Today Tomorrow and Always (Phenomenal Fate 3)

His chest felt like it had been filled with ten gallons of cement.

Earlier, before Jonas interrupted them, he’d admitted to himself he was falling for Mary. Even then he’d known that was an understatement. Part of him had fallen in love with her during the poker game when he drank the concoction and saw her in his dream. Of home. The rest of Tucker had been ready to worship eternally at her feet the moment she led herself onto the Enders dancefloor with a broom in hand. Now? Now it wasn’t merely that he would die for her, his soul begged the universe for the chance to prove he would.

Let me die for you, he almost growled.

Right there in Love Ur Lobes.

Affection, love, and yes, obsession, hardened his resolve when it came to the plan he’d devised with Jonas earlier, too. None of it would be in vain. Not when his heart rose and set on this girl’s safety and happiness. She was worth the sacrifice and more.

“All right, look, I have an idea.” Throat constricted, Tucker settled a hand on top of Mary’s head. “How about I let Courtney pierce my ear first? Would that help?”

“You would do that?”

“Fuckin-A,” he managed.

Mary threw her arms around his neck. He absorbed the warmth and shape of her as long as he could without seeming creepy, then rearranged them so he was sitting in the chair with Mary perched on his knee. “All right, Courtney. Nothing silver.”

“Uh, okay…”

“Do you have bitch in a gold option?”

Based on the girl’s nonplussed expression, it was possible she thought she was having a bizarre nightmare and hoped it would be over soon. “S-sure.”

Courtney returned a moment later with the earring, loading it into her weapon and disinfecting Tucker’s ear with shaking hands. “There might be a little blood,” she explained.

Tucker winked at her. “There won’t.”

It hurt like a son-of-a-bitch.

“Oh no,” he said, right away, shaking his head. “No, you’re not doing that to my Mary.” He stood them both up, took her hand and started marching toward the register. “Let’s pay and get the hell out of here. No holes in your ears tonight, honey. No offense, Courtney.”

Mary dug her heels in, forcing him to stop walking so he wouldn’t drag her. “But I want to do it now! There was a sharp click, then it was over. You took the mystery out of it. That’s what I needed.”

“Mary, it’s like childbirth, I’m guessing.”

“You’re being crazy,” she laughed.

She pulled her hand free of Tucker’s and felt her way back to the chair, climbing onto the leather seat with her chin raised. “I’m ready now, Courtney.”

“Okay, miss. If you say so…” murmured the girl, throwing a nervous backward look at Tucker over her shoulder while cleaning off the gun and loading the milkshake earrings.

Tucker yelped when the gun went off this time, impaling Mary’s sweet little ear with the thin post, driving an invisible stake into his gut. No, no pain for this girl. And on the heels of the blast, a horrible reality occurred to him. “Oh my God, I forgot you have to do two of them.” He paced, knocking into one of the jewelry stands, barely catching it in time before it hit the floor. “Jesus Christ, please, can’t one be enough, kid? I’ll draw the other one on with a sharpie.”

Mary’s giggle carried through the store.

Click.

Tucker’s legs almost collapsed.

Even Courtney was laughing at him.

“I guess I picked the right earring for myself,” he muttered, making his way back to Mary. He handed Courtney a handful of cash out of his wallet, positioned Mary behind him and looked into the barbaric ear mutilation expert’s wide eyes, letting the power of hypnosis swell in his mind. “Courtney, can you hear me?”

“Yes,” she said in a monotone.

“Good. We’re from out of town. A couple of friendly people just passing through. That’s all you can remember about us. Our faces will be hard to recall. You won’t remember what we spoke about or the names we called each other. But you had a nice time getting to know us and we left a great tip, right? That’s what you’ll say if anyone asks.”

The girl nodded slowly. “Great tip.”

Tucker blinked and Courtney slumped back against her work station.

“Thank you!” Mary sang over her shoulder as Tucker led her to the door. “That was impressive. Are we going trick or treating now?”

He put an arm around her shoulder and tugged her in close as they crossed the parking lot toward his Impala, wincing over the redness of her perfect earlobes. “Why not? I’m already going to be haunted by memories of tonight. Might as well double down.”

* * *

Mary twisted the earring in her ear, unable to keep the smile off her face.

She couldn’t recall a single time her life when she’d been this happy. Not having to think about anything beyond tonight was like a vacation from anxiety. She rolled down the window of Tucker’s Impala and let her fingers play the breeze like harp strings.