Page 17 of Dyson

“I’m paying, and I’m only paying for the burger she’s having now. Nothing to go, nor will I pay for the steak she thinks she’s coming in later to get. Do you understand?” He said that he did and marked through some things on his paper. “I’ll have a burger as well and double the French fries.”

After he left them to get their drink orders, Emma smiled at Darling. There was so much hatred on her face it was almost as if she was going to have a stroke or something. Smiling at her again, feeling like she was in a better position than she’d been in her life, Emma asked her what she wanted to talk about.

“Money. I know that I’m not to ask you for any, so I’m going to demand that you give me what I have coming from the estate.” Emma told her no, that she wasn’t going to do that. “You will, or I’m going to make your life a living hell.”

“You’re already doing that now. But I’m better prepared now, and you’ll find that I’m not so easily manipulated anymore. I’m a stronger person than I was even a week ago.” Their drinks were brought, and the waiter told her that her husband was here. Would he be alright to sit with them? Darling said no. “Yes, please have him come and sit with us. I had hopes that he’d make it.”

“This meeting is between the two of us.” She pointed out that as loud as she was being, everyone knew what was going on. “I’ll yell if I want to if that’s what it takes for you to give me what is rightfully mine. You stole it all from me, and I demand that you return it to me posthaste.”

Dyson sat with them and kissed her. She was amazed every time that he touched her that he was all hers. Looking at her step-sister and wondered why she’d even agreed for this to happen. Today, of all days when she was feeling like a million bucks. Before she could speak to Darling, even if she thought that she could get through to her, Dyson spoke.

“First of all, you cannot collect on the will of a man that is still alive. When I left Emitte just a little bit ago, he was playing chess with my dad. When he dies, and I don’t see that happening for a long time yet, you can say whatever you want about my wife getting his estate. But she will inherit it from him, again, when he dies.” She told Dyson that she knew she wasn’t going to get any of it. “Not our problem. Perhaps had you been a better person than you are then he might have left you something. When he dies. From what I am to understand, you took from him all your life. Not just stealing things from the house but money, too. I don’t think that you’re going to get anything else from him or the estate, even if you were to change yourself around. As of two weeks ago, the house and all the land that surrounded it were signed over to myself and Emma. That means when he dies, the estate won’t be as—”

“You can’t have that, it’s mine. Damn you, Emma, I should have killed you rather than send you over to my parents to be their peon. The things that you’ve done…I want what is rightfully mine, damnyou.” Emma waited until the waiter was gone, dropping off not only their burgers but one for Dyson as well. She shared her fries with him as well. “I’m going to sue you. That’s what I’m going to do. David will have you in court in—”

“Sorry, but David no longer has the right to be called an attorney. When he was caught stealing—something that seems to run in your family—then he is no longer allowed to practice law anywhere. He gave up his license rather than face jail time. Didn’t he tell you that?” Emma laughed as she took a bite of her burger. When she was finished eating her bite, she looked at Darling again. “You really fucked up, I’m afraid. Nothing is coming to you once Grandda passes away. However, I have a feeling that he’s going to be around much longer than you’ll be.”

“I wouldn’t count on that. Mother didn’t make it, thanks to me. And it’s doubtful that he will for much longer. I’m going to take you to court as soon as I get out of this place.” She stood up then and drew in a deep breath. “Do you all hear me? I’m going to sue this bitch for her taking what is rightfully mine.”

No one even turned in her direction. It was as if they had gotten used to her yelling, and it didn’t bother them anymore. Before she left, however, Darling reached over and grabbed her still-uneaten hamburger. She thought for sure that she was going to take it with her, but she actually tossed it in their direction. It didn’t hit them as a sudden shield was in front of the two of them.

Emma was still laughing an hour later when Darling had been arrested. Since she couldn’t get her food on them, she went to other tables and tossed other patrons’ food at them. Dyson just ate his burger like there wasn’t anything amiss. She just laughed. It was, by far, the funniest thing that she’d ever seen. A grown woman having a temper tantrum in the middle of a posh restaurant like she was a two year old without a nap.

“That was a great burger. And the show that was going on around us was the best.” She giggled, telling Dyson that she’d enjoyed it as well. “We’ll have to go back again if they allow us to and have their soup and salad. The loaded baked potato soup looks like something that I’d enjoy.”

They talked about silly things on the way back to the house. She told him that she’d thought it was funny how someone had to point out to Darling that in order to collect from a reading of the will, someone had to actually die first.

Grandda had decided that he wanted to hang around a few more decades just to outlive Darling. He said that he wanted to dance on her headstone just once and then be done with her. She was going to bring the music and take pictures.

They were also looking to have her mom’s body exhumed. After Darling left, announcing how she’d been the one that had killed Grandma Sally, the owner of the restaurant had offered them a copy of the recording so that she could take it to the police to have them look into it. It broke her heart and that of her grandda to know that Darling had stooped so low as to kill her own mother.

