"Did the connection die?"
"Yeah," Stefan said, endeavoring to save his doubt for the call back. He pressed redial. It rang and rang and rang and then died. He sighed. Caroline snatched the phone back.
"Maybe his battery is flat," she supplied hopefully, trying to call him back a third time and going directly to voicemail. She frowned, a look that similarly matched Stefan's. They could sense they'd made a mistake.
"Check the app," Stefan instructed. Caroline pressed a few buttons, bringing up the Spouse Tracker app as she'd done since they started this trip. He'd installed it on Damon's phone after his return. Stefan wouldn't admit it, but there was a part of him that felt anxious about losing his brother again and needed to know where he was and what crazy thing he was getting into next. Not that he told Damon, of course, or anyone else for that matter—not even Caroline—he hadn't wanted her to worry, and also—they hadn't really been talking. She hated him then. It had been a dark period in his life but he'd eventually gotten over it and forgotten about it – until now.
"I don't see him anymore—"
Stefan took the phone from her to check for himself, his lips drawn into a grim line.
"Can you remember the last place he'd visited?"
"I think it was motel something—"
Stefan handed the phone back and turned on the engine.
"Cadillac motel," he concluded, remembering in a flash the name he'd seen.
"Right!" she beamed, her look of concern fading slightly. "Have you been there before?"
"Never," he responded, watching as she started tinkering with the phone again. This was one of the many other things he loved about her, he didn't have to tell her what he was thinking – she just knew.
"Give me a second, your phone's slow."
Stefan smiled as if to say 'no rush' and pulled onto the highway, taking it slow, giving her time to bring up the map and markers to point them in the right direction. They were still too close to Mystic Falls, not even half an hour into the trip after spending the night safe-guarding Tyler. One of many unforeseen obstacles that night. They'd left Alaric's after convincing him to let the nurse back in the apartment, after assuring him that it was the only way they'd leave him alone. They were on the way, following Damon to some memorial park when they got the call from Matt. Tyler broke free of their chains and made a runner. Stefan refused to let Caroline handle it alone. What if Tyler accidentally bit her? Klaus wasn't close by and Stefan didn't like putting her at risk. They returned to Mystic Falls, met up with Matt and spent the night hunting Tyler, when they found him—at long last—it had taken them a lot to get him down and had spent the rest of the night guarding him until morning. With the first stretch of light they were gone, back on the road and assured, by Tyler himself, that he wasn't at risk of turning again – not until next month. They'd felt helpless then, worried about their friends simultaneously, hating the fact that there wasn't enough of them to go around.
"It says to follow this road north," she explained at long last, zooming in on the directions as she read them. "To turn left onto James Madison and to make a U-Turn."
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Stefan interjected as amiably as his stressed-out mood would allow. He was irritated with Damon. "Where are we now? Let's start there and go step for step."
Caroline looked around, searching for signs trying to figure out how close or far they were to what they needed. "I don't see anything useful yet."
Stefan said nothing, speeding up a bit, his eyes locked on the road ahead. Caroline turned on the radio, his phone settled between her closed thighs and were she could glimpse down at the information.
"He got what he wanted from me, didn't he?" she asked after a short while of silence, trying to see if his head was in the same place.
"It wasn't your fault. He does that. He played us."
"But what if—"
"It'll be okay," Stefan said, flashing her a soothing smile. "We're not too far and we know where they are."
"But what if they aren't there when we get there?"
"Then we work out a new plan and hope they're still close."
"I hate this," she said at random and after a lengthy—thoughtful—silence, sounding forlorn and like she wanted to cry. He didn't blame her. It had been an emotional week. Stefan didn't know what to say, didn't know how to make this right or to reassure her – he couldn't. "I hope she's okay."
"Me too," he answered, tightening his hold on the steering wheel, lowering his foot a little firmer on the accelerator. They feel into easy silence, drowning out the rest of their trip with the radio and the early morning top 40 hits.
Bonnie heard Kai in spite of his quiet tone. How could she not? They were squeezed into an old rust bucket with over one hundred and twenty thousand miles on the odometer. Obviously, Kai was skeptical. He had the right to be. She chose not to question it and instead focused on the road as they headed into Washington's central. And directly through it to Germantown. There were many restaurants, cafés and a colossal amount of Starbucks on almost every corner. The latter was the only one that appeared to be open at this early hour. Bonnie glanced at the digital watch in the middle of the car's dashboard, then at the neon yellow watch on her left wrist as if to confirm the time. It was almost eight AM. They wouldn't have too long a wait if they pulled over somewhere.
"Want to grab a coffee? They also serve a half-decent breakfast. I could do with a bacon, cheddar and egg sandwich." They might even have a phone she could use, or a pay phone nearby.
