Chapter 3 #2
“Oh, I didn’t tell you,” she said, as I approached the table.
“Mr. Crumbles is really coming along with his wing muscles. I took him to the vet today for a check up and he’s doing well.
We’re still not sure if he’ll ever be able to fly—the wing clipping was brutal—but he can flap his wings now and takes delight in doing so when he’s flustered. ”
I slid into my chair and set my napkin on my lap. “He’s coming along.”
“How was work today?” Penn asked, bringing out our plates with the Beef Wellington on them. The meat was at the perfect temperature—medium rare. The mashed potatoes and gravy were already on the table, along with tender cooked asparagus and dinner rolls.
I helped myself to everything, then cut into the Wellington. The knife went through like butter, and the aroma made me salivate. “It was…odd. You remember I told you Benny wanted to see me?”
She nodded. “What did he want?”
“Well, it’s the damnedest thing,” I said.
I told her all about Swift’s disappearance, about the Give A Hands Up organization, and the possible connection.
“In addition, tomorrow we go out on a haunted house assignment—” I paused as my phone jangled with a text.
“Hold on, I need to take this just in case—” I paused, glancing at the screen.
sonja beta and alyson anya have officially joined the valhom family. both girls and hilda are doing well. my own little legion of valkyries in training.
After the text there was a picture of Hilda, holding the two babies, with Orik in back of her, and their four other daughters standing by the bed.
Merigold and Jonna were their four year old twins.
Freesia and Skady were their eight year old twins.
The girls had their mother’s shining gold hair.
Hilda looked exhausted but proud, and Orik was beaming.
“Look! Hilda popped!” I showed Penn the picture. “We’ll have to get them something. What would be a good gift?”
Penn took the phone, grinning ear to ear. “They’re such a handsome family. And look at all that blonde hair! Maybe…Hilda’s mother is helping them, right?”
I nodded. “Ana will be there until Hilda’s back on her feet. Probably another month or two. She takes care of all the meals and cleaning.”
“What about a spa certificate for a couple’s massage for Orik and Hilda, plushies for the babies, dolls for the four year olds, and necklaces for the eight year olds? Or a jewelry making toy?”
“That sounds good to me. Anyway, I’m going to answer him and then finish telling you about the day. We may need your advice on tomorrow’s case.”
I texted Orik back. congratulations! i’m so happy for you. they’re adorable, and i hope that their sisters are happy, too. take the rest of the week off even though ana is there with hilda. let us know how things are going.
are you sure? i can come in if you need.
i’m sure. you’re welcome back any time but i’m not going to make you miss these first few days with your new babies.
As I pressed send and the message posted, another came in, from Sophia. Dante and Carter were quick to answer, as well. I set the phone aside and went back to dinner. I told Penn all about the day and the case. “So, have you ever heard of GAHU?”
She shook her head. “Nope. I’ll put feelers out, though. What else happened?”
“Tomorrow we have a haunted house to go through. I don’t know what we’re up against, but do you want to come with us? Orik’s going to be out.” I liked taking Penn along. She was a priestess of Hecate, and worked with shadow magic. She also wasn’t squeamish about dealing with ghosts and the like.
Penn helped herself to more mashed potatoes. “Sure, why not? I’m not doing anything important. The online store’s caught up. I don’t have classes tomorrow. I was going to thin the carrots and lettuce, and mow the lawn, but I can do that later.” She paused, then said, “I met somebody today.”
The tone of her voice made me look up. “Oh?” Penn never made mention of ‘meeting someone’ in the way that made me think there was a spark of interest there.
“Yeah…he’s a TA at the academy.”
Penn’s classes were at Windchime Magical Academy, a local academy for witches.
While the academy focused on first through twelfth grades, it also offered adult community classes.
The campus was built on five gorgeous acres.
And I’d had more dealings with them in the past year than I had my entire life.
She stared at her plate. “His name’s Salvatore, but he goes by Salva.
He’s an artist. He’s also the teacher’s assistant for an art class.
We had coffee after class let out and…” She paled.
“There’s something about him that I can’t get out of my mind.
I’ve talked to him before and each time, there seemed to be some sort of chemistry there, but tonight… tonight we…”
“You zinged ?” We’d just watched the Hotel Transylvania franchise a couple weeks ago.
Penn nodded. “We zinged . At least I did. And that frightens me.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Because I’ve never felt like this. I’ve never met anyone who has captivated me as much as he does.
I’m afraid that I’ll like him too much. I’ve rejected a lot of men.
I always try to be gracious, I try to make sure they know it’s me, not them.
Though a few, trust me, were assholes. But what I’m saying is that I haven’t been a jerk about it.
I always let them down easy. But what do I do if I fall for this guy and then he drops me? ”
I put down my fork and knife. “Penn, if you fall for him and he drops you, you’ll live.
If you fall for him and he falls for you, then yay.
If you fall for him and then decide you aren’t interested, he’ll live.
But if you never do anything about your feelings, then you’re letting fear rule your life. ”
“I don’t want that,” she said. “I’ve had my fill of being afraid. After the mess with the kidnapping, I pulled back. I think I was in a bout of PTSD. But I’m tired of dimming my shine, if you know what I mean?”
“I know,” I said. I leaned my elbows on the table and gave her a soft smile.
“Penn, you don’t have to be afraid of karma—or whatever you want to call it.
You’re not a bad person. Just because somebody likes you, you aren’t obligated to say yes to them.
And because you’ve put off a lot of guys, it doesn’t make you a bad person.
It means you weren’t interested in them and you didn’t want to lead them on. ”
“When you put it that way, I feel better,” she said. “I never want to give anybody hope when I know it’s not going to happen.”
“What’s so special about Salva, do you think?” If Penn found herself intrigued by a guy, he had to have one hell of a lot going for him.
She paused, then shook her head. “I don’t know, to be honest. We talked for an hour and I can’t even remember what we said. The time flew by. He only left because he had to meet with his professor to talk over the lesson plan.” After a moment, she added, “If he asks me out, I’ll sayseeeee yes.”
“I hope it works out for the best—regardless of what that outcome is. I think you owe it to yourself to explore this. You felt something for him, and that happens so rarely that you need to pay attention to it.”
“Yeah, I suppose you’re right.” She gave me a hopeful look. Penn was so self-confident that it almost hurt watching her enter awkward territory. But if I pushed her a little bit now, she’d be able to shake off the indecision.
“If he asks, go. Or ask him out. If it’s bad, you can always leave, but you can’t take it any further if you don’t give it a chance in the first place.
” I reached across the table as she moved to carry her plate into the kitchen.
“I’ll clean up. It’s my turn, and you cooked us such a wonderful dinner.
” I shooed her off to the living room while I cleared the table and rinsed the dishes, stacking them in the dishwasher.
After dinner, we settled in front of the TV, along with a deck of cards. We played an old card game—Canasta—and watched a comedy period piece. Chatting about nothing in particular, we managed a quiet evening, which was a rare and precious gift.