Tom felt that old pang of wistfulness start to rise, and he swallowed hard. He knew exactly what he was missing. Instinctively, he reached into his pocket, feeling for the card he always carried with him.
“I’m going up,” he said shortly, watching as his mother’s face fell. “I’ll see you at one o’clock. Try not to bite my fiancée’s head off while I’m out, hey?”
“Tom, I’m sorry,” Marnie offered mournfully. “You know me. You know I can’t hold back my opinions.”
“Try,” Tom pleaded. “For my sake, try.”
Marnie nodded, looking back out over the lake. “I promise. The wedding planners are here, by the way. Credit where credit’s due, they came straight here off their flight. No one’s going to say they’re workshy at least.”
“Good.” Tom nodded. He knew his mother appreciated people with a good work ethic. “They seem nice?”
Marnie shrugged. “I haven’t met them yet. Apparently, they wanted to head straight out to the venue, so they could work on theirartistic vision.” Tom watched as Marnie struggled not to roll her eyes. “Anyway, they’re out in the woods. I got a brief glimpse of them. They seem like clean-cut, reliable people.”
“That will make Sasha happy,” Tom mused, even as he reached for the card in his pocket once more.
“Hmm.” Marnie was watching him sharply. Suddenly, she reached forward, plucking her hand into his pocket and pulling out the card. “What is this you keep playing with?”
Tom quickly grabbed for it, but Marnie stepped out of reach.
“It’s just a playing card,” he explained quickly. “It’s nothing.”
“You and your card tricks,” Marnie shook her head in exasperation, even as she peered at the card more closely. “But this isn’t ‘nothing’, Tom. This is the fool from Marie Leszczynska’s deck of cards. She was a queen of France, you know.”
“Yeah, I know, I just—” Tom reached for the card again, but Marnie held it tight.
“Marie Leszczynska gave this deck as a gift to an ancestor of mine, and it was passed down the family. My great-grandparents smuggled this deck out of Europe during the war. This card should be in a museum, not your pocket.”
“I found the deck when I was a kid.” Tom shrugged, feeling a spike of guilt. “I didn’t know they were Marie Leszczynska’s until much later.”
“I was going to donate them to the local museum,” Marnie complained, “but I couldn’t find them. I turned the attic upside down searching for them, and you had them in your pocket all along!”
“I like them.”
“Tom—”
“Mom,” Tom broke her off gently, “Just let me... Just let me keep them, okay?”
Marnie gazed at him. “Is there something you’re not telling me here, Tom?”
Tom swallowed. “No,” he lied.
Marnie sighed. “Look, fine. Just take care of them, okay? And don’t let Sasha get a hold of them. God knows, she’d have them on Vinted in a heartbeat.”
“I’ll take care of them, don’t worry.”
Tom sighed with relief as Marnie handed the card back to him, sliding it into his pocket and feeling the comfort of its slight weight once more. “And be nice about Sasha, Mom. She’s not all bad. You’re just in a bad mood because of the wedding.” He thought of his own dreams the night before, of Doug in his mind. “Weddings do strange things to people.”
Marnie nodded again. “Maybe. Maybe not. Well, off you go. Enjoy the skies. But don’t be late, or Sasha will probably kill you,” she paused, “and if she doesn’t I will. You know I can’t be alone for long periods with that woman.”
“I won’t be late,” Tom promised, as he turned in the direction of the old plane hangar.
“And Tom?” Marnie called out. He turned back to her. “Be careful,” she warned. “The sky’s so dark... Ides weather, your father used to say—”
“I know. I’ll be careful.”
“It was wet yesterday, but not dark like this.” Marnie glanced up at the swirling clouds overhead with a frown. “I don’tknow, Tom. Your wedding planners arrive, and a storm starts brewing...”
“Mom.” Tom gave a wry smile. “You’re starting to sound like Corentin, all superstition and nonsense. Sasha’s fine, and the wedding planners will be fine. You’ll see.”
