“Yes. perfectly. There is no limit to how far I would go for her. Can I hold her until we get to the driveway?” Steve questions.
“No, you may embrace only now. After that, you will have to trust that I am upholding my end of the bargain,” Essos confirms.
Tiffany jumps into Steve’s arms, and he holds her close, his nose in her hair. If they were any closer, they would become the same person.
I sense that Essos wants to be happy for them, but that Steve’s ability to show up here is a much larger issue.
“This is awfully generous, brother. You’re not up to any tricks, are you?” Galen asks.
Essos ignores him, gesturing to Sybil to take Steve and Galen out of the room.
Once they’re gone, he leans forward in his seat and turns his attention to Tiffany. “You are under no obligation to go if you don’t want to, but know that if you decide to go, you will not remember any of this, and neither will Steve. It will be as if you were not on the bus at all. So, I have to ask, is it your decision to leave?”
“Yes,” Tiffany answers without hesitation.
He leans back in his chair and nods. “Then you shall follow him into the realm of the living. He will not be able to hear you or sense you—he will need to do this on trust alone. If he turns to look at you, then you will be sent to your afterlife.” He pauses to let this sink in. Tiffany glances at Zara, who gives her a nod. Tiffany then looks at Essos and nods. “All right then, please be well, no matter where you wind up. You may take a moment to say your goodbyes.” Essos stands and exits the room. My throat tightens, and I have to stop my feet from following him. I don’t want him to leave; I want to slide my fingers between his and affirm that this was the right call.
What he has done today for Tiffany and Steve is no small thing. They are two lovers, separated by death, and he’s allowed their reunion. There is probably more to why Steve was able to get here, but it speaks to his determination to not let something as silly as death keep him and Tiffany apart.
A surge of pride rushes through my chest for Essos and his kindness today. He could, and probably should, have said no, but he’s doing the right thing for Tiffany and Steve, I’m sure of it.
Zara is the most emotional of us all. She and Tiffany hug, whispering in each other's ears, tears streaming down their faces. Zara pulls back and holds Tiffany’s face, swiping at the tears, confirming that she will be fine without her. Zara means herself, but I think it goes both ways. Tiffany gives Cat and me long hugs too.
When we open the door to the throne room, Essos is just outside the door, waiting for us. It’s been weeks since anyone has left, and seeing Tiffany prepare to go now brings into perspective how much closer we’re getting to the end. Our numbers will only continue to decline.
We walk upstairs, Cat and I behind Tiffany and Zara, who are holding hands, neither seeming ready to say goodbye forever.
I think about how much I will hate it if that’s ever me having to say goodbye to Cat.
When we reach the main level of the house, Essos looks to Tiffany again. “You’re sure?”
“This is the most sure I’ve ever been in my entire life.” She smiles at him through tears.
Outside in the driveway, standing in the bright sun, are Galen, Sybil, Steve and the rest of the girls. We wait as Tiffany says her cursory goodbyes to her sorority sisters.
With a wave of Essos’s hand, the van disappears.
“You are not to look behind you, ever.” Essos gives Steve this final warning, and Galen snorts. Steve nods and holds out his hand to Essos. Essos eyes the hand for a moment before giving it a firm shake. Steve begins walking up the driveway and away from the house.
Zara starts to cry again, and I reach out to hug her, letting her know that she has my support. We might have our differences, but no one should go through this alone.
Tiffany begins walking, not glancing back at us as she follows silently behind Steve to begin her second chance at life.
CHAPTER17
Zara is somber in Tiffany’s absence, and Cat and I do what we can to help cheer her up. We chat with her as often as possible and include her whenever it’s just the two of us. With our focus on Zara, I have no time for Galen and his antics. He’s careful not to touch me without my permission. This doesn’t mean I’m not still being harassed in my dreams, but they’ve been repeating, never showing more than what I saw before. The dreams are different now, showing Galen in what I assume was Essos’s place.
Maybe it was never Essos in my dreams, but Galen.
Touching Galen must have triggered my dreams in a way touching Essos never did. It makes sense, if he was my husband, that I would get these memories from touching him. But if real memories didn’t exist with Essos, what were those first dreams? A trick to lull me into trusting him? Or was my brain just trying to make sense of the memories, and Essos was the only man in sight?
I stare out the window, daydreaming, as the waves crash on the shore. Sybil is droning on about the creation of the known universe, and I try to listen, I really do. I lift my head and watch their lips move as they discuss the God and Goddess Supreme, and I feel furious with myself for being unable to absorb any of this. It’s actually painful trying to get my mind to still, and I wonder if maybe these memories or dreams might be messing with my head.
“Daphne, really,” Sybil scolds when I look away from them again. I’m chagrined that they called me out, and I try again to focus on them and the chalkboard behind them.
“Right, Seth and Octavia, otherwise known as Essos and Galen’s parents, created the universe in the big bang.”
“That must have been one big bang,” Cat mutters under her breath.