by Ashlyn Chase
“No. You might say I went to the school of hard knocks. Now, hold your head up high and get a job.”
“But my clothes…”
“Can you beg or borrow one outfit?”
The girl thought hard. “I have an aunt who looks like a million bucks, but we’re not the same size.”
“Would she loan you money for an outfit?”
“Maybe, but I wouldn’t be able to pay her back until I got a paycheck, and how could I show up for work wearing the same thing every day?”
“You’re throwing roadblocks in your own way. Stop thinking about why you can’t do something, and begin thinking of ways you can make it work. Get a couple of separates. One pair of pants and a jersey. One skirt and a blouse. Mix and match to get a different outfit each day for four days. I promise they will pay attention to the kid who really wants the job rather than every other kid who just throws them a resume with a ‘whatever’ attitude.”
The girl looked up at Karma, and her expression began to soften. Eventually, she cocked her head and said, “Wouldn’t they get mad at me for trying on something I couldn’t afford to buy? Like that girl in the Pretty Woman movie.”
“Well, don’t be an idiot and try on the most expensive thing in the store.”
The girl chuckled. “I’ll give it a go. Will I see you again? I’d like to tell you how everything comes out.”
Karma smiled. “You never know.” She strode away and continued walking until she reached the corner, and as soon as she was out of the girl’s sight, she popped back into the ether.
“Is that it?” Gaia asked. “You just told her to get a job?”
“Do you want to see what happens when she does?”
Gaia smirked. “No. Why don’t you just tell me?”
“Okay, she gets to the store that she likes with her aunt. Roxanne—that’s her name, by the way—puts a few outfits together, tries one on, then goes out to the store manager and gives the spiel that I told her to. And she’s hired on the spot. Not only that, but their clothes look so cute on her, the woman lets her model them while she works until she earns them, and then she can take them home.”
“Seriously? Nobody does that.”
“Not without some coaching.” Karma winked.
Gaia thought, Perhaps my sister isn’t as mean as I thought she was. “I guess sometimes you don’t go after the same person I would, but look how well that turned out.”
“Oh? Who would you have ‘gone after’?”
“The a-hole who chopped off her hair.”
“Oh, you mean the kid who fell, holding the knife she used, and cut her own hand?”
Gaia laughed. “And did you have anything to do with that fall?”
Karma perched on a bench, swinging her spiky boots back and forth in the ether. “Maybe…but I’ll never tell.”
All right, maybe I’ll just talk to her about my situation and let her tell me what she would do instead of me telling her what I want her to do, Gaia thought. “Do you have a few minutes?”
“Sure. Would you like to go get a drink?”
“Oh yes. That sounds good. Where should we go?”
“Let me take you to this new place I just found,” Karma said. She took Gaia’s hand, and the two of them appeared in an alley of a busy neighborhood lit up with neon signs. Lots of people, lots of laughter, high heels clicking on the sidewalk, music playing…
This lively atmosphere wasn’t what Gaia was hoping for. “I wanted to talk more privately.”
“We can talk privately in the restaurant. No one will be paying any attention to us, and besides, it’ll be too noisy to make out more than a word or two if anyone did try to listen in. Wait, is that what you’re wearing?”
Gaia looked down at her long white tunic. “Do I need to blend in?”
Karma laughed and snapped her fingers, and Gaia looked down at herself again. She was wearing skinny jeans, high-heeled brown boots, and a clingy blue blouse that crisscrossed in the back.
“Hey, I look pretty good.”
“Of course you do. I dressed you.”
“Yes, you did. Well, thank you.”
“Hang on. I need a second.” Karma snapped her fingers and suddenly wore a lighter pair of skinny jeans, the boots without the spikes, and a green clingy top with cutouts on the shoulders. “Okay, I’m ready. Let’s go into this bar, and you can tell me all about it.”
As soon as they entered, a familiar female stood and waved to them from a table. “Yoo-hoo! Over here!”
Oh crap. Fate’s here. What could she want?
“Sister! What are you doing here?” Mother Nature asked in what she hoped was a cheerful tone.
“Karma called me.”
“I called her,” Karma reiterated.
“Why? I thought we were going to have a private conversation.”
“I thought you might like to hear what Fate has to say before you go into a death spiral on someone who hurt your feelings. She may give you another take on things.”
Gaia snorted. “Death spiral. So dramatic.” She lowered herself into her chair. The waitress came over and asked them what they wanted to drink. Gaia turned to her sisters. “I liked what you recommended before. Is there something else I should try?”
“Cranberry and vodka is nice,” Fate said.
“That’s a Cape Codder,” the waitress said.
“How about a tequila sunrise?” Karma suggested.
Gaia tipped her head this way and that. “I like Cape Cod. I’ve never had tequila though.” She looked at the waitress. “What would you like better if you were going to choose between those two?”
The young waitress smiled. “I’d probably get the Cape Codder because, well, I don’t like tequila that much.” Whispering behind her hand, she added, “You have to ask for the good stuff or you get the cheapest.”
Mother Nature nodded once. “A Cape Codder it is.”
