asked back, “And why not?”
“Because it freaks them out!” I semi-shouted.
“The other her?” Phoebe asked.
“Oh for goodness sakes,” I hissed, stomped to the door, reached to Phoebe, grabbed her arm, pulled her in and turned to her. Then I introduced my friend to my parallel world husband, throwing my hand out from one to the other and back again as I spoke, “Phoebe, my kind of husband, Tor, Tor, my hopefully still best friend, Phoebe.”
Phoebe blinked again and asked, “Kind of husband?”
“It’s a long story,” I muttered.
“I’m not her kind of anything,” Tor stated at this point. “I am her husband and she is my wife and the mother of my unborn child.”
Oh my God!
Phoebe’s eyes bugged out of her head.
I whirled and exclaimed, “Tor!”
“What?” he growled, losing patience.
“You also can’t go around telling everyone I’m pregnant!” I cried.
“The little white stick said you were and I knew you were even before that contraption confirmed it so why the bloody hell not?” Tor returned.
“You just can’t,” I shot back.
“You’re pregnant?” Phoebe whispered and I turned back to see her face pale, her eyes still big and they were on me.
“Uh… yeah,” I whispered back.
Her big eyes darted to Tor then back to me then back to Tor then to me.
Then I knew she came to a decision (and not a good one for me) when she straightened her shoulders and pulled in breath as I watched her face close down.
Then she lifted up the bag and informed me, “Dave said you were back. He also told me some stupid story about how you had amnesia or whatever. Total soap opera but he bought it because he’s a big dork. So, whatever. I’m here to return that Coach bag and that blouse you loaned me. Then I’m gone.” She shook the bag. “Here it is.”
I didn’t look at the bag; I kept my eyes glued to my friend.
The other Cora had done something to her, obviously, I just had no clue what.
And I also had no clue what to do to make it better.
What I did know was that I couldn’t bear thinking she was mad at me at all much less leaving her in this world after whatever happened to me and Tor knowing she would always hate me for whatever the other Cora did so I had to do something.
“Take it,” she said, shaking the bag again.
“She hurt you,” I whispered.
“All right, don’t take it,” Phoebe stated, moved further into the living room, dropped it by my armchair and hitched her purse up on her shoulder muttering, “Have a happy life with your hot guy kind of husband.”
Then she started toward the door Tor had not yet closed.
“His name is Prince Noctorno Allegro Hawthorne. He’s of the House of Hawthorne, heir to the kingdom of Hawkvale, ruler of Bellebryn,” I announced, Phoebe’s shoulders went up her neck as I spoke, she stopped and slowly turned to face me.
I kept talking.
What the hell? I had nothing to lose.
“Obviously, all this is in an alternate universe that, evidence is suggesting, has the same people in it as we have here but even though they look the same, they’re different. I was transported there in my sleep two months ago and the Cora from there was sent here. She’s a bitch, like, an all ‘round bitch. She doesn’t discriminate with her bitchiness. She’s a bitch to everyone, here and in the other world, Tor’s world. Everyone hates her there but she’s had a lifetime of building that. It proves the true strength of her bitchiness considering she’d been here for just under two months and succeeded in making everyone hate me.”
Phoebe stared up at me and said not a word.
So I kept right on going.
“Anyway, we still don’t know what’s going on but a quick update, I was transferred there and within minutes, I accidentally started a curse that, if it comes to fruition, will bring plague and famine to everyone in Tor’s land. Tor is married to the other Cora but he hates her as in, a lot, so, since this world-hopping business is about as usual there as it is here, that is to say, not at all, he thought I was her so he didn’t like me either. Obviously, since I’m now pregnant, he got over that. Then we were both transported back here and we don’t know why that is either. We also don’t know how to get back. What we do know is that when we do, he’s divorcing her, marrying me and I’m having his baby. So, I’m kind of his wife –”
“Cora,” Tor growled from behind me, interrupting me and successfully expressing his displeasure at my turn of phrase.
Therefore I hurriedly explained, “Though Tor isn’t fond of the ‘kind of’ part and just considers us hitched.”
Phoebe blinked. Then she looked up at Tor and blinked. Then she looked back and me and when she didn’t blink, I kept talking.
“So, as if uncertain travel between parallel universes isn’t enough for us to deal with, the Cora of that world, when she was in this world, was bitchy to all my friends, including, obviously, you, and now they all hate me. She also left my house and car a total pit, which was not nice but luckily at least that was easily remedied. She also got herself into some kind of trouble. We think playing poker. The Noctorno of this world is a cop and he’s involved with her somehow. There’s a shitload of money in my DVD cabinet and he’s, that is, the other Noctorno, or, I mean, the Noctorno of this world is coming back to collect his clothes sometime later. He can’t see my Noctorno,” I gestured behind me, “mainly because he’d freak. And now we need to get back to make sure the curse doesn’t befall Tor’s land and do it before getting arrested or whatever.”
Phoebe said nothing, just stared at me.
I held her eyes and tried to read something there, anything.
There was nothing. She was just staring at me.
My heart lurched.
But my mouth whispered, “I know it sounds crazy but it’s true. I can’t prove it except to point out the other Noctorno you’ve seen doesn’t have a scar and my Noctorno does. So, you might believe me if you saw both Tor and Noc together but I can’t give you that so… well…” I threw out a hand. “I don’t know what else to say. Except I hope one day, when you know I’m gone, you’ll know I’m back there, with Tor, in his world, married to him and making a family because I love him and you’ll know it wasn’t me who hurt you but it was me who always loved you and I’ll be missing you.”
She continued staring at me, unmoving, unblinking.
I had nothing else to give.
Then she asked softly, “You’re pregnant?”
“Yes,” I said softly back.
“With a hot guy’s kid?”
I pressed my lips together and tried not to hope.
I couldn’t not hope.
I nodded and felt the tears stinging my eyes as the hope clogged my throat.
Then I whispered, “In Tor’s world, I’m also a princess, I can talk to birds and they talk back, the air shimmers like there’s glitter in it and my clothes kick ass.”
Phoebe stared at me.
Then she asked quietly, “You love him?”
I pulled in breath through my nose and felt Tor’s heat get close to my back.
Then I nodded.
Then suddenly she tipped her head back and screamed at the ceiling, “My best friend is knocked up with a
