by Kimbra Swain
When I jerked away from him, because it startled me, he winked at Levi who died laughing.
“There you go flirting with him again,” I said. Levi turned red, but Dylan shoved a biscuit in his mouth. “I could go a lot of places with that big ol’ biscuit in your mouth, but I’m trying to tone down my vulgarities.”
Dylan shared his breakfast with Levi. I didn’t eat. My mind was on Shady Grove. I’d claimed it as my town. How dare she show back up out of the big city and act like she cared what happened here? Why did she care? Those thoughts were probably the key to figuring all of this out, but what was I supposed to do? Walk up to the bitch and ask her why she cared all of a sudden? I doubted I’d get a straight answer.
It wasn’t long before Nestor returned from taking Winnie to school. We discussed strategies, and the awful blue signs covering every patch of green along the roads.
I thought purple signs would be the best, but Dylan said I should go more traditional like red. Make it a signature color. Wear red to match my tattoo. I’d planned to keep my tattoo covered. However, I needed to accept that there were things about me I would never change. The tattoo, even if I could, was one of those things. It was a part of me. Besides, I didn’t need to revamp myself. I just needed to be a more polished version.
“I need to go shopping,” I said.
“Call Mable. She will go with you,” Nestor said.
“No offense, Nestor, but Mable and I don’t really share the same tastes. I know who to call,” I said. Picking up my phone, I dialed.
“Dr. Tabitha Mistborne,” she answered.
“Hey, I need to get new clothes for this election thing. Want to go shopping?” I asked.
“Heck, yea! We can find you some really cute stuff. When do you want to go?” she asked. Tabitha and I had become friends after my sickness around Christmas at the hands of the Cane Creek Coven. We got together frequently having lunch, watching movies, and goofing off. I’d never had a female friend, but she was awesome.
“Whenever you can. Are you working today?” I asked. She was a doctor at the med center in town.
“Nope. I’ve got three days off!” she replied. “We can get you some signs made too. I hate these damn blue signs everywhere. I’m thinking red.”
“Great minds,” I replied.
“Oh, you want red too?” she asked.
“It was Dylan’s idea,” I admitted.
“Great minds, indeed. Where are you?” she asked.
“At the bar. Having coffee.”
“I’ll pick you up in an hour. I’ve been lazy all morning. I’ll get up and get a shower. See ya soon,” she said excitedly.
“Bye,” I replied, hanging up.
“All set?” Dylan asked.
I nodded. “You busy today?”
“Not really. Want me to go buy some more furniture for the trailer?” he offered. “Unless you want to pick it out yourself.”
“No, that’s fine. You can do it. Just don’t turn it into a man cave. My only request is a big, comfy recliner,” I said. Furniture shopping didn’t appeal to me. I was glad he offered.
“For two,” he smiled.
“I said big,” I reminded him.
“I thought you were talking about something else,” he smirked.
“Ew,” said Levi.
We teased Levi until Tabitha arrived. I got a nice, long kiss from Dylan who told me to have fun. Levi still looked forlorn, but it was a perpetual state for him. I needed to find him another woman. Tabitha and I headed off to Birmingham to search for clothes.
Tabitha and I talked about the election all the way to the mall. Thankfully, she was on my side. She never once said I needed to change who I was. She assured me that plenty of people in the town knew me and appreciated what I’d done for them.
We spent the whole day shopping. By the time we were finished, I was sick of red. However, I had the feeling that I’d be seeing a lot of it for the next couple of weeks. We also visited an office supply store and designed campaign signs. They were red, too. All sorts of variations of vote for Grace. Grace Ann Bryant for Council Lead. We had to avoid fairy terminology. There were still normals living in Shady Grove. I needed to get home and finish up the rules for the election.
I called Levi to meet us at the bar with his laptop, so I could type them up. Tabitha said her goodbyes, taking a bunch of signs with her to put up around her house and the med center. Levi brought the laptop. As I sat at the bar finishing up the rules, Misaki came in.
