by Carmen Caine
Al looked up at him in surprise. “I didn’t know Tigger had kids,” he said gruffly before adding with a hint of pride in his tone, “The sneaky rascal.”
It was obvious by the look on Al’s face that he’d instantly fallen in love. He kept laughing as he held the puppy, ruffling its fur and saying he was going to be a big ‘ol boy, just like his grandpa.
Al finally stood up, and handing the puppy to me, turned to hold his hand out to Rafael.
But as Rafael reached out to shake it, Al just pulled him into a great big hug instead and with a guffaw of laughter, pounded him on the back.
“This is the best thing. You don’t know how much joy you’ve brought to my heart,” he said, his voice cracking with feeling. He turned and hugged Jareth, too.
Bending down, I set the happy wriggling mass of fur onto his feet and asked Al, “So, what are you going to name him, Al?”
Al rubbed his jaw thoughtfully a moment, and with his firm lip twitching into a grin, he replied, “TiggerToo.”
We all laughed.
And as we watched, TiggerToo turned in circles in front of the refrigerator and gave a long happy puppy-version of a contented sigh.
I turned to Rafael and asked, “Did you tell him to do that?”
Rafael just smiled. “He’s a bloodhound, Sydney. He knows where the hotdogs are.”
Al burst into laughter. After that, he told us he’d meet us later, after he saw TiggerToo settled, and we left them both to head out to the game.
It was a bright day, and an unusually warm one for winter as we crossed the street to Rafael’s Bentley parked in the driveway.
Mrs. Patton stood outside, puffing on a cigarette in her purple housecoat and coke-bottle glasses. I waved at her. And as she waved back, I realized that for the first time, I wasn’t afraid of Mesmers hiding in her yard. Those days were over.
It was a great feeling.
I moved towards the passenger door but at the last second, Rafael maneuvered to block my way and I collided into his hard chest. I could tell by the way he dropped his lashes over his eyes that he’d done it on purpose and I can’t say that I minded in the least.
But then he dangled his keys in front of my nose and said with a dazzling smile, “You’re driving, little pixie. You haven’t been practicing.”
I was about to protest, but then Jareth let out a long groan. So I scowled at him instead and snatched the keys from Rafael’s hand.
“I’m not that bad, Jareth,” I said in my defense, marching to the driver’s seat.
He just made a sour face and slid into the back of the car.
With genuine mirth lighting his expressive eyes, Rafael took his place in the front passenger seat. I clicked my seatbelt and just looked at him for a moment. He seemed more relaxed than usual. Happier. And the way he was looking at me made my heart double in speed.
It was going to be hard to concentrate on driving.
The car started easily and I inched out of the driveway. And as I pressed on the gas pedal, the car leapt in response, zooming us out of the cul-de-sac at such speed that I instinctively slammed the brakes.
This time, Rafael was prepared. He didn’t fly into the windshield like before.
Jareth, however, wasn’t so lucky. As his cheek collided with the back of Rafael’s seat, he let loose a string of unrecognizable words.
“Are you swearing in Fae?” I teased, looking at him in the rearview mirror.
Jareth sent me a dark scowl.
Rafael just grinned.
Smiling a little myself, I took a deep breath and internally vowed to do better. But it was hard. I really was out of practice and the car was way too sensitive. I kept pumping the brakes and lurching forward.
The fifth time Jareth was slammed against Rafael’s seat, he exploded. “I’m getting seasick back here,” he snapped.
In a puff of mist, he was gone.
It was a much more pleasant ride after that. Rafael took his time coaching me. Several times, we pulled over and he snuck in a kiss or two while giving me pointers. When we finally made it to the game, it had already started.
Jareth was lounging on the bleachers next to Betty. He took up three entire rows in a manner that just begged for attention. Since leaving the car, he’d changed into a red-leather jacket, black-studded pants and aviator sunglasses as well as spiking his hair.
