Page 34 of Count Down
Quiet as I can, I slide out from Gina’s side. I pull on some clothes and walk downstairs to the open space and to the kitchen in the corner. It’s a chef’s kitchen. Very industrial. Almost utilitarian. All stainless steel. It looks like it was plucked right from the back of a restaurant. The only thing missing is the side-loading dishwasher.
I brew some coffee and then take it out to the main floor patio. The side of the patio opposite the windows is as green as it can be. Most of the wall is lined with tall bamboo, but there are various other plants and small trees squeezed in, too. It doesn’t require much maintenance.
It’s better than looking at a brick wall and it muffles out some of the noise. But most of the time it just reminds me that there’s more concrete than nature here.
As I sit and drink my coffee, I hear a small buzzing noise. I glance around for a bee or a bug, when I see a small hummingbird levitating several feet in front of me. When he turns toward me, I see bright ruby feathers around its neck. He flies and lands on a limb, looking back at me. He’s fully gray, except for when he points his head at me, and I can see the ruby ring.
“Hey, little guy. What are you doing here?” I ask.
He flies from the limb, back to hovering in mid-air where I first saw him. He glances back at me, then goes back to his limb and continues watching me.
“Why are you still here? Shouldn’t you have gone north by now?”
He flies back and forth between positions again.
“It’s too early for you to be going south. Why’d you stay here?”
I get up slowly, seeing if he’ll let me walk toward him and get a closer look.
He flies back to his hovering spot, and I freeze. He flies back to his limb, and I edge closer to him.
“Can I get you any food?” I whisper as I edge closer to him.
He flies off the limb and zips up toward the rooftop, flying out of the open patio.
“Good idea,” I mutter. I’m no damn Snow White. Beautiful things are right to run away from me.
I walk back to my coffee, down it, and head back into the kitchen.
I cook up some eggs and toast for us. I bring the tray upstairs to the rooftop where Gina is still asleep in the darkened room. I press the button to open the blinds and they slowly whir up letting the morning light gently flood the room.
The light rolls over Gina and I’m struck by her beauty. It’s like watching the curtains rise on a beautiful stage revealing the most stunning dancer. She slowly rolls over, opening her eyes. I find myself surprised when she sees me and smiles. I haven’t gotten used to her reacting to me that way. I always expect she’s going to go back to looking at me the way she did the first time she saw me. In the lobby at the theater, when she looked skittish and terrified of me. Like she should be.
“Mmm, did you make breakfast?” She sits up and I lay the tray at the foot of the bed. I sit next to her and we begin eating.
“First night in my new apartment and I didn’t even stay there.” Gina laughs to herself as she takes another bite of toast. “I don’t regret it though,” she looks sideways at me.
She wants to know how I feel about it. I don’t regret it. I’d do it a hundred times over. I went against my decision to leave Gina alone. And I don’t regret that either. But I can’t help knowing that we probably both will sooner or later.
I lean over to Gina and kiss her on her forehead. I grab another piece of toast off the plate.
I have to stay connected to her. For now. I have to be near her to protect her from the Russians. But I could never stay with her if I have to kill her father, and I don’t see any way around that yet.
When we’re done eating, I set the tray on the floor. I lean back in bed and Gina curls under my arm, laying her head on my chest. I’m not sure how long we stay there. In this dream, time doesn’t exist. I don’t know if she fell back asleep or if she’s awake and just listening to the beating of my heart and feeling the rise and fall of my chest.
The weight of her head on my chest begins to lull me back to sleep, my eyelids becoming heavy. Just before the sleep takes over, just before my eyes seal shut, I see the ruby-throated hummingbird fly past the window.
28
GINA
Lucaand I spend a beautiful morning together. His home is such a strange place. I’ve really never seen anything like it before. I can’t help imagining how it could be used for a performance. It could be really cool to host some kind of immersive event in it. The ceilings are high enough that you could even have some aerial acts.
The rooftop is my favorite part. There’s nothing strange about it, just completely beautiful. It’s just as amazing in the morning as it is at night.
Luca takes me for brunch at a small bakery on South Street. I get a blueberry scone and Luca introduces me to Caroline, the pretty woman that runs the place. She tries to give us our food for free, but Luca insists on paying.
“One of my colleagues is going out with her,” Luca tells me as we sit down at a small table by the window.