Page 69 of Fangs and Fudge

Having a day off was rare. If Vena didn’t talk me into some weird outing like rock climbing or hiking, I typically spent time researching recipes and experimenting in the kitchen. With our guards, I wasn’t sure I was up for creative time in the kitchen. So I settled in to stream a movie on my phone.

Twice, I felt Shepard peek in on me, but each time I paused the movie and looked up, he was gone.

Hunger and boredom drove me from my room around lunch. I knocked on Vena’s door.

“I’ll be holding your sandwich ransom in the kitchen,” I said.

The door swung open before I reached the dining room.

“I negotiate with terrorists,” she said. “What do you need to make me a club sandwich with extra bacon?”

I snorted. “Bacon, tomato, and sliced turkey. You’re getting a grilled cheese.”

She made sad sounds. “We should go to Miles early. I bet Mom already went shopping.”

Vena liked food as much as any other person, which meant she wasn’t asking to go to her mom’s because she was hungry. She was bored, too.

“Sure,” I said, already pulling out what we needed for a “fancy” grilled cheese.

Keeping with the tenuous peace we’d established, I made three sandwiches and handed Shepard his.

Vena cleaned up again while I grabbed my phone from my bedroom.

Me: We’re heading to Vena’s parents.

Cross: Alone?

Me: With Miles.

Vena stood by the door, waiting for me. I grabbed my purse from the table and noticed Shepard was already outside on the front lawn.

“I wonder if they brought me back any souvenirs,” Vena said as she happily left the house and headed to the car.

I prayed there were no souvenirs. Any time her parents went on their archeology digs, they brought back things that should have never been unearthed. The shrunken heads from a few years ago still horrified me.

Shivering at the thought of the tiny shriveled heads, I rubbed my hands over my arms.

“Are you okay?” Shepard asked. “Perhaps you should stay home.”

“I’m fine. I was just thinking about all the horrible souvenirs Vena has gotten over her lifetime.”

“Horrible?” Vena squawked. “Do you think the statue was horrible?”

“It was a fertility statue given to a sixteen-year-old who liked to tease boys. Yes, it was horrible.”

“What about the stone tablet?” she demanded.

“You mean the stone tablet that had a curse written on it?”

Vena tapped her finger to her chin as she thought. “What about the sixteenth-century bowl?”

I sighed. “That was an Asian bong, and it had penises engraved on it. Not a good gift for their fourteen-year-old daughter.”

“I don’t know. It came in handy as a change jar.”

Shepard cleared his throat. “We should get going.”

“We?” Vena asked. “There is no we. It’s only Everly and me.”

---