The Iron Man [Serial]

Crossed Destinies

When we returned to Mena House that day, Murphy needed rest, but he refused to be alone in our room or to have me alone in there with him the entire afternoon. So, we found a place in the rooms downstairs to relax. Murphy reclined on one of the small sofas and I sat on another sofa, opposite, where Caroline later came to sit beside me.

Others came and went from the lounge area. Behind Murphy, I could see David and Garin standing at a table, where they had lain out many photographs taken over the last few days. Dolores came and went from their table.

I couldn't hear their conversation, but I did not try. I passed the time with my two sketchbooks and  drawing tools, including my new pencil. I sketched objects in the room, or images of Minerva-Sarasvati, or Murphy. He appeared to be reading a copy of Blue Glasses, but I didn't think he was really concentrating on it. His eyes were closed much of the time. Caroline shuffled a deck of cards.

She had no game in mind, she said, but could find the shuffling itself relaxing.

By evening, Alpha came downstairs, apparently having washed and changed his attire, so that he wore his lambskin trousers with a tailcoat I supposed to be borrowed from Thierry. He found an armchair in the room and pushed it closer to our group.

He sat down and then asked, "Do you mind if I join you?"

"Of course," I said and then realized that was the opposite of what I meant, "I mean, of course, you may sit; I don't mind."

Murphy raised his head; I think he'd been asleep. He turned to look at Alpha then pushed himself up more nearly to a sitting position.

"Subtle, My Friend," Murphy said.

"Feel it," Alpha said, extending his left arm toward Murphy's sofa.

Murphy reached out and ran his fingers up and down the inside of Alpha's black velvet sleeve. "That is some high-quality velvet. Now I want to keep touching."

Alpha withdrew his arm.

Murphy gave him a look with lilting brows and pursed lips that I supposed to mean, "your loss."

"You know I still love you," Alpha said plainly.

"I love you, too,"Murphy said, acting as if more interested in his literary journal.

"Cut the deck for me," Caroline said. She held the stacked cards face down, in the palm of her right hand.

I removed roughly half of the cards from the top of the deck.

"Show me your bottom card."

I flipped over the low card with my left hand. "The Moon?"

Caroline lifted the card from the top of her deck with her left hand and held it aloft between two fingers so that I might see: The Star.

"I mixed that deck," she said. The numbers on the cards were close.

"My number is higher. Is that better?" I asked.

"Perhaps we'll see." Caroline went back to shuffling her cards.

I was mildly startled when someone leaned over the back of the sofa and put himself close to me. I leaned to the side, and saw it was only Thierry reaching to kiss his sister's face. He walked around our sofa and the low table. I knew he must be conspicuously dressed from Murphy's wide-eyed expression. Thierry returned to my view wearing Alpha's oxblood leather jacket.

"You can share," Thierry said, with a gesture to Murphy's legs on the sofa.

Murphy rolled his eyes, but his legs shifted forward. "We seem to share a lot now, " he said.