Of course. Brittany Fleming called the health inspector on me. Was this just one more step to getting Ettie’s shut down? “What do I have to do to open again?”
“Just get rid of the hamsters and call me for another inspection. Piece of cake.”
I nodded, taking the paperwork the inspector tossed my way. As soon as the door jingled behind him, I flipped my sign to closed and clomped up the steps to Roman with heavy feet.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, turning around and pulling off his safety goggles. He had been sanding the fresh drywall mud he had used to patch some cracks, and the powder hung in the air, creating a fine haze and making my tongue taste like chalk.
“The health inspector was just here. We need to get rid of all the hamsters before we re-open…and also, nobody can live upstairs until we’re hamster-free.”
“Double trouble,” Roman said. “I think it’s time to use more force than the live traps.”
“Like what?”
“Let’s call a professional.”
My stomach twisted. “They’re going to want to kill them.”
“But the store’s business depends on getting them out. And we don’t know if the exterminator will want to kill them. They might have a different option.”
I took a deep breath. I was starting to like working with my hamsters around. I never felt lonely, even when I got here early in the morning or stayed late, but Roman was right. We needed to move forward with the business and getting Joe out of our house. “Okay, as long as I can keep Alvin, Simon, and Theodore. And maybe a Brittany, Jeannette, and Eleanor, too!” And as silly as I was being, Roman just laughed. That’s why I loved him. He put up with whatever craziness I threw his way. Even a shop full of hamsters, and if I didn’t have any self-control, it would be our house full of them, too.
But they were cute, weren’t they?
Chapter Seven
“First, you need to figure out where the hamsters are entering your shop and close up the holes.” The man from Express Exterminators was short with a belly almost as big as he was tall. He ran his thumbs down his red suspenders while standing in the center of Ettie’s Enchanted Effect’s upstairs’ living room. “After that, I’d recommend large mice traps with some chunky peanut butter on the trigger. We can use some poison, but the problem with that is the animals die in your walls and begin to stink after a few days. The more we can get out of here with traps, the better.”
Traps? I hadn’t thought we’d be killing the little critters to get them out of the shop. Something about having the trap’s hammer snapping those cute little critter’s necks didn’t sit well with me. “What other options do we have? Humane ways?”
“Oh, a mousetrap is humane. They won’t know what hit ‘em.” He smacked his hands together, making me jump. “Snap! Glue traps aren’t quick, but they’re effective.”
“How about something that doesn’t kill them,” Roman clarified. “Ettie’s grown quite fond of her shop’s inhabitants.”
The exterminator with the name Fred embroidered on his light grey button-down work shirt crossed his arms over his chest, resting on his belly. “Everyone wants to be a hero. Nothing works like a good combination of traps and poison…well, except for a few big cats.” He laughed.
All I could picture was a cat sitting at a tiny table with a big hamster platter that resembled Thanksgiving dinner.
“Proper placement of the traps is crucial,” Fred said, walking around the room. “You want them in the areas the hamsters frequent. Where do you see food stores? Nests?”
I led the exterminator around Ettie’s, pointing out where I’d seen signs of the hamsters. When we finished the tour, Fred led us outside, walking around the building.
“I just can’t figure out how they got into your place. All the bricks are intact, and it’s not like hamsters are rampant on the streets.” Fred scratched his greasy hair. “If I had to take a guess, I’d say someone let a dozen or more pregnant females go inside your place and they’re stuck in there.”
More confirmation that someone was still trying to put Ettie’s out of business. Was it my father-in-law? Brittany? Did she actually need that cage she bought for her son? Or was it the rest of her trouble-making trio? At the moment, it didn’t matter. I just needed these hamsters out of my walls and Ettie’s open again.
I followed Fred back to his exterminator van, where he opened up the back and handed Roman and me a pile of mousetraps. “If you want to get started and set these up, I’ll be back with more supplies.”
I wanted to hand the traps back to Fred, but he was up in the driver’s seat and the engine started before I could figure out what to do.
