Island of Doom: Hunchback Assignments 4 (The Hunchback Assignments) (29 page)

He got to his feet, dumbfounded. Had she said
love
?

“So?” she said after several seconds had passed. “What are your thoughts? Do you have any?”

“I—I—you know how I feel, Tavia.”

“I do? How
do
you feel? Since you’re so good with fancy words, tell me!”

But he had very few words this time. “I … can’t … imagine not being around you, either.”

“I would like to travel with you. Where, I don’t know.”

“And what of my face, my looks?”

“Modo,” she said seriously, “that will take some getting used to. But I’ve learned to put up with your personality. I’m sure in time I’ll learn to put up with your face, too. Day by day.”

“And I’ll put up with yours,” he retorted. “But there’s a further problem: we have no money, no tickets.”

She held up a familiar wallet. “I nicked this from Mr. Socrates. My final payment from the Association.”

“You shouldn’t have done that.” Then he laughed.

“There’s enough in here for two tickets. Anywhere we want to go, at least second-class.”

“Then where would you like to go?”

“San Francisco,” she said. “I like the way it sounds. We’ll see where it takes us next.” She held up her hand. “But first, and this is my only condition, let us go at once to a bakery and eat cake.”

“Cake? Why?”

“Because, Modo, I’ve lost track of the days, but we missed your birthday.”

He counted in his head. It was the last day of October. “Actually, Tavia, my birthday is tomorrow.” The thought of it, of celebrating his arrival onto this earth wasn’t appealing.

Octavia grabbed him by the shoulder, squeezing so hard that it hurt. “Don’t go all soft on me, Modo. Don’t think about your foolish mother or all those other things. This is your first birthday, and we’re going to do it up with style.
Cake today, and cake tomorrow! You listen to me, I’m older than you, and therefore wiser. Are you game?”

She held out her hand. Modo laughed heartily and took it. It was calloused and warm. Hand in hand, they set off in search of a place to celebrate their new, and not so new, beginnings.