Jess turned his horse’s head around to the main road and Bleidd followed, riding close enough to make conversation comfortable.
He hoped that the rest of their trip was as much fun as the beginning had proven to be.
********************
Allie got the usual Monday busy work of filling internet orders out of the way quickly and then found herself with nothing to do as the morning dragged on. Usually she’d read or clean if it was slow at the store but today she found it was impossible to concentrate on either. She was nervous about the upcoming interview she’d scheduled with a potential employee, something that would be a first for her, and when she tried not to think about that she found herself obsessing about what Jess and Bleidd were up to. The temptation to read one or the other of their minds was embarrassingly strong, and she was ashamed of how hard she had to fight against the urge to eavesdrop on what they were thinking.
Honestly Allie, she thought to herself, leaning on the sales counter, they went to get you a birthday present why is that such a big deal? It’s not like they’re off overthrowing a foreign country or robbing a bank. Just because they went off together…into the Fairy Holding…for a couple days…damn it, what the Hel are they doing? What could they possibly be getting me that they needed to both go into the Holding for? She chewed her lip having circled right back to the issue that was worrying her.
The real problem, she knew, was that it had been a long time since anyone had gotten her anything more involved than a new movie or clothes for her birthday, and the odds had always been about 50/50 that she wouldn’t like a gift when she did get one. Usually she expected nothing more elaborate than a card and maybe a small item, often just a gift certificate. She was more than slightly terrified that her two lovers were going to a lot of time and effort to get her a gift that she wasn’t going to like, and she had no idea what she’d do if that proved to be the case. It was one thing to put on a polite face with friends or family and hide an unliked gift at the back of a drawer or shelf, but it was something else entirely when the people giving you the gift were psychically tied to you and could, under the right circumstances, read your emotions. And potentially worse she might like the gift but it could be something excessive for the circumstances. She still remembered too clearly the struggle that she’d gone through when Bleidd had insisted on giving her a car to replace hers when it had died.
She shifted her weight off of her bad ankle, fighting the urge to sit down. A moment later the bells over the door rang. Glancing up expecting her first customers of an abysmally slow day she saw instead that it was her potential new employee walking in and reflexively glanced at the clock on the wall behind the counter. She wasn’t sure if she was relieved or annoyed to see that the interview was still about twenty minutes away. Allie blinked slowly, then turned back to the woman, who was walking nervously up to the counter. She was dressed a lot nicer than she’d need to be to work at Between the Worlds, in dark dress slacks and a long sleeved red blouse, her long brown hair pulled up in a bun.
Well don’t I feel like a slob now? Allie thought smoothing the front of her shirt. She was painfully aware that standing there in jeans, a black t-shirt from one of the few rock concerts she’d ever been to which sported the names of the bands that had played the event, and with her dark blond hair in its usual loose pony tail she was the antithesis of professional looking. Gods she looks like she works at a bank or the courthouse or something. And I look like I should be heading to the mall in Berville to catch a movie with my friends. Crap. Shoving her insecurity aside Allie forced a smile and moved out around the counter, trying to remember the applicant’s name even as she extended her hand to shake in greeting. “Hi, ahhh, Kelly, er Ms. Bennett. I’m sorry I should have asked, what do you prefer I call you?”
Allie was thoroughly flustered now and the other woman’s nervousness wasn’t helping her any. As much as she was trying to shield it out when their hands touched she felt a wave of anxiety from Kelly that set her teeth on edge. Still the other woman managed a tight smile and shook her hand firmly. “Kelly is fine Ms. McCarthy. I’m sorry I’m a bit early I thought it would take longer to get here and find parking than it did. If you aren’t ready for me I can look around until 1 if you want.”
“No that’s fine, I’m free now and it’s quiet enough,” Allie said, withdrawing her hand and reinforcing her shields. “And please call me Allie.”
Kelly finally relaxed a bit and nodded. Allie gestured at the seating area which dominated the half of the store opposite the book shelves. “Why don’t we have a seat and we can talk?”
Kelly nodded again and walked back, choosing to sit in one of the old chairs against the back wall. Allie perched at the edge of the closest couch next to her, trying to remember everything that her potential new employee had filled out on the generic application Allie had printed out as well as the handful of questions she’d wanted to ask. “So you put on your application that you have about ten years of different retail experience, including a couple years in a book store in New York?”
“Yes,” Kelly said, crossing her legs at the ankle and looking very businesslike. “I was an assistant manager at Books And More for just under two and a half years, and I’ve worked several other retail outlets as well, both as an associate and in management.”
“Oh,” Allie said, suddenly unsure. She was only looking for part time help, someone who could work a couple days a week and hopefully cover next summer for several weeks when the baby was born. It sounded like Kelly had a lot more experience than the position needed, and Allie assumed expected a lot more money than she could afford to pay. Still she pushed on. “Well, ummm, we’re a specialty store focusing on esoterica and the occult. Are you comfortable with that? Do you have any knowledge of alternate religions or magic?”