Kai scoffed a laugh, crawling in a long line of cars waiting to turn. "I have another treat for you in mind, Miss Bennett, so I suggest you sit back, relax and let me handle things to your pleasure. After all those happy meals you provided, it's the least I can do for you right away to keep you fit and perky. The better you feel, the better blood I get."
A few tedious traffic jams later, he pulled up at a The Levi's Store, tugged the key out, put it in his pocket as he half turned to Bonnie.
"Before I do, though, we gotta change. Not that you're wearing rags, but you can do a bit better, and you've money to do better, which means better's what we're gonna do." He smiled and jerked his chin towards the street in invitation for her to get out of the car, then stepped out and headed for the store's door.
After around half an hour, they were packed back in their car, driving through another jam that was about to loosen into a decent traffic trickle. It didn't take long, and around half past nine AM, they stepped out of the car to walk into 1789 Restaurant. Bonnie cast a wild glance at him Kai pretended to have missed as he held the door for her.
"We'll be having a private dining table," he told the host inside with a compulsion push. The host smiled and invited the youth to follow him.
The room he brought them to invoked both classic and kitsch thoughts, but looked good enough for Bonnie who seemed mesmerized enough to wear an unregistered smile when she let the host hold the chair for her as she settled. Barely a moment after he left, a waitress brought them menus and a wine card.
"Now, that's a nice way to live," Kai noted, perusing the items in search of anything he would want to eat. "I might yet come to like that hybrid swag. So, maybe I can forgo saying aloud the obvious, but I guess I'll say it, nonetheless."
Bonnie picked up her menu and opened it, trying to remember the last time she'd seen the inside of a dining hall with such affluent furnishings and such absurd prices. The Lockwood mansion had come in at the closest. She grimaced and looked up, meeting Kai's eyes with reluctance. She had turned a blind eye to their shopping spree, it wasn't needed—but it was fun, but this—these prices seemed astronomical, surely someone would miss it in currency.
Kai caught her eyes and winked with a vain smile spreading over his mouth. "Forget the money, babe. You can have anything you want."
"Seven hundred bucks. Total," Bonnie reminded, flashing him a light smile as she steered her gaze back to the neatly printed menu open in front of her. She didn't know what they were doing or if they'd reached some kind of truce for now, but whatever it was, she decided – around the same time she let him get her these shapely boot cut jeans – that she'd give it a go. That she'd quit resisting as long as it didn't lead to blood. "That's almost half the price of a dessert," she teased, flipping another page to check and compare.
Kai watched her, smiling and waiting.
Once she got to desserts, her expression slacked into a light disappointment mixed with surprise. "Or not," she admitted. Ten dollars for a campfire sundae and everything else.
The waitress returned to their table, settling an assortment of parmesan, garlic and breadsticks in the middle. Bonnie loved those miniature butters. "Are you still deciding?" the waitress asked as Bonnie set the menu down and reached for one of the butters to peel it open. The young witch looked up at her and smiled. "Can I get either of you something to drink?"
"I'll just have a coffee, two sugars and a lot of milk," Bonnie said.
She nodded and then regarded Kai.
"We'll also have a bottle of this," he said, pointing at Côte Rôtie "Château d'Ampuis" in the wine card. She smiled a wide one as she glimpsed the price and approved with a nod as she penciled it down before leaving them alone once more.
Bonnie reached for a butter knife, side plate and a piece of a bread. "Did you call ahead or something? Because from what I can see on the menu, these people don't exactly do breakfast, do they? Unless they consider—" she glanced down at the open menu to read off the list, "—Lamb bacon lardons and rainbow Swiss chard to be breakfast food." She didn't even know what a chard or lardons was.
"Breakfast food is anything you wanna eat when you wake up, isn't it? So, that's what you need to choose." Kai spread his hands in a short voila gesture, and sat back.
Bonnie took a supporting bite of her bread at his showy gesture and set down the blunt knife. She wasn't even going to attempt addressing the wine. It was ten in the morning, God only knew what they thought about their early patrons in the back.
"And your money doesn't matter when you have a vampire with you, am I right?" he continued.
Bonnie heeded his point with a chuckle. She wondered, if she were a vampire – would she misuse her ability to compel people? She wondered if her mother did it, if she'd gotten over never being able to use magic again and craving blood. Could Bonnie?
"No, I didn't call in advance because I had no idea where we'd end up in five minutes, let alone a few hours. Everything's too spontaneous when you're around and your friends are not."
Bonnie took a large bite of her slice, dusting her fingertips upon the provided napkin, a strip of cloth she pulled into her lap and laid over the top of her denim-clad thighs to protect them from her ineptness. She wasn't the best eater. She scrutinized Kai for a silent minute. He thought she was unpredictable? She almost loathed to tell him that it wasn't on purpose, that things came to her out of the blue and that she rarely did anything without planning it first. At least when it came to her social life. The rest, well, that was a mystery on its own. Windfall she was trying to avoid.
