Creature of Unknown Origin: Together for the Holidays

5

minimal part in the Richardson case and had only known about any of this for a handful of months.

Before that, the amnesia from coming through the portal kept me in ignorant bliss after Spencer

had rescued me from Kelman.

Spencer cleared his throat and set his utensils aside. “What are you talking about, Howie?”

Delia’s face had etched itself into that dangerous, calculating calm. I’d always wondered

if Howie was immune to being on its receiving end, being that Delia and he obviously had a thing

going on.

“Yeah, Howie, what are you talking about?” She sat back in her chair and crossed an arm

over her chest, the other daintily held her wineglass aloft.

“Is this really what we all want to do with our lives? Look around.” His voice was pleading,

almost desperate. “We’re a family now, all of us, and I know Spencer loves Ava just as much as I

love you. I, for one, would very much like to enjoy what we have without worrying about the two

of you going off to do someone else’s noble dirty work, and I don’t know, maybe settle down and

get that white picket fence people dream about. Do we really want to keep trying our luck by

dodging death at every turn?”

I glanced over at Spencer, finding his eyes already on me.

“I’ve already set us all up with new lives in the past ,” Howie argued. “Why not do it one

last time, this time for good? We can all start over, even Annette. Clean slates! Legitimate, honest

lives! ”

In the silence that follow ed, Spencer reached over and grasped my hand. We’d talked a lot

about the future, where ever it may lead us. I really hoped he was in mine as much as I wanted to

be in his.

“What do you want, Av?” He asked.