“I didn’t believe in magic until I met Candy. I don’t mean the ‘Oh, baby, you’re so magic’ kind of thing. I mean real magic.”
“What convinced you?”
“All the weird movies the witch brings us. Movies that never got made in this world.”
“Do you have a favorite?”
She thinks for a minute.
“La Femme
Nikita 2.”
“There’s a second one? I’d like to see that.”
“Come on by. You know where we live.”
I can’t tell if Alessa is being casual or giving me a hard time with “You know where we live” and “our world that we made together.” But she might be thinking the same thing about me with Candy dressing and undressing me. Really, neither of us knows the other at all. This is the first time we’ve said more than a few words to each other. However, she’s not shy.
She says, “So. I guess we’re both in love with Candy.”
I eat another piece of chicken.
“I guess we are.”
“What are we going to do about that?”
“I have no idea.”
“Me neither.”
I flex my left hand, feeling more than a little self-conscious.
“Tell me something,” Alessa says. “Why did you jump in front of me back there?”
“You mean, why didn’t I let you get shot?”
“Yeah. I mean, I get why you were watching the store. Those guys could have hurt Candy. But why help me?”
“I don’t let friends die.”
She sets down her carrot.
“We’re friends?”
I really want a cigarette. I wonder if Abbot would mind if I smoked in here.
“Friends of friends,” I say. “I wouldn’t let anyone Candy cared about get hurt.”
She grunts quietly, not entirely convinced.
I take the Shermans from my pocket. Alessa perks up when she sees them.
“Can I have one of those?”
I open the pack and look at her.
“There’s only one left. Want to split it?”