15. Phil
Phil
“I don’t think you fully grasp the importance of the situation.
” Peaches coyly fluttered his wings, and shimmery golden pixie dust drifted through the sunbeams coming into Good Riddance Gnome Exterminators’ windows.
There were other exterminator companies, but Sedrick told me this was the one he’d most communicated with.
Peaches knew of them and said they were the best. I trusted Peaches.
The large ogre’s eyes caught the dust floating through the air, glinting in the sun. Her eyes were mesmerized. The dust wouldn’t last long, but it was interesting to watch, and I knew Peaches did it on purpose.
“Mr. Peaches—”
“Please, Peaches is fine.” Peaches giggled in a flirty way that made me uncomfortable.
To put it kindly, ogres and pixies had a questionable past. We were akin to catnip and ogres being .
. . well, ogres used to capture pixies and keep them caged like exotic birds.
Fairy law ended the enslavement, and now ogres were severely punished if caught with a caged pixie.
The law was on our side, and punishments for ogres were harsh. That didn’t mean Peaches wasn’t playing with fire.
“Peaches.” Mildred flushed, sending her normal gray-green skin an odd shade of rust. “I wasn’t aware there was a pixie involved.
” Mildred’s gaze traveled from Peaches to me.
Ogres were the one species that didn’t seem to care that I was larger than the average pixie.
Our pixie dust affected ogres, and I had that in spades.
In fact, I’d shed more than I would have liked due to nervous fluttering.
Before we’d flown through their door, I hadn’t been aware that an ogre worked at Good Riddance Gnome Exterminators.
Staring at me, Mildred’s eyes glazed over, and with a flutter of her forest green eyelashes, she hummed, “Two pixies.” Closing her eyes, Mildred inhaled deeply. Unlike other species, our pixie dust didn’t make Mildred sneeze. If anything, she looked high as a kite.
“Mildred.” Peaches shifted forward on his chair. Laying a hand on the desk, Peaches leaned in. “I need you to focus, and if you could possibly move Mr. Sedrick Voss’s spot on the schedule up a few days or maybe weeks, we’d really appreciate it.”
Mildred’s eyes snapped open. She blinked a few times before a lazy smile lifted her lips.
Normally, ogre’s teeth were brown, but they’d gotten in on the whitening trend, and instead of brown, Mildred’s teeth looked tea-stained.
Ogres were like trolls; their teeth were dull and made for grinding, not ripping and tearing.
“Yes, yes. Of course. That should be no problem.” Mildred had a keyboard made for species with larger, thicker fingers. Her fat digits tapped along to the cadence of her joyous hum. “We are busy, but I think we can—”
“What in all creation are you doing, Mildred?”
Peaches and I jumped and swiveled. Our pixie dust combined into a golden pink haze as a brownie’s head popped up on the other side of the desk. Unlike Mildred, our latest guest didn’t look as pleased to see two pixies in the office.
“Mr. Gladstone.” Mildred didn’t seem as detoured as her boss wished. “I’m just helping these two lovely pixies. It seems they have a nasty gnome problem, and we haven’t been able to get to their home to take care of it. I was just about to move them up in priority when—”
“Out now, Mildred.” Mr. Gladstone pushed against Mildred’s shoulder. Although he was only about one-third her size, the brownie successfully pushed Mildred out of her chair. The ogre stood there and gawked. She looked forlorn when she turned her attention on Peaches and me.
“But Mr. Gladstone, I can—”
“No. You can’t do anything when pixies are involved.
” Mr. Gladstone waved a hand in front of his face, his lips twisted into an annoyed grimace.
“Damn pixie dust.” Standing on Mildred’s chair, Mr. Gladstone pointed a finger at her and ordered, “Out. Now. Don’t make me forcibly remove you, Mildred. You know I can, and I will.”
There weren’t a lot of species that could forcibly remove an ogre. Brownies were different. They might be small, but they packed a magical wallop.
Mildred opened her mouth but snapped it shut when Mr. Gladstone narrowed his eyes.
That was all it took. Mildred feared her boss more than the high she’d gotten off our pixie dust. I felt bad.
If pixie dust lasted, I would have bagged mine and given it to her.
But pixie dust didn’t last. Our wings emitted it, and within seconds, it was gone.
Shoulders slumped, Mildred lumbered out of the room, leaving Peaches and me alone with a brownie that was more annoyed than impressed with our pixie charms.
Slowly turning toward us, Mr. Gladstone laid the palms of his hands on the desk and leaned forward. His mouth was pulled into a tight, disapproving grimace, and his light brown hair fell forward, covering the tips of his brownie ears.
“Now, what in creation do you two think you’re doing, coming in here and trying to drug one of my workers into compliance?
Hmm? You two are skating a fine line. Despite fairy law, plenty of pixies still fall prey to ogres.
They just can’t help themselves, and here the two of you are, tempting the beast. You’re either idiots or desperate idiots.
I’m not sure which one is better.” Mr. Gladstone straightened and folded his arms over his chest. Even standing, he looked small.
It was probably because he was framed against the huge chair that fit Mildred’s body better than his.
Before Peaches could take the blame, I spoke up. “I suppose we, or maybe me, fit into the desperate category.”
“Don’t forget the idiot part,” Mr. Gladstone huffed.
“Okay. Desperate idiot,” I amended.
“Go on.” Mr. Gladstone rolled his hand in a get-on-with-it gesture.
I did. I explained all about the gnome issue and their increasing boldness. I told him about Dillon and Ruthie and our concerns.
