like he was on a mission.
I finally caught up with him in one of the guest rooms that I’d shoved a bunch of Auntie’s things that I hadn’t felt like dealing with. I was starting to see a pattern in my behavior. The not wanting to deal with things was a result of my grief.
It was going to do better, be better. It was a good thing my husband wasn’t around to see me. He’d kick my butt into shape. Not literally. He’d most likely lock up my spell room.
I smiled at the idea. He hadn’t been comfortable with magic, but he never told me I couldn’t be who I was. I did that enough. However, natural witch magic I got from my mother was something I enjoyed. It was pure and light. Not dark like raising the dead and dealing with ghouls and other undead things.
Thinking of undead things, I entered the room and watched Alfred as he moved to the TV on top of the long dresser. He placed one hand on the television and met my stare.
“Oh,” I said slowly. “You watch TV all night?”
Nod.
“Well, that’s fine, you can still do that. Can you write?” I glanced around the room and figured it wouldn't hurt to make this room his.
He showed me his hands, drawing my attention back to him. The skin was tight and pale. As he tried to close them, he winced. They only closed so far. I wondered how he’d gotten along with his chores.
“You don’t have to do chores here,” I said. I was part witch and could perform spells better than most so cleaning wasn’t an issue. Besides, I didn’t like the idea of having a servant. Ghoul or not. “If I got you something you could type on, would you be able to?”
Nod.
Now we’re talking. Well, virtually anyway.
“Okay, then great. Uh, well, it’s late. I’m going to…” I stopped and stared because Snooze had just walked into the room.
The fat, grey cat looked up at Alfred, cocked his head, and then meowed louder than I’d ever heard the fool cat meow.
Then, Snooze launched himself at Alfred. He jumped into the ghoul’s arms, and I panicked, expecting I’d have to break up a fight between my insane cat and the creepy undead guy. My heart leapt with him and I thought the thing would get stuck in my throat for life.
But Snoozles, the little ass, rubbed his head all over Alfred’s chin!
“He likes you,” I breathed while willing my heart to slow to normal pace.
Alfred closed his eyes and held Snoozles close, squeezing him without hurting the feline. Snooze reached up and batted at the string holding Alfred’s lips together. I sincerely hoped he didn’t unravel that string, because there was no way I was sewing dead flesh back together.
Not tonight, Satan.
Drifting to the bed, I picked up one of the boxes and set it on the floor in the corner of the room by the window. When I turned to gather up some of the loose items spread out, Alfred was already doing it. He picked items up with care and placed them inside an empty box he found.
When I reached out for another box to move it off the bed, he tapped my hand. I looked up to see him shaking his head and pointing at himself. “You are not my servant. I’m perfectly capable…”
Alfred brushed my hands away, still shaking his head. The stubborn ghoul. “Okay, fine. Since you don’t sleep, you can put these boxes in the room across the hall. I need to go through them and see what I want to keep and what I’m donating or trashing.”
I had no idea what was in half the boxes I threw in here after the funeral. I wasn’t in the condition to clean out the life of another loved one at the time.
Alfred seemed overly pleased with having something to do besides watching TV. I went over to the dresser and picked up the remote. It was a good thing it was a smart TV. Not much for watching the old boob tube, I didn’t bother with getting cable. I had Netflix for when I was in the mood to watch something.
After I logged into the WI-FI, which I had made sure was at my disposal before coming to town, I set Alfred up with his own profile on Netflix. Then I handed him the remote. “There is no cable, but Netflix has enough shows to keep you