The Fateful Heart

James raised his eyebrows, and he looked over at her with a small smile as if to ask: "oh, really?" But he didn't say it out loud.

He wondered if she actually meant that.

"So..." he said, after a small pause. "What was the best part for you, then? Of all the things that happened yesterday."

Evaline took a silent deep breath in to wash away the embarrassment and other things she was feeling. The day was just starting. She didn't want to be emotionally exhausted by the end of it.

And then she thought about his question. It was hard to pick one, and she didn't really know how to mention it in a straight face.

She decided to just mention all of it so that she could space it out.

"It was nice to be able to have a moment of peace by Elliot, you know, checking in after getting overwhelmed with everyone. Hearing you snort was also hilarious. I've also never been that close to a baby before, and it wasn't that bad. The music was nice to listen to as well. And, of course, the dancing."

She paused, satisfied with her answer, but then realized everything she said involved James. Panicking, she quickly added on the next sentences without thinking about it.

"And—and the rest of the chores, too. Yeah. Raya showed me her magic. Jared was funny. Odeta was funny too, in a weird, off-putting way, sometimes. And, uh, Red had great talks." She was already cringing. "The food was good too. Even though... it had meat. But it was good."

James said nothing, and she already wanted to die a little inside and melt on to the floor.

"Thanks for the meat, by the way," James said casually, deciding to gloss over Evaline's apparent nerves for both their sakes. "I know you don't like it, but I didn't mind the extra food. Hopefully, you didn't go hungry."

Evaline laughed, a little too loudly.

"No. I didn't go hungry. But thanks for eating it. Glad to see that the animal hasn't gone to waste, even though, well. I don't approve of killing it -- and, hah."

She decided to change the subject while she was ahead.

"So I was wondering something," she quickly added on, fishing for the first question in her mind. "Are you actually twenty-one? Or is that a fake Tiberius age?"

"Hm?" James looked over at her, raising his eyebrows. "Yes, I'm actually 21. They all already knew who I was, and it's not like it mattered that much. It didn't make sense to lie about something as simple as that."

"Hmm," Evaline hummed, trying to ignore the little voice at the back of her mind that was wondering if this was a weird question or not. Maybe an observation would soften the question.

"The sheriff thought you were 22," she commented. "I figured that was your age."

James nodded. So, she was just fact-checking.

"Ah," was all he said. But he did start to wonder if there was more she doubted about him now - be it because of the sheriff's gossip, or something else.

Evaline didn't like the ensuing silence that followed, even if only a few seconds.

"When's your birthday?" she asked too casually, not having any clue how to move forward from this subject without changing it completely again.

"It's in the fall," James said. "Near the very end of the third lunar cycle. When's yours?"

Evaline blinked. "Well, I'd tell you mine, but it appears we use different calendars." She paused, a smile tugging at her lips. "But I can tell you I'm older than you."

James side-eyed her.

"You're the same age as me, so it can't be by much. What season were you born in? Maybe we can figure it out. Do you have four seasons on earth? Winter, spring, summer, fall?"

Evaline smiled. He seemed adamant on converting her birthday for her.

"We do have the four seasons," she said. "I was born in the summer."

"Would you say you were born near the beginning, the middle, or the end of summer?"

"It depends on your point of reference. Is it based on the solstice? Or a relative point of reference?"

"We base our calendar around the summer and winter solstices and the equinoxes in spring and fall," he answered.