by Laura Del
“Thanks,” I said as I took a sip of the bitter, strong coffee. I always feel that people like their coffee to fit their personalities, and the coffee my father makes fits him to a T.
“You’re welcome, baby girl.”
When he looked down at his hands, I noticed that his olive skin looked a little gray. He was starting to worry me. “Pops, seriously, what’s wrong? You look like hell, and you’re frightening me.”
He shook his head. “You are so much like your mother. You always know when something’s wrong.” He took a deep breath, looking up at me. “Baby girl, I got something to tell you, and I don’t wantcha to get how you get.”
I understood what he meant, he didn’t want me to judge him. “I won’t, I promise. Now what’s wrong?”
“Well,” he paused for a second and then he dropped the bomb on me—
“What?” I blurted, and he shushed me.
“You promised.”
I took a deep breath and processed the news for a minute. “So, let me just wrap my head around this,” I paused, trying to keep calm. “Cindy is pregnant.” Those words set my teeth on edge, and I felt queasy for a second, but it passed. At that moment, a nervous breakdown sounded like the next logical step. “That’s…” easy, Pat, “great, Pops.”
“Really?” he sounded confused. “I’m not so sure.”
“Pops,” now it was my turn to sound confused, “how can you say that?”
He shook his head. “I’m old, Patricia. Too old to have a baby running around the house again. Besides, you and Jess will be old enough to be its mother. I don’t know if I can do it again, baby girl.”
I shook my head. I couldn’t imagine Jessica Lynn Wyatt, my sister, the fakest woman alive and my ex-husband’s lover, as a mother. “You’re not old, Pops,” I told him, placing my hand on his shoulder. “You can do it. You’re made of tough stuff. There’s pure iron in those veins.” I repeated the words he used to say to me when I would come home crying from middle school after a bully called me fat.
“More like rust,” he laughed, patting my cheek.
“Nope, it’s still iron,” I contradicted him firmly.
He shrugged. “If you say so.”
“I say so.”
“Okay, baby girl,” he finally agreed with a bright smile. We sat there for a minute in silence, me thinking about being a big sister, and Pops thinking about something else. I could see the wheels turning in his head. Then he took a deep breath and said, “What happened with that Mike person.”
I rolled my eyes. “Pops.”
“What?”
“Don’t call him ‘that’ Mike person. His name is Michael Wolf, all right?”
“All right,” he conceded. “What happened with Michael Wolf?”
“Nothing,” I sighed.
“Bullshit,” he laughed a little too loud, and it was my turn to hush him. “Sorry,” he whispered. “But what happened? I wanna know.”
I shrugged. “We just need some time off from each other. That’s all.”
Pops nodded. “And the baby?” he asked solemnly. “Michael told me that you were…” his voice faded away.
I frowned, looking down at my cooling coffee. “I was. But not anymore,” my voice cracked, but I took a deep breath to settle myself. “It just wasn’t meant to be,” I repeated what my mother’s spirit told me when I met her in limbo. I had only died for about two minutes or so, but it seemed like an eternity. And knowing that my mother was somewhere happy made feel glad that she was somewhere on my side. She had died of an aneurism four years ago, and since then I was a little lost. But after I saw her, I felt a little better about it all. Except, my heart still hurt about the baby I had lost. I don’t think anyone gets over a thing like that, and I was no exception.
“Baby girl,” Pops said, pulling me out of my stupor, “it’s gonna be all right. It may not seem like that now, but it will be.”
“I know,” I sighed. “But it’s taking it sweet time.”
“Life does that,” he agreed, leaning over and kissing me on the forehead. Pops got up and dumped the rest of his coffee in the sink. “Well, baby girl, I gotta run. Will you be okay here with Cindy?” I glared up at him. “Sorry,” he chuckled, “stupid question.”
“Have a good day at work, Pops,” I said, smiling up at him.
He walked past me but then tapped me on the shoulder. “Patricia.”
I turned to look at him. “Huh?”
