Amy closed her eyes and almost purred. She loved having her hair brushed, and Kristine wondered if she’d ever get the chance to brush it for her again. Probably not for a while.
“I’ve always been more practical than you think. Acting may seem like a frivolous career, but waitressing put food on the table, and acting made me happy. I’d like to think I was a better mother because I followed my dream as best I could.”
“You absolutely were. You’re still a good mother.” Kristine leaned over and kissed her mother’s cheek. “Do you want to wear your hair up? Like this?” Kristine wound the hair around into a French twist and held it up for Amy to look at.
“Yes, you do that beautifully, and I have a special comb to hold it.”
Amy reached for her small white evening bag and extracted a beautiful gold comb with sparkling crystals and pearls.
“That’s beautiful, Mom! Where did you get it?”
“It’s from Conlan. Apparently his mother wore it before she passed.”
“She had to be a dragon too, right?”
“Yes, she was. She met with a dreadful car accident a few years ago. It may have been during the same time that Mother Nature revoked our immortality for a while.”
As Kristine inserted the beautiful comb, Gaia herself popped in. “Did I just hear my name?”
Kristine and her mother startled. “We didn’t mean to call you away from your…whatever you’re doing,” Kristine said. “We were just discussing something, and your name came up.”
“Yes, I know. I was about to come and see you anyway.”
“Oh? What about?”
“I finally have someone to train you, Kristine. My modern muses are quite busy. All the more reason to have more. I thought it best to add her to the guest list so she can keep an eye on things and make sure the paranormals don’t get out of hand. I’m much too busy to stick around in case of trouble.”
Amy turned enough to look at both of them. “She found someone to train you? In what are you being trained, Kristine?”
“I wasn’t going to tell you until after your honeymoon. The Goddess offered me a job as a modern muse. Specifically, the muse of wireless communication. Cell phones, radios, and the satellites that keep us in touch globally.”
“A muse? Like Amber and Chloe? That’s wonderful! I suppose you don’t need another job in Boston now. It sounds as if you’ll have your hands full.”
“I imagine so. Did you say you have someone to add to the guest list, Gaia? Have you checked with Chloe?”
Mother Nature jammed a hand on her hip. “Of course. Contrary to what you may have heard, I’m not totally rude, entitled, and pushy.”
Amy rose. “Goddess, I’ve not heard you called anything of the sort, and if I did, I would have to disagree.”
The goddess smiled. “That’s sweet of you, but you’ll learn. Meanwhile, Kristine, I’d like you to meet Brandee.”
A pretty young woman with a different shade of long, red hair appeared. Not like Amy’s bright-red or her own reddish-blonde color. She shook Kristine’s hand, and without letting go, she looked over at Amy.
“Oh. My. Gorgeousness! You must be the bride.”
Amy grinned and tipped up her chin in her regal pose. “That I am.”
Brandee glanced between Amy and Kristine and back again. “I can’t tell if you’re mother and daughter or sisters.”
Gaia waved. “Yes, yes. That’s all lovely, but we have to cut the chitchat short. I need to go push a tornado out of the way of a house in, uh… Kansas. Yeah. There’s a girl and her dog inside. If I don’t get there in time”—Mother Nature disappeared before she finished her sentence.
Brandee gave them an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry to crash your wedding. Gaia thought that since Chloe would be busy playing hostess and Amber’s time would be consumed with being a bride and all, a less involved muse to keep an eye on things would be a good idea.”
“Oh, I’m fine with it,” Amy said. “I just feel bad that we’re taking you away from your muse duties.”
Brandee laughed. “This is the best part of my duties. I’m the muse of film and digital images.” Suddenly she was holding a very technical-looking camera. “Now I canreallykeep an eye on things.”
“And we get wedding photos!” Amy exclaimed.