The other two sisters decided to order Cape Codders as well. “With Stoli,” Karma added.
“How are things going?” Fate asked.
Gaia narrowed her eyes and said, “I could ask you the same thing.”
Fate cleared her throat. Sitting up straight, she plopped her laptop on the table, then opened it in front of Gaia. “I tried rewriting your online profile. The answers you gave me wouldn’t have attracted anyone except possibly some kind of nut. So here’s what I said about you.” Fate brought up a page with a flattering picture of Gaia and the profile, which read very simply: I am a young at heart, nurturing, outdoorsy kind of girl. I love nature walks and finding a pretty spot to observe a sunset. If you enjoy those things and can be a good listener, that’s all I need. I’m not looking for anything in particular as far as relationships go. I’d rather see how things evolve.
Gaia leaned back in her chair. “That’s it?”
Fate shrugged. “That’s it. I don’t think I can say much more without raising red flags. Do you?”
“Let me think.” Should I ask her to add that I’m all-powerful? No. She must’ve thought that would scare men away. Should I ask her to include my desire to make the world a better place? No, I don’t want a militant political activist either.
At last, Gaia opened her eyes and sighed loudly. “All right. I think you have it. Is there anything special you want me to do? Should I look at other people’s profiles and pick one? I don’t know how this works.”
Fate smiled. “I haven’t posted this yet. I was waiting for your approval.”
Gaia nodded. “Approval given.”
“Okay.” Fate pushed one button on the computer keyboard and folded her arms. “Now we wait.”
Karma smiled. “You see how much easier it is to just let go of ugly feelings and move on with your life?”
“Is that what I’m doing?” Gaia asked.
“I think
so. I hope so. You were about to ask me to zap someone for you, right?”
Gaia let out a defeated puh sound, and her posture slumped.
The waitress came over with their three drinks and set them on the table. Gaia was about to guzzle hers when Fate held up her glass. “What should we toast to?”
“Toast? Oh yeah. I’ve observed that tradition before. Seems silly to me.”
“How about to moving on?” Karma suggested.
“Perfect!” Fate raised her glass, and Karma clinked it. Then they both reached across the table and clinked Gaia’s glass as she just sat there holding it. “To moving on,” her sisters said in unison.
“Whatever,” Gaia muttered and guzzled a mouthful.
The other two took a sip and set down their glasses. The tangy sweetness pleased Gaia. Her cranberries were usually a little bitter, but humans had found a way to sweeten them with sugar cane and enjoy their unique taste. The thing they called vodka didn’t seem to change it much, but it gave it that little kick she noticed other drinks had.
“So, Sister, you were asking what you need to do for this online search,” Fate reminded her.
Just then, her computer made a soft ding noise.
“Oh! You have a poke.”
Gaia’s brows rose. “A poke? Someone poked me?”
Karma chuckled. “It’s an online term.”
Mother Nature shook her head. “I’ll never get used to all these crazy modern expressions. Okay, so tell me what a poke really means.”
Fate grinned. “It means someone saw your profile and likes it. Already! They would like to talk with you.”
“How do I know if I want to talk to them?” Gaia asked.
“Excellent question.” Fate turned the computer screen toward Gaia. “Click on his name, and read his profile. If you’re interested, you can poke him back.”
Gaia chuckled. “Okay. With all this poking, people might wind up with bruises.”
“Think of it like a tap on your shoulder,” Karma added.
Gaia clicked on his name and read a little bit about him and saw his picture. Something about him seemed familiar. “Why does this guy look familiar to me?”
Fate shrugged. “I suppose everyone might look a little familiar to you. You created them, after all.”
“I created infants. Not adults. Their parents raise them. They live their lives. Basically, they create themselves. I simply threw the DNA together. It’s kind of like mixing up a cake batter, putting it in the oven, and then turning it over to someone else.”
“Got it. In that case, I’m not sure why he looks familiar. Karma, does he look familiar to you?”
Fate turned the monitor toward Karma, who took one look and gasped.
“Oh no. You don’t want him. If you ever watched the news, you may have seen his face. Let’s just say you’re too old for him.”
Gaia frowned. “Too old? My age isn’t even on here.”
Karma raised her brows as if to say Put it together, Sister.
He must like them young. “Oh! Oh no, no, no. Definitely not what I want.” Gaia jumped up. “Let’s go. I’m not sure this online dating is for me.”
Fate put her hand on Gaia’s arm. “Wait. Don’t give up yet. That was just the first one. All you have to do is ignore it. I’m sure there will be others.”
The machine dinged again. Gaia was ready to walk out, but curiosity won her over. She settled back in her chair and glanced at Karma. “You’ll look at all these guys too, right?”
“If you want me to.”
“I most definitely want you to.”
The next poke resulted in a nice picture and profile. This one sounded interesting. Karma knew nothing bad about the person, so Gaia was intrigued. “What do I do about it now? Just poke him back?”
“Yes. If you guys want to communicate for a while before you meet, that would be smart. You can text or email or whatever makes you most comfortable.”
Gaia laughed. “I’m not comfortable with any of these technical contraptions. Now what?”
