He laughed. “And there’s also the part where you’re going to be the mother of my child.”
She slowed. “About that… We need to talk.”
He halted and stared at her.
“Oh! I didn’t mean to alarm you. I just know there might be challenges with my MS, and we haven’t even discussed it.”
He took in a deep breath and let it out. “True, but what do we need to discuss? I figure there’s not much we can do about it. If a problem comes up, we’ll just cross that bridge when we come to it.” As if illustrating his point, they stepped off the bridge and headed down one of the many cobblestone streets built on pylons centuries ago.
“I don’t know what to expect. Maybe there’s no way to know, but we should probably have some kind of a plan. We slept on the plane most of the way over here to minimize jet lag. But now that we’re here, I just want to come up with some contingency plans.”
“I’m going to need to do this on a full stomach. Let’s find a sidewalk café.”
They proceeded farther toward the main square and came upon a café by the canal. “Is this okay?” Misty asked.
Gabe glanced up and down the street. “Perfect. Not a pigeon in sight.”
As they found a table, she asked, “You don’t like pigeons?”
“Not swarms of them. If you have food in St. Mark’s Square, they’ll surround you. Some may even sit on your head. We should buy you a hat, just in case.”
“I’ll bet Adam wished he had a hat that day.”
Gabe burst out laughing. A smiling waiter came over to them and took their orders for two chocolate gelatos. As soon as he left, a woman with long, flowing white hair pulled a chair over and joined them. She removed a large floppy hat and laid it on the table, taking up most of it.
“That’s what I like to see,” she said. “Humans in love, laughing, and enjoying my beautiful day. It makes my job worthwhile.”
Gabe’s eyes widened. Misty wondered who the heck this nervy, weird woman was and why Gabe seemed so shocked to see her.
At last, he found his voice. “Ah, Misty, allow me to introduce you to Gaia. I think she already knows who you are.”
“Oh? Are you a Fierro family friend?” Misty asked as she extended her arm, offering to shake hands with the strange woman.
Gaia gazed at Misty’s hand and hesitated a moment before she gave one firm shake. Then she leaned back in her chair. “I’m afraid I don’t have a lot of time, but I need to talk to you two alone—and preferably before you talk to each other about the little matter you brought up on the bridge.”
“You heard that?” Misty asked incredulously.
The woman rolled her eyes as if to say “Obviously,” then snapped her fingers. The waiter heading their way froze. In fact, everyone in the café appeared frozen in place. Conversation had ceased. Even the breeze died down to nothing. It was the strangest thing Misty had ever seen, and lately, she’d seen some pretty strange things.
“Hey. I wanted that.” Gabe pointed to the gelatos on the waiter’s tray.
The woman narrowed her eyes, and suddenly, Gabe was gone.
Misty jerked to attention. “What? Where’s my husband?”
A second later, Gabe reappeared, covered in snowflakes and shivering. “That’s o-k-k-k-kay. I c-can wait,” he said, teeth chattering.
“Now.” Gaia stretched her arms over her head as if getting ready to work. “As I said, I don’t have a lot of time, and what I’m about to ask you will require some consideration. I’ll have to return for your answer later.”
What could this insane woman want?Misty just nodded dumbly.
“Gabe didn’t give you my title, only my name,” she continued. “I’m Mother Nature. I made you, him”—she waved at the canal and the sky—“everyone and all this. Now, I need a favor, and after all I’ve done for the world, I think you should consider taking the job I’m going to offer you.”
“Oh!” Misty pushed past the fear and disbelief and felt compelled to address the wordsjobandofferimmediately. “I’m sorry, Gaia. I’m not looking for a job. I’ll have my hands full with our baby very soon.” She pointed to her expanding belly.
“Yes. I know. I made that possible too.” The woman smirked. “Here’s the thing. My original muses need help. They’re overwhelmed with all the changes that have occurred in the modern world. I’ve been recruiting modern women who can be trusted with some pretty cool powers to help them out. I try to find those who have the needed skills they lack.”
“Wh-what skills do I have?” Misty asked. “I never went beyond high school, and I only worked in a bank briefly. I used to dance—”
