Maura stood behind the concessions counter, arms wrapped around herself as she stared blankly at the wave of fluorescent yellow popcorn cascading into the holding tank below. It was the weekend, but it was still early, and the larger crowds had yet to descend. She closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, reveling in the calm before the inevitable storm. Only six more hours to go.

"Chin up, Matthews. She'll be back at Thanksgiving."

Maura turned to find Brian with a broom in hand. "I see you're actually being useful," she commented. For once in your life.

"Gee, and here I thought I was free from the sarcastic comments with Leanne gone. The broom is for you, by the way." He leaned it against the counter. "You're welcome."

Maura rolled her eyes. "Please tell me you're interviewing people. I've worked overtime the last two weeks. A day off would be nice, you know. I would like to enjoy the sun before summer is over."

"You're the best employee I've got," Brian said. "Why would I want anyone else?"

She pointed a finger at him. "Hire someone or I'm quitting. I swear."

"You'll never quit," Brian said. "Now go refill the napkins and straws."

"But I just did that."

"Your point?"

Maura tamped down the urge to flip him off. "You're a jerk, you know that?"

"But I'm a loveable jerk," Brian called over his shoulder as he walked away.

Maura huffed her way around the concessions counter and over to the stand where customers could help themselves to extra napkins and straws. Leanne had left for college three weeks ago, leaving them short-staffed. They texted every day, multiple times a day, and it was easy for Maura to imagine her best friend wasn't thousands of miles away. Leanne had FaceTimed several times this week, disregarding the time difference, to get help with her homework. She had even introduced Maura to her roommates. Leanne seemed content with their current friendship situation, but Maura wondered how long it could last, especially as the semester dragged on and Leanne got bogged down with work and real-life friends who were actually present. When would Leanne start to forget about her?

With the supplies stocked, Maura grabbed a rag and began wiping down counters and cleaning fingerprints from the glass concessions case, even though she had already done it. As always, when she found herself alone these days, her thoughts drifted to The Otherworld and everything that had transpired.

It had been just over three months since Siobhan's sudden death and her brief tenure as queen. Her first and only act as monarch was to appoint Evelyn to the job. Evelyn had served as handmaiden to both Deidre and Siobhan, so she was familiar with the ins-and-outs of queendom. The people knew and respected her. And with all that Evelyn had endured—the good and the bad—Maura was confident Evelyn would serve her people well. The appointment, however, came with one caveat.

As queen, Evelyn had the power to grant mortality or immortality to whatever degree she wished. Siobhan had promised Maura's father that he could return to the human realm as a full mortal, and Maura asked Evelyn to uphold that promise. After a year of being gone, her father's presence in their lives felt strange. Still, it was nice to see her parents happy again, especially her mom. Her dad's return had caused a stir, of course. He'd blamed his absence on a mid-life crisis, saying he'd finally come to his senses and realized he couldn't live without his wife and daughter. He'd faced a lot of criticism as a consequence, and so had her mother for taking him back, but they didn't seem to care. He'd gotten his old job back, and they'd managed to save their home by the skin of their teeth.

Siobhan's death had broken the labyrinth's magic. Nicolette had been the first one to emerge, and soon other faeries began to appear, many of them free for the first time in centuries. Among them were the human girls whose Essence had been stolen, kept barely alive through the magic spell that bound The Otherworld to its queen. With the spell broken, however, they were left adrift in a world in which they did not belong, weak and traumatized.

"I will care for them," Evelyn had said, eyes wide at the sheer number of humans wandering aimlessly among the fairies. "I will grant them immortality, and they will live among us."

Keeping her promise, Maura returned Katherine, as well as the other two missing girls, to the mortal realm. Everyone was stunned when they just happened to turn up. Thankfully, no one connected her father's return with theirs or thought it suspicious. Maura had been visiting Katherine once or twice a week, and the girl was starting to show signs of her former self. There was hope she would recover completely. Eventually.

