Caught in the Frame
Bait and Snitch
***
Except from Bells on Her Toes
One year ago
And they lived happily ever after.
Okay, so maybe what the author actually said was that the couple happily climbed into bed together, but Gustavia Roman knew the happily ever after was implied. Or was it inferred? She sometimes got those two words mixed up.
Picking up her cup of herbal tea, she inhaled its minty, green scent then savored a mouthful before turning off her E-reader.
It’s funny, she thought, how the bad guys from fairy tales have been replaced by the mundane trials of life in contemporary stories. Death, finances and ego have all ousted the evil queen. At least the prince was still handsome and sometimes even charming.
Hopefully her prince would come along soon. Honestly, he didn’t have to be a prince; she could be just as happy with a frog as long as he had certain attributes. He had to be fun, stable, articulate, good with kids and, hey, there was nothing wrong with wishing for a guy with a great body. Oh, and he had to be willing to dance. Gustavia loved to dance. He didn’t even have to be good at it, just so long as he got out there and moved around a little.
In order to put her desire out into the universe, Gustavia selected a nice white pillar candle and selecting the fingernail cleaning utensil from her manicure kit, carved her frog prince’s description into it. Then, she lit the candle to send her wish wafting into the ether. Trusting that she had done her part to set the gears in motion she continued on with her morning routine.
Pulling on a pair of yoga pants and a loose, cotton tee that said, Cereal Killer across the front, she stepped into the peaceful oasis of her backyard garden. Sunflowers lined the fenced in border of her property, towering over plantings of vibrantly colored lilies, larkspur and Iris. Two mature trees, an oak and a maple, cast dappled pools of shade for those plants that like to keep their feet cool in the summer.
In addition to floral plantings, she’d added beds of vegetables and herbs, enough to fill her table with good things to eat.
Off to the left stood a little potting shed surrounded by peonies, a few late bloomers still blossoming, their blood red heads bowed down by their own weight scenting the air. Created out of reclaimed materials, she and her best friend Julie had built the shed, roofing it with a sheet of corrugated metal that played heavenly music when it rained. Plastic barrels, also reclaimed and faux painted to look like weathered wood held rainwater to be used for dry weather irrigation.
This year’s project would be an outdoor, solar rainwater shower. She’d already picked up a long, coiled length of black plastic tubing and attached it to the roof of the potting shed. One end she fitted with a large funnel mounted on a stand she’d found at the Salvation Army that had only needed a slight modification to work for her intended purpose. On the other end of the tubing, she used several plumbing adapters to fit it out with a shower head. The coiled tubing, filled by the funnel when it rained, heated by the sun, held enough water for a decent shower and was plenty warm. The only thing left to finish the project was to add an enclosure and some sort of drainage system that would divert the water into one of the flower beds. No use in wasting it.
She liked the satisfaction of creating, building something from nothing and by using recycled materials; she did her part to reduce waste. It was a complete win, in her opinion.
After making the rounds with her clippers and throwing the dead heads into the compost pile, Gustavia chose a spot near a hedge of fragrant roses and began her workout with a sun salutation. Then, she ramped it up by running through a series of Krav Maga moves that left her feeling toned and full of energy. The combination of peaceful stretches and aggressive kicks, punches and spins, she felt, balanced her out, prepared her for whatever the day might bring. As always, she hoped for peace but prepared for war.
Rings On Her Fingers (The Psychic Seasons Series Book 1) Page 19