Page 58 of The Society of Unknowable Objects
James took a step towards Will, reaching out his hand, and Magda waited while the two men shook and exchanged stilted pleasantries like friends of friends meeting for the first time, then Will pointed his frown back at Magda. “What are you doing here?”
“Frank told me you messaged him,” Magda said. “He said you left the Society.”
Will didn’t answer. He pursed his lips, eyes twitching to the side, gazing over Magda’s shoulder to the street outside.
“Why did you want to leave, Will?” Magda pressed him.
“I just...” He frowned, visibly uncomfortable. “I just don’t want to do it anymore.”
“You don’t want to do it anymore?” Magda parroted.
“Why is Henrietta here?” Will asked instead of acknowledging Magda’s tone. He sounded annoyed, like he had been struck by the unfairness of something. “She left years ago and now she’s back?”
“Oh, I had to come when I saw Magda flying in Hong Kong,” Henryanswered, and when Magda looked at the other woman she was beaming, like she was enjoying this whole thing.
“What?”Will asked, eyebrows climbing on his forehead.
“You don’t know?” Magda asked. “You haven’t seen me all over social media?”
“I don’t have social media, Magda,” Will muttered, rolling his eyes at her in irritation.
Magda hurried through a summary of what had happened to her over the previous few days, and as she spoke, she saw the colour draining from Will’s face, his eyes widening with each twist of the story. When she told him about the attack in the basement the previous evening, Will lifted his hands from his pockets, and he took a small step backwards, almost as if readying his fight-or-flight response.
“How is Frank?” he asked. “Is he okay?”
Magda decided to downplay her own worries. “He’s fine,” she said, raising a placating hand. “Just a bit of a bump on the head. He’s in the hospital but it’s just because he’s old.”
“That’s partly why we came, Will darling,” Henrietta added. “We had to let you know what happened.”
Will nodded but worry was written all over his face, in lines and crinkles and tense muscles.
“You’re safe,” Magda said, trying to be reassuring. “That man is gone. He doesn’t know about you.”
Will didn’t reply. Behind Magda, James took a few steps, moving along the cabinets as he studied the watches, humming to himself quietly like he was in an entirely different world.
“So you don’t want to do it anymore?” Magda asked, when the silence had gone on too long. “What does that mean?”
Will shrugged. “I just don’t like magic.”
Magda laughed at the absurdity of his statement. “You’ve been coming to meetings for years.”
“Because my dad wanted me to,” Will answered, his voice a whine of complaint. “And it never amounted to anything, did it? Nothing ever happened. We just met twice a year and chatted for an hour. And then Henry left, but before she did, she told me it was all lies.”
Magda glanced at Henry, who shrugged amiably, not denying the accusation.
“So it didn’t really matter, did it? It was just a couple of nights a year. It was less hassle to just keep coming.” He shook his head. “But then Frank told us about the item in Hong Kong. And... I didn’t like it. It felt... dangerous.” He opened his hands, his lips stretching into a bitter smile. “Seems I was right, doesn’t it?”
“I met your father once, Mr.Pinn,” James said, turning to face into the room. Magda loved how warm and mellow andcalmJames’s voice was coming immediately on the tail of Will’s whine.
“Oh?” Will asked, frowning at the interruption.
“I was a child,” James explained. “Your father used to visit my father in Hong Kong. I think they were friends.”
“That’s nice,” Will said, in such a way that made Magda think Will didn’t care what his father had done.
“If not for their friendship,” James said, slipping his hands into his trouser pockets, “I wouldn’t be here now.”
Will shook his head, not understanding, and then James explained, telling his story about a magical pill bottle that kept him alive. A magical pill bottle that Will’s father had given him.
