Page 59 of Should the Sky Fall

Cal looks down at his empty plate mournfully. “Could we come here tomorrow? Before we go to the shelter?”

Dawson stares at him in disbelief. “Cal!”

“I won’t eat as much, I promise.” That’s probably a lie.

Snickering, Dawson shakes his head. “I created a monster.” He finishes whatever is left of his drink. “Fine. But you only get to eat one thing, you savage.” He stands up. “I need to pop to the loo. Be right back.”

Once Dawson is gone, Gabe makes his way over. He looks at Cal’s empty plate, a mischievous smile forming on his lips. “You liked these, huh?”

“They were amazing. Dawson said you made them?”

Gabe winks. “Sure did.”

“You’re very talented. I can’t believe I haven’t been here before.” Then again, Dawson said he never liked sweets before, so maybe it’s not that strange.

Gabe just continues to look at him. “From what I hear, you’re into a little fancier establishments.”

Cal looks around. “This isn’t ‘fancy’?” The cafe is very cute and welcoming. He can imagine spending a whole day here, stuffing himself with whatever is available that day and reading a book. He’s halfway throughBreaking Dawnand can’t wait to finish it.

Gabe stares at him at first, unblinking, then starts giggling.

“What’s so funny?”

Waving a hand in front of his face, Gabe manages between hiccups, “Nothing. Nothing at all. Let’s just say you’re not what I imagined.” He cocks his head. “Fascinating how memories shape a person, huh?”

Indeed. The more he learns about himself—about who he used to be—the more alienated he feels.

“Yeah.” Throwing a glance over his shoulder to check if Dawson is still gone, he says, “Honestly, I’m not sure I’ll go back to being the person everyone talks about. It’s been almost two weeks and I haven’t… There hasn’t been a single instance that I’ve heard something about myself or my past and thought, ‘yes, that’s me, that sounds familiar’.” He runs a hand through his hair. “I don’t think Dawson is ever getting his husband back. But…I don’t know how to tell him. He’s doing so much for me, and I don’t—I don’t want to crush his hopes.”

That’s way more than he’d been prepared to share, but once he opened his mouth, the truth just poured out. He doesn’t know who else to tell. The doctors would tell him not to give up hope, that anything can happen. And he can’t talk to Dawson or Ellis, because they’re too involved. And something about Gabe, despite having just met him, makes it easy to open up.

He looks up when Gabe doesn’t say anything for a while, wondering if he should’ve kept his mouth shut. No one needs to hear him whine. Theyjustmet.

But Gabe doesn’t seem bothered by Cal’s emotional unloading. There’s intensity in his eyes that wasn’t there before. The way he looks at Cal makes him feel like he’s staring right into his very soul. It should probably make him uncomfortable, but it’s…it’s fine. He doesn’t mind.

“I think…” Gabe says slowly. “I think you shouldn’t be so hard on yourself. Even if you don’t remember, you can still have a relationship with Dawson, or any other person you were once close to. In fact—” His next smile is different, like it’s carrying a secret, something only he knows. “Maybe you could create something even better. Something amazing.”

That…sounds really good. It reminds him again of Carrie’s words about building a future from scratch. It’s daunting because he’ll have to go and find new pieces to build with, since the old ones aren’t there anymore. And what if Dawson loses his patience while Cal is looking for those pieces? What if he doesn’t want to wait around until Cal has finished putting it all together?

“What if he doesn’t want to build something new with me? What if he only wants the old me back?”

Gabe lets out a breathless chuckle and slowly, as if to give Cal a chance to move away, he lifts his hand and puts it on top of Cal’s.

A strange sensation spreads from the point of contact up his arm. Almost like an electric current, but not quite. It doesn’t hurt; it tingles, buzzing under his skin.

Confused by the sensation, he looks up, finding Gabe’s expression frozen in shock.

Before he can ask what happened, Gabe shakes himself.

“I promise you, Cal,” he says, enunciating each word with care. “That’s not something you have to worry about.” He gives Cal’s hand a gentle squeeze and pulls away.

A few seconds later, Dawson appears next to Gabe. “Ready to go?”

“Yeah. Ready.” Cal looks at Gabe, who gives him a wink.

“See you later, guys.”

“We’ll be here tomorrow morning.” Dawson nods his head towards Cal. “Someone hasn’t had enough.”