Kelly sat up straighter, “I’m very comfortable with it, yes. And I have a good working knowledge of several different witchcraft traditions as well as some basic knowledge of ceremonial magic. I’m a second degree in the Dark Crescent tradition through Maddox’s line and I was helping to run an eclectic American trad coven for a few years out of New York as well. And what I don’t know I’m willing to learn about or at least keep an open mind towards.”
Allie blinked several times, at a loss as to what to say to this. Well crap she’s better qualified to work here than I am she thought to herself. Maddox is one of the most well-known traditional witches on the east coast – half my customers will be thrilled to know someone here has any connection to her. She’ll probably bring in new business for me once word gets out. And here I am with nothing but my dubious-slash-infamous family tradition… with some effort she snapped herself away from that line of thought and asked the next question on her list, already feeling like this woman was out of her league. “Okay, well that’s ahhh good to know. Ummm. We also of course have a wide customer base that aren’t all human, I assume that won’t bother you?”
“Definitely not,” Kelly said, nodding emphatically. She leaned forward slightly, obviously waiting for the next question but Allie had no idea what to say now.
After an awkward silence she decided she may as well just be totally honest. “Kelly, it seems like you would be the perfect person to work here, but I have to tell you, I’m just looking for someone part time, like really part time, maybe 16 or 24 hours a week to start, two or three days at the most and I can’t pay very much. Or offer benefits.”
Kelly’s eyes had widened as Allie spoke, her emotions swinging from hope to fear. “I know, I understood when I applied what the job entailed. I wouldn’t have put the application in if I wasn’t willing to take the job as is.”
“Ahh, okay, but I mean, not trying to put myself down here but you realize you can do better right?” Allie said then wanted to smack herself. I can’t believe I just said that she thought I have no idea why she wants this job. Maybe she has a good reason to just want part time work, or something easy like this.
Kelly actua
lly smiled at that, the most natural expression Allie had seen yet on her face. “I think this is a pretty great place to work actually, and also to be totally honest I’ve been having a hard time finding a job since I moved here.”
“You have a place to stay though right? I know sometimes people come here and end up sleeping in their cars,” Allie said thinking of her roommate Shawn, an actor in the local theater who had indeed been living in his car before moving into one of the rooms rented out of Allie’s house. “And with winter coming that’s really not an option around here.”
“You are so sweet to think of that first and not worry about why I can’t find a job,” Kelly said her smile softening, “And don’t worry about it, I’m in a good place for the most part. I live with my fiancé and he has a good job, we’re not in a position where I need to work, and I am very grateful for that. But I want to be doing something, you know? I don’t have the personality to be a good housewife. I like to work. But finding a job in Ashville has turned out to be a lot more challenging than I expected. When I came in here to shop and saw your sign about looking for help, it was like a sign from the Goddess, really.”
“Oh, well good,” Allie said, relieved. She didn’t know how to explain to Kelly that her empathy made her fairly confident in her ability to judge people and that while she knew that Kelly was nervous about something, and had been since she’d come in, she didn’t sense anything in the other woman that made her distrust her. “Okay. That actually covered all my questions then. If you are willing to accept minimum wage – I’m sorry but that’s all I can afford to pay – then the job’s yours.”
“Really?” Kelly said, genuinely surprised.
“Really,” Allie said, suddenly terrified that she’d just hired her first employee. “I’ll have to have you come in for your first few shifts with me to get a feel for how things work here. And I’ll have to make you a key, and show you how to lower the wards on the building and raise them again at close….but if you want to work at Between the Worlds then I’d love to have you here.”
“Yes!” Kelly said, radiating a genuine happiness that made Allie happy. “I would love that. And I can be very flexible for my schedule, just tell me when you need me.”
“Okay,” Allie took a deep breath. “Oh, one more thing, part of why I’m hiring help now is that I’m, uh, pregnant and due next summer. I’ll need you to work when I’m out when the baby’s born. We can work the details out later obviously.”
“Congratulations,” Kelly said, smiling warmly.
“Thanks,” Allie said. “Oh, also I need copies of your ID and residency permit so I can get your tax stuff done and get you listed with the town as legally employed.”
“Right,” Kelly said, all the happiness draining out of her and her previous nerves returning full force. She reached slowly into her purse. “about that…”
“You are here legally aren’t you?” Allie said, caught off guard by the sudden change.
“What? Oh, yes, definitely,” Kelly said, licking her lips. Still she pulled the paperwork out as if she were handing over her own death certificate. The tension made Allie’s stomach twist. “I just need to explain about my name.”
“Your name?” Allie said, puzzled. She took the papers and opened them looking at the standard documents that all residents and businesses were required to have on hand to prove eligibility to work legally in the Bordertown. It was one of the many annoying necessities of living stuck between the two worlds. It took Allie several seconds to find the discrepancy. She looked back up at Kelly, puzzled. “Kevin?”
“Yeah, that’s ahh still my legal name,” the other woman said meeting Allie’s eyes with a challenge.
“At the risk of sounding stupid,” Allie said slowly, “I don’t understand?”
Now it was Kelly’s turn to blink slowly. She sat back in her chair her face as puzzled as Allie’s. “You’ve never met anyone who was transgender before?”
