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Eitri side-stepped behind me, like he was using me as some kind of shield from Mary.
“Mya says consent is important,” he said softly.
I looked over my shoulder at the distressed fey.
“I don’t think she actually wants you to hold him down. I think she’s just trying to motivate him.”
Eitri didn’t look convinced. I wasn’t entirely sure either until Mary sighed and said, “Fine. You swallow that, and I’ll do that thing you like.”
“Woman, I know you and your empty promises.”
“It’s not empty. We both heard the doctor. One shot won’t be enough. I’ll give you a reason to come back for the next one.”
There was silence from the other side of the door. When it opened, an older man stepped out. He held up an empty cup and grinned at Mary.
“Time to pay up. Let’s go home.”
He took her hand and started our way.
“You must be Andie,” he said to me. “You’re as pretty as Molev said you were. You both should stop over for dinner soon.”
“Not tonight, though,” Mary said.
“No,” James said, nodding thoughtfully. “Tonight won’t work out. Mary’s going to be pretty tired.”
He handed the cup to Eitri. “You’re not drinking enough water, son. Make sure you hydrate before tonight. It’ll taste better. We’ll find our own way home.”
The pair left, and I stared at the shut door for a minute.
“Did you need something, Andie?” Eitri asked.
“Therapy, maybe. I’m still trying to decide.”
“Hannah and Emily say the same thing after hearing Mary and James have sex talk. I like the way they speak. But not when Mary wants us to hold James down.”
“Does she want that often?” I asked.
Eitri shrugged and looked down at the empty cup. I made a mental note to talk to Emily about James and Mary the next time I saw her.
“I actually stopped by to talk to the doctor,” I said. “Is she here?”
“Yes. Downstairs. Can you let her know that James drank it all?”
“I will,” I said, already moving toward the stairs.
The doctor was at the same station, this time looking at a different image of something that I couldn’t recognize. It looked like a tiny lightning storm in a moving darkness.
“Eitri asked me to tell you that James finished the sample,” I said.
She looked away from the screen, surprise on her face.
“He did?” she asked.
“Yep. And James made it sound like he’d return later.”
“Excellent. I was surprised he’d volunteered. In my experience, older married men aren’t as…open as James.”
“Yeah, they both don’t strike me as average elderly.”
