Memories of a Life That Never Happened

Chapter 90 - Gambit

Overhead, the sky was cotton candy pink when Agnes stepped outside her cottage. Heading to the main house, she glanced to the small area where she kept her bicycle. There it was, beneath the translucent ruffled canopy, with nothing to denounce it had ever moved, except for the fresh tracks of crumpled grass. Looking heavenward, she muttered a short praise and resumed walking to the kitchen.  

Agnes found Theo sitting on the counter. From his wet, combed hair, she guessed he had showered already. The light purple under his eyes was instantly eclipsed by his bright, easy smile. 

"Good morning Agnes!" 

The joy in his voice was so brazen it was almost insulting. 

"Well good morning, Theo!" Agnes crossed her arms and tilted her head. "Someone must have had a wonderful night." She threw him a humored wink while opening the fridge. 

"Someone did." Theo licked his lips and took another bite at the bread-and-butter sandwich he had made for himself. "We had a nice talk yesterday." 

"I'm glad to hear it," she said. A smile showed amidst his chew.  

After taking the milk and a pack of oranges, she butted the refrigerator's door closed. 

"I had an interesting talk myself." 

"Yeah?" Theo asked casually.  

"Mm-hmm." Agnes poured some milk in saucepan and lit the fire. "With Ishikura." She glanced at Theo, shaking a smoking match. 

As a fish reeled by an angler, he asked, "What about?" 

"Mostly about what Escobar and your father discussed yesterday." 

Theo put down his bread, suddenly not hungry. "Tell me!" 

"I thought you'd be interested." Agnes said warmly, halving the oranges. "He left minutes after we got back."  

"I didn't see him leave."  

Agnes turned off the stove, poured hot milk in two mugs and mixed a spoonful of chocolate powder to each. She slid one over to Theo.  

"I bet your mind was elsewhere, wasn't it?"  

Back at the sink, started pressing oranges.  

"So what did Ishikura tell you?" 

"You know Ishikura," she told him. "He wasn't too gabby at first." 

A hasty sip had Theo burning his tongue. "Shit!"  

"Watch your mouth," Agnes chided over her shoulder. "What do I always tell you? Take it slow, would you?" 

"You're killing me here."  

"After a while," she continued, "he warmed up to me. Or to the green tea I made him. No, I'm kidding. Ishikura understood we're on the same side." 

"Which is?" 

With a generous jar of fresh orange juice, Agnes returned to the table. "The one I'm hoping you'll choose too." 

For close to one hour, Theo and Agnes swapped information over breakfast. Theo often interrupted her and vice-versa. They complemented each other's phrases with what they had learned from their respective sources.  

After some time, the puzzle started coming together.  

"I've been thinking about it last night," Agnes said. "While you were too busy dating," she added in mock reproof. "And I think I know a way you can help Mica." 

Theo shook his head. "She doesn't want me to. She said she'd be in trouble if this story gets out." 

"Well, she isn't the only one."  

"Agnes, I can't put my brother in more danger than he already is. I know Nick and I don't see eye to eye. But he's my brother." 

"I would never ask you to do such thing." Agnes reached out for his hand across the table. "What if I said I think I found a way to work around that? To help Mica without hurting Nick?" 

"Then I'm all ears," he told her and, by the time the sun was coming through the East window, Theo left the kitchen with a full stomach and a crafty mission.