Page 12 of Sprite Wedding
After the bizarre incident with my indecent dancing, the rest of the cruise went smooth sailing. Literally.
Zoe returned to her apartment, and I returned to the house with Nova and Diego. It was now evening, as we’d waited for the sun to set before traveling with Diego. The nuisance of traveling with a vampire.
“I’m staying over here tonight, so you have the place to yourself,” Diego said.
I gave them both a mock salute and said, “I bid you good night.”
They entered the door on the left side of the purple house with the circular rooms in the turret. I entered the main part of the house on the right, which I’d shared with Sebastian and Diego. Although he was married to Nova now and usually slept there, he kept his room over here. He often returned in the wee hours for beauty sleep, especially when Nova worked from home.
Socks were scattered through the house, courtesy of my strange gray cat Shadow’s fetish. He trotted down the stairs and meowed. He’d followed me home one day. I thought he was a stray but put up flyers and checked with local centers to make sure no one was looking for him. No one claimed him, but he claimed me. Once he returned home with me that day, he never left.
He rubbed back and forth against my legs and meowed, a vocal protest at my absence.
After putting down my carry-on luggage, I knelt. I rubbed his little head. “Hey, little buddy, I missed you. I’m sure Pandora took good care of you while I was gone.”
Pandora was the head witch in our group at the Salem Supernatural Network where Zoe and I worked. Pandora had cats and said she was happy to take care of Shadow while we were away. We discussed bringing him to her house, but the way Shadow’s territorial instincts revved up like he was on catnip-powered steroids whenever a cat strolled through our yard, it was best to keep him here in his domain. At least, he’d be comfortable at home and wouldn’t instigate fights with other cats.
Shadow punctuated his purrs with an occasional meow. He wasn’t going to let me off the hook that easily.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t take you with us, Shadow-bear, but what would a cat do on a cruise ship, anyway?” I rubbed his chin with more vigor, and he purred. “I’m sure you were happier here growling at any cats who walked through our yard. I don’t have plans to go anywhere else for the time being. That means I’ll shower you with all the attention you crave.”
Shadow purred with approval and nudged my hand.
“Do you want food?”
Of course, he did. When didn’t he want to be fed?
“Let’s check on the food situation.”
I walked into the kitchen, a cumbersome ordeal, as Shadow continued to rub against my leg.
When he crossed in front of me, I tripped but regained my balance. “Shadow, if you want to eat, you can’t try to kill me. How can I feed you if I fall and hit my head?”
Shadow purred as if he didn’t know or care.
“How about tuna in gravy? I know how picky you are about pate.”
He would turn up his nose and saunter away with his tail held high. Drama king.
I tossed him a few treats. While he devoured those, I emptied food into a bowl. Once he’d swallowed the treats, he resumed rubbing my leg and meowing as if to remind me he wanted food. As if I could forget.
“Here you go, Shadow.” I put the bowl down, and he abandoned my leg to eat. I refilled his bowl of water while my legs were temporarily released from feline demands.
I took my carry-on luggage down to the basement and threw in a load of laundry. Although vacation was great, I could do without all the preparation, packing, and unpacking.
I returned upstairs and played a Black Sabbath record. I sat on the couch and exhaled. “Ahhh. Home sweet home.”
I had the place to myself. Sebastian was still on his honeymoon and then moving in with Gianna. It would be strange not having him live here anymore. He often stayed at her place, so I should be used to it, but soon the change would be permanent. That was a bummer.
I’d miss not having Zoe here tonight sleeping in my arms, but she could probably use a break from me. After all, we’d spent the last week together sleeping in a small cabin—and I’d made quite a spectacle. That must have embarrassed her. I grimaced at my ridiculous behavior and still didn’t know what had brought it on.
Shadow finished eating and jumped on the sofa beside me. He wedged himself next to my leg. I pet my little furball.
Tomorrow, it was time to return to work at the Network. I would let them know about my encounter with the sprites, not that I was worried. Would they think anything of it?
ZOE
After running into Bryan three times near the end of the cruise, I managed to avoid him that last day. That was a relief. We didn’t need any more drama after Lucas’s bizarre dancing episode.
