Echoes

by Chambers, V. J.

  She looked back at the shelf, cocking her head to one side and trying to make heads or tails of it. She didn’t even know what she was looking at. She took a step backwards, thinking that maybe perspective might help. But she only ran into a shelf behind her, knocking things off.

  She picked them up. They were small little cardboard boxes that made a rattling noise when she moved them. She wanted to put them back where they belonged. But she couldn’t figure that out. She stood there, feeling terrified.

  Someone said something.

  Maddie looked up.

  There was a person, and he was wearing a vest that had a similar symbol on it to the one that had been emblazoned in neon lights outside the store. He said something else.

  Maddie couldn’t understand him. She said that. “I don’t understand you.”

  The man furrowed his brow. He said something else.

  Maddie shook her head.

  He came closer. He seemed to realize that they couldn’t communicate vocally, so he was making some very strange hand gestures.

  Maddie wanted to run away.

  He pointed at the boxes in her hands.

  She looked down at them. She swallowed. She held them out to him.

  He said something making more gestures, pointing towards the front of the store.

  She shook her head. She pointed behind her where they had been before they had fallen. She gestured trying to put them back on the shelf and then shrugged at him.

  He nodded, seeming to understand. He held out his hands for the boxes. Maddie put them in his hands.

  The man began to put them back on the shelf.

  And then Nora was back, with Owen in tow. Nora began chattering to the man in the mundane world language.

  The man chattered back.

  After a few moments of conversation, the man walked back off the aisle.

  Nora turned to Maddie. “I’m sorry I left you alone.”

  “You were gone a long time,” Maddie said. She wanted to forgive Nora, tell her it was okay. But the truth was that had been some of the most terrifying moments of her life.

  Nora picked up two rectangular cardboard boxes. She held them up to Maddie. “I forgot about the language stuff,” she said. “Should have known that you couldn’t talk to him. It’s only that the muse language seems so natural to me, sometimes I forget we aren’t all speaking the same language.”

  “Let’s just get the test,” Maddie said.

  Nora nodded. “Well, which one do you want? This one can apparently tell you up to five days before your missed period. This one, on the other hand, has a really handy little ‘pregnant’ or ‘not pregnant’ as opposed to lines on it.”

  “I can’t read the words,” Maddie said.

  “Good point,” Nora said. She put down one of the packages. Then she picked up a different one. “It’s a three pack. You get three tests. That way you can be sure, in case you get a false negative or something.”

  Maddie was horrified. “There are false negatives?”

  Owen snorted.

  Maddie glared at him. She had half-forgotten that he was even there.

  “All of this over a pregnancy test,” Owen said. “You and Agler Thorn, hmm? I wonder if your children will be as boneheaded as he is.”

  Nora smacked him on the back of the head. “Shut up.”

  Owen turned on her, his hands clenching into fists. “Don’t hit me.” A vein pulsed in his forehead.

  Maddie took two steps backwards. She knocked more things off the shelf.

  Nora didn’t seem the least bit upset or worried over Owen. “Owen, you need to learn manners.” Nora reached down and picked up the boxes that Maddie had knocked down. Then she handed the pregnancy test to Owen. “Now, go up to the front and make the cashier believe that we bought this.”

  Owen took the test. Turned it over in his hands. “What if I say no?”

  Nora sighed. “Okay, you win. I owe you. I owe you big time.”

  Owen smiled. He looked satisfied and a little bit demented. Maddie didn’t like it at all.

  “You do owe me,” Owen said. He headed for the front of the store.

  * * *

  Agler was outside of the archway, heading down towards the security enclave to try and find Daryl when Sawyer caught up with him. Sawyer was running, and he had his skirt hitched up. Agler always thought it looked funny, Sawyer’s hairy male legs in a skirt. But to each his own. Sawyer liked to wear skirts. It was no skin off Agler’s nose.

  Sawyer skidded to a stop next to him. “They’re back.”

  “They are?” Agler turned on his heel and started back into the enclave.

