Ru sat on her sofa in lotus pose, attempting to connect with her inner-self. She’d always made fun of her sister, Danielle, when she talked about her yoga, but after she’d returned from the coffee shop, she’d begun to contemplate everything Cutter had said. As she graded stacks of papers and lesson planned for the next few weeks, the back of her mind was running through the possibilities of everything he had disclosed. If Cutter and Nat were able to take on a spirit form and somehow jump into her dreams, shouldn’t she be able to do the same thing? Of course, thinking that she could would mean she bought into Cutter’s fanciful stories about her origins, and even though she wasn’t quite sure she accepted any of it, how else could she explain the fact that he knew what she’d dreamt the night before? She hadn’t called him and recounted the vivid dream, after all.
So, with the lights dimmed, and the sun setting, she sat on her sofa and concentrated, her upturned hands resting on her knees. After about an hour or so of trying, all she had was a stiff neck and sore shoulder blades. Piper rubbing against her knee the whole time had been a bit of a distraction, but she didn’t think that was her only problem. Clearly, she had no idea what she was doing and wasn’t even completely convinced she was able to do it. Even if her mother was a half-angel and her father was a half-demon, wouldn’t that make her only a quarter of each? Cutter seemed to think her lineage would make her more powerful, but even by fourth grade math, Ru thought those numbers were diluted. Why would that make her capable of anything greater than what a full half-of-anything could do?
“I’m sorry. I’ve been neglecting you, haven’t I, kitty?” she said, rubbing Piper’s head. “Come on. Let’s go get you some dinner.” Ru uncrossed her legs and stretched them for a moment before she headed toward the kitchen. She flipped the light switch carefully and headed to the pantry to get the bag of cat food.
As soon as she picked it up, she remembered she’d meant to buy some more. There was hardly enough in the bag to fill Piper’s bowl halfway. “Sorry, Pipe,” she said, taking what she did have and dumping it into her bowl. While there was some kibble, most of it was powder. “I’ll go get you some more.”
It wasn’t quite 7:30, but Ru really didn’t want to get out. Sitting on the couch watching a movie with Piper was about all she had in mind for that evening. Nevertheless, she had to feed her companion, and it might be a good excuse to pick up something sweet for herself, too. All this turmoil with Cutter and his clan was starting to stress her out.
Grabbing her jacket and her keys, Ru started her car and then bent down to scratch Piper’s ears one more time. “I’ll be back.” She grabbed her wallet and headed out the door.
The grocery store was only a few blocks away, and she wasn’t surprised to find the lot mostly empty when she pulled in. Most people had better things to do on a Saturday night than shop for food, even in Reaper’s Hollow. Ru turned the car off and ran inside. With only two things on her list, it shouldn’t take her long.
She hurried to the cat food section and picked up a bag of Piper’s favorite food. Only a few older people wandered the aisles as she headed to the frozen foods. Off in the distance, she heard what sounded like a stressed out mother giving a warning to her kids, and she absently hoped it wasn’t anyone she knew. Most of the time, she didn’t mind seeing her students outside of school, but today, she wanted to remain anonymous.
Ru found the area she was looking for. Ben and Jerry’s lined the shelves behind the glass doors. It seemed like there were even more choices than there had been the last time she’d allowed herself to consider such a treat, which had to have been months ago. Her mother always told her she was a little chubby, so Ru avoided sweets like the plague. It didn’t matter that no one else ever made any such remarks and that she easily fit into size four jeans. Liddy Brown’s words had imprinted on her mind.
She stood and contemplated the selection for quite some time, narrowing it down to three choices before she even opened the door. Once she pulled it open and picked up the Phish Food variety, she spun it around to read the ingredients. Dark chocolate fish, caramel, and marshmallow. That sounded good. But what about the one with the peanut butter?
“Excuse me. I’d hate to interrupt. You look like you’re really concentrating there. But… would it be all right if I just….”
Ru turned to see a very tall, attractive man standing behind her. “Oh, I’m so sorry,” she said, holding the door open still and stepping out of the way.
“No, it’s fine. It’s just… if I come home without this,” he indicated the carton of Cherry Garcia in his hand, “my sister will send me right back.”
Giggling like an obnoxious teenager, Ru was having trouble pulling herself away from his hazel eyes. He had dark, wavy hair and a perfectly sculpted face. He smelled like pine and leather and all things masculine, and she had to stop herself from leaning in to take a deeper whiff. Had something leaked into the water supply that suddenly Reaper’s Hollow was teeming with attractive men? First Cutter and Rider, and now this guy. “I’m sorry,” she muttered again, shaking her head to clear it. “I’m just having a hard time deciding.” Looking down at the carton of ice cream in her hand and remembering her mother’s words, she suddenly seemed embarrassed. “Although, I don’t even need this.” She put it back on the shelf.
“I don’t think it’s about needing ice cream, is it?” he asked, his tone light. “I mean… I don’t think Jessie needs it either, but she’s a little stressed out right now, so hey, why not? Eat the ice cream!” He reached in, pulled out the container she’d been holding, and handed it back to her.
Once again, Ru couldn’t help but laugh, although this time it sounded more genuine than it had before, and possibly even less annoying. “I guess you’re right. Sorry your sister is so stressed out.”
“Oh, yeah. Thanks. New job, new town. She’s… she’ll be fine.”
It seemed to Ru like he wanted to talk to her about it, but also didn’t want to dump his issues on a stranger. “I was going to say, Reaper’s Hollow’s pretty small, and I don’t think we’ve met.” She’d definitely remember if they had.