“Hello, Queen Grace,” she said with a slight bow. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to return the bow or not. I just dipped my head to her hoping that was enough.
“Hello, Misaki. How are you feeling today? Any demons show up to claim you?” I asked.
“No. My betrothed has received word that I am pregnant,” she said.
I spewed coffee all over the laptop. Wiping it down before it got sticky, I asked, “How do you know if you are pregnant?”
“Oh, it only takes once,” she said.
“Well, that’s great for you,” I said, hoping I’d cleaned the coffee off the laptop sufficiently. I wondered who obliged her need to procreate. She provided me with the answer promptly.
“I want to thank you for understanding the position I was in,” she said sitting down on the stool. “I would like to stay here in Shady Grove to keep the child near his father.”
“It’s a boy?” I asked.
“Most definitely. I also want to thank you for allowing Dylan to help me,” she said.
I didn’t spit the coffee out. Instead, I dropped the entire cup. The plain white cup hit the tile floor of the bar, shattering into a million pieces. A woozy feeling rushed over me, and my cheeks grew hot. “How did Dylan help you?”
“In the only way, he truly could. Like I said. I am very thankful for your understanding,” she said.
Standing up off my stool and backing away from her, I said, “You are a liar. I didn’t allow him to do anything. He didn’t make that thing with you.”
“Oh, my! I thought you knew,” she said. “It took persuasion, but he agreed it was the best way to protect me. He is wonderful man. You are lucky woman.”
Nestor came in from the stock room. “Grace, what’s wrong?”
I slapped the laptop closed, dialing Dylan as fast as I could. The phone rang, but he never answered. Telling myself to stay calm, I looked at the kitsune. There was no way. She was lying. I dialed again. No answer. “What is the purpose of having a phone if you don’t fucking answer it?” I yelled.
“Grace! What is wrong?” Nestor tried getting my attention. My chest heaved with hard breaths. I had to stay in control. If I released the evil inside me, I’d kill this woman and Dylan’s child. But no, it wasn’t his, because she was a liar.
“I think I upset her,” Misaki said.
“What did you say?” he asked.
I backed against the wall near the jukebox, dialing Dylan over and over. “Please answer,” I muttered.
“I thanked her for allowing Dylan to save me from the demon,” she said staring at me. Along the corners of her eyes, I saw amusement. Running to the door, I heard Nestor yell at me, but I kept running. The trailer wasn’t far from here, and the bus would bring Winnie home soon. Hoping I’d beat her home, I ran all the way to the trailer park to the trailer, then into an empty living room. No furniture. Dylan must be still out buying furniture.
“Grace?”
“Fuck!” I yelled. “You scared the shit out of me, Levi.”
“What’s wrong?” he immediately knew something was bothering me.
Shaking my head, I tried to gather my thoughts. “Call Dylan. He’s not answering for me,” I said.
“You need to sit down. Come in here,” he grabbed my hand shooting the tingle through my arm. He’d pulled power to coax me to calm down. “Now sit here on my bed. Take deep breaths.” I obeyed, because I didn’t have a choice. He picked up his phone and dialed Dylan.
“Hey, man, where
are you?” he asked. “You need to come home. Right now. We are at the trailer.” He paused to listen to Dylan. He handed me the phone.
Barely holding it in my hands as they shook, I answered, “Hello?”
“What’s going on?”
“Misaki is pregnant,” I muttered.
He paused for a moment. “Grace, why does that matter?”
“She said, you are the father,” I sobbed.
“You believed her?!” he shouted.
“No, but the way she looked at me. It felt wrong. I ran. I ran all the way home. I’ve called you twenty times, and you didn’t answer. Levi called once,” I barely got the words out.
“I have no missed calls, Grace. Stay there. I’m on the way,” he growled. The line went dead. Sliding off the edge of the bed, I landed on the floor with a thud. Levi crouched before me. He put his hands on my cheeks. Less power this time. Just a soothing tingle.
“Tell me what happened, that way I can tell him when he gets here. You guys can’t fight right now. This election is too important,” he said.
