"Are we really helping you pick out nice formal clothes?" Virginia asks as we go through the third store in the mall. "Because, I mean, no offense, but I'm probably worse at this than you are."
"Yeah, well, we have Ellen," I say, but she just shakes her head.
"Maybe we should cool it for today," Ellen suggests. "I mean, prom dresses will be going on sale next week, probably, so we can shop more then."
"Yeah, you're probably right," I agree, mostly because I'm just flat out exhausted at this point. We head over to the food court and buy sodas to tide us over until dinner.
"So what's going to happen tonight?" Virginia asks. "Is there anything important we should know? I don't want to set him off."
"You're not going to set him off," I tell her. "Besides, I've already made him promise that he can't give you demerits or detention for anything you say tonight. Within reason."
"So we can ask about school stuff?" Ellen asks.
"Yeah, like that," I say.
"Cool," Ellen says, leaning back in her chair. "I've always wanted to learn more about the Otherworld. Professor Potsdam said that's not until later years, but-"
"No," I say sharply, and they both look at me. "No, um, please don't mention the Otherworld around him."
Virginia tilts her head to the side. "Did something happen there?"
"Please just-" I hesitate. "No Otherworld discussions. Please. Just, consider anything about the Otherworld off limits."
"And personal questions?" Virginia asks.
"Maybe those too," I say. "In fact, just, probably avoiding his past would be a good idea."
"Okay," Virginia says slowly. "Then what are we supposed to talk about? How are we supposed to get to know him?"
"Just…interaction," I shrug. "I don't know. He's more nervous about this than you guys are."
"Grabby? Nervous?" Ellen asks. "He doesn't seem the type to get nervous."
"He's shy," I say. "Or at least, he can be. I don't know. Professor Grabiner and Hieronymous are two different people."
"So do you really call him Hieronymous?" Virginia asks.
"Yes?" I tilt my head to the side in confusion.
"I don't know," Virginia shrugs and looks around. "It's just weird. Like, it's a big name. You don't have like, pet names for each other or anything?"
"Pet names?" I echo.
"You know," she goads. "Baby? Sweetheart?"
"I am married to him and even I can't picture him ever calling me that," I say. "Although he probably will want you to call him Professor Grabiner. Though you can call him Hieronymous if he says you can."
"Honestly, this is kind of exciting," Virginia says, and then she drops her voice. "I, uh, I talked to Jason, before-" I almost drop my soda in my lap and she notices my reaction. "-he thinks we should be careful around him."
"You do know how ridiculous that sounds, right?" I ask. "We're in a public place."
"I know," Virginia says. "Like, I guess Jason just sees what the rest of us see. Not what you see."
"Well, hopefully you can see what I see," I say confidently. "Well, I mean, you know. With more clothes." I'm blushing so hard I have to look away, and Virginia's eyebrows shoot up.
"Is he actually good looking underneath those robes?" she asks me in a whisper.
"Yes," I nod my head firmly in the affirmative. "He is very….toned."
Ellen looks about as red as I am, but Virginia just laughs. "Girl, you have the hots for him bad, don't you?"
"I do," I admit, then shrug. "I'm sorry, is it so wrong to have a crush on my husband?"
"It's not just your husband though, it's Grabby," Virginia continues. "It's so weird."
"Well," I shrug. "I got lucky. I got really lucky."
"It's not just luck," Ellen says. "You said you only had to be married for a year and a day. And you're still married. That means you're working on it. Luck got you there, but the rest is on you two."
"I guess so," I shrug. We start to talk about other things, like Sports Club and the like, as the time winds down until we need to meet him at the Glen. We show up first and grab a table. It's not really that busy, and I can see some seniors from school at a back table, but I'm not sure if that makes things better or worse.
Ellen slides into one end of the table with Virginia following suit while I slide into the other side. "How do we order?" Virginia asks.
"Uh, I'm not sure," I say, pointing to the scrolls. "I know you can order off that, but I don't know any of the languages."
"Uh-" Virginia picks up a scroll and reads through it with Ellen peeking over her arm. "So how are we supposed to know what we're getting then?" she asks.
I shrug, letting my shoulders rise and drop. "We're on his good humor?" I say.
"Oh great," Virginia says. "He's going to make me eat something healthy, isn't he?"
