Page 66 of Echoes

“All of them.”

“But give me some examples.”

“There are too many.”

“Okay. Fine. Tell me about him, then.”

Violet laughed and said, “He’s a puppy. He has a ton of energy and runs around all the time. Last week, I lost power for about five minutes and needed the flashlight to get around. He chased it when I aimed it at the floor, so I kept doing that, and he was like a cat with a laser pointer.” She laughed again. “And he darts off a lot. The backyard is pretty big. He’ll run straight out of the doggy door I just put in, and there’s nothing out there to aim at, but he’ll run and run in a straight line before he turns around and runs right back inside.”

“Like an arrow you’ve fired at something,” Rachel said softly.

“I guess, yeah.” Violet laughed again.

“Apollo,” Rachel said.

“What?”

“You said you were Greek, right?”

“Half, yeah.”

“Well, my mother was born and raised there. My dad is a second-generation American. They met because my mom is a Greek mythology professor, and my dad is a law professor at the same university. I grew up being told all about the gods and goddesses.”

“So, you think I should name him Apollo?”

“Apollo is the god of a lot of things: music, healing, light. He was also an archer and had a nice silver bow, so there’s your arrow.” Rachel smiled at her. “Plus, he was the god of truth and can’t tell a lie. I have a feeling your puppy will never lie to you. Oh, and he was responsible for driving the sun across the sky with his chariot, kind of like your little guy driving that flashlight across your floor.”

“Right,” she said and swallowed. “He was also known for his oracle at Delphi.”

“You know about Greek mythology?”

“I know enough,” she replied, thinking that the Oracle of Delphi, the high priestess of the Temple of Apollo named Pythia, was soughtafter by everyone all over the Greek world for her ability to tell the future. “So, Apollo?”

“Does it fit?”

“Yes, it does,” she said as the elevator arrived at the lobby. “After you.”

Rachel got out of the elevator, and Violet followed. Soon, they were on the sidewalk, waiting for a gap in the traffic to walk across the street, and when they arrived on the other side, Violet held open the door for Rachel and let her go inside first. As the woman walked by, though, Violet happened to inhale her scent, and her eyes closed on instinct when she got hit with an immediate sense memory of the vision. Older Rachel had smelled mostly the same. This was getting more complicated by the second.

Rachel nodded toward a two-person booth in the corner, which worked just fine for Violet, who followed her and sat down across from her.

“This is the kind of place where they wait on you, right? If not, I can get us something at the bar.”

“My treat, remember?” Violet said with a smile.

“I accused you of sleeping with your future boss to get a job… I think we’ve already established the fact thatIoweyousomething.”

“What can I get for you?” the waiter asked before they could decide who was paying for what.

“What’s good here?” Rachel asked her.

“They have good martinis.”

“Not much of a martini girl,” Rachel said.

“Whatdoyou like?”

“I’m honestly not much of a drinker.” Rachel laughed a little, and damn, it was cute.