My Dearest Theodore,(It was the most random name she could think of).
If no one comes from the future to stop you from doing it, then how bad of a decision can it really be?
Forever Yours, Magnus
She looked up from her writing, pleased with all of her decisions, and scanned the little cafe area. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw Anna collecting two drinks from the pick up counter. Anna’s face was lit up with an animated smile. Brooke watched as Anna held up the pen as she signed her receipt, clearly asking if she could borrow the pen or simply have it. The cafe employee was obviously taken aback by Anna’s disarming charm.
Brooke watched as Anna spun around with an extra bounce in her step, the proud owner of a new pen and two big coffee mugs, which she carried with the grace and ease of a seasoned restaurant owner. Brooke quickly shut the book she had selected for Anna and rested her chin on the palm of her hand, wondering what Anna had selected for her—both to read and from the cafe.
“Green tea with one squirt of honey,” Anna said, grinning at Brooke as she slid one of the big mugs across the table smoothly.
Brooke frowned. How on Earth did Anna know her evening tea ritual? She stared at it in confusion.
Anna shrugged.“You ordered it at my restaurant one time when you and Vivienne and Christine stayed a little later than usual. Figured it must be a safe bet.”
They’d visitedLa Fourchetteevery Monday for almost a year, roughly fifty visits to the restaurant and Anna remembered a tea she ordered once? A tea she didn’t even remember ordering. Brooke couldn’t even imagine how hard she must be blushing right now; knowing someone's preferred tea was such a pure and touching thing to know about them. And Anna had remembered so casually.
“Thank you,” Brooke said finally, meeting Anna’s gaze.
Anna positively beamed in response.“You’re welcome.”
“What’s your drink?” Brooke asked, genuinely curious.
Anna let out an embarrassed laugh.“Definitely always going to be hot chocolate.” She nodded her head towards a table just a few tables away.“I’m going to go write in your book now. I can’t do it if you’re watching me. I’ll get all nervous and worried that I hold my pen weird or something.”
Brooke let out a surprised chuckle at that.“Okay, I’ll be here, enjoying my tea. Thank you, Anna.” Brooke’s heart fluttered again when Anna blushed at that and awkwardly walked away.
As soon as Anna had taken a seat on the other side of the little cafe, Brooke flipped the book open again and left a real message for Anna deep within its pages, something that hopefully Anna wouldn’t see for a while, a small but very real thank you. When she was done with the genuine note, Brooke sat and quite happily sipped at her tea, rereading the book she had gotten for Anna. She found herself fondly underlining sentences she liked or descriptions she found particularly amusing. She had always annotated books as she read. A habit of upper level reading courses throughout her private education and again at university that she had never bothered to break.
She made it through chapter two when Anna cleared her throat and pulled Brooke’s attention from her active reading.
Brooke’s eyes shot up, a small smile ghosting her lips. Anna slid into the seat next to Brooke, letting their knees knock gently beneath the table. Anna could barely hide her excitement. Her leg jiggled against Brooke’s; her absolute zest for literally everything was as captivating as her beauty.
“Ready?” Anna asked, her dark eyes searching Brooke’s.
Her excitement was infectious and Brooke found herself, surprisingly, not at all nervous. She was suddenly at peace with the fact that this wasn’t real. That they weren’t on a real first date, that Anna was just doing her a favor, because despite that, Brooke just honestly, truly enjoyed spending time with Anna. And sure, this would ultimately, probably—definitely—break her heart eventually, but for now Brooke was suddenly overcome with the genuine joy that was simply existing around Anna.
Brooke nodded confidently, a small smile tugging up the corners of her lips, creasing a tight dimple in her cheeks.“Yes,” she said, as she slid the book she had been annotating to Anna.
Anna’s smile could have lit up the room.“This has been on my to-read list! Thank you, B.” She slid the book she had purchased for Brooke across the table, her excited expression, suddenly nervous.
“The Three Musketeers,” Brooke traced the cover fondly. She hadn’t read this book in probably fifteen years. She had read it to her brother when he was little. She could remember it being filled with action, adventure, and a dash of romance. Nathaniel had loved it. It had been the book that had sparked her own fondness for fantasy and adventure. It had led her to find Tolkien and he had changed her life forever. Anna would have no way of knowing just how much this book had meant to her.“This is a fantastic book.”
Anna’s face fell ever so slightly.“I knew you’d already have read it.”
Brooke shook her head.“Yes, but it’s been years. Seriously, Anna, this was the perfect choice. I don’t own a copy either.”
Anna blushed, a soft pink dusting her cheeks.“Well, good.” She tapped her fingers excitedly on the cover of her new book.“Do we get to check out our inscriptions now?”
“Of course,” Brooke said with a chuckle, flipping open her new book. Her head tilted to the side as she tried her best to translate what Anna had written.La barbe ne fait pas le philosophe — Pierre.Brooke didn’t attempt the French out loud, but it was close enough to some of the Spanish she had studied thanks to her private education that she could surmise its translation.“The beard doesn’t make the philosopher?”
Anna’s eyes widened, impressed.“Do you speak French?”
Brooke shook her head, no.“I’m almost fluent in Spanish and more than conversational in German though.”
“Hot,” Anna said, wiggling her eyebrows.
“Do you speak French?” Brooke asked, before she let her mind ruminate on the fact that Anna Fourchette had just called her hot. She focused instead on Anna’s exquisite face. She knew that Fourchette was a French surname, and there were a few words that Anna had said to her that felt like there was an accent buried somewhere within, but Brooke had chalked it up to maybe having a parent with an accent.
