Chapter Twenty-One

Home at Last

            Everyone was ready to go. Lacy and Tricia had said their goodbyes. The blonde Witch had been very emotional, leaving Alice's shirt wet with tears after a fierce hug and making her promise repeatedly that she wouldn't forget them.  Altair didn't show up.  Alice tried not to let this bother her, but it was impossible.  He had vanished without saying goodbye in the several minutes she'd gone across the street to say farewell to Isabella. The large, good natured woman had hugged her, squeezing her so enthusiastically that Alice could have sworn her back made a popping noise.  On her way out of the café she had spotted another acquaintance.  The fierce looking gray Witch was seated at the bar stool facing the windows, a newspaper lying in front of her, largely ignored. Alice walked over to her,

            "Hello Germaine."

            Germaine looked her over enquiringly. "Good to see you in one piece, Alice."

            "I'll agree with you on that one. Your vision was somewhat accurate, though there was no fire, only a lot of blood, and not my own."

            The old Witch nodded thoughtfully. "And everything has turned out to your satisfaction?"
            "I think so, yes. Nobody is dead, for which I'm extremely grateful."

            "You seemed to have handled things well." Germaine nodded. "I'm sure Ruby would have been proud."

            "I hope she would have been," Alice agreed.

             "Safe travels, Alice Cunningham."

            "Thank you, Germaine. Goodbye."

            Back at the shop she had looked around for Altair and been told by Gabriel that he hadn't seen him since she left.

            "You mean...he just left?" Her face must have fallen visibly, because Gabriel shook his head sympathetically.

            "I guess he did.  Shakra and Azura went up to the apartment, and Maya and I went into the backroom to make some more tea. When we came out he was gone."

            Alice turned away so they couldn't see her face.  So he had tricked a god to save her, but he couldn't even face saying goodbye?

"Well," she said brusquely. "Let's go home."

            Alice strode into the backroom where the kettle was steaming. There was already a teacup and saucer set up at her usual spot behind the desk. She smiled slightly, pulling the key from the chain around her neck.  She let out a sigh, more than ready to go home, trying to ignore the slow burning pain that seemed to be blooming in her chest.  She jabbed the key into the cupboard lock as furiously as if she were attacking Altair with it.  The sight of the thick, glowing pattern of threads running through the center of the cupboard made her take a deep, steadying breath. It was time to go home. Alice seized the threads with her right hand, calling back to Maya and Gabriel to steady themselves. She closed her eyes.

"Victoria, British Columbia, please."

            Even with her eyes shut she felt the surge, the heady spinning feeling you got on fair rides, as everything around her stretched and snapped back, like a rubber band pulled by giant fingers.  In the next room Maya let out a squeak of surprise.

            She opened her eyes slowly and saw that everything was back in its normal place. Gabriel was telling Maya to shut her eyes next time.

            "Home again." Alice emerged from the backroom to look out the windows.  "It's nice to be back in Victoria."

            "I've never been to Canada," Maya said excitedly. "Can we go look outside?"

            "Of course you can," Alice replied, laughing, "Though I don't think you'll find it all that different."

            "It's certainly not New York," Gabriel said. "Come on, let's go for a walk."

            Alice turned and walked up the stairs to her apartment.  It felt funny to be home again. She was looking forward to visiting her parents and walking around Victoria to all the familiar little shops she had grown up visiting.  Her apartment was cool and quiet when she went in, and she dropped her purse onto the couch and walked into her bedroom.

              "Woops!" A man's voice, and a giant clatter from her closet, and then to her shock the door flew open and someone came flying out, landing in an ungraceful heap and bringing high heels and dresses down with him as he flailed.

            "Altair?" Alice stared down at him in astonishment as he lay on his back on the hardwood floor. He groaned, plucking her favourite green sweater off his face.

"Hi."

              "What are you doing in my closet?"

            "Getting intimately acquainted with your clothing?" He removed several tops and climbed to his feet. "You need a bigger closet."

            "I didn't expect to be storing a man in it." Alice shook her head in disbelief. "I can't believe you had the nerve to break into my apartment and hide in my bedroom!"

            "Oh please. Admit it, you thought I didn't say goodbye and you were ticked off. You should be happy to see me!"

            "You could have just asked to come with me," Alice retorted. "Or would that have been too easy?"

            "You might have said no."

            "I wouldn't have."

            "You wouldn't have?" Altair moved closer. She backed up a step. The back of her knees hit the edge of the bed, forcing her to sit down.  Altair sat down beside her, and once again she found him entirely too close. He leaned forward, placing one hand on the back of her neck, sending a shiver down her spine.  His lips brushed hers and Alice finally just closed her eyes and let herself enjoy it. A minute later they broke apart and he gave her that smug grin.

