Christophe grinned and nodded.
Nick felt a little twinge in his stomach, watching that small interaction between father and son. He shook it off and smiled at the Davidses, feeling slightly relieved when Ada began to play some music and beckoned Jakob to dance with her in the middle of the living room. Ruth, who was awake way past her normal bedtime, sat down on the couch and promptly fell asleep.
Then Christophe and Jolijn, the nine-year-old twins, suddenly appeared in front of Nick with a mischievous twinkle in their eyes.
“You won’t forget us, will you?” Jolijn asked, raising an eyebrow. She was the taller of the two. She tugged on one of her thick braids. Nick noticed she did this whenever she felt especially inquisitive. “Promise you won’t. Swear on your notebook.”
Nick laughed. “Why my notebook?”
“Because you always carry it with you. It must be your favorite thing.”
“And what will we do without your stories?” Christophe asked, hip-checking his sister out of the way to get Nick’s full attention. He was young, but he already had a booming voice like his father’s. “You never told us what happened to Deko the elf prince after he was bit by a life leech.”
Two weeks ago, when the twins had been antsy as their parents closed the restaurant, Nick had entertained them with a story he’d written years ago about an elf prince named Deko and his journey through a magical land called Ceradon.
“You’re right,” Nick said, nodding. “We never finished that story, did we? What do you think happened to Deko?”
Christophe frowned. “I think he’s gravely injured. Near death.”
“Not me,” Jolijn said. “I think Deko survived and then met a warrior elf queen, who is stronger and faster than him, and she becomes the ruler of the kingdom.”
“That’s stupid,” Christophe said, rolling his eyes. “Deko is obviously going to die and then be revived by a sorceress and with her help, he’ll seek vengeance on those who harmed him and his people!”
The twins began to argue, and Nick laughed. Quite honestly, they fascinated him. He’d been a lonely-ass only child, no one to bicker with.
“I’ll leave the ending up to your interpretation,” he said, finally intervening. “Whatever you want to happen to Deko is what happens.”
“You mean you don’t know the ending to your own story?” Jolijn asked, wide-eyed.
Nick shook his head. “Nope.”
“But you must know,” Christophe insisted, disappointed.
Nick wasn’t lying. He’d written that story in another life and had purposely ended Deko’s fate on a cliff-hanger, thinking he’d have the chance to continue Deko’s journey. But now, he had no intention of doing so. As far as he was concerned, the story belonged to N.R. Strickland, the silly pen name he’d created. But he observed the twins’ forlorn expressions. They didn’t want to hear his sorry backstory. They wanted to know what happened to Deko. So Nick came up with a special ending, just for them.
“Okay, the truth is that Deko does die from the life leech bite,” Nick said, and Jolijn gasped. “But then he’s revived by a sorceress who’s also a warrior queen, and she rules over the kingdom while Deko goes on a journey to kill the life leeches who murdered his clan.”
“I knew it!” Christophe said, punching his fist in the air, and Jolijn grinned, satisfied.
“Okay, time for bed,” Ada said, gathering the twins. “Say goodbye to Nick.”
“Bye, Nick,” they sang, hugging him. Nick felt himself get choked up again and wished he’d get a fucking grip on his emotions. He hugged the twins back, already missing them and their banter.
“I swear on my notebook I won’t forget you,” he said as they pulled away.
“Good.” Jolijn nodded, very serious.
“You sure you don’t want my sister’s number?” Ada asked Nick, raising an eyebrow. “She’s in Munich, and I’m sure she’d love to meet a handsome man like yourself.”
“I heard that!” Jakob called from the kitchen, and Ada laughed.
“No, but thank you,” Nick said, smiling. If Ada’s sister was anything at all like Ada: kind and patient and caring, then it would be best if Nick stayed far away from her. Because he’d inevitably find a way to fuck things up.
“All right then,” Ada said, giving Nick a hug. He waved goodbye to her and the twins as she ushered them upstairs.
It was almost one a.m., Amsterdam time. Nick’s flight was in six hours. He at least needed to attempt to get some sleep. He stood and walked over to Jakob to say his last goodbye.
“Keep in touch,” Jakob said earnestly.
Nick promised he would. But the reality was that he’d most likely never see or speak to Jakob or the rest of the Davidses again. That was just the way of things.
“Thanks for everything,” Nick said, taking one final glance around the Davidses’ house, already anticipating the loneliness that awaited him at his Airbnb. He flashed one last kind smile at Jakob and left.
It was drizzling when he stepped outside. He grabbed the bike he’d rented for the month and cautiously pedaled down the street. The night was still, peaceful. Just the sound of his churning tires and the rain softly hitting the ground. It was during moments like this that Nick quietly marveled over the fact that he was in a foreign country, far from North Carolina, a state he’d never thought he’d leave. Now look at him. Riding a bike through the streets of Amsterdam, leaving a goodbye party that had been thrown in his honor. Him. Someone who’d never even had so much as a birthday party. It had been such a good night, one of the best he’d had in a long time.
So of course right when Nick was on the brink of forming an optimistic outlook, the chain popped on his bike and he went skidding across the wet street, losing control. He crashed into a pole and tumbled off the bike, falling flat on his back. He stared up at the sky, heaving for air, wincing at the pain he felt all over his body. He took several moments to get his bearings, then he slowly stood, wincing. He wheeled his bike down the street, and right on cue, it began to pour in heavy sheets. Even in pain, all Nick could do was laugh. Of course this was how his last night in Amsterdam would end. Something had to bring him back down to earth and remind him that good things, be they feelings or experiences, didn’t last very long in his life.