He took her in his arms, despite the glamor. She froze.
“Cosimo! What if someone sees us?” she warned.
“They’ve all moved on to the reception, and even if they did, I doubt they’d care. They’d probably congratulate you for capturing the heart of a younger man.”
“Who’s actually much older than me?”
“What’s a few hundred years?” Cosimo shrugged. “Also, I may be older, but I cannot claim that I am wiser. There’s still so much I could learn from you.” He spun her around.
She leaned back, feeling awkward. “It isn’t odd to you how old I look compared to–”
“No stranger than when I got here last week. I have always loved you, Ondalune. I will always love you. I don’t see your age, I only seeyou.”
“Well, it’s strange for me,” Goldie admitted. She leaned back against the wall, studying her elderly appearance in the glass. “Although my human form has aged more slowly than most, I don’t think I ever became accustomed to seeing such an elderly reflection in the mirror. And as difficult as that was to come to terms with, it was even harder to come to terms with the way others perceived me.” She touched the stone in her pocket again. “It’s not even that I mind it, it just always felt like a costume. Like I was looking at somebody else.”
“Dance with me?” Cosimo held out a hand.
“There’s no space in the booth.” She laughed.
“Not here. In the ballroom. There’s a band playing and they’ve recreated the menu and decor from the original premiere.” His warm brown eyes sparkled.
If only I could have remembered more of it.
Goldie was sad she’d lost so many memories of that night. But then she had another thought. This night was their chance to make fresh memories. No secrets, lies, or curses between them.
“One dance,” Goldie said. “But then I have something I need to do.” She weighed the stone in her palm. “I need to bring this home.”
“I know you do.” Cosimo nodded. “I understand.”
“I won’t be gone forever.” Goldie gathered her wrap and bag and turned off the light. “I’ll be back. And if you wouldn’t mind tending my garden, I would love it if you would stay in my house. Maybe you could keep an eye out for Kitty, too? ”
“Of course.” Cosimo nodded. “I’m looking forward to getting some sun in your garden. You have no idea how bad my vitamin D deficiency is.”
“Did you just crack a joke?” Goldie asked.
“I used to be quite funny, if you can believe it,” Cosimo said. “The whole broody vampire for five centuries thing, you know? I’m a little rusty.”
“I love it,” Goldie enthused. “I love corny jokes and I love you!”
She threw her arms around him and kissed him. She would have liked to continue kissing him, but reluctantly, she broke away.
“We’d better go,” she said breathlessly. She pulled Cosimo out into the hallway.
At the very last moment, before the door swung shut behind them, Goldie tossed her cane back into the booth, shedding the glamor that went with it. When she turned back to take Cosimo’s hand again, she appeared decades younger, her signature red and golden locks cascading down her back.
“Aren’t you afraid people will talk?” Cosimo asked.
“I’m counting on it!” Goldie winked.
__
A path opened up as Cosimo led Goldie to the center of the dance floor. The other couples stood still, staring at the impossibly handsome man and the girl who was a dead ringer for the film star whose lost reels they had just watched. A few of the onlookers standing beside the dance floor clapped, and one woman, dressed head to toe in period fashion, lifted two fingers to her mouth and whistled. The ostrich feather at her forehead bobbed as she blew.
Cosimo and Goldie paid these people no mind, however. They barely even noticed when Will spun Zani past them. They were in a world of their own now. Swaying to the music from so long ago, they felt their old selves close, dancing there with them.
This time, their story would have a better ending.
As the music dwindled and the song ended, Cosimo held her closer. She laid her cheek against his chest, listening to the sound of his heart beating, steady and true and entirely human once more.
