Page 5 of Unraveling Fate

Cadenza stopped on the sidewalk, surprised. “I’m gonna be honest, I didn’t peg you for the kind of guy to sit and play board games with a man three times your age.”

Canon paused alongside her. Next to them, yellow roses dripped over the fence of one of the historic houses of downtown. He tapped a blossom starting to lose its petals.

“Our society tends to shunt older people off to the side. I like helping them feel like they’re still enough, you know? Still people.”

Cadenza resumed walking. “How long have you been working for him?” They turned a corner onto the main thoroughfare of downtown Sonora. Originally a gold rush town, the main street still featured wooden plank sidewalks. Most of the Old West-style storefronts housed antique shops and restaurants catering to tourists from the Bay Area, but the first shop window on the corner showed off New Age supplies. Cadenza gasped.

“It’s still here!” She ran to the window and pressed her hands to the glass. Trinkets from all over the world filled the shop. Tarot cards based on Celtic myths. Incense from Japan. Statuary from India. Reminders that a world existed beyond this town. That there was Somewhere Else to go. “This was my favorite store in high school.”

Canon joined her at the window. “Interesting. I haven’t been in before. But I’ve only been here about a year and a half. So, not as long as you spent here, I gather.”

Cadenza pulled back from the window display. Three streets over was the apartment she’d shared with her stepmother and her sisters after her father had passed away. Giulia, the eldest, had already been out on her own when their Babbo died. Chiara had been sixteen; she’d only had to deal with their stepmother as the sole parent figure for a couple of years before going away to school, but it had been six years for Cadenza. Six forever-long years of being essentially ignored.

“Yeah, I grew up here. Hadn’t planned on coming back.” She turned away from her high school haunt and continued up the street without speaking until Canon turned aside at a narrow storefront.

He held the deli door open for her. “You know, I have a superpower.”

Cadenza pulled herself out of her thoughts. “Oh, yes?”

“Oh yes,” he echoed. “All truly great salespeople do.”

“Alright.” She joined the line at the counter, Canon right behind her. “I’ll bite. What, oh Super Salesman, is your amazing power?”

Canon pretended to check that no one was listening, then leaned down and whispered, “I read people. What they want. What they feel is lacking in their life. That’s how I know the best thing to sell them.”

Cadenza raised an eyebrow.

“Here, I’ll show you.” He turned to the deli clerk. “BLT with sprouts and avocado for me. And…” He pursed his lips in thought, perusing the menu board, before whispering something to the clerk. He gave Cadenza one more look before adding, “With butter instead of mayo please. And prosciutto and cantaloupe on the side of both orders.”

Cadenza pulled out her phone to pay for whatever sandwich Canon had ordered for her, but he held up his hand to stop her.

“No, no. My treat.”

“You don’t have to?—”

“I picked your lunch, so I’ll pay for it,” he said. “What if I got it wrong?”

“Does that happen often?”

He gave a modest shrug. “Well, no. But, you know, there’s always a non-zero probability, right?”

She snorted but gave in. It was hard to argue with such moxie. “Ok, fine, you win.”

Canon smirked. “I usually do.”

They left the deli and walked to Courthouse Park, a green break of lawn, trees, and benches in a street of shops all rubbing walls with each other. Canon dusted off a wrought-iron benchwith a flourish, unwrapped her sandwich, and proffered it on a napkin.

“Alright, Superman, moment of truth.” Cadenza took a bite. “Wow. Salami, mozzarella di bufala and sundried tomatoes. Ok, yes, I admit it, this is one of my favorite sandwich combos. Congratulations,” she teased. “You obviously have a very promising career as a deli clerk ahead of you.”

He stood and swept a low bow.

“So what else do you think I want?” She meant it as a joke, but Canon’s face turned serious. The sun speared through his hair, turning the dark blond to gold and throwing shadows that hollowed his cheekbones. His shadow covered her, and unease sparked down her arms.

“You want the world to know your name,” he said. “You want to be famous. And more famous than…” He paused, his eyes taking on an unfocused look. “More famous than your sisters and your mother.”

A chill rippled through her, despite the late-summer heat, and the sandwich turned sour in her stomach. Canon knew she was a singer, so guessing she wanted success wasn’t a stretch. But despite her reminiscing, she hadn’t mentioned out loud that she even had sisters, let alone the on-again, off-again competitiveness of their relationship. She certainly hadn’t talked about her mother.

Canon sat back on the bench, and the sun’s heat washed over her again. Her stomach relaxed, and she flushed, embarrassed for even considering Canon might have some kind supernatural gift.