“You didn’t just fall,” Cassandra said, shaking her head. “You had help with these injuries.”
Mitch stared at Cassandra for the longest time. The way he looked at her and the sound of his voice caused her to change her mind about making the call. Instead, Cassandra took Mitch by the arm and helped him up. They walked into the back room.
Mitch knew if he went to the ER, he would have to explain everything and pull Mr. Sanchez further into this mess. As it was, the old man was fearful of the people asking for protection money. The fact they came after Mitch attested to their determination to send a message to the various shop owners.
He was determined to deal with this in his own way. It was his neighborhood, his job to protect the people even though they were not willing to take a stand against the punks who threatened their livelihood. In time, the shop owners would all learn to trust him.
*
Mitch was sitting nearthe counter in the back room with his shirt off. Cassandra wiped off the blood that was caked on his check and neck while he winced in pain. Once she had him cleaned up she got the Ace bandage from the bathroom upstairs.
“Raise your arms,” Cassandra instructed.
Slowly Mitch raised his arms as Cassandra quickly started wrapping the bandage tightly around his chest.
“I’m not a nurse. But you risk a rib puncturing your lung if this isn’t done properly,” Cassandra said, pulling the bandage tight.
Mitch took a deep breath. He moaned in pain. “God, that hurt! Does the old lady have some pain meds?”
“She had a mild heart attack, they don’t give you pain killers for that.”
“Too bad,” Mitch said.
Once Cassandra finished wrapping his ribcage she quickly grabbed the washrag and wiped the blood from Mitch’s neck and arms. Mitch glanced up and stared into Cassandra’s eyes, as she wiped more blood off his face and chin. He smiled up at her.
“I still think you should go to the emergency room,” Cassandra said with concern.
“Cassandra, I can’t.”
“Why?”
“I’d have to file a report and I’m not ready to do that.”
“But the people who did this should be punished.”
“They will be, in due time.”
Cassandra suddenly realized something. “You knew them!” she asked.
Mitch turned away, not wanting to face Cassandra or the questions he knew she would be asking.
“But you are the law.”
Mitch shook his head. “I know. You don’t have to remind me of that.”
He didn’t want to explain to Cassandra about Gino, and his being Rosy’s cousin, and all the baggage that went with that. Especially how they had been trying to get him to join them in their illegal endeavors. For that matter, he didn’t want to explain this to his sergeant either, or the fact he didn’t mention this sooner. It almost looked like he was covering the whole thing up. Mitch wished he had been more proactive now. Maybe it would have eliminated the mess he was now in. It was clear he’d protected no one by ignoring the fact Rosy’s cousin was setting up a protection ring and he stood by and let it happen.
“What are you going to do when you walk out of this shop with that bloodied shirt? People are going to know.”
Mitch turned to the shirt lying on the counter and then turned back and shrugged.
“I don’t live far. I’ll go home and pick up another one.”
“You’re lucky this time,” Cassandra said. She knew Mitch was protecting someone but didn’t want to pry because it was none of her business.
Mitch slowly got off the stool and then walked to the door leading into the shop. He turned to Cassandra.
“Thanks.”
“I still think you should get yourself checked out.”
Cassandra shrugged as she followed Mitch to the shop door. He moved slowly as he walked across the street and disappeared into the apartment building. It surprised her he lived that close to The Curiosity Shop.
*
Lucinda was at the stove heating a pot of homemade chicken soup. She knew Cassandra would be up soon. The shop had been closed for an hour now, and that was plenty of time for her to straighten up the shop and restock inventory. Lucinda walked over to the cupboard and took out a few bowls and set them on the counter. Spider climbed up on the counter. Lucinda quickly ran her fingerstips along his back to ease the attention he was begging for. The movement from behind caused her to turn.
“What was that commotion downstairs?” Lucinda asked.
Cassandra slowly walked over to the dishes on the counter, picked them up, and walked over to the table. “Mitch stopped by.”
“He’s been here an awful lot lately,” Lucinda said in a way as not to start another argument with Cassandra.
“He had a little accident,” Cassandra said while putting the dishes on the table.
Lucinda turned to Cassandra with concern on her face. “The cards said there would be trouble.”
Cassandra did a double take as she stopped what she was doing and just turned to stare at Lucinda.
“What did you say?” Cassandra asked.
Lucinda ignored her question. “I hope it wasn’t bad.”
“What wasn’t bad?” Cassandra said.
“Mitch’s accident,” Lucinda replied. “You said he had an accident.”
“Oh,” she stuttered. “It was bad enough,” Cassandra said, and just glanced around the room while avoiding looking at Lucinda. “But he wouldn’t go to the hospital for some reason.”
“Why?” Lucinda asked with a curious look. It puzzled her that if Mitch was in a bad way, why didn’t he seek medical attention.
Cassandra walked over to the silverware drawer. She stopped and then quickly said, “Someone did a number on him. I don’t think he wanted it known.”
“Men can be proud sometimes.”
“Pride had nothing to do with this,” Cassandra added.
“That doesn’t sound good.”
Lucinda picked up the pan of soup. She walked over to the table and ladled it into the bowls while Cassandra got the milk out of the fridge.