“I missed you. And I’m sorry I did what I did, and said what I said. It was never your fault. It was no one’s fault.”
I nodded, understanding exactly what he was talking about, but I didn’t want to have that particular memory creeping up on me. So I just pushed it down. I could still do that very well. “I know, Pops. I know.”
He gave me a half smile. “I wish I had. Then maybe you would’ve talked to me about what was going on in your life.”
I shook my head. “No, I wouldn’t have.”
“No, you wouldn’t have.”
We both laughed, and he turned, walking to living room to get his coat off the rack by his chair. Then he put his keys in his pocket, walking to the front door. Finally, he turned to face me one last time. “Baby girl?”
“Yeah, Pops.”
“Tell Cindy that her hair looks nice,” he suggested. “She got it done yesterday before you got here. I think she wanted to make a good impression.”
“Will do, Pops. Will do.”
He smiled, winking at me as he went out the door.
I turned around, sitting there and drinking my coffee until I couldn’t stand the taste anymore. Then I got up to get some milk, hearing someone walk down the steps. As I looked around the fridge and down the hall, I saw Cindy walking toward the kitchen in her baby blue terrycloth robe, scratching her head. When I had gotten my milk and put it back, I went searching for the sugar.
“On the table,” Cindy pointed out as if she knew what I wanted. I cocked an eyebrow at her. “You’re drinking Richard’s coffee. You’re in desperate need of sugar. Happy New Year, by the way.” She smiled at me, taking the lid off the bowl in the middle of the table.
“Thanks. Happy New Year to you too,” I responded, smiling back as I put three heaping tablespoons of sugar in my now milky coffee.
“Sit,” she said as she walked behind the median. “I’ll get you a spoon.”
“Thank you.” I paused for a minute as she brought me a spoon, sitting down next to me. “Congratulations. Pops just told me the good news,” I managed to say without vomiting as I stirred my coffee.
Her blue eyes looked confused. “Huh?”
“The baby,” I prompted.
She lit up with realization. “Oh, the baby. Yeah, it was a bit of a surprise.”
“I can imagine,” I said, trying to keep the sarcasm out of my voice. Cindy did not deserve that, but I just found the situation a little annoying.
“I know that this is ridiculous,” she stated, doing that mind reading thing again. “I know I’m too young for your father and that it’s not fair since you…” her voice faded away, and she just looked at me for a second. I understood what she was trying to say, and I did feel a bit cheated with her having a baby and me losing mine, but the fact that she was so accurate and intuitive, scared me to no end. “But I love him, Patricia,” she continued. “I really do.”
“I can see that,” I replied sincerely. “It’s just—” I stopped talking, trying to think of the right words, “all at once,” I settled on, “you know?”
She nodded. “I do know. Listen,” she said, changing the subject, “we have some stuff to do today. And if my stomach behaves, and I hope it does, we are going to get fitted for our dresses and pick out the cake. If you’re up for it?”
I thought about it for a second, sipping my coffee. “I’m up for it. Just nothing too s
trenuous.”
“Eating cake is strenuous?”
I laughed. “I guess not.”
“Well,” she breathed, getting up out of the chair, “why don’t you go upstairs? I’ll make breakfast, and we can get an early start.”
I saluted her, getting up slowly. “Yes, ma’am.”
“What would you like to eat?” she laughed, and I saw that when she smiled little lines appeared around her eyes. They suited her.
“Anything.”
Her smile widened, and the lines grew deeper. “Anything it is.”
I turned to walk down the hall then I remembered what Pops had told me, so I stopped, facing her again. “Oh, by the way, I like your hair. It looks more natural than the red.”
“Thank you, Patricia.”
“Call me Pat.” I nodded, walking back through the hall and very carefully up the stairs. When I got to my room, my cell started ringing. Slowly, I walked over to the bed, picking up my purse. When I fished out my phone, I looked at the screen, and it was Tina.
“Christ,” I hissed and then answered. “Hello?”