The waitress came back with beverages. She put Bonnie's coffee before her, then opened the bottle of red, poured them each half a glass, and set the wine on the table in a bucket of ice.
Kai caught her eyes and pushed with compulsion: "Give the young lady your cell phone, then forget you did it and remember only that you've lost it earlier and need a new one ASAP."
The waitress gave a slow, pensive nod, did as she was told, and walked out. Bonnie stared at the device in her open palm, bringing it to her chest and out of sight so no one else could catch on. None of the staff that could peek in the room at any given moment, that was.
Kai picked up his glass, raised it in a mute salute, and sipped. "Mm, it's good. You should drink yours – red's good for your blood."
"We can't just take her phone," she said, lifting the napkin to sneak the device beneath it, easing it between her thighs for safekeeping. "What if she has a sickly mother or she uses it for banking or something."
Kai made no reply, sipping wine with a faint inscrutable smile on his face, thinking it was hardly worth it to repeat it to her that the waitress would get herself another phone and restore all she needed.
Bonnie renounced her coffee as the first to taste and reached for the wine he'd selected. She brought it to her nose and sniffed the contents, swirled it around and around gently as she'd seen chefs do—it was supposed to help with the taste as far as she could remember—and then took a sip.
"Mm," she murmured, breathing through her nose softly in support of his review, setting it down once more. She busied herself with the item in her lap and raised both the napkin and the phone onto the table, taking a second to accommodate herself with the unfamiliar device. Thankfully, she wasn't too inept when it came to technology and didn't struggle for too long. She found the sms function in no time and typed a message to Caroline, letting her know she no longer had a phone, that she'd dropped it and that it shattered into a million pieces. She wasn't going to tell her Kai disintegrated it. Bonnie also told her blonde friend that she was moving on again, that she was okay and that no one needed to worry. That the phone she was using wasn't hers and that Caroline shouldn't bother calling. She would call her as soon as she could. Bonnie quickly added her number to the top of the message, made sure it sent, then made sure to delete it from the cell's memory.
"Here," she said once the waitress returned to take our food order, extending the cell toward her, smiling. "You uh… you must have dropped this."
The waitress – STACY according to her nametag – broke into a smile of happy surprise. "Thanks! I don't know what I would have done if I'd lost it." She hardly thought of how it had fallen out of her apron and returned it to its safe spot. "Are you two ready to eat? Would you like to hear the specials?"
"Are we?" Bonnie asked, purposely casting a glance at Kai, trying to gauge what he'd thought of what she'd done and if he had anything else planned.
She waited for him to either counteract her amiable gesture or throw another trick, it seemed. Kai did neither and smiled. "I'll have loin of lamb, and you could list your specials to the young Miss if she would be so inclined."
Bonnie smiled, satisfied that she hadn't stolen the woman's phone. She didn't need her conscience smudged any more than it already was. "I know what I want." She glanced down, tapping at the name. "I'll take the hanger steak." Not that she understood most of what came with it, but what did it matter? Steak and wine at 10 AM? She was living a little more exuberantly. "Medium rare," she added before the waitress asked how she liked it.
Bonnie offered her the menu; she took it and then waited for Kai to hand his over—or keep it – before darting off to place their orders. Bonnie watched her go and sat back, reaching for her wine glass, taking a bigger sip this time, really letting it work its magic and warm her cheeks.
Kai saw a tinge of color shining through on her cheeks. It made her prettier, as if they were on vacation and having breakfast after honeymoon kind of night. He caught himself in time before his mind strayed to wonder whether he would like that, and cut it off.
"So," Bonnie began, knowing that her next line of questioning would probably dredge up more resentment and ruin their little shindig, yet she was hopeful that it wouldn't. She didn't want messy. "I know you said you watched me – us – for months in nineteen-ninety-four before you made your grand entrance. But I'm curious, how did you even know we were there? How did you happen upon Mystic Falls? Did we come in like a glowing ball of flame? A shooting star? Or was it just a coincidence? Fate?" She was curious, in some way, to know why they had met and how, of all places, her Grams thought that the prison world would be her best bet. She had to have known he was there, she'd coughed up her blood and aided in its creation. Or maybe it was another family member? Bonnie's mother, perhaps? Bonnie guessed she would never really know.
"Well, one fine morning of the same freakin day, I woke up to your bickering. Later that day I found out it was some crappy little village called Mystic Falls."
