The Silver Thread (8 page)

Thanks to James’s very open mind, Talvi browsed through the daily interactions of their household. While his sipped his tea, he caught glimpses of James and Charlie trying to coax Annika into joining them for band practice. He saw her through their eyes, but while her body was visible, her fiery spark was not. There were countless scenes of Annika lying on the couch, watching the television, with a drink nearby. Sometimes she was locked away in her room, playing guitar quietly, sometimes singing and working out a melody. But she rarely seemed to leave the house, and for a girl with so many pretty clothes and shoes lying all around her room, it didn’t add up.

She mentioned Talvi and her experiences in his world less and less frequently, to the point that she didn’t mention any of it at all. From what he could tell, no one in her family seemed to want to hear about it, or know how to accept her story. They just wanted her to go back to being her old self, but they didn’t understand that it was impossible for her. Talvi thought it was rather like asking a butterfly to crawl back into its chrysalis, or telling a bird to shrink back into its shell. Oh, his poor little dove, indeed.

The waitress brought the check and Talvi made a swift interception just as James was about to take it. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a passport and his wallet. While he counted out a few bills, Annika grabbed his passport and took a peek inside.

She couldn’t help but smile as she looked down at the photo of a black-haired elf smirking back at her. His ears came to a pronounced point, though they were not too large to warrant much attention. His wild black hair had about as much attitude as the expression on his face, and even the passport photo captured the perpetual twinkle in his eye. She reviewed the information to the side of his picture, which identified him as an American citizen.

“Ha, I know this is a fake,” she announced. “You were born in Derbedrossivic.”

Talvi let out an amused snort. “No, I was born in Chi
cago
,” he teased, trading his Londoner accent for a Midwestern American one just to tease her better.

“So my idea worked? My uncle helped you find me after all?” Annika asked, handing the passport over to James for inspection as well. James nodded his agreement at a forgery job well done before giving it back to Talvi.

“I never met up with your uncle,” he replied, looking a bit confused. “I went to our bookstore, but it was closed for business. What was this grand idea of yours?”

Now Annika was confused.

“I asked Uncle Vince to give my contact information to the bookstore owner in Sofia. I wrote a letter with your description so that if you stopped by looking for me, he could help us get in touch. I figured the bookstore would be the first place you would check.”

“I did look there, but it was a dead end. Literally. The owner died. Lucky for us both that I have my ways,” he said sweetly to her, but Annika still seemed upset.

“Uncle Vince told me he would take care of it. Maybe he was lying.”

“Isn’t he in New Zealand right now anyway? Besides, if he thought Talvi was involved with you disappearing for so long, the last thing he would have done is give him a map to our door,” James blurted out.

“But
he
wasn’t the reason I disappeared!” Annika snapped back defensively.

“There now, let’s not let this spoil such a fine breakfast,” Talvi said, and kissed Annika’s cheek. He glanced up and reached out to grab a little pitcher of blueberry syrup that had been slowly approaching Annika’s plate, but it was too late.

“Oh, Chivanni!” she moaned. “Seriously, enough with the levitation act!”

“I’m sorry, I just thought it could use a dash more syrup,” Chivanni excused when a syrupy blob fell down the inside of Annika’s white blouse, staining the front along its way. The boys seemed quite entertained when Annika stood up, trying her damnedest not to reach into her bra in the middle of the restaurant and scoop out lumpy blueberry syrup.

“I’ll meet you guys up front,” she said, frowning sideways at the fairy now perched on Talvi’s shoulder.

The bathroom was located near the restaurant entrance, and when she came out, James and Talvi weren’t waiting for her. Instead, a tall, athletic, blond man in a pressed shirt, sharp suit, and perfectly tied double Windsor was speaking to the hostess. He turned around and adjusted his glasses, giving Annika a soft smile.

“Of all the breakfast nooks in all the towns in all the world…” the familiar voice said. “Long time no see, Ani.”

