“No. Actually that little tidbit was conveniently left out by everyone. You’re still going to marry him even though he took off halfway across the world and left you alone right before your wedding? Wow.” Keith shook his head and chuckled “You’ve really changed.”
“Of course, I’m marrying him. He is over there for work. His main goal has been networking and rounding up investors for the factory expansion. Everything he has worked on for years, has been to better this community. And what do you mean I’ve changed? I’m the same Selena you’ve always known. The same Selena you ignored and treated like crap after I confessed my feelings for you. The same Selena you neglected to tell that you were leaving and the same one you forgot tell when you came home. I’m not the one who changed.”
I stood there, staring back at him, my eyes daring him to deny what I’d said. We both knew I was right, but where did all of that emotion come from? What happened to me just wanting to talk to friends, to have a drink and enjoy being out in town?
“In this day and age of technology, he had to fly over to Germany to network?” I could see his flamboyant eye-roll and he looked as if he would laugh himself silly at any moment. What the hell was wrong with this guy?
“Keith, what are you getting at? Just spill it already! What? More rumors of him having an affair? Is he the anti-Christ? Every week it’s something new. So, please entertain me with your newest version of whatever it is my fiancé has done now. You have my full attention!” I placed my hands behind my ears bending them forward. “See, all ears, Mr. Jacobs.”
Yeah, I knew I was being immature, but I really didn’t give a damn. The people walking by, with their arms full of recent purchases, stopped to witness my latest public temper tantrum and I didn’t even acknowledge them. Let them watch. Let them see how much I truly didn’t give a shit anymore. Maybe then they would leave Shawn and me alone.
“The entire town can’t be wrong, Selena.”
“Whatever you say, Keith.” I took a deep breath and climbed into my car for the third time on that crazy day, eager to go home where I was safe from public scrutiny. “It was nice seeing you, but I’ve gotta’ go. Take care.”
I looked in my rearview mirror after I drove off. There he stood in the parking lot with his hands on his hips, shaking his head and staring after me. Why did I get the feeling Keith had a lot more to say? How could I know Keith knew more information about my fiancé than I did? Why didn’t I just stay and ask him that myself? Why did I always run away from the truth? Ironically, I had no idea I would come face-to-face with it sooner than I ever imagined and that truth would shake me to my very core.
Chapter 4
AS I DROVE home, my thoughts were stuck on Keith. I found it ironic that I once believed we were meant to be together. Now, I chalked it up to nothing more than a school-girl crush that had lasted for years after high school. How could I ever have been in love with a man who was so jealous and spiteful?
“I really don’t even know Keith or anyone else at all anymore.” I shook my head as if to clear the intrusive thoughts, full of shame as if it were a sin to even remember my old feelings for an old friend. I was nowhere close to being a saint, but I knew my mind should only be full of thoughts about Shawn and me. Still, I couldn’t help but think Keith must be jealous, just like the rest of the townspeople.
I rambled to myself the whole way home. “Why can’t anyone just be happy for me or be there for me?” I knew I was whining and I hated it. For the first time in a long time, I questioned who I’d become. I wondered if Keith were right? I wasn’t prepared to answer those questions and instead decided I could always drown my sorrows in Moose Tracks ice cream once I arrived home.
As I unlocked the front door to my cozy cabin, my familiar, a silver-gray cat acknowledged my arrival with a yawn and I braced myself for the guilt he’d be heaping on me for leaving him alone all day. “Nice to see you, too, Sterling.”
“It’s about time you showed up,” he said.
After having Sterling in my life for a quarter of a decade, I felt sorry for people who couldn’t understand what their pets were saying. Granted, there were days when Sterling would go on and on about whatever happened to fluff his butt at that time and I’d try to tune him out, but I couldn’t imagine my life without him. He was my familiar and my best friend.
I could feel him watching my every move as I took my gown out of the gaudy pink wrapper, placing it in the living room closet. Never one to hold back, he grumbled once or twice, expressing his complete disapproval of not only the dress, but for the wedding itself. That was one of the times, I’d tuned him out.