With eyes only for Grace, Betty didn’t really pay him much attention. But I think she was the only one in the bleachers paying attention to the game. Everyone else was snapping photos of the rock star on their cellphones.
“She’s gotten to play for two whole minutes so far!” Betty greeted us in excitement as we arrived.
She pointed to where Grace stood on the field. She’d apparently forgotten her jersey and had borrowed someone else’s. Her number was duct-taped over theirs.
“Is two minutes considered long?” Rafael asked pleasantly as we took our seats.
I knew it was a sincere question because he didn’t have a clue about the game of Lacrosse. But everyone else took it as a witty comment on Grace’s playing history.
“I know,” Betty responded with a rueful laugh. “But it’s a record for her. She’s a … fierce player.”
“Yeah, everyone usually scatters when they see her coming,” Ellison said, coming up behind us.
I glanced over my shoulder to see him walking with Harmony, both with their hands in big bags of potato chips.
“These are unusually tasty,” Harmony whispered as she joined us.
“The blueberry muffins are better,” Jareth commented, looking at the chips in disgust from over the top of his sunglasses.
As they began bickering about the different types of human snack food, Rafael slipped his hand over mine and gave it a squeeze.
I smiled and inched closer.
And then one of the players on the opposing team kicked a girl on Grace’s team on the shin. The girl went down. As a few parents charged onto the field to fight with the referee, the offending player snuck towards the girl again.
But Grace cut the opposing player off. In a flash, she grabbed the girl by the back of the jersey and with her lacrosse stick, flipped her over like a pancake. The offender wasn’t harmed, she just stood there, stunned and a bit humiliated as the crowd began to snicker.
The referee rounded up Grace then and the entire affair ended with both the offending player and Grace getting kicked out of the game. But Grace was high-fived by her team members and more than one parent as she knelt on the sidelines, submitting to her punishment.
“She’ll make a good cop,” Ellison said with a laugh.
“Is that what she wants to do?” I asked, surprised.
As Ellison nodded, Betty supplied, “Grace has always been one for justice.” But her comment ended with a small sigh.
The game ended quickly after that, with Grace’s team losing, but they didn’t really seem to mind. They wore their reputation as the worst lacrosse team in the league with pride.
I stood up and stretched.
It was time to go. Promising to see them shortly, I left Rafael and Harmony there to babysit Jareth still splayed out on the bleachers and followed Ellison to his car squeezed next to Betty’s truck.
A few minutes later, Grace and Betty joined us.
“Competitive freakin’ sports,” Grace complained, rolling her eyes.
“Honey, you should let the referee handle it in the future, don’t you think?” Betty asked mildly.
Apparently, they’d been discussing the pancake flip.
“I would have, but he didn’t hear what that girl said,” Grace answered in her defense as she dumped her gear into the truck and pulled her black hair into a tight ponytail. “Sometimes, you just have to stand up for what’s right, Mom. You’ve said that yourself. And I didn’t hurt her. I just surprised her a bit.”
Ellison just grinned and hissed in my ear, “Let’s get to work early before they make us take sides!”
I could on
ly agree. With hurried goodbyes, we left Betty and Grace there still discussing the matter, and hopping into Ellison’s yellow Volkswagen, we zoomed away. We didn’t really talk much, we just listened to music as we zipped through Mercer Island’s streets to Samantha’s coffee shop.
She was in fine form when we arrived.
With reading glasses perched on the end of her nose, Samantha sat at her corner coffee table with her perpetual stack of pastry books. But she wasn’t alone this time. Joining her across the table was a perky, sharp-eyed girl around my age with short brown hair, a slight upturned nose and a laughing pair of wide brown eyes.
The sticker on her red t-shirt read ‘Hello, my name is Megan’.
“She’s been interviewing candidates all day,” one of the baristas whispered as we passed. “And she’s been unhappy. She hasn’t liked a single one of them.”
Megan said something then. I couldn’t hear it.
But we all heard Samantha’s gasp.
