“I smell like Mexican food. I’m going to take a shower first. Don’t wait for me.” Even my hair smelled like it.
“We can wait.” Bartholomew put his fork down and took a sip from his drink. I heard his stomach growling.
“If you guys don’t mind me stinking, I’ll join you.” I walked over to the kitchen area and made myself a plate. I had three large containers—one with pork, one with chicken, and the last with rice and beans. I really hoped they were hungry, or we were going to have food for days.
“You smell pretty tasty. But I understand not wanting to walk around covered in it.” I was sure that coming from a cat, being tasty was a great compliment.
I took my plate of rice and beans to the table. Bartholomew had poured me a drink while I was making my plate. I had piled guacamole on my plate. Abuelita’s guacamole was addicting. I sat down and bowed my head to pray. Bartholomew and Constantine were staring at me with their heads tilted. They had such a similar look that I almost smiled.
“What are you doing?” Bartholomew looked so innocent.
“I was going to pray. Do you guys want to join me?” I was afraid to push my beliefs on them.
“I don’t follow a god or denomination.” Constantine looked at me as he spoke.
“Neither does my godmother. She claims to be agnostic. So our prayers, growing up, were directed to a higher power in thanksgiving and grace. No affiliation necessary.” That was the best way I could describe it.
“I like that. Could we try it?” Bartholomew looked eager. Or maybe he was just hungry.
“Your godmother sounds like my kind of people. And you grew up to be Catholic?” Constantine was right. My godmother and he would totally become best friends in a New York minute.
“I found the rituals and traditions comforting. Christianity called to me while I was in the military.” At first, church was a way to get out of duties on Sunday in basic training. Then I was touched. I was definitely not sharing all that.
“And now you are a poinsettia, lily, and orchid.”
Even Bartholomew was confused by Constantine’s statement.
“I’m a what?”
“You’re a Christmas, Easter, and Mother’s Day Christian. The only times you go to church.” He was rolling when he said that.
“OK, I like the other way better. Sounds so much nicer.” A smart-ass cat was not funny.
“I heard that from a wise man in town. He’s devious but oh so clever.” Any man Constantine admired as devious and clever was someone to watch out for.
“Can we pray now, before Bart’s stomach starts eating itself?”
At that they both smiled and nodded.
I bowed my head, and the boys followed suit. “Father, we want to thank you for the food we are about to eat. We pray for the people who prepared it. We give you thanks for the new friends you’ve brought into our lives. Give us health and happiness. For all this we pray.”
I finished my prayer with the sign of the cross. Crossing my right index finger over my right thumb, making a cross, I touched my forehead, my heart, my left shoulder, and finished with my right shoulder. The physical prayer made another cross over my body. Silently I repeated the words “In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” I had done it so often that it took less than five seconds to complete.
“Let’s dig in. I hope you guys like it.”
Neither one replied. They just jumped on their food. I noticed Constantine had a booster chair to reach the table. At least he ate like a cat. I wasn’t sure if I could handle him using a fork, since he didn’t have fingers.
Abuelita’s food had a way of calming the masses. We were all focused on it for at least the first five minutes.
“So, are you quitting Abuelita’s?” Constantine asked between mouthfuls.
“I wasn’t planning on it.” I was enjoying my beans and rice too much to even look up. When I did, both Bartholomew and Constantine were staring at me. “What? What’s wrong with that?”
“Nothing, but most interns said it was too much work to have two jobs.” Bartholomew didn’t sound convinced when he said that.
“It’s a part-time job; come on, now. It’s not like we’re working in a factory with set hours. Besides, I get all the free food I want. You can’t beat that.” OK, so maybe I really did work for food, but a girl has to eat.
“Can I work there, too?”
Oh, thank God I wasn’t the only one who would work for food. “Or I can just bring food home, and we share.”
His mouth was full, but he managed to nod. Was this actually home? The thought scared me. We finished eating with a few comments regarding the food.
“OK, I’m heading to the shower. Afterward we need to talk about those witches and what’s going on. You two are in charge of the dishes.” With that I dropped my plate in the sink and headed toward my bedroom.
“She’s been here less than a day, and she’s already bossing us around. That’s technically my job. I’m the guardian,” Constantine said to Bartholomew.
Bartholomew laughed. “I heard that.”
The hot shower did wonders for my muscles. I struggled to get out and get ready. The bed looked so good, but we needed to get to work. Hopefully, one of them would explain the mechanics of it. Twenty minutes later, I was clean and dressed and heading toward the common area.
Bartholomew was at his workstation typing away. Constantine was on the back of the couch talking to him.
“Are you sure you can’t find them?” Constantine sounded irritated. “You can track anyone in the world, but you can’t find witches in Texarkana.”
“I told you, we don’t have nearly as many police cameras around town. Makes the work a little harder now.” Bartholomew didn’t even look at him when he spoke.
“What are you doing, Bart?” I took a seat