She tilted her head slightly as if to say 'you're kidding me'. He had to be. He wasn't a witch. Well, he was—but he didn't have the power and it was not like the place had a supernatural security alarm to alert you of intruders.
Kai sipped his wine, enjoying the look on her face, then allowed himself a slow gotcha smile. "Curiosity killed the cat, you know that one? Aw, don't pout. Frankly, I deem you smart enough to deduce at least a part of this one on your own if it bugs you so much. Cheers." He winked and had another sip.
"It's not that it bugs me," she answered as soon as he gave her the room to do so, drawing her coffee nearer, picking up the teaspoon to stir it and make sure the sugar wasn't sitting at the bottom of the cup, and then added the milk. "We're getting to know one another, aren't we? That's why we're here? I mean, at least partially."
Else, why would he bother going through the effort of taking her to a clothing store to get jimmied up for a fancy restaurant? Why not just stick to some passable diner a couple miles outside of Washington? Or was he a closet snob beneath those sneakers, shorts and tee-shirts she'd first seen him in? Was this all for his pleasure? She guessed that was part of it, too.
Kai smiled, saying nothing, for nothing was better than 'I don't care to let you know me, and I know you well enough already.'
"As for the cat… I've got at least another four lives in me," she teased, ignoring the fear that thought alone stemmed in her. She shouldn't be here – not if they were being realistic. "Besides, you spent eighteen years in that hell hole – alone. You mean to tell me you just sat them out? That after all your attempts and explorations you just kind of hollowed out?" She didn't believe it. He didn't seem the type, not like her, not like she might have been if she had to add an actual eighteen years to her own sentence.
Kai's smile dimmed a tad as he recalled the foggy state he had been retreating to more often in the end of that journey than in its beginning. None of which he cared to reassess.
"You know what, you're right," she said. "That's depressing. Why don't we talk about something mundane? Like books. I'm guessing you read? A lot?"
She didn't know why she was bothering to talk so much, why she didn't want to sit and stare at him in silence. She guessed it was so she could dismiss the fact that only yesterday she was cleaning up a murder, that she didn't know what was to come later in the day or how to go about getting a message to her family. Bonnie didn't know her mother's number out of her head. And was she still living at her holiday house? Bonnie doubted it. She never really told her daughter where she'd gone once she left her—they never got the chance to talk about it.
Kai observed her with interest, sipping his wine, trying to decipher the reason behind her sudden bubbliness. It was unlike the recent Bonnie with her introversive tendencies inspired by her friends' attitude and flailing self-esteem.
"You're so unstable, Bons," he shared with an introspective squint. "Have you thought about it? Lack of stability in your inner world undermines your power – which you and I have already established. And without a stable power you can rely on, you can't do anything not just for those you mean to save, but for yourself, either. And even four lives ain't forty-four."
"And how do you imagine I would go about fixing that? How should I reestablish stability in my life?" she asked. He'd been the one to bring up the top of conversation, it was only fair he be the one to figure it out. She picked up her coffee, tentatively wrapping her hands around it to warm them, and brought it to her lips to taste.
Kai gave a smile as if she had said something endearing. "It's not about how stable your life is, Bonnie. It's about how stable you – and your power – can be in any kind of situation your life will toss you. And it requires training, self-control, self-confidence, and so on and so forth. It requires desire to be the best version of yourself you can be, whatever it takes. Do you have that?" He refilled their glasses.
She stared at him over the rim of her coffee mug, watching as he refilled her wine glass. She didn't know how to even go about answering that, how to address it or to even understand where it came from. She lowered her cup from her mouth, keeping a hold of it.
"Is this your way of saying you want to teach me magic? To prepare me for the unknown and the big 'mama Salvatore' sized bad?" she asked, trying to understand what had prompted this line of questioning and the sudden pep talk.
Kai laughed and shook his head in amusement.
She raised the mug to her lips when he started laughing, turning a blind eye to the splash of heat that took a hold of her cheeks.
"I was merely pointing out the obvious in the light of your searching for a subject to mull over. And to teach you – why and what would I teach you? It's not like I'm much of a charitable guy – I have been once upon a time and look how that turned out for me: stranded in a prison world full of starved vampires. So, this time, what'd be in it for me, right?"
Bonnie fought the impulse to glance down at a spot on the table, to busy herself with another slice of bread while they waited for their breakfast-supper. She should have known better than to play along to begin with, to think that with a new day came a different, more assured understanding. He was still her soon-to-be redeemed hostage.
Kai gave another small laugh as if that was the joke in itself, and looked over at Stacy who brought their food, steaming and aromatic.
She set the dishes down, wished them bon appetite with a sunny smile, and left.
"Mm, I guess I've been missing normal food, let alone that delicious." Kai started to unwrap the utensils from the napkin.
