Page 47 of Forget Me Not
“Um, yeah. I just…Bas can handle it, I think. Show me this dress.”
Syve hoped Bastien would forgive her for bringing the picture over. She intended to cover it with one of the spare blankets she kept in the backseat and then give Bastien the option to put it in a closet or something. It belonged in his house, not hers.
Del’s dress was beautiful. Rich, cobalt blue satin draped to the floor, a stunning mermaid silhouette with one thick strap over her left shoulder. Syve winced, the strap had a very large burn across it, large enough she wondered how the girl had managed to do it without completely burning herself in the process.
“How attached are you to this dress having a strap?”
Del hesitated, “I’m not, but the school dress code for formal dances demands at least one, or I’ll have to wear a shawl all night.”
Syve rolled her eyes. “Of course they do. Okay. I can fix this; I just need you to trust me.”
Del nodded with tears in her eyes.
There was a knock at the door and Syve turned to see Bastien standing in the doorway with her emergency sewing kit in his arms. She opened her mouth to speak, but he beat her to it.
“It’s okay, Bambi. Cyrus is having a…moment…but Mama stepped in when she saw it. She just made him hang it up in the kitchen.”
He stepped into the room and set the box on the bed next to her.
“Thank you,” he added.
“I know you said you didn’t want it but—”
Bas shook his head.
“Mama is really happy to have it, and I shouldn’t have been so quick to turn you down. It’s just…hard.”
He didn’t need to explain any more, she understood.
“What are you talking about?” Del interjected. “What did Mama hang in the kitchen? Why are you being weird?”
“Don’t worry about it, Del, I’ll show you later. Aren’t you supposed to be getting ready for some dance or something?”
“Some dance?” she screeched.
Bas winked at Syve over his sister’s shoulder and slipped out of the room.
Syve was sipping on some of the best hot chocolate she had ever had, sitting with one knee up to her chest on a barstool at the island in Soriah’s kitchen.
Bastien was right, Desiderio’s wolf form watched from his new spot on the wall next to the probably-a-pantry.
Soriah had pulled her into a rib crushing hug when she had gone back downstairs, thanking her once in Spanish and twice in English. She then insisted on making cocoa, despite Bastien’s grumbling. Soriah had leveled a look at him that could surely end wars and he shut his mouth so fast his teeth clicked.
They were alone now. After pouring the cocoa for Syve, his mother had kissed her on the cheek, told her she was always welcome in her home, then left the room—a mug of cocoa in one hand and a worn paperback in the other.
“That was amazing, what you did for Del. Thank you again for coming over.” Bas said, rubbing the back of his neck.
Syve thought calling it amazing was being a little generous. All she had done was cut off the burnt strap and replaced it with seven strands of silver ribbon, braiding an inch of each ribbon to the ones next to it to create a honeycomb effect.
Del had been thrilled, and on time. That was all that mattered.
“Happy to help.” She smiled and took another sip.
“You wanna go for a run?” Bas blurted.
Syve blinked up at him, then furrowed her brows. “A…run?”
“Yeah.” He shrugged one shoulder and looked away. “I haven’t been out in a while and I’m feeling a little antsy. I wonder if you might feel the same?”
