Page 50 of Felix and the Spy
Whatever the future holds, I want to experience it with you. If you still need a friend, a lover, or anything else, I’m always here for you. You have a permanent home in my heart.
Yours,
Felix
A teardrop fell, dissolving the ink. His name.
Amara brushed her tears away, but she couldn’t stop crying. He had written to her. He had thought of her. And he felt the same way she did. How fortunate she was to have met someone like him among so many people.
Every word on that page carried a piece of his heart. She read it over and over, absorbing every word. Felix’s hands were longer and messier than Mr. Garett’s, but she liked it nevertheless. There was nothing about him she didn’t like. Her heart ached. How did she think she could move on from him? She’d never forget him.
Amara folded the letter back and shoved it into the envelope. Then, she was off to see him.
* * *
When Amara reached his house, she felt a spark of trepidation light up her belly. The last time she’d been here wasn’t pleasant. But if she hoped to get him back, she had to rise above her fears. With a surge of courage, she knocked on the door. However, it wasn’t Felix who opened the door but Max.
Sunlight glinted on his blond hair, his gray eyes widening in surprise.
“You’re back.” She blinked. How did he know she’d left? “Thank goodness. Father has been worried sick. He was afraid you’d never return.” Before she could ask him if Felix was in, he said, “I’m sorry for what I said the last time. I misjudged you because I was worried about my father. I never meant to hurt you.”
“Ummm…it’s okay,” She hadn’t expected that. “I understand I didn’t make the best first impression but…I really love your father, Max. This isn’t a passing fancy for me.”
Max was stunned. “I see.”
“If he’s in, I want to tell him that too.” Amara looked past him. “Is he home?”
“No, he just left for work. Didn’t you catch him on your way out?”
“No.”
Max’s eyes moved to the letter she had crushed between her fingers. “He told me you wrote to each other for years.”
Felix had told Max that?
“We did.”
“I’m sorry for doubting your intentions. You should find him. He’s been terribly glum without you.”
It broke her heart to know Felix was sad.
“Thank you. I’ll find him.”
With that, she jogged away. Amara ran out, following Felix’s preferred route to work. They’d walked there once together, and she’d memorized it. As Amara searched the sea of strangers for a familiar face, her heart thudding. When she didn’t spot him there, her anxiety grew. She ran farther, scanning every shop she saw.
There, she spotted his mop of cropped gray hair that stood out among the mass of people. Her heart sang with relief at the sight of him. She ran in his direction, needing to be closer to him.
He marched past a row of shops, dressed in a black coat and trousers, his silver eyes focused on the pavement, his gray hair slicked back, his gold-rimmed spectacles perched on his straight nose. She took a step in his direction, panting. Then, his head turned. His eyes widened when he saw her as if he was seeing a ghost.
“Amara?” His voice was croaky. Tiredness claimed his beautiful features.
She closed the distance between them, paying no heed to the fact that they were standing in public. Her eyes must be red from crying, and she was trying hard not to start the waterworks at the sight of him. They stared at each other quietly for a minute before she found her voice.
“I got your letter.”
He said nothing.
“I read it.” She extended the letter to him. “You used your real handwriting.”
