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“Tommaso,” she said, gesturing to the bubbling pot on the stove. “Stir the big pot, please,” she said, her hands coated in flour as she worked some bread dough. “Happy thoughts.”

Tommy picked up the big wooden spoon and gave himself a second to bring up a happy thought. All he could come up with, because it was all he seemed to think about anymore, was Scott. He was in three of Tommy’s classes and he was just so…Tommy didn’t know. He wanted to say hot, but he was a guy so that wasn’t right. Was it?

Lost in his own confusion, Tommy didn’t pay attention when he lifted the lid. He reached in and stirred the pot and the contents. When he did, some kind of bubble popped and splashed boiling liquid onto his wrist.

“Shit,” Tommy hissed as he yanked his hand away and cradled it.

“Language-” Nonna started, then looked at him with alarm. “Put it under the faucet.”

She flipped on the faucet quickly, her floured hands leaving a mess behind, then grabbed Tommy’s arm and forced it under the stream of water. Tommy let out an embarrassing whimper at the sting, but Nonna’s strong grip held him in place until she was satisfied.

“Let me see,” she said.

He looked down at the inside of his wrist. The tender, pale skin had two pronounced, round, angry red spots, and a pink splash between them. He heard Nonna suck in her breath and looked at her in confusion.

“I saw this shape this morning,” she said, barely above a whisper. “In my coffee grounds.”

Nonna was always seeing things in her coffee grounds. That was what happened when you turned your cup over onto a paper towel and stared at them long enough. The idea that she saw some blobs that looked like his blotches didn’t seem far fetched.

But she let go, muttering about finding her cards. She opened the cupboard where they kept the dishes and there the cards were, tucked between the bowls and plates. When he’d unloaded the dishwasher a half hour ago he could have sworn they weren’t there.

She sat down at the kitchen table and started shuffling, then she stacked the cards up and looked at Tommy. “Tap twice.”

Tommy obediently tapped the top of the deck twice with his index finger, then watched Nonna shuffle again. She laid the cards out in a configuration that made no sense. He didn’t see any pattern there, or to the numbers or suits of the cards. 

When she turned over the final card at the center of it all, it was a king of hearts. She nodded and hummed thoughtfully. She took his wrist in her small hands again.

“This mark ties you to your one true love,” she said as if it were an absolute truth. “Whoever this person is, they will need you. You’re the key, Tommaso. You will help them.”

Tommy didn’t know what to say to that, but Nonna said all kinds of things he didn’t understand. He did notice, though, the lack of definitive pronouns. Did Nonna know something? Was he obvious?

But before he could dwell on it too much, Nonna gathered up the cards, slid them into the worn cardboard sleeve, and tucked them into her apron pocket.

He imagined that the next time she needed them, that wasn’t where they’d be.

****

Tommy kept Nonna’s deck of cards on a shelf in his home next to the guardian angel statue she’d given him as a child. He swore when he walked past them he still smelled rosemary and lavender. Before he left his house, he always tapped the deck of cards twice for good luck. Something he’d been doing since Nonna passed nearly twenty years ago. 

He’d found the cards when he was cleaning out her house. Or the cards found him. Because one second they weren’t there and then they were. Funny cards. 

Though at his house, they stayed put.

Until they didn’t.

Tommy slipped his work bag over his shoulder and walked past the shelf. He reached out to tap the cards and instead his finger tapped solid wood. 

Tommy furrowed his brow, then looked at the little angel statue. “You’re supposed to keep an eye on those,” he chided gently.

He wasn’t worried about their whereabouts. They’d make themselves found again. But he worried about what it meant.

Work was slow, but when you were a firefighter pilot he supposed that no emergencies to respond to was a good thing. He’d done all the maintenance and chores he could think of and was about to get a book out of his locker when his phone started to buzz.

A name appeared on the screen that he hadn’t seen in years.

“Hey Howie…it’s been a long time…”

****

Howie arrived with another firefighter walking alongside him and introduced him as Eddie Diaz. Tommy shook the guy’s hand with a smile and a nod.

“I’ve got the bird fueled up and ready-” Tommy started.

“Hang on, we’ve got one more,” Howie said, looking behind him expectantly.

A third man jogged in on long legs, apologizing profusely.

“Sorry, sorry. I got distracted. They have this cool weather station over there-” he turned to face Tommy and that’s when he saw it - a red birthmark on the man’s brow that he’d recognize anywhere, because it matched the burn scar on his wrist. 

Tommy stared at the man, the scar on his wrist heating and tingling. He put his other hand over it, rubbing the spot. 

“Hi, I’m um…I’m Evan.” the man said.

Tommy looked at him and tried for a friendly smile, but his eyes kept darting to the birthmark, the tingle in his wrist turning into a more insistent buzz the longer he looked. 

“It’s a birthmark,” Evan said a little flatly.

Tommy blinked away from it and looked at Evan. His expression landed somewhere between annoyed and offended. Tommy didn’t blame him. He’d probably had a lifetime of people staring at it. Probably got teased for it as a kid, because other kids could be incredibly cruel. 

Tommy knew this firsthand.

“Sorry, I wasn’t staring I…” Tommy stopped himself there. He didn’t think that now was the time to get into it, right before some harebrained rescue mission Howie had cooked up.

You are the key, Tommaso. You will help him.

“Alright, well, let’s get going, shall we?” Tommy said, hoping a friendly smile could cover up the faux pas.

It hadn’t been the smartest idea to fly right into a hurricane, but Tommy knew he was a damn good pilot and if anyone could pull this off, it was him. He couldn’t help the nerves that snuck in every so often, though, remembering that he hadn’t tapped the cards before he’d left the house. 

