"Oh, it's all so secretive," Queenie giggled. "He's warned me not to visit the bakery during the day as to not make people suspicious."
Tina whisked past with her dark gray coat, "Yes, it's all so exciting." She fumbled through the kitchen cabinets to find a mint.
Turning a page of her book, Adelaide hummed to herself, "I suppose you meet after hours?"
"That's what we agreed on. We have dinner at Dine de Alexie and dance the night away! Isn't that just the most roman..."
"Yes, yes, we find your dangerous, not-so-secret infatuation with Jacob quite enthralling," Tina huffed, chewing on a hard piece of old chewing gum she discovered. "But some of us aren't so lucky in acquiring such a stable romance."
Queenie tightened her lip and flexed her fingers at her knees, "Going to hunt down a date for the Spring Social?"
Tina closed her eyes and shoved her hands into her pockets, "That is the plan."
"And with the dance being only a few days away! Your timing is really impeccable, Teenie."
"Like mother, like daughter, I suppose. Wish me luck." She stiffly headed for the door of the apartment as Queenie followed the stream of anxious thoughts that appeared after her.
"You know, she didn't have to snap at me. Just because I found love before she did."
Anna finished another chapter in The Founded Foursome before closing it and addressing her sister, "Tina's never been the greatest at catching the guys, Queenie, you know that. Your stories make her nervous about finding a date."
Queenie stood and straightened her dress with a sullen smile, "I don't see why she should be. A career girl at her age should be able to sweep any man off their feet."
Refraining from rolling her eyes, Anna put her books away under the side table instead, "I believe some are simply more capable of catching the eye than others."
Queenie gave her a questioning look before continuing into the kitchen and noticing the mail pile near the bread box, "Why didn't you tell me the mail arrived? I've been waiting for my magazines for weeks."
"I didn't think to check." Anna moved for the window and peered down at the cobblestone streets of New York; the smog was particularly hazy that morning.
"Of course, sweetie," Queenie muttered, obviously scanning her sister's thoughts. "You only really care about seeing one letter in particular. I guess that means you still haven't gotten word?"
Anna bit the inside of her cheek and folded her arms sharply, unable to answer for the emotions bubbling up within herself; Queenie didn't need her to.
"Honey, just because he doesn't write consistently doesn't mean that he's forgotten about you."
"Then what is it?" there was an edge to her voice, obvious dislike for the topic of conversation.
Queenie clacked her heels as she moved from the counter to the living room, cautious steps, "You don't have to be a legilimens to know you're hiding, Addie. You need to talk about this – please, can we talk about it?"
"You have work," Anna cut her short, turning on her heel and darting for their shared room. There she gathered short shoes, a light jacket, and a cap.
Queenie followed right behind, "The Wand Permit Office isn't what I'm worried about right now. Besides, Abernathy is stuck watching Grindelwald so there's no one to get at me for not being at my desk."
Anna whirled around her and stuck her wand behind her ear, "I promised to meet Poppy for lunch."
"Addie, it's only 10 o'clock! What are you supposed to do for the next couple hours?"
"Anything but this," Adelaide flung herself out the door and down the staircase, aiming to disapparate once she hit the pavement.
Queenie flew out behind her, "Adelaide! Don't make me call Abasi."
Anna stopped in her tracks and fumed - her breathing was much more rapid than it was five minutes ago.
Scrunching her nose, she peered up for her sister, "You know what happened this week?" She didn't need a response, she already knew Queenie could read her mind, "Newt published his book!"
"I know, sweetie." Queenie had seen the fresh advertisements at MACUSA and the new shipments at the local bookstores, "And he still hasn't given you a copy."
Anna finally attempted to catch her breath as Queenie made her way down the rest of the steps. The elder rested a hand on her sister's shoulder and muttered, "You know, Central Park is starting to turn green. Maybe we could go walk around and find the blossoms?"