“Never use frozen ingredients, Megan!” Samantha nearly choked in shock. “Only the finest quality, freshest ingredients are used here. Everything must be done from the heart. Everything!”
The expression on Samantha’s face was one to strike fear into the hearts of any, but Megan apparently didn’t notice.
Twisting her lips to one side, she met Samantha’s gaze squarely and asked in a curious tone, “But isn’t it cheaper to use frozen raspberries? I bet your customers wouldn’t taste the difference.”
Samantha drew in a long, long breath.
We all just stared at Megan, impressed that she’d actually challenged Samantha.
Apparently, Samantha was impressed, too. Because she looked at Megan as if seeing her for the first time. She nodded crisply and granted, “Cheaper? Maybe. But do you think that money should be the primary concern? No. It is heart first. Money follows. Everything must be done from the heart, from picking up the trash to frothing milk.” She made a grand sweeping gesture with her hand and closing her eyes, took in another deep, inspiring breath.
I just stared at Samantha and smiled.
Heart first. Everything must be done from the heart. I knew firsthand the real power of that. It was no small wonder that Samantha was the most powerful being that Jareth knew.
The coffee shop doors jingled and a pair of familiar voices called from the entrance.
“Innkeeper, a word with you. At once!”
Startled, I whirled to see the Queen of the Light and the Queen of the Dark standing there with their eyes locked on Samantha.
Chapter Fifteen – A Pot of Gold
Samantha arched a brow at the Queens who were dressed in glittering black-and-white evening gowns, priceless jewels, and avant-garde makeup. They’d apparently gone all out for the occasion. I just wasn’t sure what occasion it was.
I cleared my throat and glanced around for Rafael and Jareth, but they were nowhere to be seen.
Gracing the Queens with a professional smile, Samantha dipped her chin at Megan and said, “When I return, I’ll be interviewing you on the techniques you would use to handle difficult customers. We tend to have quite a few of them here, of late.”
Megan nodded, her brown eyes sparkling in anticipation.
Samantha sent me a brisk smile. “Sydney is an expert in customer relations,” she said.
Samantha's approval felt wonderful. And even though I was apprehensive about the Queens’ sudden appearance, I couldn’t keep from grinning ear-to-ear.
“Please see the ladies seated, Sydney,” Samantha directed, drawing her lips into a thin line.
All eyes watched as I led the Queens to the back—as far away from the other customers as I could possibly get—and drew three chairs up to a table.
Samantha followed as Megan politely maneuvered around the pastry case to watch.
The Queens proudly took their places, straightening their sparkling velvet gowns as a small army of Fae Protectors filed into the coffee shop, among them Raven and Zelphie.
Raven pointedly ignored me as she moved to the gift section and pretended to inspect the coffee cups and various shrink-wrapped items. She clearly didn’t like me. I guess I was ok with that. It wasn’t like we had much in common. But at least we weren’t outright enemies anymore.
I watched apprehensively as Zelphie moved to the pastry case. I wanted Rafael’s mom to like me. Or at least tolerate me. She met my eyes then, and to my surprise, made a point to send me a very warm smile.
I smiled back.
As Samantha arrived at the Queens’ table, both Queens spoke in unison. “We must converse with Sydney. We require only a few minutes of her time. But first, we wish to reward you for all that you’ve done in these times of trouble.”
It was hard to tell what Samantha really thought. She was an expert at masking her emotions. She just nodded her head and graciously replied, “My shop is its own reward, ladies. As for Sydney, I’ll leave you to your privacy then. Her shift doesn’t start for a good half hour or so.”
She moved as if to go, but the Queens held up their hands. “Halt!” they cried.
Samantha’s shoulders stiffened. Slowly, she tilted her head. “And what else might I do for you?”
“We insist that you name your reward,” they replied, giving her an appraising look. “You provided a haven to those we sought to destroy in our arrogance. Had we succeeded, the Earth would have been lost. Your role in saving humanity will not go unnoticed nor unrewarded.”