“Why do you call them your grandda and grandma when they’re really your parents? I’ve meant to ask you that before, but I never found the right time.” She told him what she’d told them when they adopted her. “So you called them your grandparents because that was something that pissed off Darling more than you calling them Mom and Dad. I guess I can understand that. When a lot of people were calling your parents Mom and Dad for the fun of it, it was really the grandparent’s angle that set her ass on fire. I don’t know if you know this or not but Emitte has asked me to call him that as well. He thinks of us more as his grandchildren than his children. Because of the age difference, I suppose.”

“Grandda loves you so much, Dyson. As much as I do, I think.” He told her that he loved her as well. “Good. Now, I’ve talked to Amy and she told me that we can have a baby whenever I’m ovulating. I’ve stopped taking the pill. She told me that it wouldn’t work anyway if we decided to have a few children. I’m excited.”

“I am as well. To see you large with one of our children will make my life complete. They’ll be dragons. You’re aware of that, correct?” She told him that she was, again, Amy had told her. “She read the dragon book, both of them when she and Fowler got together. She knows a lot of rules that no one has enforced for a very long time.”

“I can see her doing that. Keeping up with the rules that would govern all of you guys. She even explained to me a bit better about Layla being the fire starter, too. I hadn’t any idea that you weren’t born with your breath until it was given to you.” He told her that he’d not either until it had been explained to him. “Your kind, they’re very secretive, aren’t you? I mean, I wish that I could see the sky darken with the dragons as your mother and father had. I love seeing you be able to fly with your brothers in the other realm.”

“We’ll have to go back there soon. I enjoyed showing you around when we were there the other day. I was seeing things in a way that you might see things. Like the unicorns and other flying creatures.” Emma reminded him that her favorite part was the flowers and the way they were cared for. “Yes, I know that you made a few friends with the brownies, too. I think they’d save you over me now.”

“That’s the way it should be, too.” They both laughed, walking around hand in hand and greeting people. “It’s getting chillier now. But I can go to bed and be warm now. Who knew that it took an entire night of debilitating sex to make you warm-blooded. We’ll have to do that soon again so that we can see what else sex can do to you.”

“Have you figured out any more magic? I know that you’ve found a few things you can do.” She asked him if he’d been told about the flame that she has, much like Amy has. “She told me. I think that it’s wonderful that you can bounce right to me or disaster when you’re needed. And it does happen where we go in under cover of darkness and help with fires that are taking over entire states. The firefighters do a great job and work harder than any department that I know of, but they get exhausted, too, and it’s our pleasure to go in and help them out.”

Emma spoke to him about the other things that she could do. It didn’t take her long to figure out that she could heat stones to put near plants to keep the frost from killing them. The faeries loved that, too. And that she could, without any muscle work at all, lift things up and move them, such as cars and trucks. He asked her what use that would have.

“I don’t know yet. But I’m sure that since I have it, I’ll need it. I did move things around in the barn that is out back. Grandda wanted some of the tractors moved so that he could get to the cellar. I didn’t even know there was one in the barn until he mentioned it. Now he wants to go down there and see what treasures might have been stored there.” He told her that there might be damage to things because of the mice. “Yes, I guess we won’t have any trouble with mice anymore with you guys around either. Odd thing, I think. For a tiny mouse to be afraid of a giant dragon.”

Dinner wasn’t going to be for a few more hours so they decided to go out into the yard to put the ground flowers to sleep. It wasn’t that hard, not with the help of the earthly creatures, but she couldn’t wait for the flowers to start popping their heads up above the straw that they would keep warm in when it started to be warmer all the time. She was looking forward to spring and summer like she hadn’t before.

After dinner, the two of them sat in the living room with grandda. He was in such a good mood that she didn’t bring up the meeting with Darling or the exhumation of Grandma Sally. When he got on the subject of the barn and how she was able to help him up in getting to the lower level, he told them the things that were down there.

“Barrels of things that had been packed away so long ago that I don’t remember what’s in them anymore. I know that they’re marked and all, but it’s difficult to read what it says. My mom was good at getting barrels for packing things away. She said that the mice would be too drunk after chewing on the wood to be able to get into the nice things in them. Sometimes I have to remind myself that you’re not blood related to her but I swear to you, you act just like her at times, Emma. Sometimes I even hear you say something, more than likely you’ve heard it from me that reminds me of her. I so love you, child, and you Dyson. I’m thrilled beyond words that the two of you are here with me, too.”

That night, as they were heading to bed, after kissing her grandda on the head, she remembered that she hadn’t called the police as yet. She was making her a list of things to do tomorrow when she laid her head on the pillow. Christ, sleep was never too far behind in her being able to lie her headdown.

Chapter 7

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