rings. It’s Nodin.
“Hey, Devi.”
“Hey, what’s up?”
“Not much, do you have your truck back?”
“Yeah, I pick it up after work.”
“You need a ride?”
“No, it’s not that far. I can walk.”
“Seriously, when are you going to get more reliable transportation?”
I huff. “Shut up about my truck.”
“All right, whatever. What time do you get off?” he asks.
“Five-thirty.”
“Good. After you pick up your heap, you need to head over here. Baron called a meeting, says it’s important.”
“Okay. You don’t know what it’s about?”
“Nope. He wants to wait for you.”
“Oh, okay. By the way, how did his competition go?”
“Awesome. He won two of his three climbs.”
“Cool.” I’m jealous Nodin and Ben got to attend. It feels like I should’ve been there, too. “I guess I’ll see you a bit later.”
“See you then.”
Baron managed a way for us to be together after all. I smile and bite my lip.
My coworker arrives to take over until closing. I speed walk to the auto shop, my mind abuzz with anticipation. I pay for the repairs and push my faded red beater of a truck to its limit, racing to Nodin’s place, where I park and check my hair and makeup quick in the visor mirror.
When I enter the apartment, the air pressure and pull hit me like a shockwave. Ben is at Nodin’s laptop at the kitchen table to the right, and Baron is looking over his shoulder. I see him grip the back of the chair as I walk in.
“Hi,” I say, setting my things down by the door. I walk past Baron, suppressing the urge to reach out and touch him, and take a seat in the family room chair. I grab the peridot stone and stroke it with my thumb, hoping it’ll calm the energy. It doesn’t.
The guys look my way and return my hello. Baron gives me a half-smile, winks, and taps his chest.
He’s wearing grey sweat shorts and a faded orange T-shirt. He taps again, and I realize he’s indicating the necklace. If the guys see it they’ll know we’ve been together. I quickly tuck it into my shirt.
“So what’s this about?” Nodin asks.
“Last night, after you guys crashed, I called Devi.” He flashes me a quick, private wink and I know to go along with what he says.
Nodin and Ben glance at me, confused, and back at Baron. He continues with his story about the visions and subsequent tattoos, why he felt the need to talk to me about it first, and ends with matzo ball: my name on his chest. Baron pulls down the neck of his shirt to show them.
Nodin’s mouth drops, his eyes huge and rushing from mine to Baron’s and back to mine again, fumbling for words. “Whoa,” Ben says, awe etched on his face.
“I know. I know,” I say. “But the most intriguing part is the language is in Incan, Nodin. Not African.”
He shakes his head. “No wonder we couldn’t figure it out.”
Baron taps a green notebook on the coffee table. “We need to catalogue each symbol. Watch for connections. But first, I need to tell you about a conversation I had with Hahn today.”
“You didn’t give him any details, did you?” Nodin asks.
“Of course not. I only said what was necessary.”
I notice the energy isn’t as distracting as when I first arrived. After the first few minutes, I’m able to zone out of it. It’s not pleasant, but it becomes background noise, only changing in intensity if our distance from one another alters.
Baron pulls a chair from the kitchen table and sits. “I told Hahn I’d been talking to your dad. He knows I have interest in the tribe because of the tattoo, so I said I asked your dad about them, which is believable since they know each other. I said your dad heard some stuff and I pretended to corroborate the facts with Hahn.”
“Perfect. So what did he tell you?” Nodin asks.
“He told me they were originally a large tribe from the mountains of Peru tens of thousands of years ago, but harsh weather conditions forced them north. Over another couple centuries, the
“Hey, Devi.”
“Hey, what’s up?”
“Not much, do you have your truck back?”
“Yeah, I pick it up after work.”
“You need a ride?”
“No, it’s not that far. I can walk.”
“Seriously, when are you going to get more reliable transportation?”
I huff. “Shut up about my truck.”
“All right, whatever. What time do you get off?” he asks.
“Five-thirty.”
“Good. After you pick up your heap, you need to head over here. Baron called a meeting, says it’s important.”
“Okay. You don’t know what it’s about?”
“Nope. He wants to wait for you.”
“Oh, okay. By the way, how did his competition go?”
“Awesome. He won two of his three climbs.”
“Cool.” I’m jealous Nodin and Ben got to attend. It feels like I should’ve been there, too. “I guess I’ll see you a bit later.”
“See you then.”
Baron managed a way for us to be together after all. I smile and bite my lip.
My coworker arrives to take over until closing. I speed walk to the auto shop, my mind abuzz with anticipation. I pay for the repairs and push my faded red beater of a truck to its limit, racing to Nodin’s place, where I park and check my hair and makeup quick in the visor mirror.
When I enter the apartment, the air pressure and pull hit me like a shockwave. Ben is at Nodin’s laptop at the kitchen table to the right, and Baron is looking over his shoulder. I see him grip the back of the chair as I walk in.
“Hi,” I say, setting my things down by the door. I walk past Baron, suppressing the urge to reach out and touch him, and take a seat in the family room chair. I grab the peridot stone and stroke it with my thumb, hoping it’ll calm the energy. It doesn’t.
The guys look my way and return my hello. Baron gives me a half-smile, winks, and taps his chest.
He’s wearing grey sweat shorts and a faded orange T-shirt. He taps again, and I realize he’s indicating the necklace. If the guys see it they’ll know we’ve been together. I quickly tuck it into my shirt.
“So what’s this about?” Nodin asks.
“Last night, after you guys crashed, I called Devi.” He flashes me a quick, private wink and I know to go along with what he says.
Nodin and Ben glance at me, confused, and back at Baron. He continues with his story about the visions and subsequent tattoos, why he felt the need to talk to me about it first, and ends with matzo ball: my name on his chest. Baron pulls down the neck of his shirt to show them.
Nodin’s mouth drops, his eyes huge and rushing from mine to Baron’s and back to mine again, fumbling for words. “Whoa,” Ben says, awe etched on his face.
“I know. I know,” I say. “But the most intriguing part is the language is in Incan, Nodin. Not African.”
He shakes his head. “No wonder we couldn’t figure it out.”
Baron taps a green notebook on the coffee table. “We need to catalogue each symbol. Watch for connections. But first, I need to tell you about a conversation I had with Hahn today.”
“You didn’t give him any details, did you?” Nodin asks.
“Of course not. I only said what was necessary.”
I notice the energy isn’t as distracting as when I first arrived. After the first few minutes, I’m able to zone out of it. It’s not pleasant, but it becomes background noise, only changing in intensity if our distance from one another alters.
Baron pulls a chair from the kitchen table and sits. “I told Hahn I’d been talking to your dad. He knows I have interest in the tribe because of the tattoo, so I said I asked your dad about them, which is believable since they know each other. I said your dad heard some stuff and I pretended to corroborate the facts with Hahn.”
“Perfect. So what did he tell you?” Nodin asks.
“He told me they were originally a large tribe from the mountains of Peru tens of thousands of years ago, but harsh weather conditions forced them north. Over another couple centuries, the
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