I really didn’t want to make this call. I loved going shopping at Dangles last weekend until Ms. Teal herself joined me.
“Oh yes! That looks beautiful. Do you have that in a soft black, almost dark gray?” I asked the young satyr helping me in the warehouse. When I presented her with the letter stating I was there to redecorate and the school was paying for it, I was greeted with a smile and escorted into the stockroom where I fell into nirvana.
“Try the new shipment, Josette, that’s in dock eight, please,” a familiar voice called out. Acid churned in my stomach as ice froze in my veins.You have to be nice JP… You can’t go off on the bitch.
The young satyr, Josette, hurried off; her hooves clipping along the tile floor in a pace fast enough that even without her thoughts screaming she was terrified, her pace would have given her away. Knowing how this was going to probably work, I continued to browse the soft strawberry linen in my hands and looked over into another bin, ignoring the woman behind me.
“What a pleasant shock to see you here, Jacques. What brings you by?” Like the devil spawn didn’t already know. She practically threw-up white-on-white furniture all over our dorm, knowing it would make us come and rely on her to provide the material I needed to redecorate. The only question I had was, why?
When I saw the letter for Dangles, of course I got excited, but I knew there was a chance of this happening. A low chance, but still one. Why would the bitch lower herself to the floor when she could be sitting in her office and mingling with high-profile clients?
Turning, I plastered on my winning smile and addressed the evil incarnate. “Ms. Teal,” I say with a nod in greeting, because my mother taught me manners. That’s about the extent of my civility though. “Well, it turned out someone did a shitty job decorating my new pad, so here I am, trying to fix it.” Her light blue eyes squinted slightly, and her pursed pink lips were the only indication I hit a nerve.
Ms. Teal’s features always gave me pause when I saw pictures of her, and it’s not any different standing here now. Moni looked so much like her, with her delicate face and slight frame, but that’s where the similarities ended. Unlike Moni, Marjoriekine’s skin didn’t change with emotions. Instead, she sported her trademark teal-colored skin. Her black hair was up in a chignon fishtail updo. Whereas Moni’s brown hair hung down around her waist with vines intertwined. Though Moni was a free spirit and normally didn’t care what she wore, the devil's spawn always wore some form of white.
She was wearing a white sweater dress and cream-colored heels today. It did nothing for her figure, but whatever. She wouldn’t be caught wearing her ‘normal skin;’ that was beneath her. Yet, Moni was confident enough to show off her wings and tail. Apparently for Ms. Teal, allowing her wings to fly free was also a no-no since hers were spelled to be hidden. I was probably one of the few that had seen the real ones without her glamor. They reminded me of a beetle, with it’s hard teal shell over her hairy, pearlescent wings with streaks of teal and burgundy.
She approached where I stood and peered around me to see what I was looking at. “What a shame, really?” she said, looking back up at me. “But it’s nice to see you again. How have you been?” She’d plastered on her ‘customer service’ smile, but I knew better.
“Let’s cut the crap, Marjoriekine; just tell me what you want.” I sighed, already getting tired of being in her presence.
She stood up taller and threw me a glare. “It. Is. Ms. Teal, to you,” she spat out and like the psycho fairy she was, immediately turned on a smile. “I was simply coming to hear how things are going and to check in on my daughter,” she stated like she didn’t leave my sister to die in the cold.
“What!” I shouted, dropping the fabric. “Why the hell would I tell you anything about my sister?” She quirked her eyebrow at the question, as if she was shocked I would stand up to her. “Why do you all of a sudden care how she’s doing? What is it that you really want? Because I know it has nothing to do with you caring about Moni’s well-being.” The vileness this woman was willing to sink to was pissing me off, and I knew the incredulous look on my face spoke volumes.
“I see.” She stepped back and looked me over, taking in my frame and my taut stance. “I was just curious and wanted to get to know her.”
I might not have been powerful yet, but I’d fight to the death to keep my sister safe from thisthing.
“Not gonna happen,” I spit out through clenched teeth. A cruel smile graced her lips when she pressed a small button on her bracelet that I didn’t see earlier. Looking me in the eye, she added, “Just remember, if you ever need something again, you know what my terms are.” She turned and walked out of the room just as her assistant joined me to finish my shopping in peace.
I never told Moni about my confrontation with her egg donor, I was hoping I wouldn’t have to. I have no idea how she will take the news, but I can only assume she won’t be happy about it, and after this call, it looks like I’ll have no choice. Waiting on the line is plain torture. I’m about to hang up and find another way to get what we need, when I hear someone pick up the other end.
“Jacques! So nice to hear from you. What can I do for you?” Her perky, acid-filled tone comes across the speaker. I watch Moni flinch as she sets the last of the food down by the stove.
“I was wondering what I had to do to get replacement furniture for our dorm room? Our originals were destroyed last night,” I question without any emotion until I hear a light snicker in the background. I have no idea if it is coming from her or someone else in the room.
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that, dear. Well, that’s simple, Jacques. You know what my terms are,” she says, pausing for my reaction as I hold back my growl.
Looking up, I find Moni’s wide eyes flittering between the phone in my hand and my face. Stealing up her nerves she mouths, “What?” and it’s my turn to break eye contact.
“And what are those exactly?” I ask for Moni’s benefit.
“Bring my daughter to Dangles, a quick chat is all I'm asking for. It’s a simple task that I’m sure you will have no problem achieving.”
‘What’s the catch?’Moni sends me her thoughts.‘When would I have to go, and do I have to go alone?’
Nodding that I heard her, I bring my attention back to the she-devil on the phone. “What are the conditions of this visit?” I question, wishing I could communicate with Moni the same way she does with me.
I swear, I can hear Ms. Teal’s smile through the other end, “You don’t trust me,” she says, stating an obvious fact.
You’re so observant,I want to say, but instead I bite my tongue.
“In a show of good faith, I’ll send over the furniture this morning. You have a month to deliver your part of the deal and she doesn’t even have to come alone if she so wishes. But, you will deliver, or else I’ll take it all back by force.”
I look back at Moni because it’s ultimately her decision.
‘You’ll come with me?’she questions, and I’m almost offended that she would even have to ask, but then again I know it’s just her nerves. Answering her with a nod and a pinched expression, she gives me a reluctant thumbs up.