Slowly, Samantha removed her reading glasses and closed them with a snap, but her voice was as patient as ever. “Jareth has paid me very well for the use of this shop in his video,” she assured with a brief smile.
“We would give you our thanks as well,” the Queens persisted.
“Don’t mention it,” Samantha replied tartly.
They were a little puzzled by that reply and looked at each other in confusion.
I stepped forward, searching for a way to help when the Queen of the Light said, “What do you dream of? What wish could we fulfill?”
Samantha looked me straight in the eye. I could tell her patience was being tried as she turned back to the Queens with the sharp reply, “I’m a practical woman, ladies, not the kind that believes in fairy tales, dreaming of butterflies, and a pot of gold.”
I guess now that I knew that Earth was safe—at least for the moment—I found it easier to relax this time, because I was suddenly struggling with keeping a straight face.
For a brief moment, I could tell the Queens wondered if they should be insulted, but thankfully they decided that their question had been answered instead. “Then as you wish, Innkeeper. Butterflies and a pot of gold.”
I quickly glanced around, half-expecting the butterflies and gold to pop into existence as Samantha marched past me, pretending not to hear their last comments.
But then the Queens turned on me, and I immediately sat down in the empty chair.
They didn’t open their lips. They just spoke in my mind.
“The Power of Love is an amazing thing to witness,” they whispered. “We are humbled by humanity and we are grateful. You have accomplished what we dared not even hope, Sydney.”
I just nodded. I didn’t know what to say. I knew I hadn’t done it alone.
“True,” they silently agreed, following my thoughts.
And then Rafael was there. I hadn’t seen him come in. I wondered if he’d shifted. He’d changed clothing again, looking ridiculously perfect in his designer jeans and white sweater. Moving to stand behind my chair, he leaned down and stole a brief kiss.
I knew it was a statement. He was letting the Fae know that he’d chosen a human. My heart skipped a beat. And I found myself looking at his mother first.
She responded with a reserved, polite smile in his direction that basically said if that is what you want, dear. But the eyes that met mine were laughing a little and her smile widened into an even more welcoming one.
It struck me then that Rafael was more like her t
han he realized. He’d told me once that he didn’t have a real family, that his mother saw him as a duty to the bloodline and nothing more. I knew then that he was wrong.
Relaxing a little, I turned back to the Queens, but their icy expressions caught me off guard. I guess after everything that had happened, I hadn’t really expected their resistance or displeasure. But this time, I was wrong.
Keeping his hands on my shoulders, Rafael dipped his head in a respectful bow and murmured in a neutral tone, “It is an unexpected pleasure to see you here, Your Majesties.”
They hesitated a moment before replying just as quietly, “You have walked the path of your destiny, Rafael, and you have dared to dance the most treacherous dance of fate. You have proven yourself worthy, Cor’s heir. Forgive us for having doubted you.”
He locked gazes with the Queen of the Light.
They were silent for quite some time. I knew they were talking in their heads.
Suddenly, Rafael’s expressive brows arched in surprise and every Fae in the shop looked at the Queens, clearly surprised.
I wanted to ask them what the big secret was.
But then Rafael said, “I thank you for the thought, but I’m not going back with you. I’m home. My fate is woven with humanity.”
The Queens were clearly peeved with that response.
I really don’t know what would have happened next if Jareth hadn’t chosen that moment to swagger into the shop, still wearing his bright red-leather jacket and sunglasses.
“Good evening, Jareth,” Samantha greeted from her table.
He paused a moment to blow her a kiss. “I love you, dragon.”
Samantha bristled, but she couldn’t hide the tell-tale crinkle around her eyes. She had a soft spot for Jareth. And after all was said and done, I couldn’t blame her. Who didn’t?
“I’ll not have my shop turned upside down for your amusement,” she warned primly. “Don’t think you can sweet-talk me into it.”
“I’m not even trying,” he laughed outright, bowing with a flourish.
“Difficult customers come in all kinds,” Samantha said in a firm, decisive tone as she turned back to Megan still sitting across from her.
