THREE DAYS EARLIER
Legend glanced at the music festival tickets Alexandria had just dropped on top of his crossword puzzle. "Weren't you going with Contessa?"
"She had to cancel. New triggers, new interdimensional crises. Doctor Mother can't make it either. So are you free?"
"Thanks for the sloppy second invite, but my Saturday's booked," Legend said, nudging the tickets away with his pen. "I'm doing Make-A-Wish."
"You still have those?" Eidolon spoke up from his spot on the sofa. "Rebecca and I knocked them out way back in January. Made it a New Year's resolution."
"I don't see the wishes as something to 'knock out'. Kids don't suddenly stop getting sick just because you satisfied your quota," Legend said primly. "And for the last time, 'New Year's resolution' doesn't mean you complete the resolution on New Year's Day."
"Are you saying that I don't do enough for the children?" Alexandria asked, eyebrows arched. "Me, with my history that I shared with you in confidence?"
"Not at all. I don't know how you got that from what I said."
"We ask the foundation for a list of outstanding wishes." Alexandria stood up. "I take half, you take half. We'll see who completes theirs faster."
Legend grimaced. "I don't like this approach. Make a Wish is supposed to be about fulfilling the final desires of terminally ill children, not a contest of egos."
"You were just criticising me for not doing enough. Don't pretend that this isn't a contest of superegos to you."
"Peer. Pressure," Eidolon chanted, thumping the coffee table with a fist. "Peer. Pressure."
"You can pretend you're competing with me if it makes you happy," Legend said. "But I'm not participating."
He didn't know if she heard him; she'd already departed through a portal. Pushing the conversation out of mind, he went back to shading in all the extra boxes on his crossword.