  Sawyer came right after him. “She’s taking the test right now. She’s in the bathrooms.”

  “And she’s okay?”Agler said. “It doesn’t seem like there’s anything wrong with her?”

  “Yeah, she seems fine,” Sawyer said.

  “She doesn’t seem to suddenly really like Owen or something, does she?”

  “I don’t know. I didn’t really get a chance to talk to her.”

  “She told you to come after me, didn’t she?”

  “No.”

  Agler stopped.

  Sawyer nearly ran into him. “What?”

  “She didn’t ask about me?”

  Sawyer shook his head. “Sorry. But I figured you’d want to know that she was back. So I went looking for you. I looked for you in your tent, then I saw that you were leaving. Where were you going anyway?”

  “I was going to find Daryl to take me to the mundane world and go after them,” Agler said.

  “You were going to do that without me?” Sawyer glared at him. “Don’t do that. You want to go after someone, take me along.”

  Agler started walking again. “I can’t believe you let her go in the first place.”

  “Hey,” Sawyer said. “I did the best I could.” The two headed straight for the bathrooms, which were centrally located within the tweens and rebels enclave. Nora, Owen, and Lute were all standing outside. When they saw them approach, Owen gave Agler a knowing look.

  Agler felt like punching him. He knew he couldn’t punch him. Even though, of course, Daryl seemed to get away with punching him just fine. But Agler figured that he wouldn’t, not this time. So he thrust his hands in his pockets. He looked at the ground.

  “Is she done yet?” Sawyer said.

  “I was gonna go in there and check on her,” Nora said. “I went in there before, but she told me to get out.”

  “I’ll go check on her,” Agler said. He started forward.

  Nora stopped him. “I don’t think it’s a good idea right now.”

  Agler pressed his lips together.

  Nora gave him an apologetic smile. “Before she told you, she wasn’t exactly feeling generous towards you. She said she didn’t like being around you at all. And after she told you, she said you ran off and left her alone.”

  Agler let out a huge sigh.

  Owen ran his tongue over his teeth, grinning. “I wonder if your child will be as mentally damaged as you are, Agler.”

  “Owen.” Nora glared at him.

  Agler really, really wanted to punch that guy.

  “Anyway, I’ll go,” Nora said.

  She disappeared into the bathrooms.

  Now it was just the four guys.

  Sawyer looked nervous. He was tapping his fingers against his thigh.

  Lute reached out and took Sawyer’s hand.

  Sawyer looked up to him gratefully. He squeezed Lute’s hand and moved closer.

  Lute grinned at him.

  Sawyer grinned back.

  Agler looked away. He didn’t want to watch that. Not because he had any problem with guys being affectionate or anything. His best friend was gay. Only because they were his friends, and he felt uncomfortable seeing their intimate moments.

  Owen was examining his fingernails casually.

  Agler’s heart started to speed up in his chest. He became aware of how quickly i
t was beating. This was it. He was going to find out, one way or another. Maddie would come out that bathroom, and he would know. He was going to be a father. Or he wasn’t.

  He wanted the test to be negative. He wanted it with every fiber in his being. He didn’t know if that made him a terrible person or not.

  He realized that he hadn’t even bothered to ask Maddie what she wanted. He assumed that she was as disinterested in having children as he was.

  But what if it was negative, and she was disappointed?

  His heart seemed to go even faster.

  Sawyer rested his head on Lute’s shoulder.

  Owen blew out a low whistling breath.

  Agler was fairly certain that his heart was going to beat out of his chest, was going to climb up out of his esophagus, go through his throat, pass his teeth, and explode everywhere.

  He clenched and unclenched his fists.

  Nora appeared in the door of the bathrooms.

  Agler’s heart stopped beating.

  But Nora shook her head. “We don’t know anything yet. You have to wait two minutes for the test to be done.”

  “Two minutes?” Agler said. “It’s been two minutes, hasn’t it?”

  Nora shook her head.

