“I’ll have theCoq au Vin,and he will have theDuck à l’Orange,” she said with a smile as the waiter took their menus.
“Merci,” Theo said with a grin, and Calliope’s eyes widened.
The waiter took his leave and Calliope cast Theodore a grin.“I did not know you spoke French.”
“I don’t.I barely passed high school French.I know three phrases and thank you is one of them.”
She shook her head.“What are the other two?”
“Je ne sais pas,”he muttered, and then his cheeks turned scarlet.“Voulez-vous coucher avec moi, ce soir?” he said.
Calliope laughed.She trulylaughed.She seemed to do that a lot with Theodore.
“So all you know is ‘thank you, I don’t know, and do you want to sleep with me?’”she teased.
“Yeah, and the last one I learned from the song, so I’m not even sure it counts.”
Calliope sipped her virgin drink, feeling slightly emboldened.“Oui,” she said with a blush of her own.
“Huh?”
“Ouimeans ‘yes,’ in French.So now you know another word.”
Theo smiled.“Up to four words.Before you know it, I’ll be able to say a whole phrase.”He laughed.
Calliope felt warm and excited.Talking to Theo even now felt easy.Carefree.His humor, his shyness, his awkwardness...it was endearing.But there was also an understated sort of determination and confidence, buried beneath his surface that she loved seeing.She got the feeling it wasn’t something many people were privy to.
“So...did you guys figure anything out?About the missing McGuffin and all?”
Calliope’s smile faded.
“Yes and no,” she said carefully.She wasn’t sure how much she wanted to divulge to Theo.There was still much he didn’t know and though he seemed open to some things, he was still a non-believer.She didn’t want to ruin the moment and sound like a lunatic.She was having far too much fun enjoying her time with Theo.
“The tapes...were...altered,” she said carefully.
Theo sipped his drink, slurping a bit and she had to refrain from giggling.
“Altered how?”
“Well, as I mentioned...the diviner is an artifact of divination for...non-human entities.”
Theo nodded.“Right.Gods, goddesses, fairies.Magical beings and stuff.”
He didn’t sound judgmental.In fact, he sounded intrigued.Analytical almost.Studious.
“Suspend your belief for just a moment, and believe that magic is real,” she said softly.
Theo pursed his lips, nodding for her to continue.
“If you believe that, then you would understand that magic can affect everything.Even security cameras.”
Theo sat up straighter, leaning in as he regaled her with interest.“Go on.”
“The tapes were...altered.Blurred.The thief walked in, blinded the cameras with their light, and blurred the feed.It’s impossible to make anything out.”
“Could have been a glitch.Internet could have gone down or?—”
“No, there was no glitch.It is perfectly timed to their arrival and retrieval.Everything comes back into sharpness the moment they disappear.”
