, before plucking the mug out of the air.

“I don’t know how you like it, so I left you room for sugar and cream, except there’s no cream,” Chivanni said, and then he squealed so loud that he made Charlie jump again, spilling coffee on the floor.

“You must be in Annika’s band!” he cried, pointing at the dripping mug in Charlie’s hands, which read: ‘Drummers Pound Harder’. “Oh please, oh
please
, will you play something for me? I want to hear your music!”

“Maybe later,” Charlie smiled nervously, taking a sip of his coffee. He tried not to stare at Chivanni, but it was difficult not to. His orange and yellow gauzy garments were a complete contrast from James’s tailored trousers and polished loafers, and Charlie’s ripped jeans and dirty work boots.

“Honey, I am
so
sorry I ever doubted one word of your story,” James said in disbelief as he walked cautiously toward a clean mug to fill it with coffee. “I knew you had some weird friends, but a
real
fairy? I mean, Chivanni can friggin’
levitat
e
shit!”

“Yeah, I kinda mentioned that a few times,” came Annika’s aloof reply, and she avoided eye contact with him and her brother as she walked toward the sink and snatched a clean mug out of the air for herself.

“I guess we can make room for another fairy around here, since he washes dishes without being asked,” Charlie said. Chivanni’s eyes met Talvi’s with an equally baffled expression.

“Where’s the other fairy?” he asked, fluttering his wings with anticipation. “I thought I would have noticed another one by now.” James cleared his throat and stood a little straighter.

“You’re looking right at him,” he said with a dry smile. Chivanni’s face only registered a blank expression.

“Then…what happened to your wings?” he asked politely. While James and Charlie both cracked up, Talvi’s brow only furrowed in confusion.

“I don’t understand what is so amusing. Where
are
your wings?” Talvi asked in his soft Londoner accent.

“A fairy is what you call a guy who like guys,” Charlie finally explained, still snickering a little. Talvi and his friend looked skeptical, but did not question the matter any further. They knew they were in completely foreign territory, never having been to America before.

Charlie took a loud slurp from his mug, and then pulled a red wool hat over his sandy blond hair.

“Well, as much as I wanna stay home, I have to get going or I’m going to be late,” he said, and slipped into a warm jacket that had been draped across one of the chairs at the kitchen table. “I’ll see you guys later tonight.”

“I thought you were taking the day off,” Annika reminded him.

“I was gonna, but I got asked to do a couple quick errands today. It’s cool though. I’ll have plenty of time to get ready for the party,” Charlie said with a grin. “I have to see a guy about some chickens.”

“Oh, chickens are so nasty,” James said, making a face. “You’re not really going to put them in your jeep, are you?”

“Heck yeah I am, if you want me to bring home fresh eggs from work in a couple weeks,” Charlie replied and he headed out the door.

“At least put down some newspaper first!” James yelled after him, hurling a rolled up copy of the Oregonian at Charlie.

“I’m surprised you’re not at work, James,” Annika said to him as he shut the door and sat down at a round wooden table.

“Likewise.” He raised his eyebrows as he adjusted his black glasses as she stirred sugar into her coffee. “But given our unexpected house guests, I didn’t want to leave them here alone in case you actually were going to go in today.”

Talvi took a moment to gloat at his wife as he sat down in the chair where Charlie’s coat had been.

“See, I told you that you were being a rude hostess,” he pointed out. Annika ignored his comment, setting her mug beside Talvi.

“Did you want some coffee?” she offered.

“I don’t drink coffee. I take tea, my dear,” he said. Annika slowly pulled out her own chair and sat down next to him, giving him an apologetic smile.

“We don’t have any tea.”

“Have you any orange juice?”

“We’re out,” Annika said, and shook her head.

“Cocoa?”

Annika shook her head again.

“Hot water with a bit of lemon?”

“We don’t have any lemons.”

“Truly?” he asked, as if she were playing a joke on him. “I thought you took such pride in your abilities in the kitchen.”

“I haven’t been cooking much lately,” she admitted, but Talvi didn’t want to accept defeat just yet. Even though Chivanni hadn’t been victorious, Talvi was determined to scrounge up something edible around the house. As soon as he opened the fridge, his hopes fell. There sat a lonely and shriveled little lime, a bottle of bloody Mary mix, and a dubious glass dish covered in plastic wrap. Even fairy magic couldn’t turn that into a meal worth eating. His stomach turned slightly before it growled again, not pleased one bit at the options it was being given. He wrinkled his nose in disgust and shut the door quickly.

“Perhaps we should dine out, and then visit the market on our way home? Why don’t you join us, James? I don’t know that I could live with myself if that thing in the glass dish attacks you while we’re out.”