I turned to Roman and looked into his worried eyes. “I can’t kill them.”
“I know you feel that way, but I don’t know how much of a choice we have.”
“I’d like to get some more live traps first. I think Ettie’s can be closed a few days while we figure this out.”
“We’ve tried a few varieties already, but they’re not working as quickly as they should. I think the little guys are smarter than we give them credit for. You’d think someone would build a better hamster trap by now.”
“Well, maybe we can figure something out.” I smiled, heading back into Ettie’s but a woman approaching us made me stop.
“Natalia, what can we do for you today?” Luckily, I was already smiling because I didn’t think I could muster up the strength to plaster a fake one on my lips. Had she come to see her handiwork?
“I’m just here doing an article on Ettie’s being closed. I read on the city inspector’s webpage that you are infested with rats.”
“Not rats,” I groaned. “Hamsters. Very different.”
“So is Ettie’s closed for good?”
For a moment, I couldn’t find the right words to respond to that and I just stared at Natalia’s freckles that crossed the bridge of her nose, right beneath her glasses.
Roman saved me. “Of course not. We’re going to get all the hamsters out. We’re going to set up more traps and Ettie’s will be open again soon.”
“Where do you think the hamsters came from?” Natalia asked.
“I don’t know,” I said. “They’re obviously not from out in the wild.” I laughed. Why was I wasting my time with Natalia? I had work to do inside Ettie’s. “Excuse us. We have to get to work.” I gave Natalia a nod and headed back into my store.
“Of course,” Natalia called after me. “Thank you for your time.”
When my chimes silenced, I realized how curious Natalia had been this time. “Do you think she’s finally coming around and accepting witches and enchanted objects?” I asked Roman, unloading the mouse traps from my hands into a basket tucked away under the cash register.
Roman dumped his traps on top of mine. “We can hope, can’t we? Maybe she heard of your big donation to the Children’s Club.”
“Hmm. Maybe. But it’s not worth dwelling on. We need to get some live traps set up. The exterminator wasn’t a bad move. He gave me ideas on where to set the traps and what bait to use on them. I hadn’t thought of peanut butter for hamsters.”
Roman kissed my cheek. “Let me call Fred and tell him to hold off for a few days while we try more live traps. I’ll go see what I can round up in terms of bait and…better hamster traps.” He smiled.
“Thank you,” I said.
Roman chuckled. “Anything to keep you happy.” But there was a bit more to that. He knew we’d have to eventually resort to the methods recommended by the exterminator, but Roman would let me try it my way first…and even better, he’d never rub my nose into it.
But I really thought I could do this without killing a single hamster.
Chapter Eight
I stood in the middle of our living room, hand-feeding Alvin, Simon, and Theodore sunflower seeds until their cheeks looked like they were going to pop. With every seed they took, a warmness grew inside me. Man, these guys were fun.
A handful of d
ays had passed since the exterminator recommended that we kill all the hamsters living within Ettie’s Enchanted Effect’s walls. In that time, I managed to capture over two dozen more hamsters in live traps, but there were still more. If I stood in the center of the main floor of the building with my eyes closed, I could still hear the little pitter-patter of feet, scraping and gnawing on the walls, and a few cute squeaks.
Had I even made an impact?
“Are you ready to go?” Roman called out to me from his home office.
I smoothed the silky satin of the blue, mid-shin dress I wore that matched the natural blue witch highlights in my hair, then I ran my finger along the spine of one of the hamsters I had just caught who hadn't been named yet. My voice transformed into the tone you’d use to speak with a child. “I’ll be back later tonight. Behave and make friends.” I put the tan newbie female into a cage in my living room with some other females. I headed down the hallway and peered around the doorframe to where Roman sat with his laptop.
He instantly closed the cover and smiled at me, probably amazed how well I could clean myself up. I wore red lipstick that my mother used to say was reserved for only troublemaking witches. Well, that was me today. Roman had never seen me in a fancy dress, since witches didn’t have wedding ceremonies like mortals did.