Allie’s head went to one side, unintentional elven body language, then she processed what Kelly had said. “Oh! I’m sorry. No. I mean I do know what that means, but no I haven’t ever met anyone who was.”
She looked back at the paperwork, frowning as she tried to grasp what this actually meant. “So your name is Kelly but on your paperwork I have to write down your old name, because it’s not changed legally? Is that right?”
Kelly looked at her, her face utterly blank, and Allie shifted nervously, “What? Am I wrong? Do I use your current name? Help me out here because I’ve never had an employee before and I don’t know the right way to do this on the forms-“
“You’re still going to hire me?” Kelly said, her voice tight.
“Of course,” Allie said. “Why wouldn’t I?”
“Well, this is the point when everyone else I interviewed and got this far with found some supposedly legal reason to change their minds,” Kelly said.
“Why?” Allie asked, genuinely confused. Is this a paperwork thing? She wondered to herself because I can’t see how what name she uses matters on her residency or employment papers…
Kelly looked at her for a long time, obviously thinking. “I suppose because people are judgmental and prejudiced and they don’t like for other people not to be what they assumed they were or wanted them to be.”
“That I understand,” Allie said, her own voice grimmer than she intended. When Kelly frowned she went on. “I’m half elven. I don’t…I guess I…people assume I’m fully human most of the time. It doesn’t always go over well when they find out I’m not. So I understand about that aspect of it, I think.”
Oh,” Kelly said letting her breath out in a long sigh. “I didn’t realize.” Then she laughed slightly, grasping the irony. “So it doesn’t matter to you?”
Allie shrugged. “You said your name is Kelly, so Kelly is what I’ll call you. You put down ‘miss’ on the application, you checked the little box that said female, and anything else is none of my business as far as I’m concerned. If you still want the job.”
“Oh,” Kelly said again. “That’s – yes. I want the job. Thank you.”
Allie wasn’t sure what the thank you was for so she just nodded. Then sighing she added, “I hate to say this, but one thing, ummm, and if you aren’t comfortable with this I’ll understand but you will be dealing with elves if only the two I’m, er, in a relationship with. Which reminds me I hope polyamory doesn’t bother you? Anyway, ah, as weird as this seems to most humans since elves are so, ah, loose about most things, they are really, really gender specific, actually. So this is one thing they don’t understand or have any concept of at all.”
“What does that mean?” Kelly said, tensing again.
“That the idea of someone changing gender would be unthinkable in their society, strangely enough,” Allie said wincing, “Mostly because it’s so sharply defined by gender. So if you are female Kelly, then as far as elves are concerned you are female, okay?”
“Oh,” Kelly said, relaxing slightly, “I think I see. Okay. I always thought elves had a lot of sexual freedom, I didn’t realize they’d be so restricted that way. That sucks for them, doesn’t it?”
“No society is perfect and they have some ways they are better than humans and some they are worse, I guess,” Allie said shrugging. “Now let’s go get this paperwork copied and figure out when you can come in to train.”
3 - October 29th
“Best get moving or it shall be lunch before we get to the market square,” Jess said, playfully nudging Bleidd in the ribs. The dark haired elf groaned slightly and tried to pull the blankets over his head, only to have Jess grab them and wrestle them away.
“Must you be so enthusiastic this early?” he grumbled, squinting at the light coming in through the inn’s window. Jess, predictably, was already dressed in his uniform and obviously ready to take on the day. Looking at the angle of the light slanting through the window though Bleidd judged that it was still fairly early for all of Jess’s teasing, and he couldn’
t imagine any reason to hurry. They had plenty of time and it was, after all, a simple enough errand.
Jess’s grin widened. “Yes. I must. We have only today to find the gift you want for Allie if we want to be certain to return in time for her birthday. And now that we are here in Duncennaigect I am quite eager to see this little quest accomplished.”
“Feh, its too early to be talking like some damn knight in a ballad,” Bleidd shot back, stretching and wincing slightly at the way his muscles complained. They had spent all of the day before riding to get to the trade city before nightfall and while he certainly remembered how to ride a horse, and arguably with the same skill, it had been a long time since he’d spent so many hours in a saddle. His body was reminding him of that fact today and he was not happy about it, especially knowing that there were likely hours of walking ahead of him today, followed by another full day of riding to get home again tomorrow before he could look forward to the comfort of his car and his own bed.
“I’m starting to doubt you have any knowledge of the concept of early,” Jess said, giving up on motivating his companion and flopping down next to him in the bed instead, “if you think this hour fits the description. Personally I’d like to get downstairs and eat while the food is still hot and plentiful, but if you are going to insist on lazing in bed all morning, we may as well make our time here interesting.”
He reached out and ran a hand along Bleidd’s bare side, earning a groan that was as much pain from sore muscles as pleasure. “You are incorrigible. Is there no chance you’ll stop harassing me and let me sleep a bit more before we have to start searching the market?”
“The odds are slim,” Jess said, still cheerful. “Coming here was your idea after all, and I doubt you want me to wander off on my own and try to find Allie’s gift without you.”
Fairy Gifts: A Between the Worlds Anthology Page 3