the nerve to laugh.
“Well, then, thanks so much,” she snorted. “I’ll run right out and look in the jelly car net.”
Okay. So that sounded wrong. “Wait a moment,” I growled and turned to dead Sarah. I focused on her mouth as she projected. It all came together and I turned. “So, she said jelly cabinet, so sue me. I just stopped the angel of death and took a bath in applesauce.”
Now my brand new shiny neighbor looked damn near terrified. I realized what I had just said sounded mildly unsettling when taken out of context. “Look it’s in a teapot in the jelly cabinet. Your necklace. Now Sarah can rest because you are not upset anymore and I can rest because Sarah can rest.
Good night,” I said and turned on my heels, stomping back to my own wreck of a house.
I dug and dug and finally found a box of pasta and a jar of sauce. “There’s wine in that box,” I said, pointing. “I’m starved how about you?”
He patted his belly and said, “Yep, but I keep forgetting what that means.”
“It means food! You need food, food, food and I’m going to make it.” I dumped a can of mushrooms in the sauce and wished for ground beef, but beggars can’t be choosers. I tried to keep my voice light as he uncorked and poured me some wine. “So now what? You go back up there?”
Alex stopped, pinning me with a gaze that made me feel like a bug under a pin.
“It’s up to me. Free will and all.”
“Even for you?” I asked, shocked.
“Even for me. For all of us, free will.”
“Ah, so now that your work here is done, you get to go back and what? Rest, choose again?”
He stared, sipping his wine and wincing at the sharp taste. “Wow.”
“Yeah, it takes some getting used to,” I laughed.
“I can do what I like. I can go back and study, I can go back and choose a new person to aide. I can…”
“You can?” Big giant butterflies seemed to have taken up residence in my stomach.
I turned my back on him so he couldn’t see my fear.
“I can stay if I want. For as long as I want.”
“Ah,” I said on a shaky breath. “Well, it seems your work here is done. You’ve helped me, we rescued someone from an untimely death and helped a few ghosts.
Good stuff. I guess you’ll be on your way soon.”
I stirred and stirred and stirred and heard him leave the room. When I heard the front door click behind him, I started to cry. Damn, damn, damn! Wasn’t it too soon for this shit? Did it seem fair that I had just moved to a new place after a break up, lost the house I worked so hard on, lost the guy I thought was the one to Ruby—also known as Satan herself—met an angel. Then had to deal with movers and ghosts and then a murderer! Got covered in applesauce had the door slammed in my face and now a guy I seemed to have fallen for hook, line and sinker on first sight had just…left. Call me crazy, but that didn’t seem fair.
I drank my wine, but did not eat my stupid-ass spaghetti. Though the buzzing energy of the cemetery was still there, it was a low level vibe that didn’t make me feel nearly as crazed as when I’d shown up. Still, there was no way I could live there if they knew about me, and by now they did.
I curled up in my bedframeless bed in the scrubs from the hospice. It’s not like I had to impress anyone. This was the point where I wished I’d broken down and bought a cat or a dog—hell a guinea pig.
Well, maybe not a guinea pigs since I could crush a guinea pig in my sleep. But a cat or a dog, yeah.
I dozed instantly. Being exhausted and overworked and freshly broken hearted—again—will do that to a girl.
* * * * *
It seems I have slept alone long enough now that my very first impulse when feeling the weight of another person settle in my bed is to punch. So I punched. Hard.
“Ow!” Alex yelled, but it was muffled. In the dim light from the hall I could see him clutching his beautiful face.
“Oh shit! Oh sorry!” I sat up, feeling
“Well, then, thanks so much,” she snorted. “I’ll run right out and look in the jelly car net.”
Okay. So that sounded wrong. “Wait a moment,” I growled and turned to dead Sarah. I focused on her mouth as she projected. It all came together and I turned. “So, she said jelly cabinet, so sue me. I just stopped the angel of death and took a bath in applesauce.”
Now my brand new shiny neighbor looked damn near terrified. I realized what I had just said sounded mildly unsettling when taken out of context. “Look it’s in a teapot in the jelly cabinet. Your necklace. Now Sarah can rest because you are not upset anymore and I can rest because Sarah can rest.
Good night,” I said and turned on my heels, stomping back to my own wreck of a house.
I dug and dug and finally found a box of pasta and a jar of sauce. “There’s wine in that box,” I said, pointing. “I’m starved how about you?”
He patted his belly and said, “Yep, but I keep forgetting what that means.”
“It means food! You need food, food, food and I’m going to make it.” I dumped a can of mushrooms in the sauce and wished for ground beef, but beggars can’t be choosers. I tried to keep my voice light as he uncorked and poured me some wine. “So now what? You go back up there?”
Alex stopped, pinning me with a gaze that made me feel like a bug under a pin.
“It’s up to me. Free will and all.”
“Even for you?” I asked, shocked.
“Even for me. For all of us, free will.”
“Ah, so now that your work here is done, you get to go back and what? Rest, choose again?”
He stared, sipping his wine and wincing at the sharp taste. “Wow.”
“Yeah, it takes some getting used to,” I laughed.
“I can do what I like. I can go back and study, I can go back and choose a new person to aide. I can…”
“You can?” Big giant butterflies seemed to have taken up residence in my stomach.
I turned my back on him so he couldn’t see my fear.
“I can stay if I want. For as long as I want.”
“Ah,” I said on a shaky breath. “Well, it seems your work here is done. You’ve helped me, we rescued someone from an untimely death and helped a few ghosts.
Good stuff. I guess you’ll be on your way soon.”
I stirred and stirred and stirred and heard him leave the room. When I heard the front door click behind him, I started to cry. Damn, damn, damn! Wasn’t it too soon for this shit? Did it seem fair that I had just moved to a new place after a break up, lost the house I worked so hard on, lost the guy I thought was the one to Ruby—also known as Satan herself—met an angel. Then had to deal with movers and ghosts and then a murderer! Got covered in applesauce had the door slammed in my face and now a guy I seemed to have fallen for hook, line and sinker on first sight had just…left. Call me crazy, but that didn’t seem fair.
I drank my wine, but did not eat my stupid-ass spaghetti. Though the buzzing energy of the cemetery was still there, it was a low level vibe that didn’t make me feel nearly as crazed as when I’d shown up. Still, there was no way I could live there if they knew about me, and by now they did.
I curled up in my bedframeless bed in the scrubs from the hospice. It’s not like I had to impress anyone. This was the point where I wished I’d broken down and bought a cat or a dog—hell a guinea pig.
Well, maybe not a guinea pigs since I could crush a guinea pig in my sleep. But a cat or a dog, yeah.
I dozed instantly. Being exhausted and overworked and freshly broken hearted—again—will do that to a girl.
* * * * *
It seems I have slept alone long enough now that my very first impulse when feeling the weight of another person settle in my bed is to punch. So I punched. Hard.
“Ow!” Alex yelled, but it was muffled. In the dim light from the hall I could see him clutching his beautiful face.
“Oh shit! Oh sorry!” I sat up, feeling
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