“When did you grow up on me?” I asked.
He grinned. “You are just seeing it like that for the first time?”
Leaning forward I rested my head on his chest letting the prickles surround me. He wrapped his arms around me. I always forgot how strong he was until he was wrestling me when I was fighting mad, or when occasionally I’d get a good hug. Starting at the moment she walked in the bar, I told him everything. “And so, I ran here,” I said.
“You know he didn’t do it, right?” Levi asked.
“I know. It just upset me,” I replied.
“When he gets here, I’ll meet him outside and try to calm him down. Tell him what happened. I admit that this is a selfish thing for me,” he said.
“How so?” I said leaning back and wiping the tears off my cheeks.
“I know that Lisette is back in the bayou. The demon was dispatched. But I have nowhere else to go. You and Dylan are my family. My crazy best friend and her fiancé. He’s like a brother. I’d do anything for you,” he said. “Plus, if you get mad at him, you will be here, and I really like the garden tub!”
“What! Levi Rearden, you didn’t!” I pushed him away from me.
“Popped that bathtub cherry,” he smirked.
“Did you really?”
“No, but I wanted to prove that Dylan having a kid with someone else was secondary to me using your new bathtub,” he laughed. I swatted him on the arm. “Git up.” He stood pulling me to my feet as we heard Dylan’s car pull up outside. He kissed me on the forehead with one last tingle. I shivered as he ducked out to meet Dylan. Sitting on the end of the bed, I waited.
It didn’t take long. Dylan peeked around the corner into the bedroom. Closing my eyes, I felt ashamed for letting it get to me. I felt him approach, and just like Levi, he put his hands on my cheeks. No vibration, just warmth. “Open your eyes, and look at me,” he said softly. I did as he asked. “Would I ever do that to you?”
“No. I know you didn’t. It was just frustrating,” I said.
Levi stood in the small hallway outside of his room. Dylan swatted the door closed, then pressed me down on the bed. His lips met mine in hot kisses as if he was trying to prove his faithfulness to me.
“Awe, come on, you guys. Don’t do that on my bed,” Levi whined.
“Shut up, Levi,” we yelled back to him. A huge smile crossed Dylan’s face.
“This damn town,” he muttered. “Let’s just go.”
“You sound like me now,” I said.
“If you don’t win the election, we are leaving,” he said.
I nodded. Before he could finish what he’d started, the squealing brakes of the school bus echoed through the trailer. He sighed. “We can finish it later,” I said.
“I love you,” he said.
“I love you, too.”
“Aunt Grace!” Winnie yelled, running to me as she tried holding on to her backpack. I wrapped her up in a big hug.
“How was school?” I asked. She was in first grade at Shady Grove Elementary. I’d spoken to her teacher after the holidays. Miss Castle was sad to hear of Bethany’s death, but she was happy to know that Winnie would have a more stable life. I started to explain to her that my life was far from stable, but I knew Dylan and I offered her more stability than her drug addict mother had. Definitely more love.
“It was good. Everybody wants to be my friend, but not the boys. They have cooties,” she explained.
“Do I have cooties?” Dylan asked.
“No, men don’t have them. They outgrow them,” she replied.
“That’s debatable,” I interjected.
She hugged Dylan and Uncle Levi, then ran off into the house to start her homework. Levi went with her. He was the designated homework helper. Dylan and I could only do so much considering neither of us had any traditional schooling. We both had records saying we went to school, but they were fakes. Levi was in school not too long ago, so he got stuck with the job. He loved it.
“What subject today?” Levi asked.
“Math,” Winnie said making a gagging noise.
“I like math,” Levi said.
“You do?” she asked.
“Yes, especially when you are counting money,” he replied.
“Oh, I like money,” she said.
“See math isn’t so bad. Let’s see what we have to do,” he said as she took out a sheet with addition and subtraction problems. Levi helped her complete it, but she was smart as a whip, knowing how to do most of it herself.
“I did buy some furniture,” Dylan said. “It will be here tomorrow. Including a nice big recliner.”