“Yeah, about that,” James said emphatically, “I’d offer to take you guys out for brunch, but I’m not going anywhere with the two of you dressed like that.” James raised his neatly groomed eyebrows once more, frowning in disapproval at Talvi’s outfit. Talvi glanced down at his black suede pants and untucked linen drop sleeve shirt.

“What’s wrong with this?” he replied, pretending to be insulted. “I wear it all the time back home.”

“I can tell. And where exactly
is
home, the eighteenth-century French countryside?”

Talvi leaned back in his chair and pulled out his cigarette case, seeing that there was an ash tray on the table.

“That’s quite brilliant, James,” he said, letting one corner of his mouth curl upwards as he lit his cigarette with his silver lighter, closing it with a soft metallic
clink
. “I’ve never heard that once in three hundred years.”

Unsure if Talvi was being sarcastic or not, James lit a cigarette of his own and turned his critical eyes towards Chivanni.

“And while I’m all for being out of the closet, you look like you just came off stage from Cirque du Soliel. As the director of a high-end fine art gallery, I have a reputation
and
an image to maintain. I can’t be seen at the club tonight with you looking like those hula-hoop acrobats they have.” Chivanni frowned a little. He may not have known what Cirque du Soliel hula-hoop acrobats looked like, but he was quick enough to know it wasn’t exactly a compliment.

“I’d like to see
you
climb up a rope sideways. I’ll bet Chivanni could do it,” Annika said in his defense. “Anyway, I’m not getting dolled up just to go out for breakfast. Who do you think we’re going to run into at the pancake place on a Friday morning, anyway?”

“Well that’s just it,” James replied, glancing at her before resting his eyes on Talvi. “You never know who you’re going to run into, so you might as well look good just in case. I can handle the black suede pants and the industrial boots, but that Liberace-inspired top has
got
to go.”

“If it’s that important to you, I’ll let you dress me however you see fit,” Talvi said to James, trying to win him over. If he and Chivanni were going to be living under the same roof as him, he figured it best to start off on the right foot. “I just want to be quick about it so we can get something to eat. The last decent meal I ate was on Wednesday evening. How about if Chivanni shrinks into his normal fairy size for now, and then after breakfast perhaps we could have you pick out some more appropriate clothes for us to wear tonight. Does that sound agreeable to you?”

“Yeah, I can work with that,” said James. He put out his half-smoked cigarette, got up from the table, and disappeared into the living room, heading straight for Charlie’s closet.

“I think you just made a BFF,” Annika snickered.

“A
what
?” Talvi asked.

“A ‘best friend forever,’” she explained, sipping her coffee. “James probably would have been a stylist if he wasn’t in the art scene. He has a passion for fashion.”

“Why doesn’t he do that then, if he enjoys it so much?” Chivanni asked.

“Paintings don’t talk back or complain, I guess,” Annika shrugged. “Or lead you on and break your heart.”

Before the elf or the winged fairy could inquire further, James came back into the kitchen with some clothes in his arms.

“I think these should work alright for now,” he said, handing Talvi a dark grey long sleeved t-shirt and a black hoodie. “They’re really baggy on Charlie, so they should fit you fine. Your shoulders are broader than his, and you’re a lot taller.”

Talvi slipped out of his linen shirt and pulled the new one over his head and down his torso. It was a little snug in the shoulders, but it fit his slim, toned body well.

“Yeah, that is definitely a major improvement,” James said as he and Annika shared a glance. There was no way either of them were going to let Charlie have that shirt back now. It looked way too good on someone else. He handed over the black zip-up hoodie and called it good.

With Talvi now looking less eighteenth-century French countryside and much more Portland native, the four of them left for Annika and James’s favorite diner. Just sitting down at the table was a small adventure in itself, with a three-inch version of Chivanni flitting back and forth from Talvi’s shoulder to Annika’s shoulder to the table top. She lost track of how many times she had to remind him that he couldn’t use his fairy magic so brazenly in public, as she and James nabbed packets of jam and salt shakers out of the air.

Talvi sat through a scrumptious brunch of vegetable quiche, seasoned breakfast potatoes, buttermilk pancakes, orange juice, tea, and toast covered with butter and jam, all the while observing James and Annika chit chat over their waffles about band practice and new song developments, shoes, workplace gossip, and what they were going to wear to the upcoming birthday party. It was becoming clear that Annika was less enthusiastic than James about all of these things. In particular, she didn’t seem to be as excited about the party, even though she claimed it was for a friend of hers.

Talvi nodded and smiled at all the right times so that he would not have to partake much in the conversation, which allowed him to concentrate on what was not being spoken out loud. It was still just as challenging to see Annika’s thoughts clearly, but he was able to dive right in James’s mind. He relished the ability to sift through James’s thoughts the way some people flip through a photo album, even though a considerable amount of what he saw was unpleasant. At least he was getting some clear information about this unfamiliar territory he found himself in.