by Bogi Takács
“I really would like that.” Evelyn smiled again, and although it was tired, it looked like it took less effort than her last one. She was starting to regain some equilibrium, and talking about something else, something not quite so close to home, seemed to help. “You’ve been running together for—what, eight years now?”
“Coming up on it!” Jay never made a habit of hiding his happiness or pride, but he wouldn’t have been able to now, even if he tried.
“And in a weird way, he feels like family already. Never seen his face, don’t know his name but…” There was a little mischief in her smile now, a glitter in her eye. “I hope I know it before we meet at your wedding.”
Stefanos chuckled and went to throw his arm around Jay’s shoulders—but he found his usual spot newly occupied by Seven, so he pulled Jay close by the waist instead. “Now is it me, or do you get the feeling she just dropped several hints at once?”
The noise Jay let out wasn’t quite words, but wasn’t entirely a giggle either. His cheeks flushed a brilliantly deep red, joining the warm palette that seemed to make up this day. “We, um. Haven’t picked a date yet.”
“We’ll let you know as soon as we do,” Stefanos said much more serenely as Jay grinned down at the ground, busily adjusting his ponytail. “Wouldn’t be right without you there. Or your music, if you were so inclined.”
“As if you have to ask,” Evelyn said, though there was no mistaking the way her eyes lit up when he did. “I’d be honored. Oh, speaking of—have you asked her yet?”
Evelyn shot a glance across the room at Danae, who looked up, despite not being able to quite hear the exchange. Seeing Evelyn deep in conversation with her brother and his fiancé, she waved and gave a smile that was only mildly laced with suspicion. These misgivings might not have been so quickly confirmed if the three of them hadn’t all smiled and waved back exactly at the same time.
“I’m gonna go get Jack,” she called, rolling her eyes and heading down the hallway toward the bedrooms. “He should be done with his present now. Try looking more suspicious, guys.”
“Not yet.” Stefanos shook his head as he watched her go. “Figured you and Rose would want to be there.”
“Oh, we will. She’s gonna lose it. In the best way, I mean, she’ll be thrilled. We all are, but really, she’ll just love being a part of this.”
“Aw, that’s sweet.” Jay chuckled, then a look of vague concern slowly crossed his face. “She does know they’re just rings, right? Like, they’re not supposed to explode or shoot LASER beams or…wait.” The concern faded, replaced by curiosity. “Actually, I take it back, could—”
“That’ll all come later,” Stefanos rumbled, arm still around Jay, but favoring Evelyn with a gaze that was easily read as warm and fond even with metallic eyes. “Tonight is about you, Evelyn. I’m sorry your party turned out to be such a bust.”
“I keep telling you guys, it’s fine,” she repeated, a little more firmly. “If I just get to stand around and talk with my family and friends and not have anything collapse or catch fire, that’s still better than around ninety percent of birthdays I’ve ever had.”
“There’s looking on the bright side. And hey!” Jay nodded to the single remaining piece of cake, battered but not broken. “No ‘Birth,’ no ‘Happy,’ but we still got a ‘Day’ left.”
Knock-knock-knock.
The room immediately fell silent. Everybody stared at the door. Even on party nights, unexpected visitors were rarely a good thing in Parole.
“I thought it was just you two who were coming,” Rose said quietly, hurrying over to stand beside Evelyn.
“It was.” Stefanos’ golden eyes narrowed their targeting focus at the door and he raised his weaponized arm. “Want me to get that?”
“No!” Evelyn shook her head and crossed the room with confident strides, pushing Stefanos’ arm down as she went. “Whoever it is, I’m sure they’re a friend. And if they’re not…they came to the wrong house.”
She took a deep, steadying breath, and opened the door.
“I haven’t come to the wrong house, have I?”
Garrett Cole stood in the doorway. He wore his customary sequins-and-glitter ringleader’s top hat and tails, and a wide smile. In one white-gloved, red-cuffed hand he held a silver platter, and on that rested an ornately frosted, multi-layered red velvet cake, delicate strawberries anchoring each long icing curve.
