Page 91 of Hollow Valley

“I am leaving at the end of May,” I answered carefully.“And he knows this.He’s always known that I can’t stay here for too long.”

Daiyu seemed to appraise me a moment longer, and then she relaxed into a smile.“As long as the two of you are on the same page, then you have my blessing.”

“Th-thank you?”I replied uncertainly.

“Daiyu, my love, Remy, my guest,” Trevor said, poking his head into the main room again.“Dinner is about five minutes out if you’d like to have a seat at the table.”

I stood up, smoothing my shirt.Jordy headed out of the kitchen at the same time as Daiyu went in, saying something about getting the wine.

“How are you doing?”Jordy asked in a low voice, when it was only the two of us standing next to the round table beneath an antler chandelier.

“Dandy.You?”I asked.

He smiled down at me as his arm snaked around my waist.“I’m great, but I knew I would be.These are my friends, after all.”

“Are you saying you were afraid that they wouldn’t like me?”I asked, pretending to be appalled.

He pulled me closer to him and lowered his voice even more.“No, I was afraid thatyouwouldn’t likethem.”

“I like you,” I reminded him.“Isn’t that enough?”

He kissed me, his lips brushing against mine, but when Trevor came out of the kitchen a moment later, I gently pushed Jordy away from me.

Trevor brought out a platter of braised goat shanks, and Daiyu poured generous glasses of wine.As plates were passed and everyone helped themselves, the mood relaxed, and we began trading stories.Trevor told about the time he’d defended himself against a zombie using only anAmerican Girldoll, Jordy regaled us with the time he burnt off his own eyebrows trying to make an antibiotic ointment, and we drifted into a debate about which luxury of civilization we missed the most.

Towards the end of the meal, when our bellies were full and our glasses were empty, the conversation turned to life outside the safe walls of Xwechtáal.

“How have you survived so long without a community?”Daiyu asked, her gaze turning to me.She was leaning into Trevor, his big arm wrapped around her shoulders, and her cheeks were flushed.“I admire an independent spirit, but it seems too easy to end up as food if you’re on your own.”

“Having a lion helps,” I replied cagily, and Daiyu laughed.

“Most living things die to be food.Exceptfor humans.”Jordy leaned forward, resting his arms on the table.“We’d removed ourselves from the equation of ending up as something else’s meal.All zombies did was rebalance it so that we’re included in the food chain again.We think that now life is so unfair, that the world has ended, but the world is the same as it’s always been.The rules just apply to us again.”

55

Remy

Trevor cleared the plates after dinner, and Daiyu refilled our glasses with burgundy wine.Already, I was feeling tipsy, since I very rarely drank, but tonight, it was nice.My body felt relaxed and warm, and my cheeks hurt from smiling and laughing so much.

“I did bring a little something for dessert.”Jordy slowly rose from the chair beside me.

“Oh, right!The cookies!”Trevor started back toward the kitchen.

Jordy laughed and stopped him.“No, I didn’t mean that.”He went over to his jacket hanging near the door, and he pulled out a small jar half-full with flakes of grinleaf.

I had taken a fair amount of it while I had been recovering, but Jordy and I had also used it recreationally a few times.In the evenings when we were relaxing by the fire, sometimes talking, sometimes Jordy reading aloud from one of his books.It was a nice way to unwind and release some of the tension I always carried in my body.

Daiyu’s eyebrows rose in excitement.“Jordy, I can always count on you to bring my favorite treats.”

“I’m still going to get the cookies,” Trevor said, retreating toward the kitchen.“Grinleaf always gives me a sweet tooth.”

“Oh!And there’s one more thing we need!”Daiyu announced, and she jogged up the stairs without any further explanation.

With the two of them gone and us alone, Jordy leaned over, putting an arm on the back of my chair.His face was close to mine, but he still lowered his voice when he asked, “How are you really doing?We can bail at any point you want.”

“Surprisingly, I’m having a really good time,” I admitted with a laugh.“I don’t know if I can remember the last time I smiled this much.”

His eyes sparkled.“Good.I love making you smile.”