“Who’s here?” a man’s voice calls out from another room. He’s got gray hair, a tall, thick build, and the same olive skin as Lindsay, who’s still hovering by the front door, unable to speak. “Hi there. Linds, you going to introduce us to your friend or what?”
After a long, awkward pause, Lindsay clears her throat and takes a step in our direction. “Right. Uh, sorry, I just…” her eyes dart between the three of us expectantly. “Never mind. Mom, Dad, this is Dominic Jennings.”
I’m both eager and anxious to hear the way she introduces me. What I am to her.
“He owns a bar in Mapletown.”
Factual, but without any attachment.
“Nic, this is my dad, Matteo, and my mom, Annabelle.”
“Dominic!” Jules shouts as she rounds the corner and runs toward me, wrapping her arms around my middle.
“Hey, princess.” I called her that once while she and Linds were making pizza rolls in the bar’s kitchen, and she looked at me like I’d just given the keys to a Lamborghini.
“What are you doing here?” she looks up and asks.
“Took the day off to come see you.”
“Really?” She’s delighted. Grabbing my hand, she drags me toward the living room. “Come have a scone. I made them. They’re peppermint!”
“I’ll pour us all some coffee,” Matteo offers.
“Actually, Nic,” Lindsay begins, “can I talk to you in the bedroom really quickly? I have that book you asked about.”
“Book?” I ask, before realizing this is a ruse. A performance. One that Linds is not selling. Not even a little. “Oh, sure.”
We step into the bedroom, and she closes the door quietly behind her, then rounds on me like she’s about to scream. “What the fuck is going on?” Her voice is barely louder than a whisper.
“What do you mean?” I reply quietly. I still have no idea why she’s acting so strange. I’m hoping I get an explanation before we return to the living room, because I’m feeling extremely deflated right now. “Why are you so upset to see me? Did I do something wrong?”
Her eyebrows pinch in confusion. “No, of course not.”
“Then what is it? Are you ashamed of me? You don’t want your parents to meet me?”
She puts her hands on my forearms, offering reassurance. It works. Her touch releases the tension in my neck, as much, if not more than, a neck massage. “What? No,” she scoffs. “They’ve been trying to set me up with their friends’ sons and nephews ever since I turned forty. You could have a machete in your hand, and as long as you say please and thank you, they’d tell me to give you a chance.”
“Then what?”
“Nic, you’re the size of a tree and your skin is fucking green,” she says, rubbing her temples. “Aren’t you concerned about being here? Outside of Mapletown, outside the enchanted bubble and wandering around in your true form? How is this allowed? How is it safe?”
Oh.Oh. She’s worried about me. About my safety. I’m so relieved she isn’t ashamed of me that I pull her into my chest, my hand cupping the nape of her neck.
“Nic!” She pushes out of my embrace and looks at me with wild eyes.
“I got approval from the mayor to leave town for the day. For those like me, who can’t shift into a form that naturally blends in with humans, her approval comes with a mask spell.”
“Mask spell? What is that?”
“Everyone who’s never seen me before can’t see that my skin is green. To them, I look like a regular white guy, just with a lot of scars.”
She chews on the inside of her lip. “So Jules and I can see the real you, but when my parents look at you, your skin looks white.”
“Yep.” I’m realizing that her fear could’ve been avoided if I’d given her a heads-up that I was coming to visit, and now I feel like an asshole. “Sorry for the scare. I’m perfectly safe anywhereI go as long as I’m back in Mapletown by midnight. That’s when the spell wears off.”
“Oh god. Okay.” She lets out a trembling breath and leans into me. “Fucking hell. I was standing there like, why are my parents so comfortable around this giant green stranger?”
I’m realizing now that Jules had the opposite reaction to Lindsay, despite her being able to see my green skin. “Why didn’t Jules freak out?”
