29. The Couple That Brews Together

Chapter 29

The Couple That Brews Together

T he rhythmic beats of the heart monitor filled the room. It was dark. Only the soft glow of an overhead light above Elizabeth’s bed illuminated the area. An oxygen tube was placed in her nose. Wires connected to heart monitor leads crisscrossed her body before disappearing under her hospital gown.

She wore a purple knit hat on her head; her vibrant auburn hair was a distant memory. Her face was sunken and skeletal. Her breath grew shallower with every passing moment. Hugo held Elizabeth’s frail hand resting on the soft, knit blanket that covered her failing body.

He leaned back in the hospital chair. The uncomfortable vinyl padding pressed against his back. His face and eyes were red. He bit his lower lip so he could feel something. He lingered on the flowers and balloons sent by the Raskins. Their brightly colored images were a stark contrast to the barren hospital walls. They were something to help brighten her mood, if even for a fleeting moment.

A nurse entered the room. Hugo glanced toward her, but quickly returned to Elizabeth. He paid no attention as she made her routine examination of the equipment. Hugo didn’t care. There was nothing she could do that would change the outcome.

The nurse broke the silence, “Does she need last rites?”

Hugo slowly took his eyes off Elizabeth and onto the nurse sitting in a swivel chair. “I’m sorry. What did you say?” Hugo asked, not hearing her original question.

“Does she need anyone to perform last rites or anything?” the nurse asked again.

“Yeah, umm, no,” Hugo struggled for the answer. “The… umm… the Priest stopped by earlier.”

“Good,” the nurse replied as she rose from the workstation. “She can hear you. If you talk to her, she should be able to hear you.”

Hugo nodded his head and in a low voice said, “Thank you. I’ve been talking to her.”

“It’s tough,” the nurse said. “I know what it’s like sitting there—waiting, watching, feeling helpless. It’s tough.”

Hugo sat silently watching Elizabeth’s shallow breaths.

“But at least she has you by her side,” the nurse said. “I would like to think that matters more to her than anything in the world. I believe that.”

“Thank you,” Hugo said.

“Hopefully, it’s not too much longer.” The nurse left the room.

The rhythmic beeps of the heart monitor were once again the only sounds in the room. Hugo traced a heart on the back of her hand with his thumb. He traced the same heart pattern over and over. He looked away. He couldn’t watch her suffer any longer. His resolve failed him in that moment. Tears flowed down his face. He pressed down on his lips as he tried to hold them back.

“My knight in shining armor,” Elizabeth said in a low raspy voice. “Did you ride to me on Galahad?”

Hugo sat up in the chair. He leaned forward, grabbing her hand with both of his. He smiled and let out a chuckle to hide his tears. “Yeah. I rode him all over the world searching for a lady fairer than thou, but we found none,” Hugo replied .

She smiled. “Galahad is a good horse.”

“He was.”

She coughed a death rattle. Her breathing became more labored, and she closed her eyes. “I want you to live, Hugo. I want you to live on,” she barely managed in her raspy voice.

“I will,” Hugo said. “I will.”

“Promise me,” she demanded.

“I promise you.”

She gasped for air. Hugo leaned forward to rest his forehead on the bed rail. “I love you, Elizabeth.”

“She loves you too,” Elizabeth said. Hugo raised his head, confused by her answer. “Alice loves you.”

“How do you know about Alice?”

“She loves you more than you know. Keep living, Hugo. Keep living.”

“We had a fight. And I said things,” Hugo said through tears. “Horrible things. Things I want to take back. But I can’t. She got hurt. And I tried… I tried to save her. I don’t think I did. So, now I’ve had to watch two women I love die, while I sat there helpless.”

Hugo was a sobbing mess.

“Stop torturing yourself. You did all that you could. You couldn’t stop it.”

“I know. But it still hurts.”

“You’ll always have our memories. Live for her. Live for your futures. Please.”

“I will. I will,” he replied. “But how do I save her?”

“You already did. And she saved you.”

“How?” Hugo asked.

Elizabeth fell silent. She took one final gasp of air and was gone. Hugo buried his head into his arms. Crying out into the darkness, her hand slipped from his.