Getting back to his first question, “Well excuse me. I thought cats were supposed to be solitary, self-sufficient creatures. So, what’s up?”
“Your phone and computer have been driving me nuts! Every few minutes a call or an e-mail is chiming. How’s a cat supposed to sleep with all of the racket around here?” he huffed indignantly.
“Did you ever think of turning the volume down?”
“Ha-ha. No thumbs, witch.”
Sterling was extremely serious, but I had to fight hard to suppress the giggle bubbling inside of me as he stood on his hind legs and raised his front paws. He must’ve woken up on the wrong side of his kitty condo. Or maybe he’d had too much catnip and had a kitty hangover. With Sterling, it could have been anything.
“You know I can hear your thoughts, right?” He flipped his tail and narrowed his eyes into slits.
I bowed to him, mockingly. “How could I ever forget, your Highness?”
He followed me to the kitchen where I grabbed my pint of Moose Tracks from the freezer and he watched as I ate the decadent treat right from the ice cream container with a spoon. I know, I know. Ladies do not eat from the container, but I was seriously miffed and who was going to stop me? At least I thought to use a spoon. Besides, I only had a few more weeks of solitary living before I’d move into Shawn’s palatial and sterile, factory made home. “We really should have discussed him moving in here instead.” I mumbled around a mouthful of chocolate fudge.
“Where were you?” Sterling demanded.
“I picked up my dress and then I stopped by Tooth & Nail. Why?”
“What were you doing at Tooth & Nail?” He stared me down like an Inquisitor reporter.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but I had a beer and I saw a few people who actually spoke to me. Why? Is it against the rules, Great Master?” I laughed and licked my spoon clean.
“No need to be snippy, Selena. I simply noticed a distinct scent on you. Did you stop at the animal shelter?”
Placing the ice cream back into the freezer, I said, “Sterling, I told you where I was. I went to Always the Bride and then stopped by Tooth & Nail. That’s all. Do you think I was out looking for a nice, cuddly kitten to take your place?” I joked.
“You would never!” Again he flipped his tail maniacally. I truly had ruffled his fur. “I swear I smell dog on you. You reek of dog. I’ll never understand why humans love those hideous, drooling beasts. Yuck!” He visibly shivered and rolled his eyes.
“No. I did not see, hear or pet any dogs. Maybe your senses are overactive today? Janice didn’t even have that annoying pink poodle with her at the shop. Maybe that’s what you smell? I accidentally plowed into her and knocked her on her big, ole, pink butt when I arrived at the shop.”
“Accidentally?” I swore he wore an evil grin. I could picture him rubbing his paws together like a furry Austin Powers.
“Of course it was an accident. I was late. Thank the Goddess I don’t have to go back there. My dress fits great, by the way. I’m surprised Janice didn’t sabotage it. That woman’s attitude is hideous! If the government ever instituted a personality transplant law, I’d have that woman at the clinic so fast…”
“She’s a snake. What do you expect? She probably ate that poodle of hers.” He snickered. “No big loss, you understand. But the woman is an upper-level shifting demon and
she prefers small dogs as snacks, not companions. You did know that, right?”
I rolled my eyes. “Of course I knew that.”
No, I didn’t. But I wouldn’t admit that to Sterling. How could I not know Janice was a demon? What the hell was going on? My inner alarms, my sixth sense, whatever, should’ve been ringing my ears off! And I had been around her so many times, not just in the past few months, but forever! Something was seriously wrong.
“I can still hear your thoughts. Anyways, I assumed you knew and chose to ignore it like you ignore everything else that happens around you.” He walked away, leaving me a not-so-attractive view of his un-neutered backside.
Trying not to freak out, I turned to gather a few bell peppers, an onion and sausage from the fridge. I had a serious craving for Dirty Rice and set about chopping the veggies and browning the meat before adding creole seasoning and pouring the entire contents of the skillet into a Dutch oven with some lovely rice that Shawn had brought back from a recent trip to New Orleans. Once that was well on its way, I prepared a bowl of fresh tuna for Sterling and carried it to his dining room.