“Uh, hey there, Danny. How’s it going?” she managed to spit out as she looked her ex-boyfriend up and down, from his polished shoes to his neatly clipped hair. She suddenly felt at a major disadvantage, thinking he looked like a million dollars and she looked like hell. Hell with blueberry syrup drizzled on her wet shirt. She wanted to kick herself as she remembered her last words to James before they left the house.
Who do you think we’re going to run into on a Friday morning at the pancake place,
anyway?

“I didn’t think I’d run into you here,” he said as he walked up to her, eyeing her chest with an amused grin. “But then, I didn’t think I’d ever run into you anywhere again. I thought you were avoiding me.”

“I wasn’t avoiding
you
in particular,” she said, trying to act casual, like wearing syrup as an accessory was the latest fashion trend. “I was avoiding everybody. Didn’t Charlie tell you? I had mono. What are you doing here dressed like that?”

“Trying to drum up some extra funding for my department,” he said, eyeing her strangely. The awkward silence was broken by words as plain as day saying,

I can’t believe she thinks Charlie would have told me such a crap story. I know something crazy happened to her in Europe. Why won’t she just go talk to someone? That girl needs therapy…and some Th
orazine.

Annika pushed Danny’s thoughts out of her head and sat down on a nearby bench. She didn’t have a clue what else to say to the man whom she had spent two years with before turning down his proposal only a few months ago. But instead of telling her ‘goodbye’ or ‘nice to see you’ and following the hostess to his table, Danny surprised her by sitting down beside her.

“I heard you were missing for a while over in Europe. I’m so glad to see you’re safe and sound,” he said with genuine concern in his eyes. “I was really worried about you.”

“Oh, it wasn’t a big deal. I just got lost in the woods,” she said quickly, grasping for an excuse.
No one just gets lost in the woods for two months, you idiot! Only a moron would believe that!
she thought, feeling her neck grow warm. “What about you? What have you been up to?” she asked quickly.

Danny shrugged a little.

“I got another promotion at work and paid off my car early with my holiday bonus. Other than that, not much, besides soccer.”

“Huh. Well, congratulations on the raise,” she said, glancing around at the restaurant. She had officially run out of small talk, and she didn’t know why he was still sitting beside her.

“You left some things at my house, like your rainbow skirt,” he said, and suddenly he had her full attention.

“My rainbow skirt? I wondered where that was.”

“It was in the closet. You also left your fancy shampoo and some other things. We’ll have to do some catching up when you come over.” He gave a little smile and Annika returned it.

“Yeah, I don’t think you want that girlie shampoo in your bathroom the next time you bring home a date,” she teased, but it seemed to be Danny’s turn to feel awkward.

“I haven’t brought home anyone since…since we broke up. I’ve thought a lot about you, about us,” he went on. “I think about our argument a lot. We didn’t part on very good terms, and it’s been bothering me this whole time.” She smiled weakly at him, wishing this conversation wasn’t happening. “I tried emailing you when you went to Europe, and then you went missing for almost three months. When you got back and Charlie said you were pretty upset by whatever happened, I figured you would call me when you were ready. I told Charlie to let you know that I wasn’t mad at you.”

“It’s fine, Danny. I’m okay, really. It’s been so long since that argument; I don’t even remember what we said to each other, but I’ve let it go,” she told him, trying to make light of it. He sighed and turned towards her.

“Well I remember exactly what I said. I remember it like it was yesterday, even though it’s been close to five months. I guess I didn’t know what I had until it was gone. Your little studio is still empty, and it’s not like I need a guest room or a second office. I feel like such an asshole for springing those tickets to Hawaii on you like that in front of all those people. I think I was just afraid if I didn’t make a move, you might get away from me. I should have given you more time. That’s all you needed, was more time.”

He took a lock of her long red hair and twirled it in his fingers, and Annika felt goose bumps as she remembered all the other times he had twirled her hair just like he was doing now. “I miss how you were always singing in the shower and trying to get me to come out dancing with you, and James, and Patti,” he said with a reminiscent smile.

“How can you say that?” she exclaimed. “You hate dancing, that’s why I could never get you to go out with us.”