“This election is going to drive me crazy,” I said.
“Short drive,” he replied. I punched his shoulder. It hurt me more than him.
“Tab and I had some signs made today. We need to put them up, but I left them at the bar,” I said, remembering I’d ran home in a frenzy.
“Let’s go get them. Levi, you got Winnie for a bit?” Dylan asked.
“Yeah, sure. We can do homework, then color or watch TV in my room,” he said.
“Yay!” she responded.
“Okay. We will be back soon, then go home for dinner,” Dylan replied.
I kissed Winnie on the forehead, and she giggled. Dylan drove us back to the bar where we found a relieved Nestor. He said that Misaki left earlier.
“I could have sworn she was already showing,” Nestor explained.
“If I got that woman pregnant, it was the least memorable sex ever,” Dylan joked, but then quickly looked at me. Shaking my head at his terrible joke, I laughed anyway. However, it wouldn’t be the first time a fairy seduced someone and made them forget it. “These signs are great. I’m glad you decided to go with the red.”
“We bought a ton of red clothes, too. Although it seems a little silly. Red is like blood. That’s got to be a bad omen,” I said.
“Red is the counter to blue,” Nestor said.
“Winnie would have said Pink,” I offered.
“Pink is too girly. We need you to seem tough, yet feminine,” he said.
“I just need to be less vulgar,” I said.
“I need you to be more vulgar,” he said lifting his eyebrows. The red blush traveled up my next to cheeks. Nestor laughed, uncomfortable with the comment.
“Let’s go put up some signs,” Dylan said.
“We have to stop by the community center and put up these election rules,” I added.
“I’ve got some coffee to go,” Nestor said, pouring the magical java into to-go cups.
“Thanks, Nestor. You are the best,” I said.
We loaded up again. Stopping on the busiest corners, Dylan got out strategically placing a red sign among the plethora of blue signs. As we approached the community center, there was a group of people waiting for me to post the rules. The rules were simple and concise.
Everything from no public brawling to not removing ca
mpaign signs was listed. Dylan looked up local election rules, and together we adapted them to what we thought would be needed for a fairy election.
Dylan took the rules and posted them on the community center board while everyone gathered to look. The nominations were to be turned in at the Hot Tin Roof Bar in a box Nestor placed on the counter. We’d given Mable the key to the box, so she was the only one with access. We put all of this in the notice with the rules. Stephanie and Kyffin were suspiciously absent. Troy approached the car.
“Good afternoon, Sheriff,” I greeted him.
“How are things going?” he asked.
“I guess they are okay. How’s the law business?” I asked.
He sighed, “It’s been quiet, but I got the feeling this election is going to keep us busy. For what it’s worth, Grace, you have my support. I’ll endorse you publicly if need be. Most of the department is behind you, too. The guys all know how Stephanie treated Dylan. Heck, several of them have slept with her. None of them would vote for her though. She’s not part of this community anymore. She moved to Tuscaloosa. I doubt she even is a resident here. Can she even be eligible?”
“I’m sure she owns her mother’s old place. When her mom passed in October, I’m sure Stephanie inherited everything,” I replied.
“That’s right. I’d forgotten about that. Just looking for angles to help you,” he said.
“I appreciate it,” I said.
“Hey Troy,” Dylan said returning to the car. He shook hands with Troy.
“Hey, man, just telling Grace that she has my support,” he said.
“Thanks. I’m sure we are going to need as much support as possible,” Dylan said.
“Have you both considered getting married before this election?” Troy said. “I think it would be a good comparison. You are the married woman with a child. She is the unmarried woman who slept with half the town.”
“No. We aren’t getting married for an election,” Dylan said which surprised me. He’d been pushing for a date, but I hadn’t decided. It wasn’t because I didn’t want to marry him. I just couldn’t decide on the best time of year to do it.
“We could if needed. She’s engaged to Sergio Krykos, the head partner at her law firm,” I reminded them. “She’s as stable, if not more so than I am.”