by Jamie Davis
He jumped out and ran around the pickup to open the passenger door for her. She quirked an eyebrow at the gesture, smiled and climbed into the truck. He crossed back around to the driver’s side and got in. He checked his mirror and pulled out into traffic.
“Thank you for getting my door, Dean,” Ashley said. “I like a man who hasn’t forgotten the little things like that of manners.”
“Well, it is our first real date night out on the town,” Dean said. He glanced over at her as he drove. “You look really nice tonight.”
“Thank you,” she replied with a demure smile. She rested her hand on his thigh, and he dropped his right hand down to hold it as he drove, steering with his left. It was nice riding with her; it felt right somehow. They continued crossing town to the restaurant district while chatting about their day. Ashley told him that Daphne, the Dryad they brought in to the ER, was going to be fine. The docs were keeping her overnight as a precaution to monitor her, but they expected a full recovery. He was glad to hear it. It had been a little touch and go until they had figured out what was going on. He remarked on it.
“It’s funny how much we end up being detectives on the job,” Dean said. “We don’t always know what’s going on, and then you throw in the Unusual side of things. It becomes a huge challenge. I like it, but it leaves me worried about what could happen if I make the wrong decision.”
“It’s like that for us in the hospital, too,” Ashley agreed. “The patients who can talk to us don’t always tell us the truth, only what they think we need to know. Sometimes they outright lie to us, even though we are just trying to help them. The unconscious patients are just as much a mystery to us in the beginning as they are for you.” She gave his hand a squeeze.
Dean glanced over at her as he was driving. She always offered him a perspective that shored up his concerns in a positive, non-confrontational way. He liked that about her. She genuinely liked helping people. It was one of the things he found so attractive about her. He checked their location and realized they were getting close, so he started looking for a spot to park, eventually opting to use a parking lot across the street from the restaurant. He paid the attendant as they pulled in, and then selected a parking space near the back of the lot. Dean jumped out to help Ashley down from the passenger side, but she had already gotten herself out by the time he got there. He shut the door behind her as she walked towards the sidewalk.
They crossed over to Sabatani’s and entered the restaurant. It was bustling and busy, but he had made a reservation directly with Kristof, and he walked up to the hostess station to check in. She looked up and smiled as he approached. It was Anuja, the fairy girl from the roadside accident and the fire scene.
“Well, hello, Anuja,” Dean said. “I didn’t know you worked here?”
“I have only been here a short time,” she said. “Just a few months. It is good to see you under better circumstances, though.” She turned to Ashley as she followed him up and nodded her head and shoulders in a quick bow. “Eldara, it is good to see you as well. If you both will follow me, I will take you to your table.” Anuja picked up two menus and a wine list and headed into the restaurant, gesturing for them to follow her. She led them to corner booth near the back and pulled out the table a bit so they could more easily slip into the booth. The fairy hostess slid the table back into place, and set the menus down in front of each of them in turn.
“Your server will be with you shortly,” Anuja said. “Enjoy your meal.” She bowed slightly to Ashley again before she turned and walked back to her podium at the entrance.
“It’s nice dining with royalty,” Dean said with a chuckle as he picked up his menu. “I wonder if I treat you in a manner that befits your exalted station.”
“Oh, stop it,” Ashley said chastising him. “You treat me just fine. The other Unusuals just treat the Eldara that way because there aren’t many of us roaming the earth at any given time. Plus, it’s rare to have us living among them. They treat us with respect because our arrival often signals some significant event is on the way.”
“But you’ve been living here for what, four or five years?” Dean asked. “That’s what Brynne told me anyway.”
“I’ve been here just over five years,” she said. “I came at the beginning of the Station U program as soon as I heard about it. I’m a healer, Dean. That is my purpose in the world. I travel around and help human healers navigate through significant events they find themselves facing. Eventually, I will move on to another pending event, to lend help where it is needed.”
“Oh,” Dean said sadly. He had hoped she would be around for a while.
“Hey,” Ashley said. She leaned over and bumped him with her shoulder. “None of that. I’m here now and plan to be for some time to come.”
“But, eventually, you’ll leave,” Dean said.
“Yes, Dean, I’ll leave,” she said. “But ‘eventually’ to an Eldara can be a long time.”
Dean looked at her, trying to figure out how long she had been on the earth. She must be so old. “Do Eldara, uh, live forever?” he asked.
“Are you asking a lady how old she is, Dean?” Ashley asked with a chuckle. “You should know better than that. Time doesn’t hold the same meaning to us as it does to humans and most of the Unusuals. We appear, do our jobs and then transition back to a period of waiting. But the waiting does not pass for us as normal time does, so it as if an instant passes between our assignments.”
“Do you talk to God to get your assignments?” Dean asked, curious. He had never been a religious person, but he had been to church on occasion, and his interaction with the patients of Station U had created a curiosity about things bigger than he was.
“No, Dean,” she said. “Talking to God is a privilege reserved for humans and mortal Unusuals. It is something special you have. You can have a relationship with the divine that we cannot. We are their servants, their messengers. Instead of talking to God, we get a feeling, a direction to go somewhere or do something. You would call it a nudge. Once there, we must follow our instincts to solve the problems we face, in support of the humans who asked for divine assistance.”
