It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Chick Lit

by S. E. Babin

  I did not miss the hopeful look Chris cast in my direction. I smiled and thanked the doctor and when he left, I faced my ex. “You should call Christine and have her come over,” I said, my lip curling in distaste at the woman who’d been the source of my boyfriend’s infatuation.

  His face darkened. “She left me.”

  I was not surprised. “Then call your mother.”

  “She and dad are on a hiking tour of Costa Rica.”

  Of course they were. I stared at him, my hands on my hips. “Then you are on your own.”

  That damned beach bum grin again. The one that used to make me weak.

  “You can’t help me?” he asked hopefully.

  “No,” I said, praying he wouldn’t keep asking because I was so very weak and couldn’t help my nurturing nature.

  Unfortunately, Chris knew this about me. “I’m going to be in a wheelchair.”

  “So?”

  One eyebrow went up. “I don’t have a place to crash right now.”

  “Call your brother.”

  He shrugged one shoulder, a pitiful sight considering his leg was in traction. “His girlfriend just moved in and they’re in the honeymoon phase.”

  “You cheated on me,” I accused. “Why should I help you?”

  His face softened and sadness darkened the clear blue of his eyes. “Worst mistake I ever made. But help me through this and I’ll make it up to you.”

  I sighed. “You are a horrible person.”

  Chris knew he had me. “This is true. Help me to be better, Jessie.”

  “Don’t call me that.”

  “Six weeks isn’t so long,” he said in a wheedling tone.

  I glared at him. “Six weeks is forever.” And it was. Chris would be with me over Christmas, New Years and almost into February. This was a terrible idea.

  A nurse interrupted then. “Excuse me,” she said to me. “Are you his wife?”

  I snorted in amusement. “Never.”

  The nurse blinked in surprise. “Oh, ermm.”

  Chris rolled his eyes. “We’re engaged.”

  “Nope,” I said.

  The nurse looked back and forth between us and frowned. “Because of the area of the break, the doctor has recommended you stay at least a day for observation.”

  “Thank God,” I muttered. It would give me some time to figure out how to wiggle my way out of this.

  Neither the nurse nor Chris was amused by my dark mutterings. “Thank you,” he said, sending me an angry glare.

  I smiled and bowed slightly. “On that note, I’ll leave you to the tender ministrations of Nurse Ratchett.”

  The nurse opened her mouth in surprise and I left, super annoyed at the world, but especially at the strange turn my life had just taken.

  Once I’d made it to the hospital lobby, I groaned in annoyance. My car was towed and I had no way to get home. I pulled my cell out of my purse and called a taxi, but before I hung up, a commotion at the entrance doors caught my attention. An ambulance screamed to a stop in the front and seconds later, a little girl was being wheeled in on a stretcher, covered in soot and dirt.

  A little girl in a pink dress and patent white leather shoes.

  Shock rooted me to the floor as they wheeled right past me. Jensen ran in after them and skidded to a halt in front of me, his panicked expression replaced for a second by abject confusion.

  “Jess?”

  I gave him a wobbly smile. “Is she okay?”

  Instead of answering, he grabbed me by the arm and dragged me after the EMT’s.

  4

  I sat beside Jensen, dirty and exhausted.

  “What happened?” I asked once the commotion died down. His little girl was supposed to be okay, but she would need several days of rest and would have to stay overnight in the hospital.

  He shook his head in disbelief. “The toaster. The damned toaster.”

  I leaned my head back against the wall. “My cheating ex-boyfriend slammed into my car, destroying it and breaking his leg in the process.” I gave him an exhausted smile, cognizant of how filthy I was and not caring. Not that he was in a much better state. He was streaked with black marks from head to toe. “And if that wasn’t bad enough, he has six weeks of recovery and I’m the only one available to play nurse.”

