Page 14 of Stoney Gazes for Helpful Gorgons

"No idea. Maybe watch a movie?"

"Sure." I smile at him. It may not have worked, but he seems to appreciate that we tried.

Chapter 6

JACK

I keep finding my gaze straying to the door, hoping that Rhea isn't going to avoid the meeting this week because of what happened when she tried to turn me into stone. I don't think we left things awkwardly, but maybe she'll feel differently. Or worse, she'll have reflected on it and decided that it was weird.

The door swings open and she steps inside, smiling at me as soon as she finds me.

I push the seat next to me out, realising as I do that I never even considered that she wouldn't want to sit with me. I've met a few people through the grief support group, but none of them have made an impression like Rhea has.

She hurries over and drops her bag onto the floor before taking a seat.

"I'm glad to see you haven't had a delayed reaction to gorgon magic." She touches her glasses, as if to check they're still in place.

"Is that even possible?" I ask.

"No idea. I'm guessing not, but it's still something I worried about all weekend."

"You could have messaged."

She frowns. "I really should have done, I'm not sure why I didn't. I guess I didn't want to bother you."

"You can message me any time."

She looks at me and our gazes lock, leaving me staring into her dark brown eyes. They glitter through her glasses, seeming even more beautiful than the other day, if that's at all possible.

She clears her throat and looks away. "I did have a question for you."

"What is it?"

"Are you free on Thursday night?"

"I think so, why?" I ask.

"Well, it's my birthday and my flatmates are having a party. It's a long story, but I helped one of them with a surprise birthday party about a month ago and she's determined to return the favour for me now it's my turn. But then I realised she wouldn't actually know to invite you, or how to invite you even if she did, so now I'm rambling and asking."

I resist the urge to laugh. She's cute when she rambles. "A birthday party sounds great."

A wide smile spreads over her face and she reaches up to tuck one of her loose braids behind her ear. I don't know where her snakes are, but they're being very quiet.

"Is it not weird?" she asks quietly. "To have a birthday party?"

"A lot of people have them," I point out.

"A lot of people don't have dead grandparents."

"Actually..."

"Yes, yes, I know I'm wrong about that. But you know what I'm getting at." She takes a breath. "It feels strange to be doing something like having a party when Granny is dead. Like it's wrong for me to have one too many vodkas and go out dancing."

"Maybe if it was the day of her funeral," I say. "Then again, if she liked that kind of thing, maybe she'd have been honoured."

A sad laugh escaped from Rhea. "She was the life and soul of the party. She went on a trip with my parents one time and drank so much that she jumped up onto my dad's shoulders and made him give her a piggyback. When he accidentally dropped her, she laughed and started doing snow angels. I wish I'd been there to see it, but I was too young."

"She sounds wonderful."