“Didn’t you talk to your muse of mobile communications? I thought she gave you something to communicate with people.”
Mother Nature reached into her pocket and pulled out the cell phone Kristine had given her. “This? I can talk to him on this? But what if I don’t like him, and then he has my phone number and calls and calls and calls?”
“You can communicate with him another way,” Karma suggested. “Message him on Facebook. If he gets to be a nuisance, you can block him. We’ll show you how.”
“Message him? Facebook?” Gaia pinched the bridge of her nose. “I’m so confused!”
Fate sighed. “Tell you what. Just set up a place to meet. You can always shake hands and walk away if you don’t hit it off.”
“Okay.”
“So, shall we poke him back?” Karma asked.
Gaia shrugged. “I guess so.”
“You should give him your phone number,” Karma said. “If he abuses it, I can take care of him.” She winked.
“Yes,” Fate said. “He’ll need that to text you if he can’t make it. Then you won’t wind up sitting and waiting and waiting. Very embarrassing.”
Karma added, “If you decide you want to talk to each other, he can call the same number and you can talk. If you don’t like him, you can always ask him to stop texting and calling. That should do it. You don’t really have to worry about blocking someone unless they become a nuisance.”
“Or you can just say, ‘New phone. Who dis?’” Fate said and chuckled.
“I don’t get it,” Gaia said.
Fate patted her hand. “Don’t worry. We’ll be with you every step of the way, Sister. Let’s set up something so you can get to know each other, and if you like him, then you can find a place to meet.”
“Okay.” Gaia sighed. “Let’s do that.”
Right before they all went their own ways, her sisters kissed both her cheeks, then exchanged some kind of sly look.
Oh crap. What have I gotten myself into?
* * *
Gaia arrived at the restaurant where Fate had set up her first meeting with the young man she had chosen for her. All Gaia knew was what his picture looked like and that he seemed to be into nature and the craft.
It was that second part that intrigued her. He called himself a Wiccan priest, and Fate explained he already believed in the Goddess, so revealing her real identity wouldn’t be too difficult. He might not believe her at first, but at least he would believe her eventually. Many of the online profiles she’d read seemed to favor other religions or none at all, which would deny the existence of a goddess altogether.
She spotted him at the back of the restaurant, and he rose immediately. He wasn’t bad looking. A little on the short side, so she shrank herself a couple of inches to appear about the same height. He had longish light-brown hair, parted in the middle. He also sported a nice tan, meaning he had probably been outside in the sun. So his claim to like the outdoors and nature seemed valid.
Encouraged, she walked briskly to the table and put out her hand for a handshake. “Hi, I’m Gaia. I take it you’re Bruce?”
He took her hand and kissed her knuckles. “Yes, I’m Bruce. It’s lovely to meet you.”
Interesting. Kissing my hand and ‘lovely to meet you’… Perhaps he was European. No accent though.
“So did you want to eat here? Or take something to go?” he asked.
“I hadn’t thought of ordering something to go, but that sounds wonderful. We could take a walk, find a nice spot, and watch the sunset, since both of us like to do that.”
“Indeed.”
Gaia glanced at the menu to look as if she didn’t already know what she wanted, but most restaurants had at least one vegetarian option. She’d just ask for that and be done with it.
The waitress came over and asked, “Are you ready to order?”
“I would like a vegetarian wrap on whole wheat bread,” Gaia said.
“That sounds good to me too,” Bruce said and closed the menu. “Is there any way we can get that to go?”
“Oh. We don’t usually do takeout, but I’ll ask the chef to wrap it in plastic.”
“No plastic!” Gaia calmed herself. “Can he wrap it in something biodegradable, please? Like plain brown paper?”
“Um, sure.” The worried-looking waitress disappeared into the kitchen, and the two of them gazed at each other. One of those uncomfortable silences set in.
“So…” they said at the same time and laughed.
“You first,” Bruce said.
“No, you. I insist.”
“All right. Your profile didn’t say much about you. What do you do for a living?” he asked.
Gaia shrugged. “This and that. Whatever comes my way.”
“Interesting. I’m not sure what that means, but if you don’t want to tell me yet, that’s fine.”
“I wouldn’t know how to put it any other way. How about you? What do you do?”
“I write books and teach classes in Wicca. I have small groups I train.”
“And that pays the bills?”
“Not completely. I also contribute items on consignment to a local store that carries working tools.”
“Tools? Like saws and hammers?”
He laughed. “No. Tools of the craft. The craft of Wicca.”
He obviously thought she had no idea what he was talking about. And truthfully, she didn’t. This man puzzled her.
“What kind of tools do you need to be Wiccan?”
“I can see you don’t know much about my religion. That’s okay. I love to teach, and perhaps you’d like to join one of my classes someday. We worship the Goddess and God as her consort, but you can press pause on that, if it makes you uncomfortable.”
It was all Gaia could do not to giggle, though she might have been smirking.
He cleared his throat. “To answer your question, some of the tools I sell are magic wands, crystal balls, stone jewelry with metaphysical properties, capes I embroider, and staffs I whittle myself.”
