Because Mercy had to work that afternoon, we swung by the Rabbit Lounge to drop her off on our way home. Both Virgil and I were hungry, and since Bear was serving lunch, we stayed.
Virgil belched. “Wait until I set up my new record player.”
Salem scrolled through his phone messages. “Isn’t that a little antiquated? Now you can store thousands of songs on a single flash drive. Technology is rapidly changing. They don’t buy records anymore because they store everything in clouds.”
After licking mustard off his finger, Virgil reached for his glass. “Well, I can’t play my record collection on a little piece of metal. Vinyl makes everything sound alive. The music becomes a living, breathing thing in its purest form. And it’s not one of those cheap players they make now but vintage. The downside is I have to hunt for quality speakers. They don’t make them like they used to.”
“You mean four feet high?” Salem moved his plate away from me when I stole another fry. “It’s a waste of money.”
“I have no regrets.”
“I love old records,” I confessed. “You should set it up in the game room so we can all enjoy them. With the high ceiling and space, we could dance in there. Wouldn’t that be a gas?”
Virgil gestured to me. “You see?Joyhas taste.” He gobbled up the last bite of his burger and moaned. “Now I can die happy. What does Bear do to that meat to make it so damn delicious? He’s a meat magician.” Virgil snorted as he jumped out of his seat and walked off to flag down Mercy.
“How are you?” Salem asked me in earnest. “We’ve barely spoken all week since you came clean with Tak.”
“I’m well. Emotionally spent, but I’m starting to feel like myself again. Today really helped.”
“The baby still isn’t kicking?”
Why couldn’t he have left well enough alone? I just wanted one day to forget about my worries.
I tapped my fingernails against my water glass. “The Relic said it was fine.”
“That’s not normal, Joy. You’re due in about a month.”
“How is this helping?” I twisted in my seat to face him. “How is worrying all the time good for my health? This is exactly why Tak sent me out today.”
Salem rubbed his forehead. “I’m sorry.”
“I know you’re concerned, but Milly’s taking care of me now.”
“Do let me know if there’s anything I can help with.”
He played with a french fry on his plate. Salem was clearly struggling since relinquishing all control over me. I was no longer his responsibility. Part of me wondered how much his concern had to do with me or his own guilt. Maybe it was his insatiable curiosity about my pregnancy and the unknown.
“Have you had any clients lately?” I asked, switching topics.
Salem reached behind his head, undid the knot, and shook free his tousled hair. “I collect patients when the Relic’s overbooked, but most of the calls have been superficial injuries with kids. Nothing challenging.”
“And you like a challenge, don’t you?”
“That was my entire career—one challenging medical situation after another.” He rested his arms on the table, and it made me pity him. “I feel useless. Now that we completed the major work on the house, there’s a lot of free time where I’m doing mundane tasks… like setting traps.”
“Hunting is how we eat. It’s much more exciting than what I’ve been doing lately.”
“You know what I mean. I need to utilize my skills. Otherwise, they’re just”—he waved his hand—“wasted.”
Stirring my drink, I smiled at him. “So you’re secretly wishing for someone to fall off a roof or a complex medical conundrum to arise?”
He gave a crooked smile. “Well, not quite like that.”
“It takes time to build a reputation in a new community. That’s something I can attest to. It took me years before people sought me out over other impersonators. I gave them more than a caricature. Milly can’t handle everyone, and some of the packs will be looking for a healer.”
Salem touched the ends of his sleeves and lowered his voice. “How’s your depression? Do you need more pills?”
“Milly said those pills aren’t good for the baby. She told me mood changes are normal with the hormones, and the depression is probably from all the anxiety. I’ve been through a lot.” I averted my gaze. “Sometimes I still can’t believe this is happening. My life was flipped upside down overnight. It’s surreal.”
