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“Ha! Oh please.” She sits down at the top of the stairs, cross-legged and patiently swaying back and forth as I slowly make my way up to her. To be fair, even when sober, I can’t walk up three steps at a time like she can. “I’ve seen all the public serviceannouncements about the dangers of underage drinking. Don’t worry, Felicity.” She looks down at me with a wicked smirk.
I shake my head as I finally get to her. She takes my hand and we walk to her bedroom. I still can’t get used to how large and gorgeous it is. It’s everything she deserves.
Lucy walks to her dresser and picks out a black cat-patterned nightgown. She gets herself ready for bed all on her own, and I wonder how she grew up so quickly from the tiny child who came to me not so long ago.
“Besides, you deserve to have fun now and then. And you looked like you had a lot of fun,” she says, turning around and beaming at me.
“I guess we both deserve happiness,” I reply while clumsily tucking her into bed. Lucy is in a fit of giggles over my struggle.
“I’m so sorry,” I say, shaking my head as she laughs.
“It’s okay. You can repay me by listening to me learn to play the drums while you nurse a wicked hangover.”
“You aresoevil,” I say before giving Lucy a kiss goodnight and turning off the lights. “Good night, Lucy.”
“Night!” she replies with a loud yawn.
I smile, still in awe at this strange little family I’ve found myself in. I’m grateful to Argoss for letting me have this. He’s kind, generous, and handsome. Very, very handsome.
My cheeks start to burn, and I dismiss the feeling as a side effect of the alcohol.
I find my husband of convenience lounging on the couch of his den in front of the roaring fireplace. It looks cozy and inviting, so I help myself to a place at his side. I settle into the soft cushions and, without giving it any thought, lean my head against his broad shoulder.
“Comfortable?” he asks with a chuckle.
I hum and then jolt back up with a start. “Is this okay?”
Argoss puts his hand on my shoulder and brings me back down. “Of course it is.”
I sigh in contentment. The alcohol’s influence is starting to lose its pull, but there’s still enough to make me a little loose with my judgment.
“Sorry. I guess we just… we left a lot of things undefined.”
Argos looks down at me, puzzled. “What do you mean?”
“I mean we didn’t go over all the rules, you know? The rules of marriage. Because there’s lots of them.” I swallow hard. This is an important conversation to have, but is now the time to have it? Those five Bee’s Knees I drank certainly seem to think so.
“The… rules of marriage? You mean like a prenuptial?” he asks pointedly.
“No, no, no. Those are divorce rules, and we don’t need those. Probably. Oh my God, do we? Actually, nevermind. I’m sorry, I tend to ramble when I –”
“Don’t apologize,” Argos says, voice like smooth honey. “I like listening to your voice.”
A chill runs up my spine. I sink deeper into Argoss’ side, feeling safer here than I ever have before in my life.
“It’s just, like, demons are notorious for this. I mean no offense! Please don’t take offense, but demons make spirit deals all the time.”
“No offense taken. There are demons who do, in fact, do that,” he replies with a snarky grin.
“And so many times you hear these stories, like in the news or books or whatever, about the deals having unforeseen consequences. Like you agree to sell your soul off to be a movie star or whatever, and then you have to spend eternity scrubbing a toilet that never, ever gets clean.”
Argoss’ shoulder shakes as he places a hand over his mouth.
“It’s true! I read that… somewhere. I can’t remember where now…” Maybe gin isn’t the best fuel for such a serious discussionafter all. “And then I went and made a deal with a demon, knowing all of this, and we left so much unstated. I’m nervous, you know, that there’s going to be expectations…”
There. I said it. There’s a brief pause of heavy silence. I’m scared I just insulted Argoss, or worse, broke through to something he was planning all along.
“Felicity,” he says slowly. “Do you think I want to chain you to a toilet that can never be clean?”