He grinned a little to himself and let go of her hair only to take her hand in his. “But you were always trying to get me to loosen up. And you always came home to me. We complimented each other so well; you being the creative one, and me being the more…
practical
one. I always thought when we had kids, that you and I would be the perfect…” he trailed off, noticing the ring on her left hand. “What’s this?” His eyes darted back up to hers, and she just stared at him as her face grew warm. “It’s not an engagement ring, is it?” he asked, and she couldn’t respond. Her mouth may as well have been stuffed with cotton. Danny’s surprised eyes grew a little wider.

“So I thought we should at least hit Nordstrom, and then try some men’s boutiques if we have time, because you’ll never find anything at the mall that’s gonna fit
your
body,” James was saying to Talvi as they approached the bench. The wingless fairy clammed up as soon as he realized who was sitting so close to Annika, which intrigued Talvi. James had been talking his pointed ears off for the past ten minutes.

“Hey there, James. I haven’t seen you in a while. Who’s your, um,
friend
?” Danny asked, turning towards them both and casually letting go of Annika’s hand.

“This is Talvi,” James said, looking at Annika with the perfect
you are so busted
expression.

“That’s an unusual name. Is that Norwegian or something?”

“It’s Finnish, actually,” Talvi replied, tilting his head to one side as he tried to size Danny up.

“Well, if you guys don’t mind, I’d like to ‘Finnish’ talking to Ani,” said Danny. “We were kind of in the middle of something important.”

Annika thought she was going to die right then and there as Talvi’s blue-green eyes burned like flames. She was sure his jealous side was about to make its American debut, but instead he forced a gracious smile.

“Well then, since it appears there is no smoking allowed in this establishment, I’ll just wait for you outside, love,” he said, batting his black lashes at Annika. Then he locked eyes with Danny and leaned just a little closer, looking down his nose to emphasize his height even more.

“Be sure not to take up too much of her time. My wife and I have a busy day scheduled, and even more plans this evening.” He ran his fingers through his hair, making sure that Danny noticed his matching wedding band. Then he turned on his heel and sauntered out the door with his preternatural feline grace.

“Wow…” Danny whispered softly as reality struck him full blast. He turned to his ex-girlfriend, who was incapable of speech at this point. “I see you didn’t waste any time getting back in the game. That’s one hell of a rebound, but then, that’s March Madness for ya.”

He chuckled to himself and paused as if he was going to impart some witty advice, but instead he just shook his head and let the hostess lead him to a table with four other well-dressed people.

Annika was still standing there, hoping that this was all just a warped dream that she was about to wake up from. But such was not her luck. There she remained, marinating in that awkward, terrible moment. Wide-eyed and desperately holding his tongue, James grabbed Annika’s hand, jerking her out of her stupor as he dragged her out the door.

“Who was that bastard?” Talvi asked them as they met up with him in the parking lot and walked towards James’s car. “That was
him,
wasn’t it?”

“That was Danny, Annika’s ex,” James said quickly, and fished a cigarette out of his black bag. “Holy shit, did you see that Brooks Brothers knock-off he was wearing?”

“It’s not a knock-off,” Annika said quietly as she jumped into the backseat with the now human-sized Chivanni following in tow, letting her husband have the legroom up front.

“And how would you know?” James asked as he jammed the key into the ignition and lowered the windows. He put a cigarette between his lips and Talvi leaned over to light it for him.

“Because I helped him pick it out,” she said, remembering that day. A flood of memories came back, memories that, like the boxes in her room, had been shoved in a corner to be dealt with another day. She didn’t want to think about it now, but seeing him in that suit triggered a series of images stored in the back of her mind; lazy Sundays on the couch, soccer games with him and Charlie, going out for beers after a win, going out for beers after a loss, fancy dinners with his co-workers from the hospital, and all her band’s shows that he was too tired or too busy to attend.

“Fine, then, I take it back about the suit, but he looks like he’s gained ten pounds. Did he quit playing soccer with Charlie?”

“Nope,” Annika replied.

“I honestly thought for a second that those two were going to just skip the chit chat and whip ‘em out and measure.”

“Whip what out?” asked Chivanni. “Their fists?”