"I don't know," I say. I'm about to say more when suddenly I notice him coming towards us. He's not dressed like him at all. He looks like he is dressed as a professor in a modern day university. He's wearing a white shirt that's unbuttoned at the top, with a dark vest, under a tweed blazer.
"Tori?" Virginia says, waving her hand in front of my face. "Tori, your face just got red, what's- oh."
I see a similar blush creep along her own cheeks as Hieronymous sits down beside me. "Um, hi," she says.
"Hello," he says, raising his eyebrows pleasantly. "Ms. Danson. Ms. Middleton."
"You can just call them Virginia and Ellen," I say quickly. "At least for today."
"Then I suppose I should exchange the same courtesy," Hieronymous says. "And you may call me Hieronymous for tonight only as I am here not as your professor but as your friend's husband."
"Right," Virginia says, quickly recovering herself. "So, Hieronymous, do you and Tori come here often?"
"We had our first date here," he replies, but there's something wrong with his tone. It's too pleasant, it's too normal, like we were just a bunch of friends hanging around.
"It wasn't a date," I murmur. For some reason, I am unable to quell the heat rising from my cheeks. I look at Ellen, and she looks just about as red as I am. "I just almost passed out face first into a table of candles, that's all."
"Seriously?" Virginia asks. "Man, you sure need a lot of rescuing."
"Oh, you've noticed that too?" Hieronymous asks. "I must thank you two for keeping such a good eye on her while she was in your company."
The waiter comes over and he and Hieronymous start to converse in another language. I have no idea what they're saying and Virginia leans halfway over the table and cups her hand over her mouth. I see her form the words, "He's kind of hot" but I just rub my temple with one hand and shake my head as I look away. This was my idea, but the whole thing was still super embarrassing. The only thing that makes this any better was that at least Ellen looks as bad as I feel.
The waiter walks away, and Virginia turns back to Hieronymous. "So, now that you two are married and settled, as a stand-in for her parents, we need to ask you-" she elbows Ellen in the side as if this was rehearsed, and they both clasp their hands together on the table and lean forward slightly, as if they're discussing a business negotiation "-what your intentions are for our Tori."
I sink my face into the palm of my hand, but Hieronymous just laughs. It's a light, happy sound, and both Virginia and Ellen look confused and off-balance for a second. "That's very cute," he replies. He takes my left hand with his right under the table and runs his thumb over my knuckles. "But that's easy. To make her happy. To make sure she gets a good education. To make sure she finishes school in one piece." He looks pointedly at me, but I can't return his gaze.
"And children?" Virginia asks. I feel my jaw go slack.
"I don't think that's any of your concern," he says demurely.
"Well, it's important for you both to be on the same page with what you want," Virginia says. "That's all I'm saying."
"And the thought is well appreciated," Hieronymous says. "Virginia, you were raised in a magical family, were you not?"
Virginia's eyebrows shoot up. "Uh, yes, yes sir. Uh, yes."
"And both of your parents live here?" he asks.
"Uh, yes," Virginia says. "My dad sometimes goes to the, uh, Otherworld with my mom for business and stuff, but they mostly live here." She shoots a glance at me but I shake my head ever so slightly. You're fine.
"I had the pleasure of teaching William several times during his time at Iris," he says. "He was a very bright student, very capable. I trust he's doing well?"
"Oh, he is," Virginia says, looking almost surprised. "He's doing very well in college."
"And your other brother?" he asks. "Donald, is it?"
"Yes," Virginia says. "We're encouraging him to stay out of trouble. He likes to audition for the plays in the spring. It keeps him active and out of detention."
"That's good to hear," Hieronymous muses. "If you should see the younger Mr. Danson, please remind him that I would like to devote Saturday afternoons to tend to the needs of my beloved, and therefore any pranks he is considering should be highly discouraged."
Virginia looks at me. "That's adorable," she confesses, and I swear by now my face cannot get any redder.
"And you, Ellen?" Hieronymous asks. "How do you like your time at Iris?"
"It's good," Ellen says, but it comes out as no more than a squeak.
"I heard you are getting along very well in Professor Potsdam's class," he says. "She says you have an affinity for white magic."
"I do, sir," she says, then nervously adds. "I've been studying white magic a lot. I want to live in the Otherworld someday."