A hand brushed against Hugo’s cheek. The soft touch of a woman’s hand. Her fingers traced along his beard and jawline. He raised his head. He was back in Alice’s house. The collection of macabre oddities surrounded him. He felt something stirring. He wiped the tears from his face and spun around to both knees.

Alice was awake.

“Alice!” Hugo shouted. “Can you hear me?”

Her body squirmed. Air rushed into her lungs. She arched her back, flexing out her chest before falling back down onto the couch. She stretched out her arms, knocking over the wineglass, before pulling them back. She massaged her temples, grimacing with every deep finger massage. Alice rubbed her chest where the amulet had performed its dark deed. Her palm pressed deep into her sternum. She opened her eyes and beamed at Hugo.

“Hey,” Alice mustered. “You found me.”

“Always,” Hugo replied.

Their eyes locked. Hugo smiled at Alice, relief in his eyes. She smiled back, but then surveyed the room as if she was unfamiliar with her surroundings.

“How did I get back here?” Alice asked.

“I brought you here after what happened,” Hugo replied.

“I remember a great pain, and then it stopped. What happened?”

“After you went limp, I stabbed the necklace with the wand like you told me. It disintegrated. Then Johanna disappeared into dust, and I didn’t know what to do. I broke every speeding law to get here. Your reflection couldn’t help me. She was laying on the floor. I tried calling Ez, but I couldn’t get ahold of her. I tried some wine, and that didn’t work. Then I tried the one we made together. I think it worked because you’re here now,” Hugo finished.

He collapsed on top of her. His head buried into her neck. His arm grabbed the side of her shoulder. Alice wrapped her arms around him. Her fingers splayed out across his back. Her hands slowly rubbed the worn leather of his jacket in concentric circles. She cried. These were not tears of sadness, but joy .

“You saved me,” Alice said.

“We saved each other.”

They released from their embrace. Alice sat up and rotated toward him. Hugo sat back on his heels, now positioned between Alice’s legs. He touched her knees. His hands slowly worked their way up her thighs. She slightly winced. He lost himself in her eyes. His icy blues matched with her emerald greens.

“I’m so sorry,” he said. “I’m sorry for what I said and how I acted. I had no right. I understand you were trying to help me. I shouldn’t have acted the way I did. I love you. I love you more than you know, Alice.”

“I love you too, Hugo,” her words fought through tears. “It’s okay. I shouldn’t have acted that way, either. I shouldn’t have hid the ring. I should have trusted you.”

Their gazes lingered. Their hearts raced. They desired each other in a way that transcended the physical.

Hugo rose. His hands cupped around her chin and traced the outline of her jaw. They continued behind her head. His fingers interlocked with her purple hair. He closed his eyes and leaned in. His lips pressed against hers. She wrapped her arms around his torso once more, kneading her fingers into his back as if she was molding and shaping him to her desires.

He kissed her softly. Her lips were still cold against his warm lips. They breathed heavily as if they gasped for air, but only found the wet embrace of each other. Their tongues danced in a forbidden tango. He pulled back on her hair ever so slightly. Not enough to hurt, but enough to excite her and send wild sensations through her body. Her eyes closed.

Time stopped. He was lost in the ecstasy of her embrace once again. Their hearts beat as one. They stopped, forehead against forehead, coming up for needed air. They opened their eyes and found each other once again in a lovers’ gaze.

“It feels like I waited hours for you to come back,” Hugo said.

Alice pulled back and glanced over to the end table where the hourglass stood. “Did you touch the hourglass again?”

“Yeah,” Hugo replied. “What do you think stopped you from dying?”

Alice snapped back toward Hugo; her eyebrows crinkled. “Did you—” she started. “Did you speed it back up after giving me the wine?”

“No.”

“Well, no wonder it felt like hours,” Alice stated. “You should have sped it back up after giving me the wine.”

“How was I supposed to know that?”

“You literally passed out on my floor because of it,” Alice shouted as she fell back onto the velvet couch.

“You’re welcome,” Hugo responded.