His kitty condo was an exact replica of my house and took up an entire back bedroom. From floor to ceiling, the miniature cabin was one of my largest investments. When I hired a contractor to install all of my secret cubby-holes and a small, secured room in which to hide my craft items, I also paid him to build Sterling a suitable retreat. I figured Sterling should have a place to go when Shawn came over to visit and it curbed Shawn’s allergic reaction to Sterling at the same time. Most of the time, Sterling spent his days in his home while I tended to my garden or walked in the woods that surrounded my property. He was happy, Shawn was happy and that made me happy.
As I sat his bowl of tuna in his house, Sterling climbed his front steps and pushed open a tiny, wooden door. He climbed a carpeted stairway to his upper loft and then crossed over a four foot deck overlooking a small fountain complete with a few Koi. Spoiled? Party of one? You bet! When it came to Sterling and his home, I often paid more attention to his needs than my own. But that’s what pet owners do, right?
“Bon-a- petit’!” I touted in my horrible French accent and bowed as I sat his plate of food on his deck. Sterling loved to eat beside his pond as he watched the fish swim by. If you asked me, I’d say he was being sadistic, letting them know they could be his next meal if he chose. He swore having the pond kept his inner spirit calm. Whatever. As long as he was happy, I was.
Returning to my kitchen, I stirred the rice, meat and veggies. I’d been making this newest addiction of mine, once a week for the past six weeks. I blamed it on Mardi-Gras. “At least it contains most of the major food groups.”
“What’s the deal? You’ve been eating healthy for weeks. If you ask me, it’s making you edgy.”
Startled by Sterling’s stealthy behavior, I dropped my wooden spoon on the floor. “Boy, you’re sneaky today! Warn a witch, will you?”
“See? You’re edgy and jumpy. Maybe this wedding is getting to you? You can always call it off” he said as he washed his paws. “No one would blame you.” His little pink tongue darted out of his mouth wetting each individual claw, ensuring every tasty drop of tuna juice would be history within seconds.
“Seriously?” I was at my limit and slammed the wooden spoon into the sink. Of course, it broke in two. “Dammit.”
“Mistress, everyone knows he’s a fink! All day every day I hear the chatter. No one likes him except for you.” He switched to cleaning his tail as my temper flared.
“Why? They used to love Shawn. At least until we started dating. And what do you mean, you hear the chatter? You sit here twenty-four-seven holding the couch down.” Okay, maybe I’d been a bit brash, but I couldn’t take anymore Shawn bashing, not even from my best pal.
“Um, ouch. That was a bit rude. You know I need my beauty sleep and curves are so in right now. Besides, you’re mistaken. No one has ever liked him. They’re all afraid of him. He controls the economy of this town, he controls everything and you’ve been too blind to see it. In the beginning, they pretended to like him because of you and for your benefit. I guess they thought you could change him. But once you started acting all normal and weren’t participating in any of the meetings of the Paranormal and Magical Defenders, or festivals or anything remotely witchy, all hope was lost. Everything changed. You changed. Now, they think of you as an ally for his horrible plans.”
“They’re just a bunch of old busy-bodies who make things up because they are bored! He’d never hurt anyone and he isn’t the raging sex lunatic they paint him to be. He saved this town from economic downfall many times and they repay him with spiteful viciousness! They’re wrong.”
“That’s not what I hear from my associates.” He hopped up on the counter blinking at me innocent as can be as he stretched and straightened his spine.
“Associates? What associates? Are your catnip mice talking to you now? You sit here all day grooming and napping. How could you have associates?” I laughed at his ever-present superior attitude.
“I’m not at liberty to divulge my sources or how I came to possess such information. Your fiancé is no good. That’s all you need to know. And the sooner you see the truth, the better off all of us will be.” With a huff, he jumped down off of the counter and sauntered to his condo.
I was dismissed by a sarcastic, mouthy cat who believes he is the know-it-all of the paranormal world. Given the silent treatment by my last friend on the planet. Life was great.