“Garrett.” Evelyn stared at her old friend, as if out of all the bizarre and fantastic things she saw in Parole on a daily basis, this was the most impossible. He was hardly long-lost; they’d seen each other at the Emerald Bar not a full hour ago, and now he was here. “You made it after all.”
“I had an opening in my schedule.” He gave a disarming little shrug, as if he was every bit surprised to find himself here as she was. He turned to give the cake in his hand a good, evaluating stare, then looked back up at her for approval. “I do hope I’m not too late to save the evening from disaster?”
“It’s perfect,” she whispered, aware of Rose’s gentle touch on her shoulder as she came up to stand beside her, but still feeling caught in a half-dream state. This had to be some kind of birthday miracle. “My favorite.”
“I know.”
“How?” she marveled.
“If it’s happening in Parole, I either caused it or I know about it,” he said simply, as if the alternative was a remote afterthought. “Big or small, important or inconsequential. And this is most definitely…” He extended his arm, and the cake, toward Evelyn, who carefully took it, her smile bright and eyes moist. “Important.”
“You didn’t have to do this. I didn’t expect it. Ever.”
“I know that too.”
It was true. Evelyn hadn’t expected it in a million years. But after ten years of Garrett Cole’s uncanny and consistent habit of seeing, hearing, and knowing things no ordinary man could, being places he couldn’t possibly be, and turning up time and again like a bad penny (or a good friend), maybe by now she should.
“Thank you so much. More than I can say.”
“Then don’t say anything. Just have a perfect night, and may the best be yet to come.” Garrett Cole had many smiles; most of them flashy, showy, and meant to be clearly seen from the back row of a packed house. This slow, gentle one was for her eyes only. “I told you before that if you ever needed anything, I’d be there—and I meant it. I keep my promises.”
“Yes, you do. Always have.” Evelyn cleared her throat and set the cake down on the kitchen table, taking a moment to collect herself, and a deep breath. When she looked up, her eyes were clear and her smile was bright. “Well, let’s get this party started! I couldn’t ask for better company—oh! Danae, Jack, look who it is!”
Garrett turned to give the both of them a slight, elegant bow from the waist, which Danae did not return.
“Hey,” she said very slowly and carefully, while Jack stared up at the newcomer, eyes wide as he took in the circus-style top hat and tails, and the red and gold shimmering sequins that cast hundreds of tiny lights around the room.
“It’s the guy!” Jack said in a hushed whisper, small hands clutching at the not-quite-finished drawing he’d brought with him, just before he remembered to be gentle with it.
“That’s right, sweetie.” Evelyn nodded. “You’ve met Mr. Garrett Cole a couple times. He runs the Emerald Bar where I sing, and sometimes he sings with me—and tonight he brought me a cake! What do we say?”
“I knew it!” Jack gave a decisive nod, a grin spreading across his face. As he ran over to the sofa and coffee table in the small living area in front of the kitchen to put the finishing touches on his drawing, he yelled an afterthought over his shoulder. “Thank you!”
Evelyn looked up at Danae, as if repeating the same question she’d asked Jack a moment earlier. Danae stared at the cake with an expression most strangers would have called a poker face. Rose recognized it as a “barely controlled glaring daggers” face, and too
k a few subtle steps to the side, so she was standing roughly between her and Garrett. “Good cake. Nice present.”
“Well, thank you very much,” Garrett said in his deep, resonant voice that could move mountains and bring tyrants to their knees when properly applied. “I sincerely hope you all enjoy it. Happy birthday, my darling Strawberry.”
“Thank you, Garrett.” Evelyn beamed at him. “Now, the first slice is mine, but after that, you’re joining us, right?”
“Oh, I do apologize, but I can’t stay.” Garret shook his head and took a step toward the door. He gave the room at large a nod, but when he tipped his hat, he kept his eyes on Evelyn. “No rest for those who hunt the wicked. Busy night in the city tonight. But I had to at least drop by and wish you all my many happy returns.”
“Well, thank you from us too,” Rose said, giving Danae a look that went entirely ignored. “You really didn’t have to do this.”
“Wouldn’t dream of missing the occasion,” Garrett said smoothly, opening the door and stepping through in a motion just as fluid as his voice. “Now you ladies have a wonderful rest of the evening. Evelyn, I will see you tomorrow night. Gentlemen,” He nodded to Stefanos and Jay (and Seven, whose eyes remained fixated on his every shiny, fascinating movement). “Keep up the good work.”