Alice leaned forward. Her soft lips pressed against his to give him one more brief kiss. “I love you, Hugo,” Alice said. “But you need to stop with your parlor tricks and learn how real magick works.”

“That’s it! Where’s that necklace?” he joked as they broke into laughter.

Alice turned the ring in the hourglass back to the center. Alice’s cell phone buzzed in Hugo’s pocket and then fell silent.

“Hey,” a familiar voice yelled from upstairs. “What’s going on down there? I’m fine, by the way. No need to check on me.”

“Should we go check on her?” Hugo asked.

“Let her wait a little longer,” Alice answered, wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

She leaned in closer. An invisible force pulled them together. Closer. Eyes locked. Smiles wide across their faces. With desire in her eyes, Alice bit her lower lip. Hugo wanted Alice, and he knew she wanted him. A fleeting thought of picking her up once more and carrying her upstairs entered his mind. He could feel her warm breath on his lips.

“Where’s Gally?” Alice asked .

Hugo’s joyful expression faded into somberness. Alice’s smile was a distant memory, replaced by panic and fear.

“What’s wrong?”

“Alice…” Hugo struggled. “I’m so sorry. I think… I think Gally’s dead.”

Alice cleared a lump in her throat. Her breathing quickened. She shook her head in disbelief. “Where is he?”

“I’ll go get him,” Hugo said as he stood up.

He kissed Alice on the top of her head before leaving through the front door. Hugo sprinted down the front steps, heading to Alice’s SUV. He grasped the back door handle. He paused for a moment, hoping, wishing, praying his buddy would be moving around, excited to see him.

He peered through the window and saw the brown broomstick. The slanted, charging head. The black streaks. The tan knots. The worn, brown, saddle style bicycle seat. The silver metal footrest he gave Alice as a present last Christmas. The black broomcorn with streaks of red and purple. His eyes welled up. There, laying motionless on the back seat, was the horse dog broomstick that flew him to find Alice.

He opened the door. He nudged the broomstick once more, but it didn’t move.

“Oh, Gally. I’m so sorry.” Tears fell down his face. He picked up the broomstick, cradled it in his arms, and held it close. The saddle seat pressed against his chest. “You were a good flying buddy. You rescued me when I fell. You looked after me. We flew all over, and you took me to find the best witch of all. I’ll miss you.” Hugo squeezed once more and carried Galahad into Alice’s house.

Alice swung her legs off the couch and sat up as Hugo entered. “Oh, Gally,” she cried. She stood up and rushed to Hugo.

He handed her the lifeless broomstick. Alice embraced the cold hickory handle. She rubbed her fingertips down the slant of its head and back up. Tears flowed down her face, falling to the hardwood floor. She wiped them away.

Tears welled in Hugo’s eyes. “Can you fix him?”

Alice’s grip on the hickory handle tightened. Weeping, Alice answered, “I can’t.”

Sniffling, Hugo wiped his nose with the back of his hand. “He was a good horse dog. A great horse dog. He pulled up and took the full brunt of it. He saved me. What was that?”

Sporadic gasps between her running tears, she managed, “It was an anti-magick wand. She used it to cause me great pain, but on Galahad—”

She paused before continuing, “On Gally, it stripped him of his magical abilities. I can’t… I can’t bring him back.” She clutched Galahad close to her chest. Her head rested against its head.

Hugo pulled out the black, twisting wand from his jacket pocket. Alice’s eyes drew toward the twisting point. Hugo grabbed both ends of the wand. His thumbs pushed up the center. His hands pulled the ends down. The wand bent, but it was unrelenting.

He pushed harder, and small cracks appeared. His nose flared. Anger burned in his eyes. A vengeful rage filled him. He pulled it closer to his chest, using it as leverage for his thumbs. There was a snap and then a crack before the wand shattered into pieces. Small bits of the center fell to the ground.

“There,” Hugo said, holding the two ends in his curled fingers. “It can’t hurt us anymore.”

A half smile returned to Alice’s face. “Thank you,” she said. “Thank you for everything.” She carried Galahad into her living room. Hugo followed.

“Hey,” the voice yelled from upstairs. “Don’t forget about me.”