Under_The_Whispering_Door_by_TJ_Klune

still, tell him. I want to record his reaction.” The doors swung shut behind
her.
He went to the portholes, looking out into the tea shop. It was as busy as
usual. The lunch crowd had arrived, and most of the tables were filled. Mei
moved expertly around the people before setting the tray on a table. He
glanced at the far corner. Nancy’s table was empty. He wasn’t surprised. He
thought she’d be back, but it probably wouldn’t be until he was gone. He
didn’t know if what they’d done had been enough. He wasn’t foolish enough
to think he’d alleviated her pain, but he hoped she’d at least have the
foundation to start to build again if she wanted.
Hugo stood behind the register, smiling, though it was distant. He’d been
quiet that morning, as if lost in thought. Wallace didn’t want to push. He let
Hugo be.
The front door of the tea shop opened, and a young couple walked in, their
hair windswept, eyes bright. They’d been here before, the man saying it was
their second date, when it was actually their third. He held the door open for
his lady friend, and she laughed when he bowed slightly. Even above the din,
Wallace could hear him. “After you, my queen.”
“You’re so weird,” she said fondly.
“Only the best for you.”
She grabbed his hand, pulling him to the counter. He kissed her on the
cheek as she ordered for the both of them.
And Wallace knew the next thing he needed to do with the time he had left.
“You don’t have to do this,” Hugo said after the tea shop had closed for the
night. Wallace had asked Mei and Nelson to give them some privacy. They’d
agreed, though Nelson waggled his eyebrows suggestively as Mei pulled him
into the kitchen, Apollo trailing after them.
“Maybe. But I think I do. If you can’t, I can ask Mei to—”
Hugo shook his head. “No. I’ll do it. What do you want me to say?”
Wallace told him. It was short and simple. He didn’t think it was enough.
He didn’t know what else to add.
If he still had a beating heart, he thought it’d be in his throat as Hugo set
the phone to speaker after he’d dialed the number Wallace had given him. He