“Come here.” Roman pushed back his chair and stood up, waving me over.
I seductively crossed the room, doing a playful twirl when I was just out of his reach that made him moan. “You like it?”
“Like it? I think we should stay here and skip the Children’s Ball.”
I took a step forward, pressing my finger to his chest. “Oh, I think it’ll be fun to make you wait a bit.”
“Fun for who?”
“Roman? Ettie?” Joe called down the hallway.
“We’re back here,” Roman called out, whispering to me. “Later. Promise?”
I shrugged innocently as Joe joined us in the little office, wearing a white, button-down shirt and dark grey tie. “My, don’t you clean up nice?” I teased.
“I’m just trying to make Penelope happy,” Joe said, straightening his skinny tie.
“I knew I learned that skill from someone.” Roman grabbed my hips and pulled me into him. “Did you need something before we go?”
“I was just wondering why our living room looks like a foster home for unwanted rats?”
“Hamsters,” I corrected. “And it’s because I’m getting them out of Ettie’s.”
“Do you need them all?” Joe lifted his eyebrows, waiting for an answer.
“No.” Roman beat me to it, his voice crisp and firm.
“Good,” Joe said. “Can I have one? I think Penelope would really enjoy having such a low-maintenance pet. She could even keep it in her office at the school. The kids would love it.”
“By all means.” I waved my hand towards the living room. If Joe was somehow behind our hamster epidemic, wouldn’t he already have access to all the hamsters he wanted? “Just don’t take Alvin, Simon, or Theodore.” I clarified when Joe narrowed his eyes and tilted his chin. “They’re the ones in the cage on top of the piano. All the rest are fair game.”
“Thanks.” Joe cast his eyes down and ran his hands down the fabric of his shirt, seeming to smooth out wrinkles that weren’t there. “And I’ve been thinking more about getting a place of my own. Maybe it’s not such a bad idea.”
My stomach did a somersault, and I think Roman’s did, too. At least his hand grabbed mine, tightening its grip enough to show me he was excited.
“Imagine how nice it would be to have a place of your own. I’m sure you’ll love the freedom again,” Roman said, way calmer than I knew he was on the inside.
I sighed. “It sounds wonderful… but you can’t…at least not in the apartment above Ettie’s.”
“What?” Roman and Joe snapped at the same time, showing how similar they both really were.
“You can’t because the health inspector won’t allow it. The place is still infested with hamsters.” Ugh. Now that Joe wanted to move out, Ettie’s wasn’t ready. I was really hoping to rent to him since he insisted on overpaying for rent. Surely living with us wasn’t worth the thousand dollars per month he insisted on paying us, but at that rate, Roman and I could afford a honeymoon sometime soon. Plus, Joe was family, no matter whatever suspicions I had.
“That’s too bad.” A little smile tugged at Joe’s lips that I recognized from Roman. It was when he had gotten exactly what he wanted.
I placed a hand on my hip. “You had no intention of moving out.”
Joe shrugged. “I thought I’d offer, but I’m happy to stay here until the apartment is more hospitable. I like being close to family.”
He had known he couldn’t move there. Was this his way of manipulating us further? Did he plant the hamsters in the shop to ensure he couldn’t move in? To get Ettie’s shut down? He hadn’t known about us wanting him to move in before the hamster infestation, but he had somehow, known about the apartment upstairs. Had he figured that was only a matter of time before we asked him to leave?
When Joe was out of earshot, I turned to Roman. “He knew he couldn’t move in.”
“Yeah, I had told you that Dad could be a bit manipulative.”
“I’m beginning to see that.” I rubbed my temple. Maybe he was behind everything. Roman and my life had been going well until Joe came to town. “I think we really need to get him out of here.”
“Remember, we agreed to let him move in because he’s paying rent.”