“Can’t do any other kind,” Jay affirmed, raising his cat-free hand to shoot him some metalhead horns. “Uh, sir. Thank you, sir.”
“CyborJ, you are more than welcome. Congratulations on your upcoming bliss, to the both of you.” Garrett favored them with a bright smile before turning his attention where it always returned: back to Evelyn. “Oh, and one last thing. This arrived at the Bar shortly after you left. I thought I’d better pass it along.”
He held up a small black envelope between his third and index finger like a playing card. The thick black wax seal—pressed with an ornate “T”—in the center was surrounded by fine black lace. Evelyn gingerly took the envelope, careful not to tear the delicate paper.
With that, Garrett Cole exited, quietly shutting the door behind him and extinguishing his sequins’ glittering lights.
Danae stared at the closed door, face gone very pale under her freckles and lingering streaks of dried strawberry icing. “Ev, your boss is a scary, scary man.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t say that.” Evelyn was still looking after Garrett too, but with a much less suspicious and slightly mistier gaze. “He knows…enough.”
“I can’t believe he’s coming to our wedding.” Jay grinned, looking almost dreamy at the prospect. “It was already gonna be the event of the season, because come on, I mean, us getting married, Evelyn Calliope headlining the reception, but yeah, that just put us into Parole annual holiday territory. Good job inviting him!” He leaned fully back against Stefanos, crossing one ankle over the other.
“I didn’t invite him,” Stefanos frowned, eyes flickering rapidly like an old-fashioned camera’s shutter as he thought, then focusing in on Evelyn. “And he didn’t say he was coming, he just gave us his best wishes. Ev, did you happen to mention something to him?”
“Hm? No, I was waiting for the okay to start shouting it from the rooftops,” Evelyn said absently, still admiring the cake’s masterful craftsmanship. “That’s just Garrett. He hears things. I wouldn’t read too much into it.”
“I hate it when he does that. Brrr…” Danae shivered, then nodded at the black envelope, as if glad for any change in subject, even a slightly ominous-looking one. “Wanna open your…weirdly depressing birthday card?”
“Oh!” Evelyn picked it up, careful not to disturb the fine black lace that surrounded the wax seal, or the delicate paper, just barely more substantial than tissue paper. “I almost missed that. Let’s see…”
Inside was a single piece of folded parchment much thicker than the envelope itself. The heavy paper itself was almost reminiscent of an ancient scroll, or a historical document one might see on display in a museum behind thick glass. It was blank, except for a single word of elegantly scrawled calligraphy in the center, surrounded by a proliferation of elaborate swirls and loops in gleaming black ink: REGARDS.
“Ah.” Evelyn nodded with a smile that looked almost fond, but not at all surprised.
“What?” Danae stood up on her tiptoes to look closer over her shoulder, as if there was something about the single word and ostentatious swirls she was missing. “What ‘ah’? Who sent that?”
“Who else?”
“Liam.” Rose’s unusually dry tone made them both look up, hold her gaze for a moment, then stare back down at the elaborate penmanship.
“Jeez, this must’ve taken an hour.” Danae shook her head. “Not even ‘happy regards’ or anything.”
“Happy?” Evelyn laughed. “No. That’s not…no.”
“You sure it’s from him?”
She ran a finger down the thin black lace bordering the wax seal. “Yeah.”
“Are you sure your family’s last name isn’t Addams?” Stefanos’ eyes whirred as he focused on the card, briefly flashing green as if scanning it for potential threats. Behind him, Danae shook her head and wandered away, looking as if she’d finally run out of steam.
“Bite your tongue!” Jay scolded through a mouthful of cake; Seven’s eyes followed as he waved his fork for emphasis. “The Addams Family are loving, and supportive, and would never…” He glanced up at Evelyn and swallowed, the easier to backpedal apologetically. “I mean, Evelyn, I’m sure your cousin’s a fine excuse for… I mean, example of a…”
“More cake?”
“Please, before I make any more brilliant observations.”
