I just felt sort of silly, not used to not understanding something. Needing to understand, to learn, toknowwas why I loved history and immersed myself in it. What did it mean if I didn’t know myself? I glanced at Merry a little shyly, starting to feel uncomfortable from the cooling release on our skin, but I had to ask, “What doyouremember?”
He tilted his head at me, not seeming nearly as disturbed by that… whatever it was. “Just… you. And me. And a desperate need to have my hands on you.” He smirked, fingers teasing the skin of my naked thighs and moving to brush over the matching birthmarks I had between them that almost looked like burns.
“Mer.” I slapped his chest again.
Merry chuckled. “I don’t know what that was, Nero, or for sure all I remember about it, but I know I would follow you to the depths of whatever Hell exists if anyone or anything took you away from me.”
That brought out a smile—like Merry always could. “Right back at ya.”
I kissed him. We were already a mess, so it wasn’t as if we could become more of one. This time, our kiss was sweet and soft and slow, because, although nothing was certain in life, I truly believed we had a good many years ahead of us. There was no need to rush.
I hummed when we parted because any kiss with Merry was always perfect. “Well, I might be the onesendingyou to Hell if we don’t clean up, make sure that scroll isn’t damaged, and get it into its case in the next five minutes.”
Merry chortled. “Noted.”
Thankfully, these closets all had various cleaning supplies, including wet wipes and paper towels, so it didn’t take us long to become presentable again. Afterward I shoved the evidence into the very bottom of the closet’s small trash bin and vowed to take it out first thing in the morning before Setterfield arrived.
I was a little hesitant to touch the scroll, since it seemed to have been the catalyst for what happened, but I had a job to do and snatched it up like ripping off a bandage. Nothing strange happened, which filled me with a sort of disappointment maybe, as I stared with fascination and fondness at the displayed poem’s pictographs. It had been unrolled just enough to show the one translated on its signpost outside the display.
“Is it just me… or can you almost read that?” Merry whispered from behind me.
I knew some from my studies, but he was definitely right. “Let’s get out of here and make that dinner reservation. I’m thinking I really need that margarita right now.”
We slipped out of the closet, I hooked the scroll into place in its display, then we made a hasty beeline for the Ennead.
“If Setterfield catches us, you just got here,” I said. “Geez, how do I always let you talk me into things like that?”
“Me?” Merry scoffed.
“Yes, you. You talked me into our apartment.”
“It looks over the botanical gardens!”
“You talked me into getting Spot.”
“You love that cat as much as I do.”
“You talked me intonamingher Spot.”
“She has spots! She’s an Egyptian Mau!”
“But…” I whirled to face him just before we reached the curtains closing off the exhibit, “…you didn’t talk me into marrying you. That I wanted all on my own.” I kissed him again, bringing my left hand to join his in a crisscross between us so our engagement bands touched too.
When we found the matching bands in twisted gold and black titanium, there had been no doubt that we had to have them.
Merry chuckled when we parted and touched his forehead to mine.
“I might be the talker,” he admitted, “but you’re still plenty charming.”
“Yeah?”
“Oh yeah. You could charm the gods right out of the sky.”
“Only if I was doing it for you.”
Even as I said that, the exchange made me frown, and I thought, for a split second, that there were… blue lotus flowers in Merry’s hair, but he didn’t even wear something like that inAida.
I shook my head, looking back at the installation’s entrance.
