“That wench just threw acid at us.” A smart, normal person would have been terrified. Me, on the other hand—I was pissed.
“She’s a witch!” Bartholomew was screaming at me and looking paler than before.
“Witch, wench. Who cares? Look what she did to the Whale.” Why was Bartholomew getting technical here?
“No, Isis. I mean she is a witch, a real witch. The spell-throwing kind of witch.” Bartholomew pointed at the back door for emphasis.
“What? No way. Please tell me you’re lying.” This was insane.
He had no time to make me feel better. The black van took a sharp left into our lane.
“Watch out!” Bartholomew screamed as we were heading toward the median, thanks to the witches of Eastwick.
I was thanking the military for my training in defensive driving. That was the only thing that saved us from collision. I made a few quick maneuvers and pulled the Whale to a stop. The witches had taken the exit behind us at Lake Drive. I glanced behind us, trying to determine how clear our path was.
“Don’t even think about it.” Bartholomew’s voice was ice cold, and I froze.
“We’re going to lose them.” If we did a quick U-turn, we could catch them.
“We’ve lost them already. Besides, do you have anything here to fight with or shield us from spells? I don’t think so. You’re not going to get us killed on your first day on the job.” He crossed his arms and stared me down.
“Fine.” I beat my head on the steering wheel. This was a horrible day.
“We still need food. Can we finish that part and then head home? Constantine is going to want to hear about this. It’s probably a blessing that you don’t like to shop much. You’re dangerous.” Bartholomew’s color was returning, and I decided to drive at a moderate speed. He was never going to leave the house after this.
Chapter 11
I barely had enough time to drop off Bartholomew and the groceries at Reapers. With the witches and all the excitement, I was almost late for work again. Abuelita’s only had a dinner hour on Mondays and closed early. I promised Bartholomew and Constantine I would feed them that night, since we finally had food. As Constantine had promised, my clothes and small items were in my room when I got back. I dressed in my regular black shirt and pants and was out the door.
I walked into Abuelita’s exactly at 4:00 p.m. The dinner hour started at 4:30 p.m., and I knew I had lots to do after rushing out the day before. Abuelita was busy making rice and beans. She made her own tortillas, and those were already done. I had no idea what time Abuelita came in, but she always had so much stuff done, it was insane.
“Hi, Abuelita. Hope I’m not too late.” I dropped my keys on the back table and grabbed an apron.
“Isis, you’re looking much better.” Abuelita had a huge smile on her face.
“I finally got some rest last night.” I really needed to give Death thanks. Besides Constantine’s horrible training session, I was feeling so much better. Even the exercise had my muscles vibrating with new energy.
“You should try doing that more often. You’re almost glowing.”
I stopped short and took a breath. Was I glowing because of my crazy Death kiss or just because I looked refreshed?
“By the way, Constantine said hi.”
What happened next was totally unexpected. Abuelita dropped her wooden spoon into the pot and rushed over to me. In less than three seconds, I was being embraced in a huge hug.
“Thanks to all the saints in heaven you said yes. I was so worried you were going to turn it down. I felt horrible seeing you in so much pain on Saturday and not being able to help.” Abuelita was holding my face in her hands. I couldn’t move, so all I did was stare at her.
“You knew. I’m not even supposed to talk about this. How did you know?” I had a million questions I wanted answers to.
“Constantine asked to me watch over you when you started working here. They had to get everything ready before approaching you. Buildings are not done in a day.” Abuelita made that statement as if it answered all my questions.
“You’ve been watching over me for the last three months?” No wonder she was always so nice to me.
“Isis, please. We’re nice to you because you’re a doll, not because we had to.”
“Can you read my mind?” I was not prepared for all this.
“Of course not, silly girl. But your expressions are an open book. You need a better poker face. So don’t stand there. Start getting the utensils ready.” Abuelita moved back to her stove, and I ran over to the bar to get things ready. We had less than thirty minutes before people started coming. I angled myself so I could work and still see Abuelita.
“Why did you agree to do it?” Was I such a sad case?
“I wasn’t planning on it till you came in asking about the opening.”
Abuelita had started working the chicken for the tacos and didn’t see me staring.
“You weren’t?”
She glanced at me, and I started working faster, pretending the answer was not very important to me.
“Most interns are self-righteous, pretentious pricks.” Abuelita never cursed, so I knew she was serious.
“Don’t hold anything back, now. Tell me how you really feel.”
She smiled at me, and I couldn’t help but smile back.
“Trust me, Death hires talented, smart, and gifted people. But they’re insufferable and downright annoying. You were different. You weren’t too good to clean tables and work for a living.”
I had never thought she noticed my attitude that much. “Thanks. That means a lot to me.” I moved around the bar to get the chairs down and set the tables up.
“So, I guess you won’t be working here anymore.” Abuelita had moved over to the