  Jensen’s chest rumbled with a deep laugh. “She had two pieces of bread. I was standing right there watching her. As soon as we turned around to get a drink, flames shot up the damned wall. There was nothing I could do. It was almost like the fire had a life of its own.”

  My thoughts drifted to the box sitting innocently in my bag. I was getting a sneaking suspicion, as far-fetched as it was, about exactly who that box belonged to.

  “What are the odds?” I murmured.

  Jensen ran a hand through his hair. “We won’t have a place to live until I find something new. The house was destroyed.” He laughed in disbelief. “A toaster. I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

  It was my turn to laugh because I knew exactly what I was about to say. But I hesitated. Did I want Jensen staying in the apartment above the bookstore? Not exactly. Not even a little bit. If it were just him, I’d probably keep my mouth shut, but he had a little girl.

  “What’s her name?” I murmured.

  “Marie.” A small smile played on his mouth.

  “After your mother.” His mother was a petite little Italian thing, the exact opposite of his daughter. Apparently the blond looks came after her mom.

  “That’s a pretty name.”

  “Mmm,” he agreed. “Her mother lives in California. It’s hard to send her there for visits.”

  I turned to stare at his handsome profile. “You have full custody of her?”

  “You seem surprised.”

  I shrugged. “Just uncommon, I guess.”

  “She belongs with me.” There was steel in his voice. Enough to warn me to back off.

  I stared at the little sleeping beauty, hooked up the oxygen mask. Her mother must be gorgeous.

  “I have an apartment you can stay in,” I offered, wanting to cringe.

  Jensen turned his surprised gaze to me. “No,” he said immediately.

  “It’s empty. You’ll have to live in the bookstore. It’s upstairs.”

  “I can’t ask you to do that.”

  “You didn’t ask me,” I said.

  “Jess -” he started and paused.

  I stood up and dug in my purse. “Look, whatever happened in the past happened. I’m offering this to you because it’s close to Christmas, and no one deserves to be homeless or stressed out during the holidays.” I handed him the keys to the store and the apartment, wondering if I was making a horrible mistake. “It’s unfurnished, but you’re welcome to put whatever you’d like in there. As long as you take it with you whenever you go.”

  “Jess, this is...incredibly generous. And I don’t deserve it.”

  I slung the strap of my purse over my shoulder. “Yes, it is.” I gave him a hard stare. “And no, you don’t.”

  He winced.

  I left him sitting in the hospital holding his daughter’s hand.

  * * *

  Thankfully, the cab ride was uneventful. I don’t think my heart could have taken any more craziness or near-death experiences. I walked up to my apartment, unlocked the door, tossed my belongings on the table and collapsed onto the couch.

  What a freaking day. I was exhausted both physically and mentally and just starting to feel sore from the accident now that my adrenaline was wearing down. I was going to be hurting tomorrow.

  I stilled as I realized I was home. Alone. And I had time to look up that box. I sprung up from the couch, winced, and caught a whiff of myself as I walked to get my bag. I gagged and made a detour for the bedroom to shower first before I researched.

  An hour later, I had pajamas on and a massive glass of wine, and I was curled on the couch with the box and my laptop. I stared at it, wondering if it was the source of all my new troubles
.

  “Here goes nothing,” I murmured.

  The first thing I did was snap a picture of the box and reverse image search through Google. Not much came up. Some similar boxes, but nothing with the rubies and sapphires scattered through it. And nothing about bad luck.

  My next search was the one I was nervous about. If I didn’t search for it and never found the answers, it couldn’t be true, right?

  I sighed and typed my search into the box.

  Pandora’s Box.

  Thousands of hits came up including the lore on the box, but the first few pages yielded no real fruit. It wasn’t until I was finished with my wine and had poured a second glass that I hit paydirt.

  What appeared to be a Greek Mythology fanfiction site yielded a crudely drawn portrait of Pandora’s Box. I sucked in a breath and picked it up to hold it up to the computer.

  It was the same box.