Luke, unfortunately, hadn't recovered from his mother's death. He had been distraught and inconsolable at the part he had played in the girls' lives being forever changed. Though breaking the spell had set him free in one way, he was now prisoner to his shame. Following Siobhan's funeral, he told Maura he thought it best that they go their separate ways. He needed time to think. She understood, but she was heartbroken. She had naively assumed they would get their happy ending. Luke had delivered her back to the mortal realm where they had shared one more kiss before he disappeared again. She hadn't seen him since. Colin had come around a few times. They'd even gone on a couple of dates. But the only thing to come of that was them realizing they were better off as friends.

Customers started to trickle in again, so Maura tossed her rag into the sink and forced a smile on her face. As she filled seemingly endless cups and buckets of soda and popcorn, she thought about Leanne and Colin, feeling not a little jealous. They were both in college, moving on with their lives, while she was still stuck at the theater. She had been offered an academic scholarship to Cornell but decided to defer a semester. Like Luke, she needed time to adjust, to figure out her life and where she was going.

Working alone, Maura had to operate at top speed and so didn't immediately notice the girl with pink-tipped hair and Converse sneakers standing in line, her arm linked through the guard standing at her side. Through she was wearing her human glamour, Maura recognized her at once.

"Evelyn!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"I missed you," Evelyn replied. "And I was craving chocolate."

Maura laughed. "You always had a wicked sweet tooth."

"Guilty," Evelyn said. "Besides, I couldn't miss Luke's first day at his new job."

Maura's heart leaped in her throat. She felt like she couldn't breathe. "What?"

With perfect timing, Brian appeared with Luke at his side, fully outfitted in the ugly theater uniform and mandatory visor. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so she just stood there with her mouth hanging open.

"You guys know each other, right?" Brian said.

Maura nodded, unable to take her eyes off Luke. "Yeah."

"I had my doubts about giving him a job, considering what happened the last time he was here, but he assured me he wouldn't cause problems or harass you."

"And you just took his word for it?" Maura said. Luke looked down but couldn't hide his grin.

Brian scratched his jaw, looking suddenly unsure. "Um . . . Do you want me to fire him? Because I can totally fire him. I have that right."

"Shut up, Brian. It's fine."

"Okay. Good. Well, I'm gonna let you show him the ropes." He clapped Luke on the back. "Good luck, man. And watch out for her. You know what they say about redheads."

Maura picked up an empty soda cup and tossed it at Brian, hitting him in the shoulder. "Go be a manager elsewhere!"

Evelyn laughed and motioned for Reginald to gather the snacks Maura had placed on the counter. "We'll leave you two to get reacquainted."

"Enjoy your movie," Maura said. She met Luke's eyes and motioned him around the counter. It took every ounce of restraint not to launch herself at him. She noticed he didn't make a move, either. She cleared her throat. "I can't believe you're here. How are you?"

"I'm good," Luke said. "Or at least better than I was."

She nodded. "I . . . I wasn't sure I'd ever see you again."

He lowered his gaze to the floor. "I'm sorry, Maura."

"Don't apologize," she said. "I totally understood. I just thought . . ." Her words trailed off. She didn't need to say what she had thought. Luke was smart enough to figure that out on his own.

She laughed and reached out to snag the sleeve of his shirt. "I think you're the only one who actually looks good in this."

Luke grabbed her hand and pulled her into a hug, burying his face in her neck. "I'm sorry."

Maura wrapped her arms around him and squeezed. "It's okay," she said. "I promise." Luke pulled away eventually but kept hold of her hand. "So," she said. "The fact that you're working here now means . . . what, exactly?"

"Evelyn got tired of my moping," he said with a shrug. "She told me I had to make a choice."

"And?"

Luke slipped off Maura's visor and tucked a tendril of hair behind her ear. Then he bent his head to hers and said against her mouth, "I remembered I made that choice the moment I saw you."  

*****

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