Chapter 5
AFTER DINNER, I sat at my desk sifting through e-mails. Many were spam offering life changing results and a better life. Between the erectile dysfunction medications, burial insurance, Lasik eye surgery and ‘SHAZAM! Bra’ ads I received by the boatload every day, one would think I was a big, hot mess.
“If I happened to die a suspicious death and the cops were to investigate my e-mails for clues, they would think I was a complete wreck and had killed myself. A woman with saggy boobs, penis problems, researching sex changes, blind, single, depressed and in need of burial insurance with the perfect timeshare property! I’m a scientific miracle!” I laughed as I imagined our county detective’s face as he scrolled through the various spam folders looking for clues.
“You won’t die anytime soon and you can’t kill yourself. It isn’t possible for a witch to commit suicide, you know that.”
“Jeez, Sterling, again with the sneaking? Can’t I joke with myself without you chiming in?” He sat at my feet again bathing and primping again. Of course, walking through my pristine home messed up a piece of his miraculous, gorgeous fur and we just couldn’t have that.
“Who’s sneaking? I didn’t know I needed to announce my arrival in my own home. Is that a new rule for everyone or am I the only you require notice from?”
“Very funny. Exaggerate much? Man, you’re snippy today. I know I can’t commit suicide, that’s not what I was saying. Besides, I’ll be married soon, why would I off myself now? I said the police would think I did. These spammers are ridiculous. One says: Anti-Depressants! Half-off! And another says: Single? Alone? Desperate? Open this email immediately! Does anyone even buy this load of crap?”
“Probably. Was all of that ‘You’ve got mail!’ business just a bunch of spam today? All of those bings and beeps gave me a migraine. You should really care more about my well-being when you’re not home.” Sterling still seemed a bit miffed, but at least we were on speaking terms again.
I snickered. Everything was always about Sterling and I loved his selfish side just as much as I loved his sweet side. “No. There are a few other normal e-mails, probably wedding related. They can wait. I’ll get to those later.”
He hopped up onto the desk, hovering beside me, nosey as could be. “That one says ‘Urgent!’ How do you know its spam? I think you should open it.”
“There isn’t a sender’s name on it. I’m not opening it. Besides, a lot of spammers use the term ‘Urgent!’ It’s a trick. My
luck, I’ll open it and end up with some type of computer virtual STD and my e-mail, newly infused with a life of its own, will spam every contact I have! Hackers will do anything to get into computers.”
I could feel my heart race as I imagined the consequences of opening a shady e-mail. They’d break down my door and haul me off to some federal prison, never to be seen or heard from again! I’d end up in some cell with a crazy lady who’d make me her pet! Oh hell no! The thoughts of those goddess-awful outfits and not to mention the shoes! With that train of thought I wanted to barf all over my desk, my palms were sweaty and I couldn’t breathe.
Rolling his emerald eyes, he said “Drama queen, party of one? As if you are that important.” He flopped onto his side laughing. “Yeah, some weirdos are gonna’ funnel top-secret information through your computer, setting you up to take the heat! Are you serious? Ha-ha-ha-ha-ack!”
“Karmic hairball, Mr. McFuzzy Nuts? Who’s laughing now?” I walked to the kitchen, eager to be away from his teasing. I filled a bowl of water for him after I poured myself a glass of wine, thinking about how foolish I’d been. I knew I’d over-reacted and knew I should know better than to spaz about such trivial things, but that’s what I was, who I was. I overreacted and always focused on the worst-case scenarios. I was a worrier through-and-through.
To my surprise, when I returned Sterling had turned his nose up at my kind offer of cool water and remained at the desk. I took a big gulp of merlot and consequently blew it everywhere when I reached my comfy office chair and saw that Sterling had opened the top-secret message! Thank the goddess, the sticky alcohol had only landed on the desk, but there, wide open, ready to infect my computer, was that suspicious e-mail.
“Oh great! If this computer blows up, you’re buying me a new one! What if the feds show up here thinking I’m the spamming hijacker? Did you even think about that?”
Paranormal After Dark: 20 Paranormal Tales of Demons, Shifters, Werewolves, Vampires, Fae, Witches, Magics, Ghosts and More Page 280