Tapestry didn’t say anything.
“I think that’s why I… push so hard, now,” said Malcolm. “To try to lock in the people I do know. You look at the world a little differently when you’ve lost so much before. I feel like I’m in a race to get to know people, to care about them, before… I lose them.”
Malcolm took a breath.
“Alright, time for me to shut up,” he said, quickly. “Your turn.”
“No, I want to hear more from you,” protested Tapestry.
“Tell me about your husband,” said Malcolm.
“My… husband?” Tapestry sounded stunned. “Why would you want to know about my husband?”
“You said his name in your sleep last night,” Malcolm admitted. “If he’s on your mind anyway, you might as well open up to me.”
A couple of silent moments went by, and Malcolm started to think that Tapestry had closed herself off.
“Allen…” she said. “He was a good man in so many ways.”
“Like what?”
Tapestry made a pleased, nostalgic sounding noise.
“He used to volunteer at the local animal shelter,” she said. “He’d bring home animals every now and then that we’d keep at our house for a couple of days.”
Tapestry paused, taking a breath.
“He never missed a day of work,” said Tapestry. “Only ever let himself get sick on weekends. Until, well… the cancer.”
“Sorry,” said Malcolm. “You don’t have to keep going, if it’s painful.”
“No, it’s alright,” said Tapestry. “I want to get this out. I… loved Allen. We were together for almost forty years, long enough to love and hate each other. I was sick of him while simultaneously being unable to imagine anyone else.”
“Sounds complicated,” said Malcolm.
“Believe me, it was,” said Tapestry. “He was very old fashioned. That’s a polite way of saying boring. There’s so much I feel like I missed out on, so many things I wanted to try and experiment with…”
“And now, you have a second chance,” said Malcolm.
Tapestry sighed.
“I’m not sure if I want it,” she said. “I feel guilty… like I don’t deserve it. I don’t know, sometimes I think… maybe I’d trade it in for just another boring year with Allen.”
“That’s ridiculous,” said Malcolm.
“Hey!” said Tapestry. “I was a good listener for you. The least you can do is try for me.”
“Sorry,” said Malcolm.
A couple of seconds went by.
“I have the opposite kind of trust issue, I think,” said Tapestry. “I know that I’ll never get to lock anybody in for the long haul again. Not like I did with Allen.”
“That’s not true,” said Malcolm.
“I’m… relatively sure I can’t die from old age, Malcolm.” Tapestry’s voice took on an odd, almost nervous quality. “What’s the point of falling in love with somebody if I know that their life will just be a blip, compared to mine?”
Should I bring up the fact that if I held onto her power, I could live just as long as she could?
He didn’t. Instead, he reached over to her in the sauna and squeezed her hand.
“Just do what the rest of us do,” said Malcolm. “Try not to think about it.”
Tapestry laughed.
CHAPTER 18
They enjoyed the sauna for a while longer before heading back to their room. The meditation retreat had burned through most of the day, while also making the two of them quite hungry. Tapestry ordered room service on Savior’s dime, and they ate prime rib with roasted potatoes and fancy baby carrots with their stems still on.
“Somebody dropped off the masks for us,” said Tapestry, holding up their disguises for the masquerade ball. They were fanciful looking eye masks, with enough glitter and sequins on them to push into gaudy territory. Malcolm’s was dark blue, while Tapestry’s was pink.
“It starts in less than an hour,” said Malcolm. “We should get dressed and get moving. This could be a good chance for us to grab Golden Joab.”
Tapestry shrugged.
“Sure,” she said. “I can’t help but think that this whole thing just feels like a wild goose chase.”
“It’s what Savior sent us to do,” said Malcolm.
And if we manage to do it… I might be able to earn a pardon for Rose.
The thought felt odd, almost foreign. He hadn’t thought much about Rose since coming to the hotel, and outside of their brief exchange near Terri’s Tavern, it had been a week since they’d really spoken. Was he wasting his time on something that she didn’t need, or even want?
He thought about the question while he pulled on his formal suit and bow tie. Tapestry came out of the bathroom, wearing a stunning red dress. It had a plunging v-line that exposed the edges of her breasts, and clung to every curve of her body as though it had been painted on.
“Wow,” said Malcolm. “I guess Wax knows his dresses.”
“Apparently so.” Tapestry frowned. “I’m not sure that I like it. I feel exposed, and it will be a pain to move around in during a fight.”
Malcolm shook his head slowly.
“You look amazing,” he said. “In that dress… A better strategy would be for you to just ask Golden Joab to leave with you.”
“Oh, stop!” she protested.
“Seriously,” said Malcolm. “You’re smoking hot, Tapestry.”
He grinned at her and took a step closer. Tapestry didn’t look away, but she did lift her finger and press it against Malcolm’s chest as he came within reach.
“Cool it, mister,” she said. “We’ve already had this conversation.”
“Sorry,” said Malcolm. “Sometimes my hormones prevent me from thinking straight. That’s not a joke, I’m being serious.”
Tapestry rolled her eyes. The two of them spent another few minutes in the hotel room gathering what they’d need for an evening out, and then headed off to the masquerade ball.
The Hawktail Hotel had several rooms designed for events and parties located just off the main entrance. One of them was a massive ballroom, with an enormous chandelier hanging overhead. People were already queuing at glass double doors, only being allowed in if they’d showed up with a mask, as instructed.
Malcolm and Tapestry were waved through the entrance. They meandered toward one of the corners of the ballroom, where they could see the entire floor easily. Malcolm felt more than a little out of place. He waved down one of the cocktail waitresses as she hurried past, grabbing a drink off her tray and thanking her.
I’ve done more drinking over the past few days than I have in most of the rest of my life put together.
“Alright,” said Tapestry. “This could be fun, even if Golden Joab doesn’t show up.”
Malcolm surveyed the room, feeling an odd thrill at how many beautiful, mask wearing women were in attendance. His own mask felt itchy strapped over his eyes, but it didn’t limit his vision, which was all he really cared about.
“I guess,” said Malcolm. “This isn’t really my sort of crowd, though.”
“Really?” asked Tapestry, in a teasing voice. “I had no idea.”
Malcolm rolled his eyes at her.
“I’m going to take a drink every time a guy looks down your dress,” he said. “Shouldn’t take more then, oh, ten minutes or so to get plastered.”
Tapestry flushed.
“Who did you see looking down my dress?” she demanded.
Soft piano music started playing from the overhead speakers. A few couples moved onto the dance floor, spinning and swirling with relaxed ease to the rhythm of the song. Malcolm raised an eyebrow at Tapestry expectantly.
“Well?” he asked. “We’re newlyweds, after all. It’s no good if we don’t at least try to do some dancing.”
“You know how to ballroom dance?” asked Tapestry, skeptically.
“It can’t be that hard, can it?”