I needed to choose a path. Would I… could I step up and be The Waker? Or would I turn my back on everything? There was no way I could keep living in limbo, not with the very real threat of death hanging over my head.
I ran down the list of things that had come to light since meeting Robert in the bookstore. I smiled to myself, thinking about that day. It felt like ages ago. The second time I’d met him, at his brother’s wedding, he had stitched my fatal wounds back together with the touch of his palm. I decided I could accept that something beyond my realm of knowledge had saved me that night. And then there was last night to contend with. The firework show that exploded out of Robert and Lila was something I couldn't ignore. Magic or whatever you wanted to call it, was real and if I could accept that then maybe I could accept the rest of it.
Turning the water off my thoughts bounced around my head like an intense game of racquetball. Getting ready for the day, I threw on a black tank top and a floor-length white skirt I loved. I tossed my hair into a messy bun, not bothering to dry it and dabbed some concealer under my eyes to cover the whiskey induced shadows.
When I returned to the main room I found Robert sitting at the kitchen table reading a newspaper with a coffee cup in his hand. He wore a white, linen button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up and dark jeans. Damn, why did he have to be so good looking?
“What, no big breakfast this morning?” I teased in an attempt to keep the mood light.
“We can’t live like royalty every day,” Robert noted. He did a quick inventory of me but was careful to avoid eye contact. Apparently he was gauging the situation after last night too. “There’s more coffee if you’d like.” He set his paper down and got up from the table.
I fought a smile, he was always such a gentleman.
“It’s alright,” I said and stepped toward the kitchen. “I can handle making myself a cup of coffee.”
“Do you have any plans for today?” he asked from the table as I pulled a mug with the Golden Gate Bridge stamped on the front, from the cupboard and filled it to the brim.
“I was just going to head over to the studio and work on the Caltome pictures. Why?” I asked, sweetening my coffee with some raw sugar and joining him at the table.
“I thought we could do something fun today, maybe go to the beach and forget everything for a little while.”
He folded his arms across his chest and leaned back in his chair. His muscled arms made his posture look intimidating but his face was soft and friendly. He’d clearly put his walls back in place and not a trace of the vulnerability from last night showed in his features.
“Really?” The suggestion surprised me. It didn’t seem like he was the type to forget about duty and responsibility.
“After last night.” Worry flashed across his eyes. “I just thought you might like to do something that didn’t involve Magic.” A tentative smile touched the corners of his mouth.
“I’d love to,” I said, still skeptical. “Just let me get a little work done first. I can do it from here and then we can head out.”
“Perfect.” He lifted the paper back up, hiding his face behind the sports section.
I fished a granola bar from the cabinets and set to work at my command center in the living room. I called and left a message for Jessie, letting her know I wouldn’t be in today and to call me if anything came up. As promised, I put together a dropbox with all the pictures I took yesterday and sent Mrs. Deardon an email with the link. I spent a little more time editing the photos Mrs. Deardon wanted prints of and put them on a flash drive so I could print them at the studio later.
After a couple hours of editing and getting as much done as I could at home, I was ready to head out. I walked through the glass sliding door to the patio where Robert sat writing on the first page of a fresh new journal. I guess his family really liked to keep a chronicle of their lives.
“Hey… I’m umm… ready when you are,” I said, trying to catch a glimpse of what he was writing.
“Just a moment,” he said over his shoulder.
“Sure.” I walked back inside and decided to brush my teeth to get rid of my coffee breath. When I entered my room, everything had been set right. No more broken glass and everything had been put back where it belonged. It was like nothing had ever happened in here. I was thankful for that.
“Shall we?” Robert said as I came back into the living room
“Yep, all ready to go. I just need to stop by a mailbox on our way,” I said, picking up a birthday card I'd been meaning to send to my Aunt Beth.
We headed out the door and started walking toward the beach. The weather was warm but the breeze had picked up a little. A huge summer storm was in the forecast and the breeze likely brought it a little bit closer. Robert and I didn’t say much on our walk down to the ocean.
We took a short detour past a mailbox and reached the sand in twenty minutes. Kicking off our sandals as we strode across the low dunes I finally decided to break the tension. If I was going to be able to make a decision about all of this then I couldn’t just ignore him. I needed answers, I needed to know more about him and the Magical world. So much for a day without Magic, I thought.
“So are you ever going to tell me anything about you?” I asked, careful not to look up into his warm eyes.
“Me, huh?” Robert cocked his head in my direction, his mouth pulling up on one side to form a flirtatious smile.
“Yeah, I mean we always talk about me and how important I’m supposed to be but you’ve never really told me much about yourself. You want me to trust you, but I don’t know anything about you.” I blurted the words out with the sound of the waves breaking behind us. It was true, I didn’t know much about him and maybe if I did, it would help me get a better grasp on how any of this was possible.
“Just because I won’t tell you certain things about myself doesn’t mean I’m hiding something from you. What you need to know and understand is much more important than anything about me,” Robert explained.
“That’s for me to decide.” I crossed my arms, unyielding.
“No, it’s not.” The sides of his eyes tightened and I knew I was tap dancing on his patience.
“How can you say that? How can you be so sure about me?”
“Because it’s what I’ve been taught my whole life.” He placed his hand on the small of my back guiding me forward. I was sure he’d keep his distance after last night, but I was glad he didn’t.
“The knowledge of your importance has been passed down through the generations. It’s in my very blood. You will always be more important than me,” he said, trying to make me see the serious nature of all this.
“But Robert, I want to know you. The only way I’m going to be able to understand all of this is through you,” I pleaded and dug my feet into the sand, refusing to move forward until he opened up.
“If you won’t tell me for my own sake, then tell me for the sake of the prophecy,” I reasoned, then paused. “To help me believe.” I searched his face, trying to get through to him. I knew it was a cheap shot, using the prophecy to get him to tell me about himself but I didn’t know what else to do. I was at a crossroads and needed to make a decision. I was tired of living in limbo, going back and forth between what path I should follow.