  Agler shut his eyes.

  “So how do these things actually work?” Sawyer said. “The pregnancy tests, I mean?”

  “They test for a chemical in urine,” Nora said.

  Sawyer made a face. “Eew.”

  Nora shrugged. “You asked.”

  “So if you’re pregnant, it comes out in your pee,” Sawyer said.

  Nora rolled her eyes. “They really need a Sex Ed class in Helicon. Some kind of anatomy class. You guys should go hang out in the science enclave and ask questions.”

  “There’s no point in all of the muses knowing that,” Sawyer said. “How would that help me make dresses?”

  Owen looked at him contemptuously. “And it’s that kind of attitude that is the reason that Helicon is the way that is. You muses are so shortsighted.”

  Agler narrowed his eyes. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Well, it’s like I just said,” Owen said. “It was very clear. Would you like me to repeat myself, using smaller words, so that you understand?”

  Agler started towards Owen.

  Nora intercepted him, her hand on his chest. She shook her head. “No.” Then she turned to Owen. “Manners. Manners, Owen.”

  Owen sighed. “I’m bored. See you later.” He turned and left.

  Agler turned back to the bathrooms. When was Maddie going to be done?

  His heart was still pounding. And now he was having trouble catching his breath. His palms were sweating.

  He tried to imagine what a baby would look like if it was a mixture of him and Maddie.

  And he thought about Maddie being pregnant, and how she would have to gain weight. He thought about how she wouldn’t be able to handle that. He thought about Maddie trying to starve herself while she was pregnant, possibly starving the baby and—

  Maddie came out of the bathroom. She was smiling.

  He ran to her. “I’m sorry,” he said.

  “You are a dick, Agler,” she said. She was still smiling.

  “Well?” Sawyer said. “Don’t keep us in suspense.”

  Maddie put all three plastic tests in Agler’s hand. “Negative. All three of them. Negative.”

  * * *

  “What are you doing?” Agler said. He had come back to the tent with some alcohol, so that he and Maddie could celebrate the fact that they weren’t going to be parents, and he found her stringing up another hammock in their bedroom.

  “I’m hanging up my old hammock,” she said.

  “Yeah, I can see that,” he said. “I guess I should have asked why you were doing it.”

  “For me to sleep in.”

  Agler set down the bottle of wine he’d brought and crossed the tent. He took the edge of the hammock from her. “There something wrong with sleeping in our hammock?”

  She swallowed.

  He sighed. “You’re mad at me.”

  “I’m…” She crossed her arms over her chest.

  “Look, I’m sorry if I was a dick—”

  “You were a dick.” She glared at him. “But, no, that’s not why I want my own hammock. I guess I just feel like we’ve been going way too fast. Like we’re hurtling through our lives at top speed, and I want off. I want… I’m not ready for a baby.”

  “I’m not either.”

  “So… I need some time.”

  He jammed his hands into his pockets. “Yeah, okay. I guess I can see that. Honestly, after that scare, I’m not ready to jump you anytime soon either.” He raised his eyebrows. “Not that I don’t sort of always want to jump you, but, well, I mean, time is good.”

  She bit her lip. “Really?”

  He nodded. “Really. You don’t have to sleep in another hammock.”

  She took a deep breath. “Okay.”

  He went over to where she’d tied the other end and began working at the knot. “Now, go pour us some wine.”

  She gave him a tiny smile.

  * * *

  It was Valentine’s Day in Helicon, and all around the muses were bustling with last-minute Valentines activities. Many were crammed into the visual arts enclave going through what was left of the pre-made Valentines, trying to find the perfect card for their significant others. Some were hard at work putting together last-minute Valentines on their own.

  In the food enclave, the muses were working overtime to create numerous baskets of food and drink. Each one was designed to be enjoyed by one couple, with food portions just enough for two.

  That evening, as was tradition, the muses flooded the food enclave to pick up the baskets, and they trooped off to buy to various secluded areas all over the land to enjoy a romantic picnic together.

