But does that mean you’re not going on vacation anymore?”
“Oh, we are. Trust me when I say I need to get out of town for a little bit. Our reservations aren’t until later, so we have time to hang out here. My sister is coming with her daughter.”
“Penny, right?”
“Yeah.”
“She is so cute!”
“Right?” I smile. “Of course I’d think so, but that kid could be a baby model. Though I’m not entirely sure how I feel about subjecting babies to that sort of thing.”
Betty laughs. “Have you ever seen that Toddlers and Tiaras show?”
“Yes! It’s crazy. Well, those moms are crazy.”
“So crazy. It’s what we’re really watching. You’re wearing a costume, right?”
“Of course. I just ordered costumes today and paid up the ass for shipping, but I need them ASAP.”
“What are you going as? A witch?” Betty laughs.
“Hah. I should. And have Binx with me the whole time.” I look at him, eating up the attention from the few customers in the store. “I really don’t know how more people haven’t suspected anything.”
“Eh…they have.” Her eyes go to Danielle. Fuck. I almost forgot that I owe her a very overdue sit-down explanation of everything. “But I’m sure they feel how I did. Like I’m crazy for even considering it.”
“Yeah, and it’s easier to write something off than try to open your mind to something totally new. And I’m dressing up as Wonder Woman. I ordered a Superman costume for Lucas, but I can’t be totally sure he’s actually going to wear it. Though thinking of him in spandex…” I fan my face with my hand and Betty giggles.
“He would look good in that, and I don’t think he needs the fake muscles those costumes come stuffed with.”
“No, he definitely doesn’t.”
Betty laughs again, face flushing. She’s opened up a lot in the last few months, and now that she’s in on Kristy's and my secret, she has to feel a lot closer to us. She’s a stereotypical bookworm, which is why Kristy and I liked her so much from the start.
She’s shy, often gets lost in a fantasy world, and has a hard time dating because real life men just don’t compare to book boyfriends. But, being an avid reader and a huge fantasy fan made her more open to the idea of other supernatural creatures.
And really…once vampires came out, half the world had to know others existed too.
“Is there any coffee?” I ask, yawning. Why am I so tired? I slept decently last night and took a nap.
“Yeah. Late night?”
“Most nights are.”
“I didn’t wake you up when I called, did I?” Betty asks, looking worried.
“No, and even if you did, don’t feel bad. I know I’m not in here much anymore, but I’m still co-owner and need to do co-owner shit.”
“Well, when you put it that way…” she laughs.
“Exactly. So don’t feel bad.” I push off the counter and go to the back of the store. Pale golden light from the backup lights cast an eerie glow on the rows of books. If the sun came out from behind clouds, it wouldn’t be so dark in here. It’s almost too dark to see, and maybe I should cut the time down to half an hour and send everyone home sooner if the power doesn’t come back on.
I didn’t drink all my coffee with breakfast this morning, so a small cup should be okay. Still, I hesitate before taking a sip, not wanting to do anything to harm this baby. I’m feeling more and more of a connection to it every day, as well as a terrible sense of responsibility. This is the only chance Lucas will ever have to father a child this way. I don’t want to screw it up.
I smell the coffee, and even though I’m not nauseous anymore, it doesn’t smell good. It’s so fucking weird. Not wanting to waste it—and not wanting to fall asleep and crash on the way home—I take a small sip.
The break room door opens, and Danielle stops short in the doorway. She’s pulled her wet hair into a side braid, and she stands there, staring at me with wide eyes.
“Hey,” I say and take another small sip of coffee. I used to love black coffee, and now I’m choking it down.
“Can we talk?” she asks, voice a little shaky. She’s a rather outspoken person, and she’s rattled right now. Binx comes in, trotting right past her, and rubs against my legs.
“Sure.” I take another drink, knowing what she wants to talk about,