“Wake up.”
I sat bolt upright in bed and slowly turned my head to the window. The sun was low in the sky, glowing in that golden way it did in autumn, and a pretty damn big blackbird perched on the windowsill. It's feathers gleamed in the low light.
And it stared at me, its beady eyes seeing too much as it tilted its head to the side as though it needed to get a better view.
“Hello?” Had I dreamt the call to wake up?
“Wake up,” it croaked.
Nope. Definitely real. “I’m awake,” I whispered.
The bird tilted its head again and let out a normal-sounding caw, then flew away just as my phone vibrated on the bed beside my butt, faintly jiggling the softness of my body that was there. “Oh, shoot,” I muttered and grabbed it. “Hello?”
“I’ve been calling you for like an hour. Did my bird come?” Beth said by way of greeting.
“Sorry! I fell asleep. I’m not sure why my phone is on vibrate.” I put it on speaker, then checked the button on the side. “I must’ve hit the button to switch it to silent mode.” That was a problem with this brand of phone.
“It’s fine, but you don’t have much time. There’s food on its way to you from Deva’s restaurant. Eat it, get ready, and I’ll pick you up at ten.”
“Wait, why? What?”
“We’re going to the club, and my agency is helping you find Henry.” She sounded so proud that it made my heart fill with happiness for her. She had built her agency from nothing. It was her thing and no one could take it from her, especially not cheating ex-partners.
“What about Deva and Carol?”
“Carol’s employee called in sick tonight, so she has to cover the fabric store, and Deva still does a couple dinner shifts a week. She has that fancy chef of hers, so she can have a life, but she still loves the rush of actually running a shift, rather than just baking pies and pastries in the mornings.”
“Oh, okay,” I whispered, already feeling like I should just stay in bed, like my body was going to be angry at me for whatever it was I was about to do. I glanced down at the time and saw how late it was already.
“Isn’t ten a little late?” I felt dumb. Should I have been up earlier?
Beth laughed in my ear, a pure, joyful sound. “Stop acting like such a forty-year-old.” She snorted in amusement.
“Beth, honey, weareforty-year-olds.” And then some.
“Well, I know, but we don’t have to act like it. People are just getting going at ten. It’s kind of early for where we’re going. Just be ready to go.” She wasn't about to back down and I wasn't about to turn down her help.
“Okay,” I said as a twinkling chime filled the air. “Doorbell. Food must be here.”
“See you at ten!”
I hurried to the front door, digging in my purse for some cash for the tip. I only had a few bills, which I hoped would be a decent enough tip for a delivery guy. Then I checked my phone and realized I’d slept all evening and it really wasn’t that far from ten now. I needed to hurry. That long, hot shower I'd been planning to get ready certainly wasn't going to happen. I'd be lucky if I got to eat a few mouthfuls of food and run a comb through my hair.
After an awkward interaction with the delivery driver, I made my way back to the center of the house. Ignoring the mess in the living room that I’d never really cleaned up, I hurried into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water and fork. Then, glancing around, I decided to go out on the back patio and have my dinner there.
Setting it all down on the little table, I glanced at the beach and spotted a young man walking alone. He had a trash bag in one hand and was wearing gloves. Every so often he bent down and grabbed something, then dropped it in the bag. As I watched him, I realized he was cleaning up the beach. Something warm and pleasant moved through me, and I swear I felt a wave rush out of me. He suddenly stiffened and looked in my direction. I held my breath, and then he kept going.
Karma. How had I forgotten karma could bring the good with the bad? I didn’t know exactly how karma would reward the kid, but I knew it would. And it was strange. In that moment, after living a lifetime wanting to know deep down that good things could happen to good people, I now had a role in that. It made me proud of my powers for the first time.
I sighed and looked down at the table. No more time to waste if I wanted to eat. And Ireallywanted to eat. Unpacking the food, I moaned in delight. Just the smell of whatever was in the box was enough to have my mouth watering and my stomach growling.
I swallowed a mouthful of drool and cracked open the box. A bowl of rigatoni sat inside, the noodles covered in a creamy-looking sauce that had my mouth watering all over again, not to mention the kale and sausage that were mixed in.
My fork dove into the dish as though it had a mind of its own, but I knew it was just that I was hungry enough that shoveling food into my mouth was the last thing I was going to be embarrassed about. I speared a few noodles and a bit of kale and popped it in my mouth, having to breathe in because it was still so hot that it was scalding my tongue. The creamy, pumpkiny, tomatoey sauce was luxurious, so much so that I groaned out loud and looked down at my food bowl with skepticism. Was I imagining how good this was?
Doubtful.
Deva was just that good.
