“What was bigger?”
Suddenly I couldn’t hold back anymore and it all came spewing out. “The stone! He gave her a bigger diamond! And she looked at him all...” I tilted my face upward and tried to glaze my eyes over. “And then he looked at her like...” Not being able to, or simply unwilling to put it into words, my hands flew into a tizzy as I tried to mimic the look I'd seen.
Luck started to fidget and was blinking rapidly now. “I understand.”
“No, I’m not sure you do.” I leaned back on the couch, somehow feeling worse, now that I'd gotten it out. Wasn't it supposed to work in reverse? “This is not helping,” I said to Luck, wishing I'd never said a word.
She stood up quickly and started to nervously fumble through her oh so teeny purse.
“Who are you calling?”
She plastered on the fakest smile I'd ever seen and held her hand up, motioning for me to give her a minute.
“Need you at Karma’s, ASAP. DEFCON one.” The entire time she spoke, the smile never slipped and her voice sounded like she could have been congratulating someone on a recent promotion.
I stood and went to grab the phone from her hand but it was already too late. “Who was that? I just told you not to tell everyone.”
“I didn’t tell everyone. I only told Kitty. She doesn't count.” Problem with Luck was no one actually counted, and everyone was in the loop. She had a very large loop.
“Kitty?” She was a nice lady and all but not the one I'd call for something like this.
“I'm sorry, but it's too big for just me to handle.” She shifted her weight to one hip.
“I wasn't asking you to handle it.” I was on the verge of pulling my hair out as she dug her red lipstick out and puckered her lips. No one was too trivial to not get fresh lips in Luck’s opinion.
“Clearly, this needs to be handled. Would you have rather have had Murphy? Crow would stink us out of this place. It's way too small. Or worse, Fate? Now that would've been awkward, considering you slept with him, too.” She finished her lips and made a popping sound with them.
Kitty wasn't the knocking type and strolled right in ten minutes later. Luck blurted out the whole story while Kitty poured herself some iced tea she’d fetched from the fridge.
“Any lime in this place? I like a slice of lime in my tea,” she yelled, louder than necessary, across the condo to me.
“Nope. No lime,” I said as I watched her finish off my iced tea. Why did they always finish off my tea on the worst days?
Luck came and sat with me on the couch while Kitty opened every drawer in the fridge. Apparently, she needed to confirm there was no lime herself. After she eventually gave up, she stood in front of where Luck and I were sitting on the couch.
She looked around for a minute before she began to speak. “Obviously you don’t care that much for material things, or you wouldn’t be living in this dump.”
“That’s true,” Luck added, talking mostly to Kitty. “One night with me could get her a better place, and then there’s that car she drives.”
“I’ve seen it.” Kitty shuddered. “So this is the problem. You view the larger ring as him putting more value upon his new fiancée than he did you.” She shifted her weight from her right leg to her left. “And he does.”
“This is supposed to be helpful?” I looked at both of them.
Kitty paced around my small living space, a cat trailing her feet. “Because he's supposed to be with her. She was better for him. It has nothing to do with you. In Charlie's existence, you were rawhide when he wanted catnip.
“The problem with all you young kittens is you think it's all about you. It isn’t.” Kitty waved her finger toward the two of us, now sitting side by side. “There is no better or worse, inferior or superior. It's figuring out where you're meant to be and then getting there. This is true in every aspect of your life. If you fight to stay somewhere you don't belong, it will never be good and never get better.
“That has always been your problem.” She made sure to stop and point an accusing finger in my direction, so there would be no confusion which one of us she meant. “You try and squeeze into the wrong spots. And don't tell me you didn't know. You did. When you find the place you belong, it feels right, even on the worst day ever.” Kitty leaned down and looked at me. “You, missy, know exactly what I'm talking about.”
I hated to admit it, but I had really started to enjoy something about being Karma. Maybe she had a point. Did I really belong here with these people? Then images of Fate flashed through my mind. He'd felt so right, even in that short time. Nah, she was talking about the job. That night was Cupid's doing.
Kitty grabbed her crocheted bag and headed out the door without even saying goodbye, her cat right beside her.
I looked at Luck, not sure how to describe the kick in the ass I'd just received. “Wow. That was...”
“She's good, right?”
“Honestly, I do feel a bit better.”
Chapter Six
Wrinkled and liking it.
My old Honda pulled into the usual parking spot the next night. I scanned the condo complex parking lot for Fate's Porsche before I got out. When I didn’t see him, I guessed he’d taken some time off, maybe had a job to do or something. Another twenty-four hours I'd managed to avoid him checked off.
Grabbing my take out, I got out and walked to the condo. I’d left the lights off as I walked in, the dark not bothering me as much now that my eyesight had improved somewhat. I was about to head into the kitchen and pour myself an iced tea when I saw a figure sitting on my couch.
“Lars, what are you doing here?” The only panic I felt was that I might not make it to my bed in the next hour.
He remained seated as he said, “We need to talk.”
Another one who wanted to talk? He sounded just like Fate had the other day. I dropped my food and purse on the counter and went over to where he was sitting. Even with better eyesight, it was more like looking at an impressionistic version of him. I could still see his dark hair hanging down around his broad shoulders, and feel his eyes on my body, but couldn't make out the more subtle features, like the tattoo that ran up the side of his neck.
“I realize you might have missed the finer points of humanity, since you skipped over that grade, but breaking into my condo isn't a great conversation starter.” My lesson in human manners didn't appear to faze him. “Are you just going to sit there?” Even most burglars, who I'd say hung on the very bottom rung of the politeness ladder, would show enough respect to try and run when they're caught.
I looked upward, a habit I'd started to form and said, “I realize he is a past employee, but did you people just hire anyone? Have you no standards?” I brought my gaze back to Lars. “You can't just break in to people's homes. Even if I'm not technically a person anymore, that rule should still apply.”
Lars's head, shifting slightly to the right, caught my attention and that was all the warning I had before Fate slipped an arm around my waist.
He leaned down slightly, just enough to make my skin tingle where his stubble grazed my cheek. “You’re not giving us much choice, now are you?”
I quickly stepped away from him and he didn't attempt to stop me.
“Were you in my bedroom?” It was the only place he could've been.
“Just taking a look around.” He strolled over to the dinette set, leaned a hip on the table and smiled.
“How many times do we have to have this conversation? I can't be the only one getting bored of hearing myself turn you down.”
“You know about us,” Lars said.
“Yes. I do.” I shrugged. “So what?”
“So, we've got a problem. That means it's your problem, too.”
I watched as Fate took a silent back seat. I guessed he was waiting to see how this would play out?