Without hesitation, the two of them turned on the spot and appeared near the Central Park entryway. They casually fell into a steady pace and followed the paved trails winding throughout the fields and pond.
"He told me he'd give me a copy in person," Anna began. "And come to find out he's already been selling hundreds of copies and having book signings... I didn't even know he'd been approved for publication."
Queenie folded her hands behind her back, "And he hasn't written for weeks."
"No, he hasn't. You know he asked if I would forget about him after he left? And I told him I could never even if I tried. I thought he looked so relieved at my response, turns out it's the other way around."
"Honey, I don't think there's any way that Newt could stop thinking about you. He hardly could while he was living here!"
"I knew he wanted to ask me to come with him. I just knew it. He thought he was going to take my life from me by asking me to move. In reality, my life left with him on that ship." Anna slowed her steps even more, "It wasn't even half a day after that I realized I made a mistake – I needed to go with him."
Queenie pulled them towards a resting bench beneath a number of trees, "We all knew long before the two of you did. The number of times Jacob, Teenie, and I talked late at night over when you two were going to run off together." She shook her head ponderously, "You're head over heels for each other."
Anna stared at her sister, as if she was willing her legilimens mind to contradict her feelings, "Queenie, I can't stop thinking about him. I can't stop thinking about every little thing we've ever said to each other. From when he took me ice skating to when he took care of me after Graves' interrogation to finding me at the cemetery – everything he ever did made me believe that he was genuine."
"He was, Addie, he truly was," Queenie felt sympathy fill her gaze. "Something had to have happened to keep him from you."
"I wish I knew what it was. I keep thinking up all these scenarios to maybe figure out what happened. He could have found a new girl, he could've fallen for his assistant, he could have simply chosen to forget about me and move on with his life."
Queenie put an arm around her sister and pulled her into a hug, "I would not pick Newt to be the type of man that would do any of those things without talking to you first. If you could read his mind like I could you'd have no doubt either."
"You always told me the accent was too thick for you to figure."
"Well, from what I could decipher," Queenie scrunched her nose with a smile. "It was pretty genuine."
Anna gazed back at the goings-on of the park, admiring the ducks on the water and the children sharing kites, "Do you think I should write to him again?"
"I think you should wait him out. He's bound to say something eventually. If anything, he's probably worrying himself sick over it – how to apologize for causing you so much heartache."
That brought a small smile on her face, "I think I'm going to stay at the clinic and talk with Poppy until her lunch break. I assume she has a mountain of stories to tell about what I'm missing at the hospital."
"At this point Abasi should just hire you part time, seeing as you're there so much."
They both stood from the bench and passed a small family, Queenie's eyes lingering on the newborn baby in the stroller, "Don't be ridiculous. I've gotten a great part time job keeping you and Jacob in check."
"What do you mean?" Queenie snapped her gaze back to her sister.
"I know baby fever when I see it," Anna snickered. "You and Jacob aren't married just yet, remember?"
Queenie laughed under her breath, "There's no crime in thinking about the future. Jacob and I are going to have the cutest kids! Can't you see it? He'll bring little Johnnie to the bakery to teach him the tricks of the trade and baby Suzie will have his dark hair and my sparkling eyes."
Anna couldn't contain her grin as she watched her sister wander off into her own world inside her mind.
"Sounds like quite the dream, Queenie. As long as you remember that it isn't going to be easy going after a No-Maj."
Queenie appeared to land back on Earth, "We'll just move to England with you!"
"What?" Anna laughed, "Move with me?"
"Yeah, that'll be perfect! Wizards can marry No-Maj in England – we'll just find a little apartment where Jacob can expand his bakery chain. And we can get married in the heart of London and..." She practically squealed at the next part, "And when you and Newt get married we can have family dinners on Sundays and have the cousins over every weekend to play!"
Anna held her hands up as they continued to walk, "Woah, Queenie, we just went over me trying to get back on speaking terms with Newt. I don't think marriage is in a very near future."