Mr. Gladstone listened, grunting in all the right places.
I gave Peaches a hopeful glance. “So, you see, Mr. Gladstone, it really is a bit of an emergency. Someone could get hurt. They could—”
“When gnomes are involved, someone can always get hurt,” Mr. Gladstone cut in.
“You think I haven’t heard this from at least a dozen other folks?
” Mr. Gladstone hung his head. “This past winter wasn’t as harsh as usual.
Resources were good, and gnome numbers exploded.
I’ve got a stack of calls and gardens to exterminate.
And everyone in this business is the same.
I’ve got long-standing customers that come first.” When I started to protest, Mr. Gladstone said, “That’s just how it is. ”
“So, you won’t help?” Peaches voiced my distress.
“I didn’t say that. I can help, but you’ll have to wait your turn unless you can come up with the emergency fee.”
Peaches and I shared a look. “Emergency fee?” I asked. “I wasn’t aware there was such a thing.” I wondered if Sedrick knew about that. And if so, maybe he couldn’t afford to pay it.
Mr. Gladstone shrugged. “It’s not like it’s a secret or anything.
We’ve got it right on our website. Most can’t afford it, so they suck it up and deal.
Besides, it’s not my fault Mr. Voss let his garden run to ruin.
If he’d kept it tidier, chances are he wouldn’t have this problem, or at the very least, it would be to a far lesser degree.
Those gnomes moved in for a reason, and they were able to build a large colony for that same reason.
That’s on him, not me. Mr. Voss’s poor planning created an emergency I’m not responsible for. ”
“I . . .” I wasn’t exactly sure what to say. I understood Mr. Gladstone’s point of view, but it seemed harsh. “He didn’t know he’d have the kids then,” I tried to defend Sedrick. “Will and his mate died in a car accident. He—”
“And that’s a tragedy, make no mistake.” Mr. Gladstone looked and sounded true to his words.
“But that doesn’t change the fact that I’ve got an overflowing schedule, and I’ve got to go in order.
Gnome extermination isn’t easy. If it was, that werewolf boss of yours would have taken care of it already.
” Mr. Gladstone looked to Peaches. “You’re a garden pixie.
You know exactly how toxic gnomes are, how dangerous. I’ve got to keep my workers safe too.”
I hated just how well I understood.
“I’m sorry we took up your time,” I said while rising. Peaches and I hovered in the air. I hadn’t put on my work clothes yet and was dressed in more comfortable fabrics sans shoes.
“Nonsense.” Mr. Gladstone waved us off. “You’re a home-and-hearth pixie.
It’s natural for you to be protective of those in your home, especially kids.
I wish I could be more helpful. The best I can offer is that if there’s an earlier cancellation, I’ll move you up the list. Unless Mr. Voss wants to pay the emergency fee, that’s the best I can do. ”
“That sounds fair.” It really sounded like the best we could hope for.
“And I don’t care how desperate you two are in the future; goading an ogre is just downright stupid.
You two should know better than that.” Mr. Gladstone huffed.
“It’s gonna take me forever to get Mildred down from the high you put her in.
She’s gonna crash hard and crave more pixie dust. I’ll have to alert her family so they can keep a watch on her. ”
Guilt stabbed me. I started to apologize, but Mr. Gladstone shooed us out of the office with a pointed, “Just don’t do it again.”
Peaches and I shared another guilt-laden look when the door closed behind us. Out in the fresh spring air, Peaches dropped to the stone steps below. I followed. “I’m sorry, Phil. For a minute there, I thought we made some headway.”
“Maybe. But I think Mr. Gladstone was right. We shouldn’t have done that to poor Mildred.”
Peaches appeared contrite and nodded his agreement. “I didn’t know they were affected that much. I mean, I’ve heard stories, but I didn’t . . .” He sighed. “It was wrong.”
“It was,” I agreed. “But there’s nothing we can do about it now.”
“No, I suppose not.” Peaches glanced around. There were more and more shoppers out mid-morning. “Maybe there’s something I can do in the interim. I know you said Mr. Voss doesn’t want me to come out, but if it’s going to be that long, he might change his mind.”
“I’m not sure, Peaches, and not just because of Sedrick. You heard what Mr. Gladstone said, gnomes are dangerous, especially that many of them. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
Peaches gave me a warm smile I’d come to depend on.
“I promise I won’t do anything dangerous.
At this point, I doubt I can do much to control where they are, but I might be able to stop them from coming up to the house.
I can talk with the plants surrounding the property and see what can be done. That’s very safe, Phil.”
Peaches and I started walking. I realized we weren’t going in any particular direction and stopped under a willow tree. “I’ll talk with Sedrick again and see what he wants to do.”
“Okay.” Peaches squeezed my wrists and gave me an even brighter smile. “Besides, I’d love to see the home you’ve made.”
I flushed. It wasn’t my home, not really, but it felt that way.
It felt too much that way. I’d begun to hate returning to the boarding house.
My room at the boarding house had never been anything special, but it had been safe and mine as long as I could pay the rent.
Now it felt foreign and unwelcoming. My skin itched, and I paced more nights than I wanted to admit.
Everything in me wanted to go back to Sedrick’s house, to the home he was making it into.
I needed to get over that feeling. One day, when Dillon and Ruthie were grown enough to care for themselves, Sedrick wouldn’t need me anymore.
That knowledge tore a hole through my chest. I needed to emotionally distance myself but had no idea how. Sometimes, knowing something and doing it was worlds apart.