“You guys just make yourselves at home,” Evelyn said, smiling as Jay offered a forkful of cake to the mechanical cat on his shoulder. To her knowledge, none of Danae’s creations ate actual food, instead absorbing the toxic vapors and carbon monoxide smoke from Parole’s ever-burning fires—but the newly named Seven gave Jay’s fork a curious sniff anyway. She’d seen many worse human and therapy animal pairs in the time Danae had been setting them up. “I’ll be back in a little bit, just gonna check on someone.”
With that, she moved over to where Danae leaned against the wall, head hanging low and pinching the bridge of her nose between her finger and thumb. For a moment neither of them spoke. When Danae looked up and opened her eyes, her smile had the same combination of love and embarrassment she’d worn more today than she could remember. The warm blush in her cheeks joined the other shades of red icing and juice smeared across her cheeks. “Hey, birthday girl.”
“Hey.” Evelyn joined her in wall-leaning, entertaining a brief memory of high school dances.
“I’ll be awake in a second,” Danae mumbled, shutting her eyes again. “Just recharging my batteries real quick.”
“I don’t blame you. Birthday chaos always takes it out of me too. Especially mine.”
“Sorry about…” She slowly tipped her head back against the wall, gesturing to their house and its more-than-passing resemblance to one of Parole’s war zone streets. “Everything.”
“Like I said…wouldn’t be my birthday without a little chaos, would it?”
“Just kinda hoping this year would be different.” Danae didn’t open her eyes or move. She might have been equal parts exhausted and relieved, but exhaustion weighed a lot more heavily. “You deserve it. You deserve perfect.”
“Corny as it sounds, just having family and friends who tried so hard to make it perfect is perfection in itself.” Evelyn gently reached out to nudge Danae’s arm with one elbow, then took her hand. “Even after ten years, you don’t really forget what it feels like to go from not having that to…”
“I know.” Danae opened her eyes halfway, giving Evelyn’s hand a squeeze. “With your…everything you grew up with? That’s why I want every year with us to be different. I just—God, everything you do for Parole, and for us, every day? For one day, that’s what we want to do for you, or at least try to come close. Just give you everything you ne
ver got, and should have.”
“That right there?” The sigh Evelyn let out wasn’t exhausted, but maybe more contented than she’d felt all year. “You wanting me to have a perfect day and fighting to make it happen? That’s why it already is.”
“You’re right. It does sound corny.” Danae shook her head, laughing. “But you’re so freaking sweet I don’t even care, and I already sounded way cornier—God! You and Rose both turn me into the biggest sap. Guess that’s how you know I’m in love. Anyway!” She pushed herself away from the wall. “Less mush, more party. Want some cake?”
“Sure do. Bet it’s great even without strawberries.”
“The hell you talking about, Garrett brought a crap ton of strawberries, because of course he did…” Danae looked up fully to see Evelyn smiling back at her. “Oh my gosh. Really? You actually want my smushed, ruined, flytrap-eaten disaster?”
“I want your everything. Besides, you heard Jay. Even without ‘Happy’ or ‘Birth,’ we still got a ‘Day’ left.” She hesitated. “It didn’t actually fall on the floor or anything, did—”
“No!” Danae insisted, as if swearing on her last remaining honor and everything she held dear. “I protected that thing with my life. That’s your birthday present, Ev, one of ’em. I’d take a bullet for it, I’d battle an army—Serena’s wily, she got the jump on me, that’s all. Never again.” She blew out a breath through loose lips like a horse, messy crumb-filled hair flying. “Outsmarted by a plant. Amazing.”
“Hey, like you said, she’s mean, green, and crafty…” Evelyn reached out and plucked an entire intact berry out of Danae’s hair. “And maybe out for revenge for her little friends.”
“No way.” Danae shook her head, dislodging a couple more leaves. “Now you’re just making stuff up.”
“Seriously, did you ask first? Rose always talks to her plants—not just ‘hi, pretty flowers’ way, but ‘excuse me, I need exactly twelve berries, I apologize for the discomfort, I’ll give you some of the extra good fertilizer later, thank you.’ I dunno if it’s just a Rose thing, making deals with the shrubbery, but…it couldn’t hurt.”