  “I’ll be damned,” I whispered. I set the box down quickly and scooted away from it. This thing was legendary for releasing terrible things into the world.

  I hadn’t known any better when I’d opened it. So what had I unleashed?

  I pulled my reading glasses out from my laptop bag and slid them on so I could better read the fanfiction and who it originated from.

  ClothoFate’sMuse read the screen name. Weren’t the Fates and the Muses the same? I frowned. Maybe. I wasn’t sure. Clever girl to confuse me like that. I chuckled and read some of the work she’d written.

  Two hours later, I sat back in my seat amused. Sounded like Aphrodite got into a lot of shenanigans. I clicked Message Author and typed up a cryptic note to her asking about the box.

  Seconds later there was a knock on my door. I shut my laptop slowly and stared suspiciously at it.

  No way.

  I looked through the peephole and saw two women arguing. One was short, completely gorgeous and blond, and the other was also short with long chestnut colored hair and eyes that appeared to spark silver when the light reflected a certain way.

  I didn’t open the door.

  “Can I help you?” I said instead, my face still pressed against the closed door.

  “Uh, hi!” the blond said in a cheery, yet nervous voice. “We’re from the fanfiction website!” I didn’t miss the way her mouth twisted when she said the word fanfiction.

  I also didn’t miss her whispering something heated to the woman standing next to her.

  “Impossible,” I said. “I sent that message less than two minutes ago.”

  “Uhhh, yes,” said the blond. “We were at the coffee shop next door and we were so...excited we had to stop by!”

  “I didn’t give you my address.”

  A muttered curse came through the door and the darker haired one rolled her eyes. “I told you she wasn’t stupid.”

  The blond sighed. “Can we please just come in?”

  “Two strangers on the internet?” I asked in disbelief. “Hardly.”

  The darker haired woman spoke then. “I will ask once more. Politely. Let us in.”

  “You can’t scare mortals like that,” the blond whispered. “It’s against the rules.”

  “I don’t care about the rules,” the other woman said.

  I took a wary step back from the door. “I’m not letting you in.”

  “Step back.”

  The blond stepped in front of the dark haired woman. “Clotho!”

  I blinked in surprise.

  My door shattered in hundreds of pieces and wood fragments stopped short inches from my face before I had the opportunity to throw my arms up. The two women stepped inside. The blond woman was frowning and apologizing profusely. The darker haired one rolled her eyes.

  “I warned you.”

  Seconds later the door was intact and attached back to its frame and the two women were asking me for coffee.

  I stood there, staring at them open-mouthed.

  “Close your mouth, dear. There are stranger things than us out there.”

  “Clotho,” the pretty woman admonished. “You are going to get us killed.”

  Clotho grinned. “I’m a Fate and have few rules.”

  The blond rolled her eyes. “I’m Aphrodite and apparently all the rules pertain to me.”

  I turned abruptly and went to the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. I tried to still my trembling hands, but I couldn’t.

  A few minutes later, I came back to the living room only to see the two strangers had made themselves comfortable. Clotho was holding the box and studying it, an angry expression on her face.

  I set the tray of coffee down, and they went after it like rabid dogs. I picked my cup up and took a sip, staring at the women.

  “I apologize,” said the blond. “My name is Abby. We didn’t mean to scare you, nor are we here to hurt you. We just came for the box.”

  Clotho stared at Abby. “She’s already opened it.”

  Abby turned wide eyes to me. “You opened the box?”

  I nodded.

  “Tell me everything,” Clotho demanded. “And start at the beginning.”

  And so, I told the two women how the box had arrived and all the events that had happened afterward.

  Clotho polished off her coffee and set her mug on the table. “You have to see it through. Pandora’s Box is not a toy, nor are the events something to trifle with.” She pinned me with her gaze. “What did you wish for?”

  I swallowed hard, hesitant at laying my soul bare in front of two very strange people I didn’t know. I still wasn’t sure how they’d pulled off the door trick, but I knew my eyes hadn’t deceived me.