It had been a long night (and morning), but eventually everyone was safe and on solid ground. It had been good to catch up with Howie and Hen a bit - fences long since mended between them. He’d hit it off with Eddie right away, conversation flowing easily from the army, to mixed martial arts, to cars. He’d gotten his number and they had loose plans to catch a fight next weekend. 

And then there was Evan.

Evan had been polite, but a little stiff. They hadn’t exactly gotten off on the right foot. He’d been grateful, though, for Tommy’s help. By the end they’d warmed to each other in the way you had no choice but to, when you’ve been through a potentially life threatening situation. 

Tommy found the deck of cards in his locker before he left. 

The next time the cards went missing was the day he was meeting up with Evan to give him a tour of Harbor. 

He’d been surprised when Evan called wanting the tour. He’d been excited about it. Tommy was happy to give it. Maybe he could find a way to show him the scar and share a funny story about his quirky little Nonna. And wow what a coincidence my scar kinda looks like your birthmark. 

Sure that would just easily slip right into any conversation.

Evan’s enthusiasm during the tour was infectious. He looked at everything with wonder and interest, asking question after question. Tommy was sure he looked strange every time he rubbed at his wrist, trying to find relief from the buzzing sensation that was worse than last time. 

This time, the cards appeared on the dashboard of the helicopter when he climbed in with Eddie. He shoved them into his pocket before strapping in and taking off. 

The third time the cards went missing, Tommy was on his way to his regular pickup basketball game. He’d invited Eddie to join and Eddie said Evan wasn’t into basketball. So he’d been surprised when Evan showed up in a sour mood, looking pissed off at Tommy, and knocked Eddie to the ground during the game. 

It was Eddie who needed the help. Tommy took him to urgent care and made sure everything was alright. He supposed he’d helped Eddie by taking him to the fight. And Eddie had been someone he helped the night of the hurricane too.

But.

Eddie didn’t make his wrist buzz. Eddie didn’t have the matching mark. Eddie didn’t feel like anything more than friendship. 

Once Eddie was settled, Tommy got Evan’s address and showed up at his place. Maybe it was a bit much but he had to get this figured out. Or at minimum, fix this weird rift he’d inadvertently created between Evan and Eddie. 

Being in Evan’s space gave him a strange sensation, like he belonged there somehow. Maybe it was the lingering scents of rosemary and lavender. Probably a combination of seasonings he used for dinner and some kind of lavender cleaning products. However it got there, it created an indescribable openness in his chest.

And suddenly he was talking about how jealous he was that the 118 was so close, not at all like it had been when he’d been there. He hadn’t even realized he was feeling that until he put words to it. 

His wrist buzzed and buzzed, spreading to his hand and up his arm.

Tommy felt pulled toward Evan while they talked, unable to stop from getting closer because something told him that relief was within reach. Talking became easier, Evan’s smile became brighter.

There was something he needed to do. Something Evan needed him to do.

He knew, with certainty, that this was right. 

He reached up and took hold of Evan’s chin, then leaned in and kissed him. 

The buzzing stopped and there was nothing but a rush of heat and relief and rightness. Like this had been their destiny all along. 

Tommy pulled back from the kiss and Evan stared at him in absolute wonder. While Tommy felt like his world had finally shifted into place, Evan looked like his had been knocked off its axis and into a brand new orbit.

“So that was okay?” Tommy checked.

Evan nodded, his eyes drifting back down to Tommy’s mouth like there was more discovery to be had.

Not yet. Not tonight.

“I have to go. I have a shift in the morning.”

“Oh…okay…” Evan said.

“What are you doing this Saturday? You free?”

“Yes, I…I am free,” Evan said with a dazed smiled.

“Great,” Tommy said with the easy confidence that came from knowing <i>this was right</i>.. “I’ll come by around 8?”

“8 is great,” Evan said, watching Tommy make his way to the door. 

Tommy kept eye contact as long as he could, then reached for the doorknob.

“Wait…are-are these yours?”

Tommy turned to see Evan reach for an old familiar deck of cards, sitting at the edge of his kitchen island. 

Tommy furrowed his brow curiously.

Somehow, Evan’s reach didn’t quite connect with the deck and it toppled to the floor, the cards spilling out everywhere.

“Oh, s-sorry about that,” Evan said as he crouched down to gather them up. Tommy joined him, kneeling down to do the same.

He and Evan both reached for the last card but Evan got to it first, then stared at Tommy’s outstretched arm.

“What’s that mark on your wrist?” he asked.

“It’s a scar from a burn I got as a kid,” Tommy said, holding it out for Evan to see.

“The shape looks a lot like-” Evan started.

Tommy nodded. 

“Weird coincidence,” Evan said as he stood up. “I guess that’s why you were staring when we met, huh?”

“Yeah,” Tommy said, standing too. “I’m sorry if that came off as rude.”

“It kinda did,” Evan admitted. “But I get it now.”

Tommy slid the deck of cards into his back pocket. He watched Evan’s eyes drop down to his lips again, curious and eager. Tommy wanted nothing more than to kiss him again, but if he did, he’d never leave.

“I really do have to go,” Tommy said reluctantly.

“Right,” Evan nodded with an understanding smile, then realized he still had a card in his hand. “Don’t forget this one.”

Tommy looked down at the card in Evan’s hand, held face up. The king of hearts.

“Why don’t you keep it,” Tommy smiled, backing up toward the door so Evan couldn’t easily hand it back. “I think it’s meant for you.”

Evan gave him a slightly confused look, his smile still beaming as he held the card to his chest. “Good night, Tommy.”

“Good night, Evan,” Tommy said, then closed the door behind him.

Tommy let out a deep breath, then laughed and shook his head. “Okay Nonna. I heard you,” he muttered before hitting the elevator button.

****