CHAPTER30
Jenny
One Year Later
“Istill think you should have killed him.” Ronnie finished watering Alex’s life-support system, then began checking him for bedsores.
I adjusted the curtains to allow more sunlight onto the three dwarf maple trees potted around Alex’s bed. Branches circled his arm and both legs. Another snaked down his throat. It was disturbing, but when Temple’s dryad friend Phile had first set it up, he’d assured me it was less invasive and more humane than a traditional feeding tube. The trees sustained Alex’s body on a kind of magical maple syrup.
“It’s not like he’s going to wake up and suddenly be a good guy again,” Ronnie continued. “How long will you keep him here?”
“As long as he needs.”
“He doesn’t deserve your help.”
“We’re not doing it for him.” It was an old argument, a familiar track we’d run around again and again over the past year. “It’s about who we choose to be.”
Ronnie’s opinions about Alex were set in stone, but since coming to live with us, he’d begun to see the rest of the world with a little more nuance. He’d even befriended Hjálmar. Well,befriendedmight be too strong of a word, but they played racquetball together twice a week. Very competitive, very aggressive racquetball.
Ronnie had put on a little weight and muscle in recent months, making him look more like the adult he was becoming. Or it would have, if not for the rather ridiculous blond goatee he’d recently started sporting.
“What will you choose to do if he recovers?” he asked.
IHAVE SEVERAL CREATIVE IDEAS.
“Hush, you,”I said silently.
I’d thought about that question a lot, and I didn’t have a good answer yet. “Ava suggested we find a spell in Temple’s library to turn him into a turtle. We could keep him in a tank in the shop.”
ILIKE THAT. AND THEN YOU COULD MAKE SOUP FROM HIM.
“We’ve already got a mutant cat,” said Ronnie. “Why not a cursed turtle, too?” He shot one final scowl Alex’s way, then turned to me. “When are we going to practice sword work again?”
I couldn’t keep the grin from my face. “Very soon.”
He retreated a step. “Uh-oh. You sound way too happy.”
“Did you forget what day it was?” My smile grew. “It’s been a year and a day since we closed the door on Ringo.”
“Oh, shit. The contract.”
Annette had been bouncing with anticipation and excitement all last night. Apparentlydo no harmhad also interfered with her recently rekindled relationship with Duke. Specifically their sex life. Which waswaytoo much information, but I was happy for them.
Ronnie grimaced. “Well, I’m ready when you are.”
“Not so fast. Did you get those miniature gargoyles onto the shelf?” We’d begun selling some of Duke’s sculptures. The dragon with the witch’s hat was especially popular.
He rolled his eyes. “I put those out this morning before we opened.”
“What about the dishes in the sink?”
“Done.”
“And Squidward’s litter box?”
He grimaced. “I’ll get to that later this afternoon.”
“Then we’ll practice sword work later this afternoon.AfterSquidward’s facilities are clean. You know what happens when the box isn’t up to her high standards. Besides, the odds of you ever having to use an actual sword in the field in the twenty-first century are almost nil.”
