Epilogue I

Gloria:

“Hello, Gloria Garcia,” a familiar voice said.

She stiffened at the voice, a voice that tormented her as a child, frustrated her as a hormone-addled teenager, and haunted her very adult fantasies—a voice she hadn’t heard in ten years.

“Why are you here, Arik?” She continued with the inventory check, though she lost count the moment she heard that voice. She refused to turn around, better to have him remain the gangly teenager she remembered, not yet grown into his height. She didn’t need to see him all-grown-up, even if the idea did make her weak in the knees.

“I require a medic’s attention,” Arik said.

“Then I suggest you seek a Mahdfel specialist.” She continued to move bottles, pretending to count.

“I have an ache.”

“Good for you,” she replied tartly.

“I was hoping that you could kiss it better, like you used to.”