            "Don't look too pleased with yourself, "Alice told him. "You're still sleeping on the couch."

            Several weeks later on a Sunday morning, Alice was making a breakfast of pancakes and eggs, Maya and Gabriel were set to join them in a few minutes, and Altair was in the shower. She could hear him singing badly at the top of his lungs.  She rolled her eyes, thinking she should probably go into the guest bedroom and make the bed, since he never remembered.  He had moved into it with lightning speed as soon as Maya had shyly asked her if she could move into Gabriel's apartment with him.  Altair had rolled about in the bed, exclaiming how soft it was and how marshmallow-like the pillows were, no doubt attempting to make her feel guilty. A smile quirked the corner of her mouth as she remembered him flopping onto the bed and exclaiming it "glorious", attempting to do snow angels on top of the sheets, arms and legs flailing. He was a complete ham. 

A knock on the door made her look up, spatula hovering over the frying pan. 

            They're a bit early. Breakfast is barely started. She hauled the door open, and the cheery hello on her lips died instantly.The young man at her door was tall, with short brown hair styled with gel and soft brown eyes. His closely shaven chin was sharp, and although his features might have been severe looking, he was smiling ear to ear at her.

            "Jason?" Her astonished expression only made him smile wider.

            "Hi Alice. Your Mom finally told me where the shop was - it's not listed you know. And your co-worker downstairs told me to go on up."

            She would be having words with Azura later. "Why...what..?" She trailed off, and he had the grace to look suddenly embarrassed.

            "Look, I've been trying to get a hold of you for weeks; it took me nearly a month to realize how stupid I was..."

            "Pardon?" she interrupted angrily, finally getting the use of her tongue back. "You lost me, Jason. You essentially told me I was boring when you left me. Well guess what, I'm not boring. I'm spontaneous and crazy, and fun to be with, and if you didn't realize that, too bad for you.  It's far too late to come back and apologize."
            "I know...I'm really sorry. It was a stupid mistake.  I just needed some time to figure myself out, you know. And I really miss you, Alice...it was all just a mistake." He leaned to one side, peering around her at the apartment. "Wow, this apartment is totally crazy looking. Why are there so many clocks?"

            Alice glared at him incredulously. There were about a million things she wanted to say, but she didn't know what to yell at him first.  He was still talking.

"I'm really hoping we can work this out. I think you and I were great together.  We were meant for each other..."
            "It's not happening, Jason."

            "...I missed you every minute."

            He truly wasn't listening. Alice could feel her face turning red; she wanted to reach up and grab the magic and use it to bang his head against the wall. She was just opening her mouth to let off steam when someone said from behind her...

            "Hey, who's this guy?"

            Alice watched Jason's face turn tomato red, and turned to see Altair standing there, skin glistening with droplets of water. His hair was still dripping wet from the shower and he was wearing only a white towel around his waist. Alice realized it was the first time she'd really looked at him without a shirt on - he happened to be incredibly well muscled.  She forced herself not to stare, returning her attention to her ex standing in the doorway.

Jason blinked and stammered, "I...is this...I mean..."

            "I'm Altair." He strode forward and stuck out one hand, and Jason shook it dumbly. "I'm Alice's boyfriend. Who are you?"

            "I'm...I'm Jason. I was just leaving."  He shot Alice a reproving look, and turned to slouch away down the hall.  They waited, hearing his footsteps echoing on the stairs. Alice turned and looked at Altair, unable to keep the huge smile off her face.

            "Admit that was satisfying?" He grinned.

            "Maybe a little. But who says you can go around calling yourself my boyfriend?"

            "I thought I would try it on for size."

            "Go try a shirt on instead."

            "Are you intimidated by my wonderful physique?"

            "Go."

            Later on they sat in the backroom of the shop, watching Azura making potions and calling out humorous suggestions for day dreams.  Alice couldn't help thinking that here she was, sipping tea and watching someone do magic and it felt like a pleasant and ordinary day.  Just a little while ago, if you had told her about magic she would have thought you were a raving lunatic.

It was funny how things could change so fast.

                                                     THE END

Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed reading Threads! 

 Don't forget to connect with me on facebook, twitter or blog, I love to chat with you guys! All the links to connect with me are on my profile. If you haven't read FROST yet, please do check it out! The published version is coming out August 25th.

Check out details for the preorder contest (win a cameo appearance in a published book!) by checking out FROST: Contests and Prizes over in my works section!