  Abby reached over and patted my knee. “You wished for love?” she asked, although she seemed to already know the answer.

  The scarier one stared. “Not quite. She wished for…” she paused. “A second chance?”

  I nodded.

  “Oh boy,” Clotho said.

  “But I’m not sure I want it anymore,” I said quickly, wondering if this woman could stop the unfortunate events from happening.

  But it was Abby who dashed my dreams. “Isn’t that always the case? Things start getting hard, and we back away like our wish was the plague. Sorry, darling, this is one wish you’re going to have to see through. Even if it doesn’t work out. You have to get through the issues. Tell me exactly how you worded your wish.”

  So I did and when I was finished she stared at me in sympathy before whistling low. “Boy, you sure do know how to wish, don’t you?”

  Clotho simply stated, “This is your chance to make it right and stop the ill wind blowing.”

  Ill wind. “That sounds ominous.”

  “Such is the nature of objects like this box,” she replied. “We think of it as ominous, but it’s a tool to harness our wishes. Things must fall if others are to stand upright.”

  “Does this mean Jensen will love me?” I wondered aloud. “Because that isn’t what I intended. I don’t want to force anyone into anything.”

  Abby shook her head. “You worded your wish well enough to escape that. Right now I think you should concentrate on clearing the air between you and see if that is enough.”

  Clotho waved the box at me. “But I’ll be taking this home with me.”

  “Please do,” I said.

  Abby wrote down her phone number. “Call if you have any issues,” she told me, then snorted. “Or any issues weirder than the ones you have going on.”

  I stared at her warily. “So all I have to do is try to make things right between us?” I asked. This seemed awfully simple.

  Abby smiled. “It sounds simple enough, right?” She patted me on the arm. “But trust me when I say matters of the heart are never easy.”

  I watched as they walked toward the door. “Who are you two?”

  Clotho bowed, her hair falling over her face and sweeping down toward the floor. “I am one of the Fates.” When she stood back up her eyes flashed silver. “I am Clotho, spinner of the thread of lives.”

  My heart stutt
ered and stopped for a moment as I gaped at her.

  Abby was the next to bow. “And I am Aphrodite, Queen of the Seas. Sort of. And Goddess of Love.”

  Before I could say anything, they disappeared in the blink of an eye.

  “What the hell just happened?” I murmured to myself.

  I needed another glass of wine.

  5

  The next morning, I entered the bookstore only to find Jensen and Marie already there. I blinked in surprise and remembered what I had told him. I was pleasantly surprised to note he’d already made an enormous pot of coffee and had placed chilled half and half in a bowl of ice next to it.

  “God bless you,” I said.

  Jensen winked at me from the staircase. “My pleasure.” He pointed behind him. “This is a beautiful place. Why aren’t you living here?”

  “Life,” I said with zero elaboration on why I hadn’t moved in. “It was my grandfather’s place.”

  “You can tell he loved it,” he said. “I’ll be sure to take care of it.”

  I smiled. “Thanks, Jensen.”

  “No, Jess. Thank you.” He turned around and plodded back up the stairs as I tried not to watch the sway of his butt.

  This was going to be a difficult few weeks.

  * * *

  The day passed by with little interruption besides paying customers. Jensen and Marie stayed upstairs the majority of the day only to come down when Katie was starting to close. She blinked in surprise and turned questioning eyes to me.

  “I’ll explain later,” I said in a low voice.

  “Please do.”

  Both were dressed for the cooler weather in scarves, hats, and jackets. He gave Katie a meaningful and long look before she got the message and made herself scarce.

  “I’m taking Marie out for ice cream,” he said. “And me for coffee.”

  Marie grinned, a cute little dimple appearing on the side of her face. “Daddy says it’s too cold for ice cream.”

  I bent down and smiled at her. “It’s never too cold for ice cream.”