The rest of the walk commenced in rounds of laughter and possible future outcomes of their desired relationships. Queenie was going to have the whole family dynamic with a bunch of kids and a loving husband that provided for them. Anna was hoping for a few kids of her own, not to mention the extensive list of beasts she hoped to acquire.
She felt the hardness of Newt's lack of responses melt away as she remembered all the pleasant times she had with him. The memories that prompted her to think about that future goal.
Attending the hospital clinic was just as she deduced it'd be – mostly Poppy remarking on the latest gossip with Richards and Evans fighting over an artifact accident that was also tainted with poison. Both attempting to impress the beautiful red-headed Poppy, they blew the whole operation greatly out of scale and were given a stern reprimand.
As long as Adelaide didn't mention much about the news in her own life, Poppy was able to ramble on about the things she'd heard and her opinion on a number of social scandals.
Before she knew it, Anna was heading home from a lunch date with her close friend and found herself trailing into her apartment and kicking off her shoes.
"If I had a nickel for every piece of information Poppy knew about someone she shouldn't, I'd own my own apartment."
A hard clink of glass caught her attention and looking over at the living room window, she noticed a beautiful barn owl sitting outside. With a sudden spark of anxiousness flooding her insides she quickly padded over to the creature, lifting the wooden panel.
"Hello, there," she stroked its golden white feathers and moved her gaze to the front of the envelope.
Newt Scamander
A sharp peck to her fingertips told her she pulled on a few of the owl's feathers as it hooted angrily at her sudden roughness. Sucking a drop of blood from her index finger, Adelaide flipped the letter over to see Newt's signature over the wax seal.
Her hands immediately began to shake as the owl gave one last forced cry of acknowledgment before taking off. Adelaide hardly noticed as she fumbled over her toes and collapsed in her reading chair.
Picking at the wax seal, she found her quaking hands made it rather difficult to unfold the paper within,
"Adelaide,
Things are relatively normal as per usual. Nothing overly exciting to report. I find that my life has become unexpectedly uneventful since I've returned to England."
She read the words aloud, perhaps because if they were said within her head they wouldn't be real. Her eyes flickered over every stroke of the quill and found herself mesmerized by the messy cursive.
"And I can't help but worry that I've upset you with how infrequently I've responded to your letters."
At least he's been aware of how long he's taken to respond. It brought up a wave of relief – he isn't hiding anything at all! Adelaide smiled as she read on, mentally shaking herself over how silly she had been.
"I don't like the person I've become without you."
Has he been missing her just as much as she missed him? Perhaps this was part of the reason he'd hesitate in writing – he's missed having in-person conversations with her.
"I now know that my life is infinitely better with you in it. And I need to ask you something: Will you come to me in England?"
She felt her hand waver and she had to hold on tight for fear of dropping the piece of parchment. Did he really just ask her to go to England?
A real grin grew on her face as she reread the sentence, "Will you come to me in England?" Not come to England... come to him in England. Newt wanted her to be with him.
He finally realized, as she did, that being separated was a horrendous idea from the start.
"Will you help me take care of my creatures? Will you come live with me? I have an extra bedroom you can stay in and I'm sure St. Mungo's would love to..."
Anna couldn't remember her mind slipping off the sentence, but she had to reread the words over and over again to make sure she got it right. So, this was why Newt waited so long – he was contemplating asking her to move over with him! It almost seemed too good to be true.
"I know that this is a lot to ask of you, but I'm miserable without you here with me. Please consider it,
Newton"
This letter was well worth the wait, Adelaide thought. Pure elation was coursing through her as she pounced off the chair and jumped in circles. Clutching the parchment to her chest, she squealed aloud.
Newt actually wanted her to be with him. It looked like moving wasn't going to be as hard as she thought.
"Adelaide! Addie!" Someone was running up the stairs outside.
