Some secrets would have to stay secrets. Heck, all of our lives contained secrets. Deadly and dangerous secrets that would stay buried forever.
“I’ll start just in case someone steals the only few I know,” June said, handing out cookies.
Everyone partook. Her cookies were legendary and delicious.
“Go for it, friend,” Tim said.
June stood up, cleared her throat then giggled. “Hell, Michigan.”
“Good one,” Dip said. “How about Booger Hole, West Virginia.”
“That can’t be real,” Gideon said, grabbing a cookie.
“Oh yes,” Tim confirmed. “I’ve visited. Booger Hole has quite the history of murder dating back to the early 1900s. Nowadays it’s much calmer. However, it’s violent history attracts many ghost hunters. Quite interesting.”
“I got one,” Jennifer announced. “Ding Dong, Texas.”
“I do believe I can top that,” I told her with a grin. “Monkey’s Eyebrow, Kentucky.”
“Do you think people were inebriated when they named these cities?” June asked. “I mean, Hooker, Oklahoma couldn’t have been named by someone sober.”
“I’m going with a yes,” Jennifer said, raising her glass of wine in the air. “Cheers.”
“Back at you,” June said, clinking her glass then sipping on her white wine spritzer. “I only know one more, so I’m gonna say it. Good Grief, Idaho.”
“The only state in the USA where cannibalism is illegal,” Jennifer pointed out. “We should ship Shitty Ritchie out there. Safer for the world.”
Dip’s brow wrinkled. “Pretty sure that’s illegal everywhere. And who’s Shitty Ritchie?”
Jennifer was busted, but recovered quickly. “That guy from the TV show I watched as a kid.”
“They said shitty on a kids show?” Dip asked, even more confused.
“Umm… no,” June chimed in. “It was Itty Ritchie and all the kids liked to call him Shitty Ritchie, because…”
“He was kind of strange and rude… and umm,” I said, stumbling between the truth and the fiction that was being presented.
“And ate people, but not in Idaho… because you know, it’s illegal there,” June added then quickly shoved a cookie into her mouth so she couldn’t dig the hole any deeper.
“Tightwad, Missouri,” I shouted, making everyone jump. I was trying desperately to move the topic away from Shitty Ritchie. It was hard keeping the mortal and Immortal worlds separate. That was one of the things I was worried about if Jennifer and Dip continued to date. We were certainly making a hot mess of it.
Dip arched a brow at me, then shook his head. I worried his cop-senses were tingling, and that he could tell we were all hiding something big from him. I was relieved when he looked at his watch and said, “Well, I’m gonna have to get goin’. Jennifer, you need a ride home?”
“I’m staying over tonight,” she said, hugging him tight. “Have to babysit Alana Catherine bright and early tomorrow morning. But I’ll take a rain check.”
“It’s a date,” he said, kissing her nose before nodding to the group. “Thanks for the hospitality. Enjoyed it.”
“You’re welcome,” I said, both sad and relieved to see him go. “Come by again soon.”
“Will do.”
Jennifer walked him out to his cruiser. He saluted the Demons on the front porch as he passed. They saluted back in confusion.
The game was getting trickier and the balance was hard to keep. However, Jennifer’s mental health was as important as everything else going on. Her time as a human was over now. She was Immortal. She was the future Higher Power. Life asshe knew it was about to change drastically. If she needed and wanted to hang on to love, we would help her do it.
Because that’s what friends are for.
The restof the crew joined us after Dip left. Jennifer was unusually quiet. Tim sat by her side and held her hand. I knew she had heavy thoughts on her mind, but I wouldn’t push. If she wanted to talk, she would. Hell, my friend had to be overwhelmed. Even though she’d known about the Immortal world for a while and had accepted it with no questions asked, she hadn’t been an Immortal. Now that she was, she was realizing it came with a whole host of unimaginable baggage.
