“Ah, yes, actually.” Natti stared at the woman before her. “I’m sorry for any trouble she might have caused.”
“Oh, no trouble at all. She’s honestly the sweetest little creature I’ve ever met. And it’s nice to have a visitor once in a while. Kinda gets lonely around here.”
Natti looked over at the woman, who was stroking Bastet’s fur. “You have an amazing voice. I couldn’t help but overhear you when I entered.”
The woman blushed. “Thank you. I sing to keep myself sane. I feel like it’s the only time I can actually think clearly anymore. Well, when I sing and when I work in my gardens. Otherwise, it just seems like life is a blur to me.”
Life a blur? Natti glanced at the garden. She would give anything to live in a place as peaceful as this. A sanctuary from the craziness of her life.
The woman looked at the cat purring in her arms. “What’s her name?”
“Bas,” Natti automatically replied. “Well, actually, it’s Bastet, but I prefer calling her Bas.” She glanced at the cat. “Just feels more right in some way. I’m Natti, by the way.”
The woman carefully held out a hand and Natti gasped it. “Michelle O’Keefe.”
Natti’s eyes widened when she let go. “O’Keefe?” Oh don’t tell me! She nervously pulled at the hem of her shirt. “You don’t happen to be related to Seth O’Keefe, would you?”
“Oh, you know my son?”
She nodded, feeling the blood draining from her cheeks. “From school.”
So this was where Seth called home. Holy crap. She knew he had money, but this . . .
Michelle’s eyes wandered over Natti and chuckled to herself. “Of course. How silly of me. A beauty such as yourself, he probably can’t keep his hands off you.”
Hearing the unusual compliment, Natti snapped from her thoughts and blushed. “Ah, it, it’s actually nothing like that, Mrs. O’Keefe. Um, we’re just classmates, really.”
“Oh.” Michelle raised her brow, her eyes examining Natti once again. Her expression was a mixture laughter and disbelief. Natti couldn’t help wonder what she was thinking.
Uncomfortable by the sudden awkwardness, Natti scanned the herb garden around her. “You have a very lovely garden.”
“Yes, as I said, it’s the only other time I feel I can think for myself. Gardening is just part of who I am, and it comes naturally.”
“Some of these herbs I’ve never even seen before.” Natti pointed to a vine with clusters of black fruit and read the label. “‘Pep?’”
Seth’s mother laughed. It had a similar ring to Seth’s except it was softer. More like church bells calling to the masses on a peaceful Sunday morning. “Well, dear, you’ve have actually seen this herb before. Every day on your kitchen table, in fact. This is black pepper.”
Natti gaped in shock. She looked closer at the plant, recognizing the little black corns she had seen in the grocer’s.
Bastet whaled and struggled to get free of Michelle’s grasp. “I think she wants to be with you.” Michelle let Bastet crawl onto Natti’s shoulder. “May I ask? Why Bastet?”
Natti snorted a laugh, remembering back to the day her grandmother presented her with the little kitten. “My grandmother named her, actually. She told me that Bastet was one of the most loyal children of sun god, Ra. She protected him and many of the pharaoh’s that ruled in his name, and her children—Mrs. O’Keefe, are you okay?”
Michelle closed her eyes, her body swayed. Panicked the woman was having a seizure or something, Natti placed a hand on the woman’s shoulder to steady her while Seth’s mother drifted in and out of consciousness.
Oh God, Oh God, don’t die on me! Natti prayed. Please don’t die! She didn’t need this after watching Wanda suffer from the date rape drug.
Seth’s mother shivered, rolled back her head, and let out a soft moan. Finally, her eyes shot open as if nothing happen and rubbed her hands over her arms. Her expression tormented with sadness. Natti noticed how dilated her pupils were and another wave of panic set in.
“Mrs. O’Keefe?” Natti’s voice was shrill from her heart pounding against her throat. “Are you okay? Should I call someone? You don’t look well.”
“Oh no, I’m fine.” Michelle’s voice was weary.
Through there was no heaviness to the woman’s words, Natti didn’t believe her. The woman’s eyes weren’t contracting, leaving them as black as the Pharaoh’s Queen in Setemple High’s cafeteria. The pit of Natti’s stomach twisted into knots. “I think I should call a doctor.”
She began to pull out her phone when Michelle’s hand grasped her wrist. “It’s really nothing. Just another spell I’m sure. A little coffee or tea will do the trick.”