“So you’re the answer to a prayer?” Dean asked. “I certainly believe it. You’re an answer to mine.”
“It can be a single prayer, or it can be a collective request for assistance,” she said. “I think my presence here is more of the latter. The relationship with you is a nice perk of this particular assignment, though.” Ashley slid closer to him in the booth as she went back to perusing her menu.
Dean went back to looking at his menu as well. He was distracted from reading it with her leaning against him. He thought about everything he had just learned about Ashley and the Eldara. He was still thinking about it when the server showed up to check on their readiness to order. Dean hated to make people wait, so he deferred to Ashley while he quickly made a choice of the chicken parmesan over spaghetti noodles with red sauce. He relayed his choice to the server after Ashley ordered the fresh fish of the day in a garlic butter sauce, with capers.
Kristof, the owner, came over as the server left. Dean had gotten to know him very well over the course of the last seven weeks in the CERT class. It was Kristof’s invitation to Dean and Brynne that made the paramedic bring Ashley to the restaurant tonight to take advantage of the Firefighter/Paramedic/Police discount he offered.
“Dean,” Kristof said as he came over. “How are you? And you bring such exalted company with you? You are truly a lucky man.”
“I’m fine, Kristof,” Dean replied. “Have you met Ashley Moore, from the hospital?”
“I have not had the pleasure, although I had heard there was an Eldara Sister living in Elk City,” the restauranteur said. “My lady, it is a pleasure to serve you and have you grace my humble establishment.”
“The pleasure is mine,” Ashley said. “It is a lovely place, and I can’t wait to taste the excellent food you must serve here.”
“I will check back
with you later, Eldara, to make sure you were satisfied with your choice,” Kristof said with a bow. Some of the patrons, humans obviously, looked in their direction, wondering who Dean and Ashley were to get such treatment.
“Thank you, Kristof,” Dean said. “I know the food here is excellent. I’m sure we’ll be pleased with our choices.”
The owner of the eatery left them to themselves as the waitress returned with their drinks. Dean had ordered a Sprite since he was driving that evening. Ashley had ordered a cosmopolitan.
Ashley raised her glass to Dean as she picked it up. “To a wonderful evening and good company!” she said.
Dean raised his glass and touched it to hers with a clinking of crystal. He approved of her words but wondered what the angel meant by ‘good company.’ What that all he was?” He took a sip of his soda while he pondered the question.
Their conversation turned to mundane dinner conversation about their days, and then to challenging Dean to see if he could pick out the Unusuals clustered among the restaurant’s staff and patrons. He was surprised how his skills were developing. He spotted the vampire and date because she wasn’t eating anything, just drinking what looked like a particularly dark red wine. The gentleman with her seemed a little nervous but ate a regular pasta meal. Others he couldn’t quite place. He didn’t know what variety of Unusual they were, but was pretty sure they were of a mythical nature. Ashley confirmed his suspicions, or told him when he was off track. Overall, he did quite well with that particular game.
Their dinner came, and Ashley raved about her fresh fish, the Branzino, a Mediterranean variety Dean had never heard of. His chicken parmesan was excellent as well, and the two of them fell silent as they devoured their dinners. He offered her a bite of his chicken, and she slid her plate over so he could try the fish. He wasn’t a fan of fish, but the Branzino in garlic butter sauce was pretty good. He might even be tempted to order that the next time he was here.
The two of them passed on dessert as their dinners had filled them nicely. When the waitress brought the check by, Dean reached for it out of reflex, but Ashley quickly leaned across the table and snatched the folder containing the check from in front of him.
“Hey,” Dean protested. “I’ve got that. I planned for this.”
“I know what paramedics make,” Ashley countered. “Besides, I have resources I’ve set aside over the years. I’m not poor.”
“I thought you appreciated an old fashioned kind of guy?” Dean asked. “You complimented me on opening your door.”
“There’s a difference between good manners on a date and outmoded systems of patriarchal control that makes the man think he always needs to pay the check,” she responded. “I have little need for the money I make at the hospital. Let me spend a little on you.” She looked over the check, took a credit card out of her purse and placed it in the folder. The waitress came over and took it from her when she held it up. Dean caught a look at the color of the card as Ashley slipped it into the folder with the check.
“Was that an Amex Black Card?” Dean asked incredulously. He had heard of, but had never actually seen the mythical credit card issued by invitation only to the wealthiest of the American Express card-holders.
“I told you, Dean,” Ashley said. “I don’t have much need of money. I have lived a very long time and accumulated substantial assets. It enables me to do what I do without encumbrances, like needless worrying about finances.”
“I feel like I hardly know you, Ashley Moore,” Dean said. “Every time I think I have you figured out, you drop another curiosity bomb on me.”
“Women like to be mysterious, Dean,” she purred as she leaned in close to him. “It is what keeps the men coming back. If you’re interested in digging a little deeper, let’s head back to my apartment. I have a thing or two to teach you about me.”
