Tom Harris sat at the bar in Gertrude's staring at his half empty glass for what seemed like an eternity. Normally, humans weren't allowed into Gertrude's bar unless they were accompanied by a person of supernatural origin, but Gert made an exception with Tom. She had liked the guy, like everyone had and didn't hesitate to let Tom in the moment he came by the bar to see Gert and Cora. The mother and daughter troll had heard about Alexa's death and had held their own private memorial for her.
"You, uh.....met Alexa's family I take it?" Cora finally asked trying to get Tom to talk after he had been quiet for so long.
"Yeah, I....I did," Tom quietly answered her. "They're all great people. They were....devastated when they were told what happened to her. Their only daughter, gone. Her brothers, both of them were just as sad to hear what happened to their sister. They don't....they don't blame me, but....I could....I could see it in their eyes. They blame me Gert, Cora, I know it in my heart, they blame me because.....because I couldn't keep her safe." Tom said as he couldn't hold it in any longer and began to cry.
Gert came from behind the counter to give Tom a comforting pat on the back.
"No Tom, no, they don't blame you in the slightest, I know that for sure, I met her family before and they could never hold a grudge against anyone, especially you." Cora reassured Tom.
"Cora, come on, don't give me that. I know you're just trying to make me feel better." Tom said shaking his head.
"She's not. Tom, my mom and I got to meet her family and I got to know them personally. Alexa's mom? She's just as kind and as caring and as understanding as....as she was." Cora said before taking a deep breath and sighing. Tom and Gert could see tears forming in Cora's eyes before she wiped them away.
"Cora, it was my fault, don't you get that? I was this close to saving her. I've....I've never lost anyone close to me like this before. I loved her, I loved her so much. I loved her smile, her laugh, her ears twitching like a cat." Tom said as he chuckled and Cora chuckled with her, as did Gert before they all went silent again.
"Tom, I don't do this often for human customers, but I'll make an exception just for you. You're welcome anytime in my bar if you need to talk or anything like that." Cora offered Tom with a smile.
"Thanks Cora, I...I appreciate it." Tom thanked with a smile.
Gert now poured herself and Cora a glass before she held up her glass in the air.
"How about a toast? To Alexa." Gert suggested.
"Alexa," Tom and Cora both said as they clinked their glasses together with Gert.
Cora and Gert both took a little sip of their drinks while Tom chugged the rest of his drink down before sitting it on the counter.
"Thanks again Gert, how much do I owe you?" Tom asked reaching into his wallet.
"That one was on the house." Gert said waving her hand.
"Well, I guess I'll be going now. I'll probably see you both in about a month." Tom said getting up from his barstool.
"Where are you going?" Cora asked.
"Vermont. Alexa and I....we were going to go there together after taking the Superior Church down. But now....now I think I'm just going to go there and....think." Tom replied.
"Tom, wait," Cora said as she got up for her stool and went to give Tom a hug, which he slowly hugged her back.
"Thanks Cora, I'll see you both when I get back." Tom said as he exited the bar.
**********************************************************
Yuriko Harris stood behind the counter of the Magic Shop partially looking through a magazine while it was slow in the store at the moment. Gloria had been putting some items on the sales floor when she looked over to see Yuriko looking despondent and came over to talk to her.
"Hey, something on your mind?" Gloria asked as Yuriko nodded in reply.
"It's Tom, I talked to him before I came in today. He said he was going to go to Vermont to think about his life. I just....I just wish what happened didn't happen. Tom doesn't deserve this, did he? He always tried to make me happy when we were growing up and now I want to make him happy, but....I can't. It's just so unfair!" Yuriko shouted slamming the magazine down on the counter.
"Okay, easy. Look, I know this isn't the easiest time for Tom or anyone else Alexa knew. Trust me, I've been through this with Caleb when he lost his father. It will take some time, but eventually he will recover. The pain of losing her will come every now and again, but he'll be okay one day. You just....you just have to trust me on this." Gloria said as Yuriko gave a small nod to Gloria.
"Alright, look, it's pretty dead right now, I'll leave you up here while I go in the back to check on some stuff, that okay with you?" Gloria asked.