He'd already removed the spark from whatever Bonnie was trying to do. She picked up her knife and fork, studying her food, eyeing the sickly looking white thing on her plate. It looked like mushrooms – not the type she'd seen before.
"Dig in, Bons, you do need the best sustenance we can get you, and this gotta be the best." He sunk his fork and knife into the meat and cut a piece.
Bonnie renounced asking if she'd been downgraded from near-to-dead witch bitch to a prized pig, an appetizer he needed to plump up and spice. She was beginning to feel that way. Like grade-A meat.
Or maybe it's just my foul mood kicking in again.
"Did you know the President dined here with that German lady… Merkel, is it? So I figured, if it's good enough for them, it's gotta be okay for Bonster." He dealt her a radiant smile and sent the meat into his mouth, chewing.
She lazily stabbed her steak and eyed his wide and overly friendly smile, making no attempt to return it this time.
"Oh, that's really good."
She glanced down and concentrated on her own meal, cutting herself a large enough portion so that she wouldn't be expected to answer or come up with some witty retort or expected defense. Bonnie wasn't in the mood. She was done talking for now, done trying to be cute or good-natured. At least for now. She stuffed the square of meat into her mouth, leaving no space between each bite for anymore conversation or even an answer. It wasn't scrambled egg, muffins or some crisply fried rasher of bacon - it was better.
After his teasing Bonnie seemed as if someone popped her enthusiasm and mood balloon, and now it lay at her feet, a lifeless torn rubber rag. She only got a little light back in her eyes when Stacy returned to ask if everything was fine with the food and if they needed anything.
Bonnie nodded, mouth full, and gave her a thumbs up. The second time Stacy returned to the table it was to ask if they needed any more refreshments.
"I'll take another coffee," Bonnie said, setting her utensils together, using the napkin to dab at her mouth before handing it all over to Stacy and watching her walk it back to the kitchen. "I'm going to go freshen up." The witch eased out from her chair. "Ask her for the menu again. I'd err… I'd like to check the dessert." She might as well take advantage of the situation while she could.
She stood and swept a hand along the sides of her jeans, tugging them down and back into position, automatically checking her shirt for any stray sauce stains as she made her way for the bathroom.
Kai watched her go, feeling the annoyance bubbling like a pot of boiling water forgotten on the stove. It flabbergasted him how she, being as clueless and undecided about her own plans, managed to elude the paths he had been paving before her feet. Well, not that she eluded every single one, but the one that mattered seemed to make her wary, like a young nervous horse that's seeing something questionable lying on the road ahead.
Kai sucked in a deep breath and had a swallow of wine. It's okay, Bonnie, we'll get you on the right track. If it were easy, it wouldn't be half as interesting, anyway. He smiled to that thought and sipped.
Bonnie made quick use of the toilet and then spent a little time in front of the bathroom mirror. She washed her hands, rinsed her face and mulled over what he'd said before.
(It's not about how stable your life is, Bonnie. It's about how stable you – and your power – can be in any kind of situation your life will toss you. And it requires training, self-control, self-confidence, and so on and so forth.)
She didn't know where to start. She used to be confident with her magic use—a little too confident—and now, she didn't want to push it, didn't want to depend on it in the same way she had in the past. It couldn't save her, and more often than not, it cost her more than she could ever dream or cared to lose. And this time, the reason they were putting distance between themselves and Virginia was because she thought that maybe, if she ran fast and far enough, Lily would forget about her—they'd forget about her—and she'd be safe this time round. Bonnie would never admit it, nor did she care to say it aloud. But as good as it felt being back home, being with her family, it wasn't easy and nor did she feel ready to just step back into her former role again. She needed this time. She needed this clarity.
But where were they going? Where was she taking Kai? She needed to work that out.
She threw away the paper towels she used to dry her hands and face and exited the bathroom. She made her way back to the table, still at a loss of how to address what he'd said or what to say even now.
When Bonnie returned from the ladies' room, her menu sat open on her side of the table, next to coffee, and Kai was perusing his lazily.
"This restaurant was one of the places I visited on my prison world tour," he said, skimming the list of desserts with a meditative expression.
She looked up from what she was doing, eyeing him thoughtfully.
"Of course, then I had to be the Chef, the staff and the customer, all in one. And when I sat eating the lamb I'd cooked, I decided that if or when I got out, I'd come to the real one – to see how it looked with people in it, alive. To celebrate my freedom and ground myself in the realization that I wasn't in prison anymore, that it wasn't some kind of a sick dream pushed by my brain to keep me in the illusion of normality long after it was lost."
Bonnie started at the realization of how personal a piece of information he'd chosen to share with her was, his soft laugh and the faint curve of his mouth appearing more wretched than contemptuous. She even sympathized.