  Maddie and Agler were eating garlic-and-herb-crusted flank steak with pan-roasted grapes. (At least that was what it had said on the basket’s label.) They had come to the spot that Agler had decided. They sat by a stream, sipping wine.

  When Maddie finished her glass, she reached for the bottle and poured herself more. She lifted it. “To not being pregnant.”

  Agler clinked his glass against hers. “To not being pregnant.”

  They grinned at each other.

  “This was a better Valentine’s Day than last year,” Agler said. “Last year you ran away from me because you were mad that I criticized your eating.”

  Maddie made a face. “Let’s not talk about that. Even thinking about that makes me feel all icky.”

  “I’m glad things are okay between us now,” Agler said.

  Maddie smiled at him. “Me too.”

  But later on, when they were lying on a blanket, their meal finished, the wine drank, Maddie stopped their kissing.

  “You okay?” Agler whispered. It was darker now. The twilight had crept up on them. The stream was reflecting the moonlight at them.

  “Fine,” Maddie said. “I’m fine.”

  Agler started to try to kiss her again.

  She put her hand firmly on his chest. “Let’s go back to the enclave. Maybe there’s some people hanging out around the fire pit.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “On Valentine’s Day? Maddie, you know what everyone is doing on Valentine’s Day.”

  She bit down on her bottom lip. “I told you I need some time, Agler.”

  “Yeah, I know. And we’ve had some time.”

  “Barely a week.”

  “So… not enough time, then.”

  “Not nearly enough time.”

  He swallowed. “How much time are we talking about?”

  “Gods, I don’t know, Agler. I don’t know if I’m ready for all of this,” she said. “Honestly, given the way you reacted to everything, I don’t think you’re ready either. So, not for a while. We need to slow things down.”

  “Slow things down? Maddie, we live together.”<
br />
  “We can live together and not…”

  “Not have sex?”

  “Yeah, and not have sex,” she said.

  “You gotta be kidding me,” he said.

  She shook her head. “I’m dead serious.”

  He got up. He stared into the stream. “But for how long? Forever?”

  Maddie hugged herself. “Until we’re ready.”

  He turned to look at her. “I don’t even know what that means.”

  She shrugged. “Don’t be a dick, Agler.”

  He absorbed that. And then he nodded. Slowly.

  * * *

  On the other side of Helicon, Sawyer and Lute sat together. They’d eaten pancetta-and-brussels-sprouts linguine with lemon cream pie for dessert, but now they were done and just sipping their white wine.

  Lute had his head in Sawyer’s lap. Sawyer was toying idly with Lute’s hair.

  A ghost of a smile played on Lute’s lips. “You’re thinking about her again, aren’t you?”

  Sawyer looked down at him. “No, I’m not. It’s Valentine’s Day. I’m thinking about us.”

  Lute laughed a little bit. “You don’t have to lie to me, Sawyer.”

  “I’m here. I’m not distracted,” Sawyer said.

  “Kiss me again,” Lute said.

  Sawyer did.

  When the kiss was over, their lips lingered close to each other.

  Sawyer gazed into Lute’s eyes. “You’re wonderful, you know that? You’re the most amazing thing that ever happened to me.”

  Lute grinned at him. “Well, you’re not too shabby yourself.”

  “Happy Valentine’s Day.”

  They kissed again.

  The kiss was long, prolonged, deep. The two were losing themselves in each other.

  But eventually, Sawyer broke away. He sat up. He gazed out into the distance. “Maybe we’ve been going on about this all wrong.”

  “What are you talking about?” Lute said.

  “You remember when Loki was in Helicon?”

  “I guess I vaguely remember that,” Lute said. “Why are we talking about that?”

  “Loki made himself look like Mack,” Sawyer said. “We all thought that Loki was Mack.”

  “Yeah, okay. Why are you bringing this up?”

  “What if we’re looking at it completely the wrong way. What if it’s just something that looks like Nora?”