Page 40 of Margins

She squeals at the reminder and runs off, and Alex carries the box into the living room, setting it down on the coffee table without looking inside, careful when he pulls the note free. It’s folded in half with his name scrawled on the outside, and he opens it to find a print of “Annabel Lee,” a message to him written in the margin.

A, I found this book at my grandpa’s house, and I thought you should see it too, but I didn’t want to show up unannounced while you’re with your daughter. I haven’t read through it all because I don’t know if I’m ready yet, but I’ve seen enough to know it’s the rest of their story. You said you didn’t want it to be the end, and it doesn’t have to be, but I’m putting everything in your hands now. ~E

Alex swallows hard and blinks away whatever has made it difficult to read Elijah’s note the first, second, and third time he does so. He glances at his phone, then toward the stairs, and back to his phone again, picking it up and tapping until he hears the ringing in his ear.

“Alex,” Elijah answers. “I didn’t—you didn’t have to call me. It’s not why I—”

“No, I did though. I wanted to make sure I caught you before you left for work. I think we need—”

“M’not going to work tonight,” Elijah interrupts with a sigh. “I called out. I just—finding that book took a lot out of me, and I don’t think faking a smile for the next several hours is gonna help anything.”

The book. Shit, Alex hasn’t even opened the box yet. He pulls the lid off and sees a gorgeous collection of Edgar Allan Poe works, thick and bound in leather and inscribed with something delicate. But he can’t go any further than that while he still has Elijah on the phone and his mind is whirring with another idea already.

“Okay, hey, listen, can I call you right back?” Alex asks. “I just need to check on something.”

“Yeah, I mean—you really didn’t have to call at all. You don’t—”

“No, I—just give me a few minutes. Please.”

Elijah agrees, and Alex takes a deep breath, leaving his phone on the table with the book so he can run upstairs and talk to Elena. Over the past handful of months, these Friday night dinners with her have been so special to him, and he hopes they’ve been as important to her, so he’s not about to mess with their plans if there’s any chance she’ll mind.

“Wait, Elijah’s coming with us on pizza night?” she squeaks a minute later, her eyes wide and her smile even more so.

“Well, I haven’t invited him yet,” Alex says. “And I don’t know if he’ll be able to. But I wanted to make sure it would be okay with you if I asked him to go with us.”

“Yes, yes, yes. He’s awesome, and he makes you so silly.”

And that is a lot to hear from a kid who’s only met Elijah once, but he also needs to manage her expectations tonight.

“Okay, yes, he’s very awesome, and he does make me a little silly, but also he might not have quite as much energy for all of that right now.”

“Is he sick?” she asks.

“Nope, not sick,” he promises. “He just has a lot on his mind, so he might not be very focused on being funny tonight.”

Elena shrugs. “Okay. But he’ll probably be fine by dessert.”

Alex smiles and his eyes fall shut for a moment while he takes it all in. Sure, she might not know as much as Cass, might not be able to see through him quite so easily, but his kid is happy and comfortable and bothered by so little, and he just nods when he looks at her again, careful not to dislodge her ponytail when he caresses the top of her head.

“Thanks, bug. I’m gonna go talk to him about it now.”

He settles back onto the couch, takes another several seconds to catch his breath, and then calls Elijah back.

“Hi again,” Elijah answers carefully.

“Will you please come to dinner with us tonight?”

“I—dinner? It’s Friday night.”

Alex chuckles. “Do you not eat on Fridays?”

“Shut up, you know what I mean,” Elijah huffs. “You and Elena always go out on Friday nights, just the two of you.”

“Which is why I already asked her how she feels about it being just the three of us.”

“But I—I called out of work because I think I’d probably make exceptionally shitty company right now. That book—I—Alex—”

“Hey, no, listen, you don’t have to entertain us or anything. Just come with us and get out of your head for a while and then—this doesn’t have to be anything else. It can just be pizza.”

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