Page 52 of Tito

I stared at him. “Why?”

“Why what?” he asked back.

“Why would you pay for it?”

He looked away to avoid my gaze for the first time since we saw him down here as he answered, “Because no one lives forever.”

I paused and furrowed my brows. “You said you reanimated my mother and Uncle Stephano.”

“I did. I wasn't supposed to, but I did. So they will perhaps live forever.”

I gasped a little. “Like you?”

Nodding, he added, “I’m unsure if they can die. But I do not think so? You see, I never did such a thing before. So I really do not know. There is no information on the net about that subject either.”

“On the net…” Again my voice wavered. This had to be a dream. I would wake up and see that soon. “So, does my uncle know about you?”

“Deep down, he does,” Max replied. “However, it is too much for his reality so I manage to keep it below his actual waking day consciousness.”

“You made him forget?” I asked.

“In a way yes, but I cannot wipe memories away entirely. It depends on the person. If they desperately wish to forget then I can make it happen.”

“Ok, so tell me what happened so that you had to… reanimate them?”

“This story may not do you well, Tito. Like it is not always a matter of…the truth shall set you free. It can sometimes be,you can’t handle the truth.”

Our gazes met as we both said, “A Few Good Men.”

I laughed.

Max nodded. “Great movie.”

I stared at him. “You watch movies?”

“I have seen almost all of them.”

“All?” I repeated back at him.

“I am busy enough with Descalias' and the Bruno’s daily lives, but I do have a lot of time considering that I can travel back and forth through time. I do not sleep much, really. I used to before your ancestor managed to save me. I stopped aging and I changed in some ways. So yes, I may have seen almost every film that has been made in American history at least. Well, up until whatever has been released in the last two years. I find I don’t care for some of the most recent ones.”

“Me neither.” I shrugged.

“You two are talking about movies?”

I looked over to see Valencia sitting up.

“We found him coming out of a fireplace while he’s been living in the basement,” she reminded me. “Or was that just a dream I had?”

“No,” I told her. “This is all real as far as I can tell?”

She shook her head at me. “So, you get to have a conversation with an actual…” Her words slowed. “...Whatever he is and you ask him about movies?”

I chuckled and tried to explain, “I didn’t really um…”

Max shook his head. “I do wish to say that the women you, Legend, Romeo and Dante have chosen are magnificent!”

Batting her eyes at Max, Valencia asked, “Are you serious?”