“Do you think you and Mia could behave yourselves?” Burt asked when Mike showed him the rotation. “I thought I’d pair you with Sabine this trip. Cid and Mia are an interesting fit.”
“Mia and I know when to be professional. Besides, she’s a bit miffed at me.”
“Had I been consulted, I would have stopped you. Telling her family in person of her illness was one thing, but claiming she had a broken heart was another.”
“I don’t believe I actually said that,” Mike related. “But I damn well agree with Cid that she’s hurting.”
“I think it was a ruse. No one bounces back from a heart event as fast as she did,” Burt said.
“Ah, but she had supernatural help. I noticed she’s minus two things: the scar around her calf, and her tattoo is gone. It would take a miracle man to counter Altair’s magic.”
“She wouldn’t appreciate us talking about her,” Burt said. “I’m thinking of putting Mason on com when I have to rotate Ted off. Cid’s got a lot on his plate with trying to fit into your shoes.”
“Then don’t put him in them,” Mike said, irritated.
“Honestly, you can’t be two places at once. And you do need to sleep to keep your youthful appearance.”
“Gee, thanks a lot, bud,” Mike said. “I’m going up to leer at Sabine and see if she’ll hit me.”
“You can’t make her into Mia,” Burt said.
“No. There is only one Mia.”
“I don’t get it. You’ve got the world on a string now. You can have any woman you want, and you still want Mia.”
“I’ve never met someone so accepting of all my flaws. You don’t have to work to be with her.”
“That’s true, but she’s so changeable. I’d have a problem with not knowing who was coming home.”
“It doesn’t bother Ted,” Mike pointed out.
“He loves it. But remember, he’s emotionally about thirteen. To him, she’s a constantly changing toy.”
“Burt, is that fair? Seems to me he’s a father of three boys…”
“His best friend still lives with him,” Burt quickly added.
“Well, there’s that,” Mike assented. “Ted and Mia seem like such a solid match.”
“Is that why you’re constantly trying to break them up?”
“Oh, Burt, I simply remind Mia there is a better alternative waiting for her. If I wanted to break them up, it would already have happened.”
Burt looked at Mike aghast.
“I love her too much to put her through that,” Mike said, leaving the stateroom.
~
Mia lay awake next to Ted. He was snoring. She knew he would be out for hours, so she decided that this would be a good time to OOB. She hadn’t had an out of body experience since Raphael had taken out the tumor. Mia worried that if she didn’t practice her craft, she would lose the ability. She closed her eyes and, in moments, was able to rise out of her body.
She chose a persona of her present self, dressed in clothing from the 1820s. She picked clothing that a visitor to the Royal may have worn. Her upswept hairstyle reflected the time. She moved out of the room and over to where Kevin lay sleeping. She nudged him.
“Kevin,” she said softly.
His eyes opened. He looked at her and sat up quickly. “Where’s the party?”
“Would you escort me through the hotel and maybe down into the town?”
He patted his pocket to make sure his flask was there before standing up. “Mia, you look beautiful. It would be an honor to escort you. I take it you left your body behind?”
“It’s easier to appear to be a ghost this way.”
“Well, I may want to suggest a few things.”
“Please.”
“Leave the army boots. Women wore slippers. And don’t pull me into a vortex or I’ll kiss you too.”
“Honestly,” she said. “Let’s address this right now. I’m not looking to replace your son. I really believe he will return. But dead is dead, Kevin.”
“I know. Come on, let’s paint the town red.”
They moved out of the suite of rooms and into the hall. Kevin played the ardent suitor as they passed a group of spirits. Mia made a mental note that the Royal may be a good place to set up a few cameras.
“This is a grand hotel. I would never in a hundred years have been able to afford to take Catherine to such a place. I did take her to have tea once in a hotel in Chicago. She liked that there were tablecloths on the table. We ate these little sandwiches and some tiny cakes. She sat there with her back ramrod straight. I think she was afraid we’d be tossed out at any minute. I told her, as long as we could pay, we were as good as the toffs.”
“Did you love her?” Mia asked.
“When we were courting, she was soft and happy. When we married, she seemed to flip a switch, and things like respectability came before fun. If Stephen hadn’t already been on the way, I would have left her. Instead I drank.”
“Marriage is hard work,” Mia said as they walked out onto the large porch.
“You and Ted make it look fun,” Kevin said.
“We had a rough patch. I’m not sure that it wouldn’t have happened at all if the powers that be didn’t want me flying.”
“You didn’t want to have wings?”
“I didn’t want to be a freak show.”
“You seem to have a little bit of Catherine’s problem.”
Mia stopped and looked up into Kevin’s face. “Tell me.”
“You care too much for what strangers think.”
“In my defense, I don’t want to be locked up and studied or put in an insane asylum.”