Virginia looks at me and I glance back nervously. Did she know this? Is that why she wanted to ask him about the Otherworld? I had told her not mention it. I can feel Hieronymous stiffen slightly, only because he is holding my hand, but otherwise I think it goes over mostly unnoticed.
"Many witches and wizards choose to live in the Otherworld," he says. His tone is off only so slightly that I'm not sure if they pick up on it, but I do. Or maybe I'm just listening for it. "Magic flows more freely there; however, it is a very dangerous place, especially for those of wildseed origin. I would give it a few more years and make sure to talk to Professor Potsdam about your pursuits. She can help teach you the proper warding's to make sure you get over there safely. Many students have died or have fallen victim to unfortunate circumstances from crossing over to the Otherworld before they were ready."
Virginia's eyes drift over to me, and I shift my gaze to the side before looking back. They're not dumb; they can piece it together for themselves.
"Speaking of unfortunate circumstances," Virginia pipes up, and I turn to glare at her. "Why don't you tell us the story of how you two got married? We've heard a bit of it from Tori, but we'd love to hear how it went down from your perspective."
"I suppose that's fair," he replies. "My family had recently come into possession of a Manus. I was attempting to perform some experiments when one of my spells backfired and I was rendered unconscious. Tori found me and jumped through the warding to try to save my life without realizing that the warding in place was to protect me and members of my family. Professor Potsdam fortunately was present to rectify the situation by telling the Manus that Tori was my betrothed, and we were married that afternoon."
"Aw that's so romantic," Virginia teases. I sigh inwardly, wanting nothing more than to teleport anywhere but here. "So where did you end up getting married?"
"In the dungeons," Hieronymous admits. "Understand that it had to be very private, and we didn't want to risk Tori's or my reputation if such details of the affair came to light. Not that it mattered much anyway, as you all well know." He glances aside at me. "She looked very beautiful. I believe she told Professor Coleman that it was a very romantic ceremony."
Virginia gives me a weird look. "He asked," I say defensively.
Virginia's about to ask something else when the food arrives. There are about six plates of things, from a kind of roasted meat slice on a piece of fruit to something that looked like deviled eggs to something that looked like Crab Rangoon. Virginia wastes no time in helping herself to everything, trying everything at the table, but Ellen and I just pick off the respective plates that are closest to us.
"So, Tori, you're being very quiet," Virginia says. At least she isn't talking with her mouth open right now. "I think this is probably the quietest I've seen you." She turns to Hieronymous. "Usually we can't get her to stop talking."
"Hm, someone sympathetic to my plight," Hieronymous muses and she laughs. I just make a face at her and keep eating, silently. Hieronymous tucks a strand of hair behind my ear and I look up at him just in time to see the amusement and mischief playing behind his eyes. It's a role, of course it's a role, but he's playing it so, so well he's fooling even me.
I break eye contact for a moment to realize that Virginia and Ellen are watching us very intently. "Woah," Virginia says.
"Psh," I say, resuming my eating.
"No, it's cute," Virginia says. "I don't see Ellen and Donald look at each other like that."
"Yes, Ellen," I say to get the attention off me. "Tell us what cute dates you and Donald have been on."
Ellen blushes scarlet, but holds her composure. "I will not," she says softly.
"So, Tori, are you planning on coming to the gym at all this week?" Virginia asks in an attempt to break the silence.
"I might as well," I sigh. "Going to have to get back to it eventually. Maybe it won't be so bad with other people around."
"Take your time," Hieronymous says, gently smoothing down my hair, and I can see Virginia is watching the contact closely. How much of this is going to be reported back to Jason?
"I'll be there with you," Virginia chimes in. "If you feel like you need to run out, I'll cover for you."
"Thank you," I say quickly.
"What are friends for, right?" Virginia asks. "Besides, someone needs to watch out for you. Remember last year when Kyo was storming up and down the whole gym complaining about Minnie dumping him and you kicked him in the back of the head with a soccer ball?"
Hieronymous sighs and glances at me out of the corner of his eye. "I still maintain that that was an accident," I say innocently, popping something sweet into my mouth.
"Let's try to keep the number of enemies you have near zero, okay?" Hieronymous asks.
"Near zero," I say cheerfully. "Not at zero. And besides, it's just Kyo. He's dating someone else now. He probably doesn't even remember."