“I know. I’d like to keep that rent, but if we get Ettie’s fixed up, we could rent it to anybody. We could get Joe out of our life.” I bit my tongue and reformed my words. “I didn’t mean that. I know he’s your dad.”
“He’s never been much of a father,” Roman said, staring off into space. “When I was a child, he worked twelve hours a day or more. He didn’t come home until after Mom had already tucked us into bed. I guess working so hard gave him the opportunity to retire early, but he missed out on my sister’s and my childhood. These past few months he’s been finally present. They’ve been better than I remember…and yet they haven’t necessarily been all warm and fuzzy. Joe spends time with us in the privacy of our home, but he tries to make sure we’re not seen together in public…at least it appears that way to me.” Roman’s attention snapped back to me, like he had shut off his memories. “Come on. We should get going. We don’t want to miss the auction.”
“Nah,” I fanned a hand at him. “We have a few minutes…and Joe is on his way out the door. Do you know what that means?”
Roman’s eyes lit up, and he smiled. “I don’t want to smudge your lipstick.”
“Oh, I think we could have some fun without lipstick smudging.” I traced my finger up Roman’s arm. “Consider it a challenge.”
“Well, challenge accepted.” Roman took my hand and led me out of his office.
Chapter Nine
As soon as Roman and I stepped foot in the school’s gymnasium where the charity ball was being held, I could tell something was wrong. Tension hung in the air like a heavy fog, carrying the guests’ stares and whispers right towards us.
“What’s going on?” I softly asked Roman. “We were invited. I thought the invitation was an olive branch, welcoming us into the community.”
Mayor Raab had been talking with Natalia at a table and their conversation halted as quickly as a dog gobbles a treat when Roman and I came into view. I didn’t miss Brittany’s hard stare, either, even though she sat on a table on the other side of the gym.
Roman shook his head, hesitating a bit while he took in everyone’s obvious hostility towards us. “This is different than normal. I don’t think it has anything to do with us being magical.” My husband did something I hadn’t expected. He circled the dance floor and led me to a table where his father and Penelope sat.
Roman pulled a chair out for me, but I stopped him after catching sight of Joe’s warning stare.
I backed away. “Maybe we should find somewhere else. I hate to give your dad’s secret Identity away.”
“It’s time he faced his demons,” Roman said, not stepping away from the chair.
Maybe our words were louder than intended, because Penelope motioned to the chair next to her, giving Joe an I’m-in-charge glare. “You’re welcome here, even if you weren’t related to my boyfriend.” It was nice that Penelope knew Joe’s secret.
I took the seat beside Penelope, and Joe’s worry softened to a point where I could ignore him. You’d think a fifty-something year old man would get over his fear of being who he was.
“Thanks for the charm the other day,” Penelope said, breaking the ice while Roman and his father exchanged stiff greetings. “I mustered up the courage and told Joe all about my previous marriages. I don’t know why I thought it was such a big deal. Joe didn’t mind at all that I’ve been divorced...three times already.”
I smiled. “You’re a great catch. I’m sure he realizes that.”
Penelope nodded. “And also, thanks for the rescued rodent. I love him!”
“I’m glad.” Thoughts of my own little critters filled my mind, bringing that warm sensation to my chest again.
“It’s nice that I can do my part to prevent a death.”
“A death?” I asked. “What do you mean?”
“You’re trapping those hamsters from your shop, right?”
“Yes, but they’re not dying.”
“They’re not?” Penelope flipped her phone over that had been sitting on the table and opened up to Facebook. “I didn’t know that. This article Natalia wrote is all over social media.”
“What article?” I was as clueless as a truant student being given a pop quiz. “Natalia interviewed Roman and I, but we didn’t see anything published in the paper.”
Penelope shook her head. “Natalia doesn’t work for the paper anymore. They fired her not long after your editorial a month ago that shone a light on who she really was. She started her own blog called The Watersedge Insider.”
Magic Underground: The Complete Collection (Magic Underground Anthologies Book 4) Page 118