“But as a precaution, um, what veggies do you recommend, Bunny Doc?”
I pursed my lips, holding in my laugh. My mood had improved from a dull, cloudy day to a sunny one with rainbows within just ten minutes of hearing his voice. We chatted for a while, with me scolding him and the grown-up pup on the other line making fun of me. He had the power to infuriate me in one minute and make me die of laughter the next.
“No! Lucien! If you dump half a cow’s worth of cream into a soup, the calcium in it will bind to the iron in the vegetables! You’re literally canceling out your veggies!” Trying to explain anything to Rudolph was a mission in itself. I figured he was a terrible student, one who never listened or constantly contradicted the teachers.
“Got enough iron in me to build a spaceship,” he boasted with an ego bigger than a wereball arena.
And just like that, the image of my mate crossed my mind. Ugh, he had iron levels off the charts, I was sure.
Shut it, Yvaine. Shut. It. Down.
“So,” Rudy broke in after our third heated food-related argument about ketchup and why it didn’t count as a vegetable. “You went to that party last night, or what?”
I knew it. The guy was a bloodhound for everything, gossip included.
“Yes, I went,” I sighed, petting Zeus.
I was now upside down on my bed, legs straight up and stretched against the wall, staring at the star stickers on the ceiling. I loved the position for blood circulation. Gravity, as much as I thanked her for not letting us float away in the immensity of the universe and implode under tremendous pressure, was also a beast for how much it forced the blood down, clogging veins and blood vessels, giving more jobs to people like Tiziano.
“And? How was it?”
“Fine. I danced, drank, ate two burgers,” I said in a monotone voice, playing with my black moon necklace.
“Wild. Next time, try Sudoku.”
“What’s wrong with Sudoku?”
“Nothing, if you’re ninety and suicidal with boredom. Come on, was that all you did?”
A huff escaped my lips. “And I met my mate.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah.Oh.”
Radio Rudolph went quiet for one beat only. “And? How was he? Did he talk to you? Is that why you sounded so sad earlier when I called you? Or did your brain melt after you saw him? Or did your heart stop?—”
“Rudolph! My brain is fine, and so is my heart!”
“I’m just saying, sometimes mates can short-circuit the system.”
“And why do you care so much about my mate? Shouldn’t you be thinking about yours?” Before he could answer, I continued; it seemed to me he was enjoying my distress. “Poor victim of the Moon Goddess who has to listen to your gibberish daily.”
“Yeah, yeah, sure,” he said carelessly. “So, back to your mate, was it love at first drool? Or did he?—”
I gritted my teeth. Apparently, Rudolph didn’t want to let go of the subject…Well, then.
“Okay, fine! If you really want the truth, I hated him! He’s the biggest jerk in the history of all jerks, and I thought I might track him down just so I can reject him.”
It wasn’t quite true, but I was blinded with rage and resentment, worn out, and had several hours of Advanced Anatomy waiting for me. Not to mention the lack of sleep.
For a moment, silence followed my words.
I raised an eyebrow and glanced at the phone. He was still on the line.
“Hello? Yvaine calling Rudolph! Christmas is months away, come back from the North Pole!”
Pride swelled at my joke. All for nothing.
