Diana held a finger up to her lips, her expression thoughtful, as she clearly mulled his statement over.
Then, she looked up at him, eyes bright.
“Are you cursed to not be able to ride in my car?” she said with a mischievous smile. “It’s like you have some kind ofphysical aversion to it. I know it’s a bit old and decrepit, but it’s notthatbad.”
Calvin relaxed a little. If she could joke about it, then at least she didn’t think he was crazy. Probably.
“You kid, but you’re closer to the truth than you realize.”
Diana’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, and Calvin sighed.
“Okay. So, it’s a long story – and I’m not sure I even believe it myself,” he started.
“Give me the short version,” Diana said, all practicality. Calvin could see that she was someone who got things done.
“Okay. So, yesterday, I was hiking a little farther down the mountain, and I decided to cool off by sitting down and putting my feet in a pond.”
He looked up to check how Diana was reacting. So far, so good – her expression was curious, and she seemed to be taking him seriously. That being said, he hadn’t gotten to the weird bit yet.
Encouraged, he went on, “Next thing I know, this glowing woman with silver hair appears out of nowhere, says that I’ve violated the sanctity of her waters, and tells me that I have to pay tribute to her and solve a riddle, otherwise I’ll be cursed.”
Diana gave him a long, thoughtful look. “And is this kind of thing normal in your world?”
“Not at all,” Calvin said. “I thought curses were a myth. But ever since then, everything electrical I’ve touched, I’ve broken.”
Diana’s eyes widened as realization dawned across her face. “My A/C.”
Calvin nodded, counting off on his fingers. “Your A/C, my car, my Fitbit, my phone, your fan…”
“The lights at the diner…” Diana said.
Calvin winced. “Yeah, I’ve still got to find a way to pay for that.”
Diana looked like she wanted to protest, but also like she understood where he was coming from. Calvin was pretty sure that if she were in the same situation, she’d want to pay for the repairs as well.
Calvin studied Diana’s face closely. She didn’tseemlike she thought he was crazy, or that she felt all of this was simply a bridge too far for her to accept. But he really couldn’t blame her if, despite everything, she had to take a moment to consider whether she wanted to be with a man who broke everything he touched.
“Is this a dealbreaker?” he asked, trying to sound light-hearted. “I would understand if it was. Either in terms of me being a guy who thinks he was cursed by a glowing silver lady, or in terms of me being a guy who may never be able to touch an electrical appliance ever again.”
“Hmmmm.” Diana drew the word out longer than was probably strictly necessary… then wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a kiss.
I guess that answers that,he thought, dazed, as his wyvern did an undignified little twirl.
Pulling back, Diana looked up at him with her beautiful dark eyes. She smiled.
“I think I can somehow find it within myself to move past this. But we definitely need to get this curse lifted – I can’t be in a relationship with someone who’s literally allergic to doing the laundry!”
We will handwash her clothes with the most delicate of soaps, and scrub her floor with the most effective of brushes if need be!the wyvern bellowed.There is no task that we will not find a solution for. She will never have to lift a finger again.
While Calvinwouldbe happy to do so if that was what was necessary, he really hoped that it wouldn’t come down to that. He didn’t want to spend all his time doing housework the old-fashioned way, when he could be enjoying time with Diana and Ash instead.
He looked down at Diana – at her gorgeous smile, her kind eyes.
She knew what he was, and she accepted it.
For the first time since he’d gotten here, he felt like he could finally relax. Though, he supposed, he wouldn’t betrulyrelaxed until the mystery of the curse was solved.
“I’m amazed that you’re able to just go along with this whole curse thing,” he said. “I’m still struggling with it a bit myself.”