"I think it the hardest part: deciphering between illusions and reality and wondering whether the one you're in right now is real. Maybe once you experience that kind of confusion, it never truly leaves. Always looming behind you, waiting for the perfect moment for its tentative touch."
She could relate. She had been back in the land of the present living for over two weeks and she still was not convinced she was truly back. It was a nightmare Bonnie was waiting to wake up from at any moment.
"I thought I was over it, and then I was back in the land of nightmares, and not alone this time." He was eyeing her closely. "I know you're sorry. So was I. But what you and I really remember is that we weren't sorry when we dealt the stabs. So, does it really matter if we're sorry when the damage's already done?"
He made a damned good point. The damage was done, on both scores, and as much as they wanted to—he in the past, and she now—far too much had taken place for it to just scab over and be forgotten. And he had eighteen years of solitude, insanity and resentment to work on.
Kai swirled the remaining wine in his glass. "Maybe not everything that's broken can be mended."
Bonnie smiled then, glad for the kinship and understanding—even if she were a part of the problem. She felt lighter somehow, like that dark sweltering cloud that had encompassed her was able to lift slowly.
Kai emptied the glass, put it on the table, and flashed her a boyish smile that was the farthest from the things he had said moments ago. "So, picked yourself a dessert yet?"
She studied him a moment. He was a strange creature, but a surprisingly laidback one at that. Under different circumstances, if their past wasn't riddled with such ugliness, she could have liked him. He was far easier to talk to than most.
She reached for her wine, downing the glass, paying no mind to the buzz that instantly overcame her. "Something with vanilla. Or caramel… or…. I guess—" She set the glass down, flipped open the menu and scanned it quickly, not taking too long to decide on what she craved next. "Almond Crème Brûlée. What about yourself?" She scanned the shortlist once more, a light amused smile playing on the corners of her mouth. "I don't see jam here. Though this choice of three sounds good—"
"We're not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy, of course there's no jam." He read the description and nodded. "Yeah, let it be Choice of Three, why not."
He poured the remaining wine into their glasses and raised his in an amiable salute before taking a sip.
Bonnie quickly relayed their orders when Stacy showed face in their room, and picked up her freshly filled glass of wine, drink that was starting to taste better and better with each glass. Bonnie had to laugh. And did so softly while they toasted their newfound dessert choice, or perhaps some indefinable understanding. She finished that glass off, too, enjoying the buzz. She couldn't remember the last time she'd cared to be drunk. And she wasn't talking about her nineteen-ninety-four disaster—she didn't even like to think on that. Bonnie set the empty glass aside, reached for her coffee and enjoyed the background music. She even sang along quietly, relaxing once the dessert showed up and making quick work of tucking into it.
As they attacked the desserts, Kai was amused to see how tipsy Bonnie had become. The wine was starting to kick in more once the last glass was finished. The smile came freer to her face, and healthy blush gleamed on her cheeks. For this moment, she seemed happy.
"Mm," she praised appreciatively, leaving a little of her crème brulee in the bowl. She pushed it over to his side of the table for his inspection. "It's good, you should try some." And why not? He came here to taste and test their food – to give life to his eighteen-year-old fantasy.
He returned her smile and shifted their bowls around, then did as she said. It was truly a nice cherry on top of their breakfast.
Bonnie's smile widened a tad when he accepted her dessert offering. They were steadily bridging a gap. It felt good. Or maybe that was just what the wine and pleasant tingles that spread throughout her body wanted her to think.
When finally their check landed on the table between them, and a small wrinkle appeared between Bonnie's eyebrows, Kai told her to produce a hundred dollar bill. She cast an incredulous look at him, but did.
"As neat as compulsion may be, I still prefer magic," he said, and held a hand over the bill. "Phasmatos exprimo."
For a moment, the hundred seemed less than real, and then an image of another one started to come into focus next to it. Once in full shape and color, it gave way to another one to gain matter from thin air upon it, then another. It stopped as soon as Kai took his hand away, leaving a pile of a dozen hundred dollar bills.
Bonnie watched for a moment as another bill materialized beside the original, followed by another and another and another. How the hell was he able to do that? Was it even real?
He smiled when she looked at him, and made a here-you-go gesture. An arc of a faint, glimmering rainbow showed itself before Bonnie, one of its ends resting on the pile of money, then slowly faded away.
"Your pot of gold, Miss Bennett."
She smiled in response to the added effect of color that glimmered over it, accentuating his concluding statement.
"You're like a magical leprechaun," she deliberated with noticeable appreciation, a wide smile on her lips. She wasn't accustomed to using magic for superficialities. It was all doom and gloom. "Only taller."
