"Because she's the one who planted that stupid tree," he said, anger flashing in his eyes. "If she hadn't insisted on turning her yard into some kind of hippie paradise, none of this would've happened."
"Okay," I said slowly, trying to figure out why he was so mad that Deva had a yard with a lot of trees. "Can't we all agree that accidents happen? Maybe it's time to let go of the past and focus on the present."
"Easy for you to say." He crossed his arms over his chest. "You didn't have to rebuild an entire vampire sanctuary from scratch."
"Wait, what? Vampire sanctuary?" I exchanged another glance with Beth and Carol. They were surprised by this information as well.
"Uh, yeah." He looked suddenly self-conscious. "I'm a vampire. Is that a problem? I thought all you women who hang out with Deva were witches and knew about vampires."
"Um, no," I stuttered, my mind racing to process this new information. "No problem at all. We're just surprised, that's all. We didn't know."
"Great." He rolled his eyes. "Glad I have your approval. Now can we get back to the whole Deva thing? Because I'd really like to go back to sleep."
"Could we see this backyard of yours?" I tried to keep my tone light despite the fact that I was standing in a vampire's house. Sure, Bryan was cool, but most vampires were seriously scary.
"Fine, follow me," Nick said, leading us through his dimly lit home and out a sliding glass door.
As we stepped outside, I couldn't help but be impressed by what we found. The yard had clearly been designed with great care, every inch of it cultivated to create a space that was equal parts shady and inviting. It was like walking into an enchanted forest, complete with ivy-covered trellises, lush ferns, and even a small koi pond burbling softly in one corner.
"This is beautiful," I said, unable to hide my amazement.
Carol nodded. "You did all this yourself?"
"Yep," Nick replied, his chest puffing up with pride. "Took me years to get it just right. Then Deva's stupid tree had to go and ruin everything."
"Right, the tree," I tried to focus on the task at hand. In truth, though, it was hard not to be distracted by the sheer magic of the place. Comforting energy hummed in the air around me, and I wondered if that was part of what made it so appealing to Nick.
"See that big hole over there?" He pointed to a big patch of sunlight that had broken through the canopy of leaves above us. "That used to be completely covered. When Deva's tree fell, it took out half my shade with it."
"Ouch." Beth winced, as did I, imagining how difficult it must have been for a vampire to be exposed to direct sunlight like that.
"Tell me about it," he said, kicking at a fallen leaf on the ground. "It took me months to rebuild, and I had to spend a fortune on new plants and materials. It's still not the same."
"Is that why you're so upset with Deva?" I asked, trying to understand his point of view.
"Partly," he said. "It's also that she never even apologized, you know? She knew how important this yard was to me, but she didn't care. All she cared about was her stupid tree."
"Nick, do you really think Deva wanted any of this to happen?" I asked gently. "I mean, accidents happen, right?"
"Wait a minute," Carol said, her brow furrowing in confusion. "Why are you blaming Deva for the tree falling? She'd already moved out by then, right?"
"Yeah," Beth said, folding her arms across her chest. "Shouldn't you be more upset with the new neighbors?"
Nick's face twisted into a sneer as he glared at us. "Deva planted that tree, didn't she? It's her fault it grew so big and unruly."
"Plants do tend to grow," I said under my breath. But I couldn't help a little pang of sympathy for Nick. He had put so much effort into creating his safe haven, only for it to be destroyed. “Still, after Deva moved out it wasn’t her responsibility to maintain the tree and make sure it was safe and healthy.”
He snorted. “Like I’m going to blame the single mom with two kids who also had to spend a fortune cleaning up her yard andrepairing the fence. The single human mom, when I know a bitchy witch was involved in the whole damn thing.”
"Look, Nick," I tried to keep my tone gentle and understanding. "I know you're upset about what happened to your yard, but surely there must have been other factors at play here. Factors your neighbor was responsible for taking care of, not Deva. Trees don't just fall over on their own."
"Tell that to the stupid tree," he said, kicking a small rock with more force than necessary. The rock flew through the air, landing with a thud against one of the few remaining shady spots in the yard.
My patience was starting to wear thin. Nick was aggravated, but it wasn't fair for him to take out all his anger on Deva. She hadn't meant for any of this to happen. She planted a tree, years ago, probably when she was younger than this guy, and the tree had fallen after she moved. This was in no way her fault.
As I watched the rock settle among the greenery, a familiar warmth spread through my chest. My Karma powers were itching to get involved. Maybe, just maybe, giving Nick a little taste of his own medicine would help him see the error of his ways.
"Nick," I said. "Have you ever considered that maybe it's not Deva's fault at all? That maybe life just happens?"