Anna snapped her senses back into shape as she watched the door swing open and found a huffing Queenie falling in. Her cheeks were bright pink with the effort she took in reaching her little sister.
"Queenie? Are you alright?"
The blonde sister stood straight and flung a magazine within Anna's vision, "Addie. I just got my edition of Spellbound!"
Anna gazed at her puzzled, "Okay, I assume congratulations are in order, seeing as this is the most flustered you've ever been about getting a magazine subscription filled." She played with giving a smile, but quickly retracted at seeing no positive response on Queenie's features, "What is it?"
"Your congratulations should be going to someone else. I think I know why Newt hasn't been writing the last while," she finally seemed to catch her breath.
"How could you know? I only just..."
"Mercy Lewis, Adelaide! Would you look at the title of the magazine?"
Once Queenie stopped waving the page in front of Anna's face, she could read the great bold letters:
Beast Tamer Newt to Wed
Bachelor magizoologist Newton Scamander to marry childhood sweetheart!
A picture below showed Newt behind a desk of his freshly published books with two people standing beside him. Without question the other gentleman was Theseus, Anna had seen a profile picture of him when she inquired after him to Madam Picquery. But the woman that stood between them; it struck a chord within Anna's newly ignited heart.
That was Leta Lestrange. The woman in the photograph that was discovered in Newt's suitcase shed.
Queenie watched the recognition slowly develop over her sister's face, "It was in the newspaper as well. Some article written by that horrid Severina woman. I know she's all that in England, but when..."
Adelaide tuned her out as she read the front page of the local wizarding newspaper of America:
Newt to Wed
Newt Scamander with fiancée Leta Lestrange, brother Theseus, and unknown woman at first ever book signing of "Fantastic Beasts."
"Should Mr. Scamander accept the generous offer from Obscurus Books, readers can expect him and his new wife to set up home in a more salubrious purlieu of London than his current more modest domicile. Another little bird, (yes, an owl) tells me of unsettling rumors that Mr. Scamander's current neighbors will not miss him if he decides to up sticks and make his homestead in pastures new! There have been dark mutterings of disgruntled complaints as peaceful nights are disturbed by the wild shriek of unclassified animals forming part of the strange household Mr. Scamander keeps in his modest London townhouse. The weird ululations of magi beasts, nameless and without phylum pierce the fog-bound moonlit London nights, troubling the sleep of nearby neighbors."
Anna dropped the newspaper, unable to read anymore. Queenie pulled away the magazine and watched carefully as her sister stumbled back and fell onto the couch, the letter from Newt falling from her grasp.
"Leta. Newt... and Leta."
Queenie mumbled a cry, "Oh, sweetie, there must be some kind of mistake."
"How can there be?" Anna whispered, her eyes dark and confused. "You saw the picture he carried with him in his case. It was only a matter of time before he moved things along with her."
"But he loves you! It's you he wants. Did he not ever tell you he loved you?"
Adelaide felt her face begin to contort with emotion, "Once by accident... but I always thought it was so true that he didn't need to say it. I honestly thought he..."
"He made us all believe that, Addie," Queenie inched closer to her, grasping her quivering hands. "We all believed he had chosen you."
"He did!" Anna let out a cry as her whole figure began to shake. "He loved me just as much as I loved him. It was never said, but always there! Why would he do this?" She cracked as tears formed and fell in time.
Queenie pulled her sister to her, letting her red curls rest on her lap, "Oh, Addie." She brushed away strands of her hair, "We'll sort this out."
But for the time being Anna laid across the couch and cried to her heart's fullest, Queenie holding her tight until the floods diminished. The magazine and newspaper flown across the room as anguish delved their hearts.
"Why would Newt lead me on like that only to have another woman once he got home? Why didn't he tell me he was so serious with Leta? How could he not tell me something as important as that?"
And Newt's letter was laid crumpled and forgotten as it fell under the couch and out of sight.