"Have you seen that leprechaun movie?" Kai scoffed. "You're damn lucky to have me around instead of that little creep. Besides, he'd never in a million years give you a coin from that pot of his."
She reached for the money, gathering it together, feeling the ends and the paper as though she expected it to disintegrate within her examining hands. "Is it real?" she asked in spite of the dense texture. It seemed impossible. "Or does it have an expiration date? Or is a simple eye of the beholder deal?" She knew some magic had a time limit and that like compulsion—some magic's could be used to make people see certain things when they looked at items.
Smiling like a parent would at a child displaying wonder at something mundane that she deems a miracle, Kai gently pulled a few bills from her grip, tucked them into the leather folder with the check, and placed it on the edge of the table for Stacy to pick up. "You're asking too many unnecessary questions, Bon. Sometimes all you gotta do is just accept the miracle and the fact that it happened to you."
Easy for him to say. All magic she knew came with consequences or nosebleeds and here he was materializing money from nothing but clean air, as if it were a party favor. He didn't even look winded.
A few tables were occupied when they walked across the room for the exit. The host and Stacy heartily wished them a good day.
Bonnie smiled at their waitress on the way out, granting her with a passing thank you in response to her earnest farewell. She stepped outside, a smile still fixed to her lips as she peered up at the sun and the bright blue sky. She shielded her eyes for a moment, feeling a little lightheaded and bouncy as she walked to the car. She wanted to skip, to dance, go swimming – she just wanted to do! She slid into the passenger seat, turned on the radio and sat back in her chair, watching the scenery go by as they drove, hardly paying attention to where they were or where they'd stopped.
The only other stop Kai made on his own accord was at a tech store. Bonnie sat it out, and when he slipped back, he put a box with a new iPhone and a package with a SIM card contract on her lap.
"It's registered for Bonnie Parker," he said, and laughed at the look she gave him. "Bonnie Elizabeth Parker – the one with Clyde."
She chuckled lightly and nodded, accepting his explanation as she ripped at the packaging, dumping the plastic and other bits at her feet to throw away later and once they stopped somewhere else.
He keyed the engine and looked at her inquiringly. "Where to?"
"Just drive," she said, raising a hand from the box to gesture to the open road. "Just keep going forward and we'll see where the road takes us." Bonnie had nowhere in particular she planned or even needed to be – however, she did need to make a stop with her family, but without Kai. She didn't trust he wouldn't use them to leverage her, to get back at her for his pain, and for right now all she wanted was to keep them as safe and as far away from her drama as possible.
Kai pulled from the curb and aligned their car with the road's traffic, unable to shake surprise and wariness. It was too spontaneous, too reckless for the Bonnie he knew, and it could mean different things. She was drunk and acting on it – not thinking at all or too lazy to think while she was tipsy. Or she harbored some ideas she didn't feel like telling him. And that was setting the tiny alarm off ticking inside his skull.
"Maybe we can find another pub on the way?" she added. He smirked.
"I see drinking in the morning sits well with you even in the real world. But as attractive as it is to surf through pubs all day, it's still too early for those." The dashboard stated it was a little over one PM.
Too early? Bonnie scoffed and mumbled a cursory, "Says the guy who ordered a bottle of wine for breakfast." She was in the mood to party now, to do something fun and out of the ordinary. The wine had completely eradicated the anxiety that related to being back, to being hunted in her mind and everything in between.
"Maybe we can make it a pub in another city? Say, a night of fun in Manhattan? Or cocktails on Florida beach?"
She grinned as if he'd announced she'd won the lottery. She took the phone from the box, inspecting it, searching for a way to remove the back cover and the battery. "I like where your head is at." She could already imagine it. "And I like the sound of the beach. Cocktails, too."
Bonnie smiled encouragingly and turned up the radio a bit more to sing along with the tune that caught her attention, idly checking out the scenery as they made their way out of town and setting up the phone. It wasn't long before the device was up and running and she was adding Caroline's number to the contact list.
Kai couldn't help amusement at her readiness to party the day – or a week – away without a care in the world. As she got busy with her phone, fumbling with the charge cord and the lighter slot in the dashboard, he considered what he could do with that sudden change of attitude.
"Oh, and… before I forget," she said, turning down the radio and then off, waving the phone in his direction slightly. "Thank you. I enjoyed breakfast. The phone's a particularly sweet touch, too."
Kai smiled slyly in return. "It's not too hard to impress you, is it? But it's okay, we'll work on putting your plank higher before the day ends."
Bonnie gave the smallest of shrug in response, still smiling. She was happy doing something out of the norm, just living life before she got sucked into the ill expectations wrapped around her magic. Yesterday being example of that. She wanted to ask where they were going once she realized they were no longer headed out of town but deeper into Washington. The mischief written on his face told her not to bother.
