“Yeah, he’s an old crank,” I said. “You all did great today. You should be proud of yourselves.”
The Elves started to leave, and I heard glasses clink onto the counter.
“You look wiped,” Ivy remarked. “Need a drink?”
I hesitated. It was tiring teaching magic, but I wasn’t going to drink unless Ava could, and she wouldn’t. We didn’t do that anymore.
“Do you have anything non-alcoholic?” I asked.
Ivy slid a glass across the counter. I sipped on a carbonated lemon-lime drink, before handing it to Ava. “Want to try?” I asked her.
“Mm…” Ava said. “It’s good.”
“There’s more where that came from,” Ivy offered. “Have a seat.”
We sat beside each other on the barstools. We had time to kill, since we couldn’t all leave at once or someone would notice.
“Is everything okay?” Ava asked Ivy. “You look down. Things are all right with you and Chancey?”
I could hear Chancey across the room, comparing muscles with Eddie. I bet Alistair was drinking that up.
“Yeah, everything’s fine,” Ivy assured us. “It’s just… I’ve been hoping to ask you guys something.”
“If it’s about how to propose to Chancey, we’re not much help,” Ava cracked. “Charlie and I didn’t really plan our wedding.”
“No,” Ivy said quickly. “It’s, uh… more of a question for Oberi.”
What? Me?Oberi perked up near my feet.
“Sure, we can translate,” I said, though I was confused about what he could possibly say to Oberi.
“No one’s paying attention to us,” Ava said. “Ask away.”
Ivy drew a long breath, like he wasn’t sure how to word the question. “It’s… embarrassing.”
“You don’t have to be embarrassed around us,” I assured him. He was starting to worry me.
“I didn’t even know youcouldget embarrassed,” Ava added, sounding encouraging. “I mean, you’re so confident about… everything.”
“I know I come across that way,” Ivy said. “But deep down, there’s a lot that I hide. I’m still trying to find myself, you know?”
“In what way?” Ava asked curiously.
Ivy started wiping down the counter, probably just to give his hands something to do. His wet towel brushed my fingers, like he wasn’t quite paying attention.
“It probably sounds dumb to you, but it’s important to me,” Ivy started. “It’s about my pronouns.”
“That’s not dumb,” I said. “Your identity is valid— whatever you decide.”
Ivy sighed, like he had a heavy weight on his chest. “That’s the thing. Ihaven’treally decided yet. I mean, I know I tell people I’m okay with male pronouns, but it doesn’t feel right.Theyfeels better, but no one actually uses it, and I feel weird telling people to call metheywhen they’ve been usingheas long as they’ve known me.”
“It’s not your job to make sure other people are comfortable,” Ava pointed out.
“That’s what I wanted to talk to Oberi about,” Ivy admitted. “I hear you guys call Oberihesometimes, andsheother times. How do you decide which pronouns to use?”
Oberi pushed between Ava and me, placing his front paws on the counter.Listen up, Ivy. You are a badass, and don’t let anyone tell you differently. Regardless of your pronouns, you are amazing, you hear me? Only you get to decide who you truly are.
Ava was quick to translate and repeated what Oberi said.