"Yeah," Yuriko replied as Gloria went into the back leaving Yuriko alone in the store.
Sometimes the store could be pretty hopping with customers, other days, there were only so many that came in. But today, it was strangely quiet, almost without a single customer being seen once.
"Hey Yuki, sleeping on the job?" A familiar chipper voice asked her as she looked up to see Tom there standing by the entrance to the magic shop.
"Tom? Wh-What are you doing here? I thought you were going to Vermont? How are you doing?" Yuriko asked confused to see her older brother standing there.
"Vermont? Oh, that was quite a while ago and we're doing perfectly fine." Tom replied.
"We?"
Tom now opened the door to the Magic Shop wider for a very pregnant Alexa Ross stepping through the door.
"Alexa?!" Yuriko asked in surprise.
"That's Alexa Harris, and I think the words you're looking for are: congratulations." Alexa said with a chuckle and Tom laughed with her and Yuriko noticed their wedding rings on their fingers.
"Oh, wow! Congratulations." Yuriko said almost in disbelief as she went over to give Tom and Alexa a hug, although Alexa noticed Yuriko gave her a bigger hug than Tom.
Yuriko almost wanted to ask the two how they came there, but remembered what Gloria had said about alternate timelines and opted not to tell anything that had happened recently to her brother and Alexa in her own reality.
"So what are you two up to these days?" Yuriko finally asked the pair.
"Oh, well Alexa is on maternity leave right now and we just got back from our honeymoon. We had a nice, simple wedding but we're considering something a little bigger down the line." Tom said as Alexa gave a slight giggle before she put her hand on her stomach feeling her baby.
"Hey, did you want to say hi to your new nephew? He'll be in a couple of weeks." Alexa asked smiling.
"Oh, yea-yeah, I'd love to." Yuriko said as she gently put her hand on Alexa's pregnant belly and felt her nephew kicking.
"We're still going back and forth on names, but I'm sure the perfect one will come to us." Alexa told Yuriko who nodded.
"Anyway, we stopped in to pick up an order from S.P.E.A.R we were going to get. It should be in a big box, do you have it ready?" Tom asked.
"Your order? Oh, yeah, sorry I just...I thought someone else was coming to get it." Yuriko apologized as she gave them the box and had them sign for it.
"Well, we should be going, we've got a lot to plan for." Tom said as he grabbed the box.
"Yeah, it was great seeing you again Yuriko." Alexa said.
"It was great to see both of you again, let me give you both a hug before you go." Yuriko asked as Tom and Alexa gave Yuriko a hug before they exited through the door to the Magic Shop.
Yuriko stood there alone now for a moment before she suddenly began crying. Gloria finally came out from the back and ran over to Yuriko's side.
"Yuriko, what is it? What's wrong?" Gloria asked.
"I....I saw Tom and.....and Alexa. They just....they just came in through the door. They were married and....Alexa was pregnant with their baby and....I got to feel it kick. They were.....just....so...happy together." Yuriko said through her tears.
"Oh....so you went through one of those too now." Gloria sighed.
"One of what?" Yuriko asked wiping her tears away.
Gloria led Yuriko back to the counter and took a deep breath.
"You know how Jacob Moreland died a long time ago, right?" Gloria asked as Yuriko nodded.
"Well, I was working in the shop one day when lo and behold Jacob Moreland in the flesh came through the door and offered his condolences to me about....about Caleb dying. I was...confused, scared, and a little sad at first at what I was seeing, but I soon realized that the Jacob Moreland before me came from a world where Caleb died instead of him. I didn't bother asking how or why, instead I just went along with it and thanked him and told him how much I loved him. It was genuine too, he didn't know that in this reality, his son was still alive. When he left, I took comfort in the fact that in this reality, Caleb and I have been happily married and have three wonderful boys." Gloria explained as she grew a little smile on her face.
"So maybe take comfort in the fact that in another reality, Tom and Alexa are happy together and at peace." Gloria said patting Yuriko on the shoulder and smiling.
Yuriko looked at the door to the Magic Shop and grew a little smile, while she knew how her brother was faring in her own reality, she was happy that at least in one reality, he was happy.