"Probably not," Virginia agrees, turning to Hieronymous. "So I don't suppose you can tell us anything about the finals that are coming up, huh?"
"Virginia," Ellen scolds.
"I can tell you it will be different than the exams you've had in the past," he says. "This one is on a more introspective level, to prepare you for what you will learn in your third and fourth years." I want to ask him if I still have to take it but I can't. Not here. Not in front of Virginia and Ellen.
The waiter comes by to place the dessert in front of us: a type of candy that is smooth and red and shaped like a strawberry, but without any seeds. "What is it?" Ellen asks.
"Just put it in your mouth," Virginia says, and it occurs to me that she's probably been to magical restaurants with her family before. The two of us wait apprehensively as Ellen puts it in her mouth, wrinkling up her nose as it explodes in a burst of liquid flavor. "Aw, you bit into it too early," Virginia tells her.
I take mine, trying to keep a level face. "I should get going," Hieronymous says quietly, more to me than to them. "Think you can get home safe with your friends?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine," I say. He doesn't move and I turn my head to look at him. That's when he puts his finger underneath my chin and tips my head up and kisses me, much like he had on the first night that we kissed back during the May Day ball. The fact that he is kissing me here, so openly and publicly, right in front of my friends, is doing strange things to my insides and all I can do is sit there and let myself be kissed.
"See you at home," he says as he pulls away, and I can still feel his warm, intoxicating breath on my face as he speaks.
"Okay," I say breathlessly.
"Ms. Middleton, Ms. Danson, I will hopefully see you in class before your examinations," he says.
"Oh you will," Virginia says, and Ellen nods in quick agreement. Hieronymous puts some money down on the table and stands up, kissing the knuckles on my hand gently before he walks away. I watch him go, my cheeks again flushed scarlet.
"Wow," Virginia says. "I don't even know what to say to that." I don't answer. "Wow, Tori, you look-" I deliberately look away. "-happy."
"Yeah, well." I keep my lips pursed as my face flushes with color. "You see how he is. He is gentle and kind and romantic."
"And he's like that all the time?" Ellen asks.
"Yes," I say. "Well, around me at least."
Virginia crosses her arms over her chest. "Are you sure that was Professor Grabiner? Because I'm still not sure."
"That was him," I say. "Well, not Professor Grabiner. That was Hieronymous. Sometimes it's like they're two different people."
"Well now I can believe it," Virginia says as she stands up. "We should be getting back though too. The last bus is going to get here in about ten minutes."
"How did he get back?" Ellen asks.
"Teleported out," I say.
"That's what this main lobby is for," Virginia says as we pass through it. "But he doesn't have enough power to teleport all four of us back to school."
"Well, he could," I say. "He's really powerful."
"I bet he is," Virginia says under her breath, and I scoff at her. "What? I just can't believe how you look at him. It's like you turn into a goopy marshmallow every time he's around."
"No I don't," I huff, crossing my arms across my chest.
"You were shy," Virginia says. "You were shyer than Ellen."
I turn to her. "What was that thing you were saying about the Otherworld? You want to live there?"
"Well," Ellen hesitates. "I do, kind of. That's why I want to know more about it. I wasn't going to say anything at first, but then Virginia brought it up and he didn't seem to mind, so-"
"So who died there?" Virginia asks, raising her eyebrow at me. "Friend? Family member? Girlfriend? Wife?"
"He's never been married before," I say quickly.
"Girlfriend," Virginia says with a hint of finality. "Do I want to know how it happened?"
"No," I shake my head. "You really, really don't."
She pauses and frowns. "That bad, huh?"
"Just, when I say it's really bad, please trust that it's about a thousand times worse than that," I tell her. "But don't go spreading that around, okay? Don't even tell Donald. He's really…private about that part of his life."
"But he's got you now," Virginia says slowly, like she doesn't understand.
"Yeah," I say, and I'm unable to hide a twinge of bitterness in my voice.
"Well," Virginia breathes as the bus arrives. "He seems to really like you. And he makes you happy. And I guess he can be nice when he wants to be." She pauses. "And he does look really good in that jacket. Did you tell him to wear that?"
"I didn't even know he had it," I tell her honestly.
"Well then, you have my blessing," Virginia says. "Not that you needed it anyway."
I smile at her. "It still means something."