Dean blushed, which made Ashley giggle and give him a hug. He found himself waiting impatiently for the waitress to return with the check. He wanted to find out what else his angel had in store for him that evening.
Chapter 38
The buzzing woke Dean from a sound, satisfying sleep. He was curled up around Ashley’s sleeping form in her apartment. She woke as he stirred next to her.
“Sweetie,” she murmured. “Your phone is buzzing.”
Dean groaned and rolled over in Ashley’s bed to paw at the top of the night table on his side of the bed. He felt his phone and held it up to squint at the phone’s screen in the darkened bedroom. It was four o’clock in the morning. The caller ID said it was his partner, Brynne. He noticed earlier calls listed on the screen from headquarters. He must have missed them. Wiping the sleep from his eyes as he propped up on one arm, he swiped the screen to answer the call.
“Go for Dean,” he said as his voice broke a bit with the early morning lack of warm-up.
“Dean,” he heard Brynne on the other end of the line. “Where are you? I went by your apartment to check on you after the all-call for Station U from headquarters. You weren’t there, and I started to fear the worst.”
“I’m fine. I, uh, stayed over at Ashley’s tonight,” he explained. “What’s up? Why the all-call?” He sat up in bed as he realized that something serious was going on.
“There was a fire at Sabatani’s tonight,” Brynne said. “It’s bad, and I knew you had gone there with Ashley.” She paused for a bit. “It was another attack, Dean. An anonymous email was sent to headquarters with a picture of you and Ashley at dinner talking to Kristof. We all thought you might have been there when it happened.” Ashley had rolled over in bed, and he felt her warm skin press up against his bare back as she leaned in to rest her chin on his shoulder.
“We’re both fine, Brynne,” Ashley said. She had clearly overheard his partner’s frantic voice coming from the phone in the quiet room. “Do you need us to respond somewhere? Is there a call into the hospital? I don’t have anything on my phone.” Dean toggled the phone to speaker mode and set it down on the dresser as Brynne answered Ashley.
“Oh, hi Ashley,” Brynne responded. “I don’t know what the hospital is doing. There are some injuries. Mostly it’s smoke inhalation and minor burns. It was late, at the end of the evening, when two men threw Molotov cocktails into the entry foyer. The staff there saw them light the bottles from outside and cleared out the area before they threw the firebombs into the restaurant. The staff were able to evacuate most of the patrons through the back, but Kristof and a few others tried to fight the fire with the restaurant’s fire extinguishers before the firefighters arrived. They all had some injuries.”
“Okay, well we’re fine,” Dean said. “Do you still need me to report in?”
“Call in to HQ,” Brynne said. “Based on the photo they received, they just wanted to make sure you were safe. The Chief is there, and he’ll tell you what they want you to do. I’m glad you’re both alright. Sorry I had to wake you.”
“No worries, Brynne,” Dean said still shaking out the cobwebs in his sleepy brain. “I’ll call in and talk to Chief Ari and see what he wants me to do. Thanks for calling. Bye.”
He touched the End button on the screen to stop the call and turned to Ashley, momentarily distracted by her naked form lit by the streams of moonlight coming in her apartment windows. Good Lord, she was beautiful. He reached out to stroke her shoulder absently as he thought about the information Brynne had shared with him. Someone had been stalking the two of them, and then firebombed the restaurant where they had been eating. Did that mean they were here, outside as well?
He left Ashley’s embrace and padded in bare feet across the hardwood floor of her bedroom to look out the window through sheer drapes to the street below. There was no traffic, and he didn’t see anything unusual, but then again, he wasn’t sure he knew what he was looking for. He turned to look at Ashley still sitting on the bed watching him.
“You heard everything Brynne said?” Dean asked. “You heard about the photograph of us at dinner sent in to Headquarters aft
er the attack?
“Yes,” Ashley said. “You need to call in and tell them you’re okay.” She picked up his phone and held it out to him. “If you wait too much longer, they might have the police trace your GPS and come knocking here directly.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Dean admitted. He crossed back to the bed, took the phone from her and tapped the screen to call HQ back. He keyed the speaker phone function again so Ashley could listen in. The line was picked up immediately. They must have had caller ID on the line because the voice on the other end knew it was him.
“Dean,” the voice said. “Dean is that you? Are you alright?” It was the voice of Chief Ari, the director of EMS for the Elk City Fire Department.
“Yes, Chief. It’s me. I’m fine,” Dean answered. “I just got off the phone with Brynne. She filled me in on what happened. Do you need me to come in?”
“No, stay where you are,” the Chief said. “Just tell me where that is. We want to send a police unit over to check out your location and make sure it’s safe.”
“Uh, okay,” Dean said. He looked at Ashley. He didn’t want to involve her in this, but she nodded and mouthed the words “It’s okay.”
“Okay, I’m at 581 Fremont Street, downtown,” Dean said.
“Is Nurse Moore with you as well?” the Chief asked.
“I’m here as well, Chief,” Ashley said before Dean could answer. “We’re both fine.”