“Patricia Anne Wyatt,” she screamed, her Brooklyn accent so prominent that I could barely understand her, “what the hell were you thinking?”
“Why am I in trouble now?” I asked, frustrated. What was this pick on Pat month?
“You had your ex-husband come to erase my mind! That’s why you’re in trouble.”
Right. “You don’t understand.”
“Oh, I don’t?” she asked at a much better volume. I mean, she was still loud, but a little less shrill. “Please,”—I could imagine her placing her hand on her hip—“do explain.”
“This is the kind of world that you want nothing to do with, Tina. In this world mortals get hurt, and there is no going back. Understand? You will most likely be pulled in further, and God knows what’s going to happen to you when you do. Humans are not meant to know what goes on after dark, Christina. You will get hurt, and it will be my fault. You get it now?” I huffed.
She was quite for a minute, and I could almost see the wheels turning in her head. At last, she replied calmly, “Maybe I was a little harsh on you.”
“You think?”
“But I’m okay with knowing,” she insisted. “And besides, I’m a big girl, Pat. I can take care of myself.”
I sighed, grimacing a little. Just another reminder of how dangerous the supernatural world could be. “I get that. But I still worry.”
“And I worry about you, which is why I’m coming to Danville.”
“What?” I couldn’t have been more shocked if she’d hit me over the head. She was not a fan of this small town. Besides that, her and my father in the same house would cause major bloodshed.
“I know I said I would never go back there after what happened last time,” she admitted. It was true, she did. Tina had come with me to my mother’s funeral, and let’s just say it didn’t end well. “But I can’t leave you there by yourself, you’ll go nuts, and we both know it.”
I nodded, even though she couldn’t see it. “True.”
“So I’ll probably be there by tomorrow at the latest. It all depends on when I get off work tonight.”
“Okay,” I yawned. I was so tired. “I’ll see you when I see you.”
“You got it, babe. Oh and, Pat,” she added, and I could begin to hear the tears in her voice, “I’m glad you’re not dead.”
I blinked back tears myself. “Me too.”
“See ya. Happy New Year.”
“See you. Happy New Year to you too,” I replied, and I hung up. I plopped down on the bed, my feet dangling over the edge and I winced, forgetting about my severely damaged stomach. Thinking of Tina and the last time she was here, my mind went back to part of a day I wish I could forget.
Tina rubbed my shoulders gently. “Babe, we gotta go.”
“I don’t want to,” I said, looking down at my hands. I was all cried out, and the hardness started to set in.
“We have to,” she sniffed, and I could see that she was crying. Her dark brown hair was pulled away from her face while her big brown eyes were red from weeping. It was so strange because all I kept thinking was that Tina is the only person in the world who could look good in a long-sleeved, black, mourning dress.
There was a light knock on the door. “Christina,” Bobby’s voice came from the other side, “I got ‘er.”
“I don’t know,” she was reluctant.
“I got ‘er,” he repeated, and Tina nodded, leaving me alone with him. “Pat,” he said, closing the door after she left, “come on. It’s time.”
I shook my head. “No, I’m not going. I can’t watch them bury her in the ground.” And I couldn’t. My mother wasn’t supposed to die. This wasn’t supposed to happen until she was ninety or older. I pictured my mother in that sealed coffin, and I felt that she didn’t deserve to have dirt all over her. She wasn’t an earthworm, she was my mother.
“You have to,” he insisted, standing in front of me with his tie at half-staff. “And if you don’t, I’m gonna have to carry you down.” I shook my head. “Okay,” he sighed, “you asked for it.” He grabbed me by the arms, lifting me with ease, and when I finally wriggled out of his grasp, I slapped him across the face. Taking my arms again, he held them tight to my sides as I fought against him. Finally, he leaned down and kissed me and I stopped moving. I was in shock.
When he pulled away, I blinked up at him and in an instant, I took hold of his collar and we started making out. Then after a minute, he pushed me away, looking into my eyes with concern. “We can’t,” he breathed.
