I headed to the kitchen to find a vase so I could put the flowers in my room. As I suspected, the vases were in the supply room next to the kitchen. My mother had probably put them there.
I ignored the thought and returned to the kitchen to make my bouquet look pretty. I cut off the bottoms of the roses with scissors and arranged them in the vase.
Elon and Sam followed me into the kitchen. Elon got out some dinner plates. “I hope you like the flowers.”
I sighed. For the first time in a long time, a gift was for me and me alone. It was sweet. Elon had sent me flowers to make me feel better about our situation.
“I’m sorry you saw me in the kitchen,” I said.
Sam grabbed some silverware, and the three of us headed to the kitchen table, each carrying something.
“You had a long day," Elon said. "Don’t worry about anything.”
I put my roses in the middle of the table. Elon and Sam set the table quickly, though there were only the three of us.
“So what kind of pizza is in the box?” I asked.
Sam sighed. “Your favorite—vegetarian.”
I took my seat and licked my lips. “I don’t know if it’s my favorite—“
“It is,” Sam retorted.
Maybe a vegetarian pizza was what I would order. I shrugged. “I just think having a sprinkling of healthy things on a pizza is good for you.”
Elon served each of us a slice of pizza. “Does your mom still watch all the princess movies?” he asked Sam.
Sam nodded. “She says its practice for work.“
Sam wasn’t the only one lost in make-believe, but I turned off the movies when I needed to be responsible.
Elon said, “She spent almost every day of her childhood immersed in them except when we took her out to play.”
That was just the tip of the iceberg. Princesses didn't have to sneak around to get food. Even Cinderella prepared a plate for herself.
“We?” Sam asked. "Who's we?"
I'd always admired the love the Norouzis had for each other. That love was also why Sam and I were here with Elon. The Norouzis valued family in a way I wished my own parents had. I picked up my pizza and addressed Sam. “Your father had twelve brothers.“
Sam asked, “Had?”
Elon answered quietly, “I have eleven now. One died.”
Evan had died. When Evan and I had both been ten, I'd sat with him many nights while we shared stories of our plights. Evan had a hard time sleeping, and Elon had found me on a number of occasions snuggled up next to his dying brother. Elon’s brown eyes had felt like they’d burned into my soul, but I'd never talked to Elon about Evan or my problems.
We’d never talked about Evan since.
Evan had been up at all hours because of his cancer, though he hadn’t wanted to wake his maman or worry her any more than she already was worried.
His death was the first time I'd realized we didn’t live forever. I lowered my head. “He was nice.”
“He was in love with you,” Elon said.
We'd been friends. He’d been a good listener, and he'd died when he was twelve. I shook my head. Elon had been the first man I kissed, the first man who made my skin buzz with anticipation, and the first man I’d ever had sex with.
I shook my head. “That’s not true, and we both know it. Evan told me you were the one for me, not that it mattered. Look, let’s eat.”
We ate. His staff brought wine for the adults and a soda for Sam. I sipped my wine, knowing Sam and I were safe with Elon. Honestly, if he said he wanted me tonight, I’d agree. The thought was crazy, though, as I knew he’d never press his advantage.
