Malachi and I

He muttered something and I turned back to see the smallest grin on his face.

“What did you say?”

“Nothing.”

“You’re lying.”

“What does one wear when earning bacon?” he asked changing the subject as he always did, as he moved towards the room and took me with him.

“You’re killing the metaphor here,” I muttered as I held on tighter to his hand. After my grandfather died, I’d felt more alone than I had ever felt in my life, no one cared what I did, no one asked me if I was alright, it was just me. But now there was us.

MALACHI

“Who inspired you to write?”

“My girlfriend.”

“What’s your favorite color?”

“My girlfriend’s eyes.”

They all gaped at me, the reporter, the cameraman, almost everyone in Penohxi Publishing House, including my girlfriend in question, Esther Noëlle, who stood in the doorway of her office which overlooked the sitting area where this interview with Novel Shop Magazine was now taking place. If the man, Howard, he’d said his name was, hadn’t agreed to limit the interviewer’s questions, I was sure I’d never leave. The first stage of this torture was apparently rapid fire questions via a live social media feed.

“Has anyone impacted your life besides your girlfriend?” The red headed interviewer I’d forgotten the name of asked as she looked up from her phone.

I smirked. “Yes. My girlfriend’s grandfather.”

A few people giggled, some groaned and others outright laughed around us as I leaned back. Even the cameraman’s lips turned up. She continued the interview, slightly annoyed with my behavior. I’m sure she was hoping for some serious groundbreaking dialogue, however, I couldn’t tell her the truth behind my writing anyway.

“Okay, Mr. Lord are you going to tell us who this girlfriend is or are you just going to leave us all in suspense?”

“Forgive me, I didn’t know everyone was waiting with bated breath.” I spun the chair slightly as I looked over to see them all waiting with intense stares and crossed arms. Then I looked back up to Esther who frantically shook her head and waved her arms at me no. “The woman giving air traffic controls behind you.”

They turned together so quickly it was borderline terrifying and hilarious, especially considering that Esther’s hands were still in the air. Forcing herself to smile she nodded to them before walking back into their office.

“Esther Noëlle?” the woman asked and I nodded.

“Wow. People online are buzzing,” she said looking down at her phone. “She’s the head of your fan club?”

“And I’m the head of hers.”

There were a few aws and I couldn’t help but grin.

If I could keep the questions on her then I knew that she’d never ask me to do another one of these again.

ESTHER

“Come in,” I said without lifting my head from my desk.

“What the heck happened to Malachi Lord? He’s like this sweet, romantic robot? People are melting at his mushy answers. He was ready to give me anything, I just wanted to find out how to get in touch with you at the airport,” Li-Mei’s words came rambling so quickly that I barely followed her.

Lifting my head, I rested my chin on the desk and said. “Shouldn’t we talk about other things first?”

She sat down slowly in the chair in front of my desk and I could tell that she was trying to think of something to say. So, I said it first. “Your son…he’s Howard’s.”

Her eyes grew wide as she looked at me.