“Yes, we can,” I insisted. Anything to delay going down there and facing what was to come.
He pushed me down onto the bed, lifting my legs over his shoulders. Then he took his wallet out, fiddling with his zipper and everything else. After a second, we were off to the races.
At the end of the excitement, he leaned over me and whispered, “We really need to go now.”
I nodded, getting him off me so that I could put my clothes in place. Whether I was ready or not, it was time to face the sad, dreadful music.
I shook myself back to the present, deciding it would be better to get the hell out of this house. There were just too many memories around. So I lifted myself off the bed as gently as I could and got ready for a day of cake and dresses.
chapter
FIVE
“Patricia,” Cindy gasped, her eyes widening, “you look great!”
I had stepped out of the dressing room in my matron of honor dress with some enthusiasm since I’d gotten into the damn thing without hurting myself. Actually, I was a little surprised that both bridesmaids’ dresses were almost the same, except mine had a wide belt at the waist. But even with that big and quite wonderful breakfast Cindy made me—eggs, bacon and waffles—the fact was the dress felt awfully heavy. I was so tired, and it was only eight o’clock in the morning. That was the bad thing about being me. Once I was up, I was up. It was rare indeed that I would be able to fall back to sleep again. But since I hadn’t lost any blood in the past day or had someone try to make me into their vampire bride, I went back to my normal, working on four-hour sleep, self.
At any rate, the dress looked nice on the hanger, but there were no mirrors in the dressing room, Mrs. Anderson’s rule. She was Bobby’s mother, and, of course, a second mom to me. Come to think of it, she was a second mom to all of “The Freaks.” So I smiled at her and Cindy as I stepped up onto the pedestal, with the three mirrors in front of me, and finally got a look at myself. “Wow,” I breathed. It was very impressive. The dress was dark blue, but had a sheer layer over top. As the fabric went down it sparkled with snowflakes until it reached the bottom and the sparkles gathered, even the long sleeves had tasteful crystals on them.
“You outdid yourself, Mrs. A,” I told her, and
she smiled. Mrs. A was a little more round now, but she still had the brightest smile I had ever seen. Her face was friendly and delicate, and her brown eyes always twinkled when she laughed. She was also only about four foot eight.
“You’re old enough to call me Audrey, sweetness,” she said in her deep voice, but I shook my head. “All right,” she laughed, “suit yourself. So,” she paused, getting down on her knees so she could pin the bottom, “how’s your life been?”
I shrugged, and my bandages pulled, so I nearly blacked out. “Okay.”
She cocked a red eyebrow at me. Mrs. A had every hair color under the sun, and she always matched her eyebrows to it. This year, she was sporting a bright auburn and it looked good on her. They all looked good. “Oh, really?” she asked me, pursing her lips. “That’s not what I heard.”
I shot Cindy a look. She grimaced and mouthed, “Sorry.”
“What did you hear?” I asked, turning my head to look at myself in the mirrors again.
“I just heard that you were hurt, honeybunch,” she admitted, but I could tell that wasn’t the only thing Cindy told her.
I nodded. “Yup. It was a miracle that I wasn’t in pain getting this dress on, do you think you could…” my voice trailed away as a hot searing pain in my head blinded me. My vision blurred, and the only thing I could see was a white light. Then Kathryn’s face flashed in front of me. I flinched, trying to swipe the vision away, but then it changed. That’s when I saw the queen of all vampires dragging Mike out on a leash, and in the next instant she severed his jugular with her bare hands. Then everything went dark.
“Patricia,” Cindy said, and I blinked at her, shaking. Somehow, they had managed to get me on one of the chairs.
“Yeah,” I managed to say without vomiting. Why would Kathryn share that kind of vision with me? And why was Mike with her? Was this in the near future or the distant future? My heart thudded in my ears, and I felt that beautiful breakfast threatening to come back up.
My head started swimming, when Mrs. A asked, “Honey, are you okay?”