“He didn’t want to talk about it,” Cassandra said while pouring the milk.
“He’s a nice boy.”
Cassandra laughed as she looked warily at Lucinda. She was tired of people trying to fix her up with long-lost cousins and nice boys from the neighborhood. She was content with her life the way it was. In time the right person would come along, but until then it was frustrating dealing with friends and family members with good intentions.
“Don’t start in on that,” was all Cassandra mustered up to say. She didn’t want to hurt her aunt’s feelings. No matter how good her intent was.
Spider meowed as Lucinda shook an accusing finger in Cassandra’s direction. “The cards,” she said, as if it were all the explanation she needed.
Cassandra cleared her throat and stared at Lucinda while raising her eyebrows.
Lucinda stopped what she was about to say and walked over to the counter and set the pan on the hot plate. Lucinda then walked back to the table and sat down.
“We already established he has a girlfriend,” Cassandra said quickly.
Just then, Spider jumped up on the table, startling the two women.
Lucinda knew that just because there was a girlfriend, it didn’t mean Mitch couldn’t be interested in Cassandra. She was hoping that was so. She liked Mitch, and the cards indicated there was someone coming into Cassandra’s life. Plus the fact Mitch had stepped on Spider’s tail. All those signs led to one thing and one thing only. That he was the man the cards indicated would be coming.
Chapter 7
Rosy paced the living room with anger in her eyes. She got in late and didn’t have it in her to wait up for Mitch. Glancing at the clock, she saw he was now an hour past his shift ending. She wasn’t at all pleased with him lately but wasn’t about to move on. When she was ready to walk out on this relationship it would be on her
terms and she would not accept Mitch discarding her before then.
She knew Mitch was not happy with her lately because of Gino’s offer. After the way Gino acted tonight she could hardly blame Mitch, but she wouldn’t let him know that yet. There was a part of her that still liked the proud man he was, but then there was the part that wanted more in life. She had been conflicted lately on what she wanted in life. But the fact remained that she would not let Mitch walk out on this relationship until she was ready for him to go.
The noise of the key in the lock and the doorknob turning caused her to look at the door. She just stared as Mitch slowly walked into the apartment. His face was badly bruised, and as he shut the door behind him Mitch winced in pain. Rosy had no sympathy for Mitch at that moment because of the various scenarios that ran through her head. Even though she really didn’t care for him like she used to, it bothered her thinking that he possibly could have been with another woman.
“And just where have you been?” Rosy snapped, putting Mitch on the defensive.
“Work,” Mitch said, as he slowly walked over to the kitchen counter and took off his jacket.
“Likely story.”
Mitch just held up his hand, not wanting to argue with Rosy that morning. All he wanted to do was take a few painkillers and go to bed and sleep the day away.
“Not now,” was all he said.
Rosy suddenly noticed Mitch’s face and pointed angrily.
“You keeping secrets from me?” she snapped.
There was no concern or compassion in her voice; it was as if she totally ignored the way he looked.
Mitch just stared at Rosy, not believing how off the wall she was with her innuendo. He motioned for her to look at him.
“You want to know how this happened?” he asked, pointing to his face. “I had a run-in with your cousin Gino.”
Rosy just turned away and walked over to the counter in the kitchen. She quickly took a cigarette out of the pack and lit it. She inhaled it quickly and held the smoke for the longest time before exhaling and then she turned back to Mitch. Rosy just stared up at him. It angered her that Gino felt the need to make an example of Mitch, especially seeing he knew she and Mitch were an item. Rosy knew now that family meant nothing to Gino. If it did, he wouldn’t have beat up on Mitch the way they did.
“Oh yeah, blame it on my relatives,” she said, while pointing an accusing finger. Rosy didn’t want to admit to Mitch that her cousin was capable of having him beaten up. All she could do was shake her head and throw it back at Mitch. “Or maybe you had rough sex with that witch on the counter.”
All Mitch could do was look at her with a puzzled expression on his face. That was the way it was with their relationship. Rosy never took ownership of anything that went wrong and she always had a way of turning things around on him. He didn’t know why Rosy was bringing Cassandra into their argument. She had nothing to do with what happened to him, and he sensed Rosy already knew that. “What are you talking about?”
“I saw you.”
“Saw me? Saw me doing what?”
Mitch just stated at her in disbelief while Rosy started pacing the living room with angry eyes. It irritated him because he had always been faithful to Rosy, never once looking at another woman with desire. Granted, he did like Cassandra, and she had been kind enough to help him out when he needed her aid. But that was all there was. He never gave her the inkling that he was available and for some reason he felt the need to purposely mention that he had a girlfriend.
“That shop is on my beat.”
“You were in the shop for almost an hour last evening.”
“If you would have looked closer, you would have seen I was injured.”
“Yeah, right!”
“I managed to make it to The Curiosity Shop. Cassandra was kind enough to help me.
Rosy cocked her hip as she turned on Mitch. “Oh! We’re on a first-name basis now.”
Rosy walked over to Mitch, who was having a hard time standing up straight by then. She was about to hit him but then realized the pain he was in. She quickly put the cigarette in the ashtray. She walked back to him and put her arms around him. Mitch winced in pain.
