Tasteful Darkness

Chapter 25

Peter - Three years ago

The dinner went by quickly. Conversations passed the time with ease, laughter filled the air as the sun descended on the horizon. When it ended, Peter wished it would only keep going.

Peter and Althea gave their goodbyes to William and Elizabeth before departing. William promised they would see each other again soon, and Peter has a feeling Althea will hold him to that.

They make their way back towards the apothecary with nothing but the company of the night sky. Peter reflects on the dinner, reminiscing on the conversations.

William and Peter exchanged bar stories, while Elizabeth and Althea talked as if they'd known each other for years. There were no lulls in the conversations—never an awkward or dull moment.

But Peter can't stop thinking about Althea's reaction to the mention of her sister.

Althea walks beside Peter and keeps her eyes towards the ground as she walks. Her hands stay trained at her sides, closing into fists from time to time.

Peter keeps his eye on her. "Is everything all right?" he asks after a moment.

Althea purses her lips before relaxing them. "I'll be fine."

"That wasn't my question."

"I know." She lets out a short sigh. "The truth is that I don't know."

"Is it about your sister?"

"In a way, yes. I want to visit her, I really do, but it's more complicated than that."

"Did something happen between you two?"

"No. I haven't been back home in years."

"I thought you said your family moved from place to place until they stayed in the city?" Peter asks, hoping he remembered the conversation correctly.

"We did, but..." She hesitates, biting her lip. "That was after my parents left. That's when we started moving around until one of my aunts bought the apothecary and we all stayed there. My sister, too."

Peter waits for Althea to continue, not wanting to rush her.

"After staying there for a few more years, my aunts wanted to move back to where I grew up. I didn't want to go back, and my aunts worked with me so I could keep the apothecary. I've been alone ever since."

Her hands are trembling now. Peter gently puts out a hand and they both stop walking.

"Hey," he says quietly. "I'm here."

Althea nods, her eyes going glassy. "I don't want to go back there. I don't want to see the world I used to know—the same world that broke me."

Peter reaches up and tucks a strand of copper hair behind Althea's ear. "What happened?"

"They left me, Peter," Althea whispers. "They left my sister and me without any explanation."

"I'm so sorry."

"I love my aunts, and I will be eternally grateful for everything they have done for me. But not a day goes by that I don't wonder why my parents left us. What I could have done for them to leave."

"You didn't do anything."

"You can't know that. You didn't know me back then."

"Oh, but I wish I did, Althea. And I didn't have to know you then to know you now. I—"

He's said it once before. Once. It slipped out as the two of them were laying underneath the stars, but Althea had fallen asleep by then. His words faded into the midnight air and drifted away with the wind.

Now Althea can hear him. Now Althea can know.

"Althea," Peter says, stepping closer. "I love you."

Her eyes light up like a fire coming to life with a spark. "Peter." She leans forward and places a soft kiss on his lips. "I love you."

✧ ✧ ✧

When they reached the apothecary, Peter and Althea took their time together. They laughed and kissed with nothing but the light of the moon peering in through the window.

Peter feels as if he's floating, and he doesn't want to come back down to earth. He holds Althea tighter against his chest, and she lets out a soft sound in response.

"You're still awake?" she mutters against his bare skin.

"I'm thinking."

"About?"

"How much you mean to me."

She smiles against his chest. "Mm. That must be quite a lot to think about."

Peter lets out a small laugh. "It is, yes. I'm sorry I woke you."

"Don't be. I love being awake with you." She rests her forearms on top of Peter's chest and places her chin on top of her hands. "Thank you for talking with me earlier."

"Of course. Is there something else?"

Althea thinks on this for a moment. "I feel as if there always is. I do want to visit my sister and aunts, but I don't think I can. Not now, at least."

"That's fine. Does your sister still live with your aunts?"

"Near each other, but close enough. She is younger than me, and when my aunts decided to go back, she was too young to live on her own."

"And how old were you?" Peter asks.

"Old enough to know what I wanted. And going back home was far from it."

"Do you miss it?"

"Parts of it. The creek I grew up admiring. The trees I loved to climb." She smiles to herself as the memories resurface. "The coffeehouse I used to spend hours in."

"It sounds like you truly loved it there."

"I really did. I thought it would always stay the same. I honestly thought I would never leave."

"Do you regret leaving?"

"No. Life changes. People move on. It's something we all have to accept one day."

He strokes her cheek. "Just because we have to accept it doesn't mean we have to like it."

Althea lays her head down on his chest. "What about you? Do you regret leaving your family?"

Peter thinks back on when he first left. How his family cried, thinking he would forget about them. He never did, of course, and he visited them frequently. At least, he used to. Up until life seemed to grow too busy.

"I did at first," Peter admits. "I wasn't sure I was making the right decision, and I still don't know if I did. I have done little with my interest in chemistry."

"Like I said, life changes."

"That is true, yes."

"However," Althea says, "let's just hope that this never changes." She kisses his forehead before lying back down. "That is the one thing I wish for."

Peter closes his eyes, savoring the warmth of Althea against him. Her body always fit so perfectly against his.

"What are we going to do tomorrow?" Althea asks, breaking the silence.

"I have to work tomorrow night," Peter says.

"I have to work tomorrow morning."

"So at noon then?"

"Sounds lovely."

"You should get some sleep," Peter suggests, closing his eyes once again. "Good night, Althea."

She carefully slides her body off his and settles beside him. "Good night, Peter."

He holds her closer.

At this moment, Peter begins to realize that time spent with Althea seems to slip through the cracks with every breath he takes.

It's just a matter of time before he gets swept away.