Snowflakes In Autumn (A Novella)

Twelve

Noah pulled into a parking lot with a carousel to the left filled with children and parked in a free spot near the back.

While she walked by his side toward the restaurant, Faith couldn't deny there was something familiar about it; no doubt where she wanted to go to eat as a child. Once he opened the door for her, Faith was on sensory overload.

Figurine clowns slid across tightropes above her head. A metal light up robot stood near the entrance. Superman was riding some machine in the ceiling's corner. Spiderman shot across from one side of the restaurant to the other. There was even a talking banana. The decorations either moved, made sounds, or lit up. And they were everywhere she looked.

"This might be the most annoying place on Earth," Faith stated as she looked at the vast line of people waiting for available tables, all of them with children. They appeared to be the only two adults without children.

Noah laughed beside her. "Now you know how I felt. It's payback, baby. Wicked and glorious payback."

A group of children ran passed the line, bumping into the waiting patrons, and Noah wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her away from them before they could make impact. Faith was acutely aware of the action, and all actions that came after it. His fingers splayed out, his thumb rubbing small circles around her shoulder, before it drifted toward the middle of her back, then fell from her body and clasped with the other in front of him.

It was a strange reaction; almost as if he'd wanted to touch her, but didn't know how or worried how she'd react.

"You can touch me, Noah. It's okay."

Noah let out a quiet breath at her side, then glanced at her only for a moment. "It just, I know you don't know me that well."

It was all about the past he remembered perfectly, and one she only remembered fragments of. In the video, the young Faith looked so happy around him. She was carefree and adored the man. Adult Faith wasn't that different. She was hardly carefree, but still adored being around him. He'd become a welcome presence in her life, still enjoyable to look at and be near.

That, and she cherished the few times he'd allowed himself to touch her. At the airport, his hug made her feel safe at a time of chaos. When he'd played with her hair like he had in the video they'd watched a few days before, it created feelings within her that were foreign to her, but welcoming. He'd done that every evening since while watching home movies.

Instead of giving him words he couldn't fully trust, Faith slid her hand between his arm and body and brought it upward to rest on his bicep. "I know you. I may not remember most of the past, but I know you well enough in the present to be okay with this."

More than okay, but she didn't dare speak that truth aloud.

He gave her a smile, then let out a light laugh as he placed his arm around her shoulder once more. Before it had been to help her avoid getting run over. Now it was just because, making the minor act feel more natural than when he'd fumbled over the last one.

Faith had been here for five days now, each day growing more comfortable and familiar than the last. The two were forming their own fresh bond as they both came to know the adults they'd grown into. Faith was bummed that tomorrow would be his last day off of work. She'd enjoyed having him around all day.

"I have an available two top!" The hostess called out to the line.

They, apparently, were the only two top waiting in the extensive and ever growing line.

"Do we seriously have to eat here?"

"Yes, we seriously have to eat here. Any of your senses can trigger a memory, and not only do you have a history here, but it's sensory overload."

He'd spoken the same words she'd thought.

Noah took her hand and stepped out of line to follow the hostess. "That, and I'm beyond thrilled at paying you back for all the times you forced me to come here."

Looking over at him, Faith saw his wicked grin that almost appeared childlike. Somehow the joy that torturing her gave him brought joy to her own heart. He looked so damn happy about this, despite having to suffer through it himself.

"You are such a dork," Faith said when she couldn't come up with anything else.

Noah shrugged at her side. "I've been called worse."

"I don't doubt it. I'm getting close to calling you worse right now."

His body bumped her own playfully before walking in front of her to pull out her chair.

Faith smiled up at the gesture as she sat, then looked down at the menu, noticing something very odd beneath it. "There's a game in this table." Her body jerked when something flew above her head, seeing the famous wizard staring back down at her on his broomstick. "And Harry Potter just stared down my shirt."

"Obnoxious, isn't it?" Noah said with an enormous grin on his face.

Faith made a mental note to be the absolute best person she could be from now on. If she somehow ended up in hell and Lucifer brought the worst place imaginable to life for Faith, this is what she'd be suffering through for all eternity.

When she looked above Noah's head, she'd hoped to God she'd just spotted the worst this restaurant offered. "What the fuck is that?"

Noah turned and took only a quick glance before turning his attention back to the menu. "Singing feet with faces on them." How he spoke the words like it was the most natural sentence in the world was astounding.

"Why?" When she saw Harry Potter zoom closer once again, Faith crossed her arms over her chest. "Stop looking at my tits, you creepy bastard."

Noah let out a hearty laugh across from her. "This used to be your favorite place in the world."

"Well, I don't want memories of this place back. Little Faith can keep that shit all to herself. This place is what nightmares are made of."

When the waitress came over, Faith ordered a chocolate shake and a waffle. Waffles were quick. They barely took time at all. Noah opted for lunch. With an appetizer. After he finished, he ordered an ice cream sundae and ate at a snail's pace just to watch her suffer.