“You’re hurt.”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.”
Rosy reached up and kissed him passionately. At first Mitch did not respond, but Rosy wouldn’t let that deter her as she slowly unbuttoned his shirt. Before she could get it off Mitch picked her up and carried her into the bedroom. His ribs hurt, but it had been a while since making love to Rosy and his desire far outweighed the pain he was in.
Mitch laid Rosy on the bed, wincing in pain while he quickly undressed. Slowly he crawled in bed and reached for Rosy while caressing her softly. It was then he had a vision of Cassandra walking through a cloudy mist. She had on a white gown with baby’s breath tangled in her hair. Mitch suddenly opened his eyes and realized it was not Cassandra in his arms, but Rosy. Rosy aggressively initiated the act of lovemaking, but it was not well received by her bed partner as the pain was almost unbearable, yet he said nothing.
Once she had her needs satisfied, she shoved Mitch away from her. He just lay there in bed staring at the ceiling. When he was sure she was asleep, he got up out of bed and walked over to the window. He stared out the window at the shop on the corner and took a deep breath. Ever since meeting Cassandra a troubling feeling overcame him. As much as he tried not to think about her, he had the ever-present need to seek her out.
*
Cassandra slept soundly; the curtains swayed in the cool night breeze. Spider sat on the windowsill watching her on the bed. He jumped off the sill and then slowly walked across the room, jumped on the foot of the bed, and just stared at the human laying there. Slowly he curled into a ball and snuggled at Cassandra’s feet while purring loudly.
It had been a long day for Cassandra, and Mitch stopping in with his injuries troubled her more than she let on to Lucinda. But there was nothing more she could do. She had been concerned by what it all meant. Living in a small community she was shielded from the violence of the big city. It was hard for her to imagine that someone had purposely inflicted those injuries on Mitch.
*
The mist made visibility almost impossible as Cassandra in a white gown struggled to find her way in the fog-filled woods. In the distance voices could be heard as she tried making her way in that direction. As she got closer to the voices, a bright light came into view. Cassandra wiped the strands of hair off her face.
The more she struggled through the thick growth of ferns and undergrowth, the further away the light seemed to get. Her breathing was labored as she pulled and yanked her way through the thick forest. Cassandra stopped. She glanced around and realized that although she had been pulling her way through the woods, she actually had not moved forward.
*
Cassandra suddenly sat up in bed, gasping for air. She glanced around the room and it was then she realized it was only a dream. It was a dream she’d had numerous times recently. Spider slowly got up from the foot of the bed and walked over to Cassandra and rubbed his body against her arm. Cassandra pulled the cat into her chest and petted him while glancing around the room nervously.
She didn’t know what it was about being there that caused her to repeatedly have the same dream. Normally she had a hard time remembering her dreams, but this one was quite vivid. It troubled her that she was always in the same forest following the light that was always out of her reach. As troubled as she was she didn’t want to really discuss it with Lucinda because her aunt always tried to read more into her dreams than she should.
Cassandra’s mother had warned her about saying too much to Lucinda because of her ever-present need to interpret things. It wasn’t until Cassandra was a teen that she started communicating with Lucinda. Living across the country had made visits almost impossible. Yet she knew more about her than Lucinda’s own sisters, because they never really took the time to get to know her. L
ucinda didn’t really force her beliefs on Cassandra, and she respected that. There was the sense that Lucinda was different. She never really liked to let things be. There was always an underlying meaning for things that couldn’t normally be explained.
Chapter 8
Cassandra busied herself sorting out the shipment that came earlier that morning. She had to enter everything into inventory and then put things on the shelves in their proper place. It was a time of the day when customer traffic was at its lowest, a time she enjoyed humming while she worked. Cassandra liked humming tunes her mother used to sing to her during her youth and ones that always made her happy. They were melodies that haunted her for years. She never knew their meaning because they were lost over the years, but they were all pleasing to the ears and made her happy whenever she sang the tunes.
The bell over the door announced someone entering the shop. Cassandra wiped her brow and then walked over to the counter to be of assistance if any was needed.
Gino strutted confidently over to the shelf in the corner of the shop. He opened the glass display case and proceeded to pick up the various crystals and roll them around in his hand and then put them back on the black velvet cloth used to display their purity.
Cassandra walked over to him when he picked up the fourth one in the display case. Her heart raced thinking about what Lucinda said about that display and she feared her aunt would know the crystals had been violated. She had a way of knowing all that happened in the shop whether she was there or not.
“It isn’t wise to handle them unless you intend to purchase it,” Cassandra said pleasantly so as not to offend. One should never offend the customer, no matter how inappropriately they acted while in the shop.
Gino turned to Cassandra with a puzzled look on his face. “You conning me into buying this piece of glass?”
Cassandra just walked over to him and took the crystal out of his hand and put it back in the display.
“No. I’m merely stating a fact. Crystals are very susceptible to absorbing a person’s energy.”
Gino mocked her while grinning. “So it’s worthless because I touched them?”
The Curiosity Shop: A comedy of errors about witchcraft Page 5