I gave Rose a little side hug. “So are you, Rose. We’re thinking of making chocolate crinkle cookies, or gingersnaps, or both. They’re pretty easy.”
“Shouldn’t be too hard.” Rose glanced at Henry again, as though trying to decide about him. “You’ve got this fellow here to help you.”
“Yes,” he nodded politely. “I grew up helping in the kitchen.”
Rose looked pleased. “There’s a good boy, then.”
The compliment made him beam. Maybe it was obvious Rose’s opinion was important to me, almost as important as Darcy’s. So I was relieved that Henry had her approval.
“Well, we’d better wash our hands.” I started toward the sink.
After hunting down brown sugar, molasses, cocoa powder, vanilla, flour, and eggs, I had Henry help stir everything together. Then, I put the first tray in the oven and set a timer.
We sat down on some barstools near Rosie on her windowsill, waiting for the cookies to bake, and I pulled out my phone.
Rosie's melodic voice echoed in my mind.Oh, how beautiful to see two souls so in love.
My eyes widened, but I focused on the task at hand. “Who do you think would know the most about Zac?”
“That’s easy,” Henry said, thankfully oblivious to Rosie's commentary. “He dated Phoebe Hunt for almost an entire year. She’s got to know a lot abouthim.”
“Do you think she’ll be annoyed if I contact her?” I asked. Phoebe had never been very friendly to me, but she wasn’t outright rude, either. Sometimes I suspected some jealousy on her part, but I tried not to judge.
And what a handsome man you've chosen.Rosie's chattering continued, which was made more ridiculous by the fact that plants can't see. I nonchalantly touched her with my fingertip, sprinkling her with soothing magic, in hopes that it would settle her down.
“Either way, we should do it,” Henry said. “But what are you going to say to her?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I’ll say we just had an interaction with Zac that’s left us confused, and we wondered if he was up to something dangerous?” I frowned. It was the truth—in a way.
“It’s worth a try,” Henry agreed.
I scrolled through my social media accounts and found Phoebe. Her perfectly curated profile presented an elite, stylish brunette posing in designer clothing in front of exotic and expensive destinations. It was odd to me, because I remember in reality she was worried several times about not being able to afford her tuition. For a moment, it made me self-conscious of my profile, which consistedlargely of myself with different types of plants and animals. But I didn't care enough to change anything.
“Phoebe sure has a glamorous lifestyle on here.” I showed the photo on my screen to Henry. Phoebe stood in Egypt with a deep-bronze tan, wearing a white linen sundress, a trendy sun hat, and designer sunglasses.
“Wait, look more closely. I don’t think she’s in front of the pyramids. That looks photoshopped.” He raised a brow. “I’ve seen other people use this exact same background.”
Upon closer inspection, it was obvious that the light hitting her was coming from a different angle than the light on the pyramids. Additionally, the shadows on her dress and hat were a cooler tone than those in the background.
“Oh, you’re right. Last time I visited, there were so many tourists. Getting a photo alone with them in the background like that would’ve been impossible. I wonder why she’d go to the effort to fake that?” I couldn’t see why she wanted to pretend to be something she wasn’t. She’d seemed just fine as she was at school.
Henry tilted his head, studying my eyes. “I’m going to lay a hard truth on you, Georgiana. You havea glamorous, beautiful life. But sometimes reality for others can be downright depressing, and people get embarrassed, or jealous, or feel inferior. Because you’ve never been in such a situation, you don’t realize how many times other people are.”
“So, I’m naïve?” I didn’t love what he was suggesting. But he had a point. “I do understand my privilege, and I try to make a difference with it.”
“I don’t know that you’re naïve, but definitely pure-hearted. You’ve never needed pretenses because your reality is many other people’s dreams,” he said, and though I could have taken it as an insult, the way he spoke made it feel more like a compliment.
And his love is true,Rosie literally sang, and I pushed her pot farther away, spilling another dose of calming magic into her petals.
“I’m guessing things haven’t always been so easy for you?” I asked.
“I can’t complain. I’ve got it good, but yes, I’ve had plenty of obstacles in my journey.” He shrugged. “However, I still have my parents around, and you lost yours. That must’ve been very painful.”
“Yes, extremely.” I didn’t want to dwell on their deaths. The way the back of my knees got weak when they occupied my thoughts for too long could leave me in a fog for days. “Well, I’m going to message Phoebe. Will you read this? Tell me what you think.”
Phoebe, Hi it’s Georgiana Valemont from College de Synthese. How’ve you been? I have a question for you about Zac DeLounge. We ran into each other recently, but something seemed very off. I’m just concerned. Do you know if he was wrapped up in anything dangerous?
“Looks good. Hopefully she’ll give you an honest response.” Henry approved, so I clicked send and pulled a tray from the oven.
