Heart the Lover

by Lily King

We fan out our cards. Silas keeps his low, close to the table. He’s started to do that lately, hold things farther away to read them. You’re making the little humming noises you always make when organizing your hand. ‘You’re left of the dealer,’ Jack tells you. ‘Oh, excuse me. Silas?’ I could tell you were up to a little mischief. ‘Yes.’ ‘May I please have Heart the Lover?’ ‘Yes, you may.’ Silas passes the king of hearts face up, close to you, trying to get you to touch it before saying thank you. ‘I thought you might,’ you say and reach for the card and we get ready to scream. A half inch before you touch it you say, ‘Thank you,’ and pick up the king with a flourish that makes the boys laugh. ‘Silas,’ you continue. ‘Yes.’ ‘May I please have Heart the Lover’s wife?’ ‘No, you may not.’ ‘Well, you can’t blame a guy for trying,’ he says. Silas and I chuckle and Harry asks why that was funny and now I’m the one who wants to go upstairs to ponder time and existence for a while.