He had to park farther than he wanted – despite the decent hour, it was already impossible to find a spot around the Capitol.
He flowed into traffic and spent fifteen minutes finding parking. He got out without a word and she didn't hesitate to follow, a small smile forming on her lips once she realized where they were. She'd come here once with her father, a long time ago, back when she actually joined him on his business trips and enjoyed it.
They neared the Washington Monument and the Reflecting Pool stretching from it, a liquid sun glaring from it amidst the specks of blue.
"From what I gathered, you don't get out much – or didn't. Anywho, it would be rather stupid to leave without bringing you here, in the heart of our country, wouldn't you say? And I've been many things, but not stupid." His arm made a slow arc of a wave, like that of a host, towards the Capitol. "Thus, Bonnie Bennett, I present to you the National Mall and a sunny day to enjoy whatever you find interesting in here. If anything." Hands in pockets, Kai observed her with a smile.
"You're not plotting to break into the White House, are you?" she asked, looking serious, a twinkle of amusement in her eye.
"I've done it before, so it wouldn't be the same," he said with a jibing smile.
She chuckled softly, easing past him to get a good look of what was going on. "Oh!"
She gestured he follow, swiftly heading for a Segway tour to their left. They were just gathering, going through the small training session. Better than walking, right? Had Kai even driven one of these things before? She doubted it. Mystic Falls didn't have this kind of entertainment and nor did she assume he had much time to indulge in everything just yet.
"Could we get on this?" Bonnie asked after a lady greeted her.
"It's seventy-five dollars. Three hours."
Bonnie reached into her pocket, unperturbed by the sum of money now that he'd presented her with a small pot of gold. She handed over the two hundred dollars and pocketed the change.
"Here," she said once the tour guide handed her two helmets, tossing Kai one. "Safety first."
"Yeah, sure, of all people in this city, I need it most." He put the silly thing on, nonetheless.
Bonnie chuckled and pulled on her own helmet before heading to claim a machine. The instructor gave them a speedy lowdown on how to break and steer and then they were on their way. She listened and relived one of her happier memories of her father in relative peace, enjoying the waning buzz produced by the wine and the fresh air. Kai didn't even seem to mind. He seemed—at least from her perspective—to be going with the flow.
Despite his reservations about having other people around, having to listen to the guide's yammering, and the tourists talking and snapping pictures, it was a sort of relaxing experience for Kai, in all. Bonnie seemed really happy, even more so than after the breakfast and playing with her new phone. The wine had started to wear off long before the tour ended, and yet her mood didn't fall. And, for a bit, Kai could mimic her and put their baggage aside to just be in the present moment that seemed to be a scene from the life movie of Kai Parker he hardly ever had any chance to be or become, with no magic or secrets or stress. Just a day of human life. It did taste weirdly sweet, melancholic, even.
"So itching to make him get up and greet everyone and walk down the stairs to stroll through the Mall," he whispered in Bonnie's ear when their group was marveling at the statue in Lincoln Memorial.
"So close to the White House?" she asked, leaning in to conspiringly whisper with him, making sure none of the other people around them would pick up on their conversation. Although, she too—and in spite of his tongue-in-cheek commentary—was tempted. Another time, another life and another conscience. "I'm not sure we'd make it for those cocktails if we did that."
And she was itching for them. Still floating, but feeling a tad more down to earth. She'd be sober soon.
Kai smiled, liking that 'we' part she inserted, as if she was viewing them as accomplices, working on the same side, together. That was saying a lot about how she had picked up the crumbs he left for her on the way he wanted her to take. It seemed to be working at last. Could be alcohol, but he doubted it was just that.
"Who'd catch us red-handed?" he argued quietly, entertained. "It's magic, no one can pin it on us. Besides, we'd act just as scared and shocked as he'd take off his chair and head for the White House to resume his previous position as the National Leader. Who knows, our country might've changed to better if he did."
With the good that Obama was doing? All the changes he was steadily taking to make their country better? Unless another Bush made it into the presidency chair, Bonnie didn't think it was necessary. She laughed, imagining the bedlam that would ensue from something that playful and who the people would blame next.
"Have you had enough? Want to take a faster look around? I'll race you," she said, assuming the guide would be too busy with his through explanation to care if they went off book. She turned the Segway around, leaving him little room to one up her and crept away slowly, breaking away from the small pack.
Kai could only see her back, but he could bet his life she was grinning.
He followed, and then they were racing along the paths of the Mall, passing the museums, peeking in some, and stopping to snatch some ice cream or soda.
"Let me at least do the Rex," Kai mock begged her when they got into the National Museum of Natural History and ogled the T-Rex's skeleton in the beginning of our tour. "Come on, everybody saw the movies, it'd be fun!"