Her eyes looked hopeful, then she looked to the couch where Peanut lay, “What about Peanut?”
“I think he’ll like the ocean as much as we will. I don’t have any real ties here now other than Rose and Benny. We could just pack up and go. We could leave tomorrow.”
Thirty minutes passed with Lauren and me planning our new adventure. We planned out the specifics, towing her van with my truck, what we would take, where we wanted to stop along the way. It sounded like a grand vacation and the beginning of a life we both longed for.
Rewsna and Mike walked through the door. Lauren and I stopped talking about our plans. Rewsna’s face was stern, “Lauren, Samael has not found a new host.”
There was nothing but silence. I kept the panic from grabbing hold. I met both Rewsna and Mike’s eyes without the slightest bit of fear. Lauren looked confused, so I willed myself to mimic her expression.
“Dakota has arrived. This can only mean that Samael is still present and he is in hiding.” She turned her attention to me, “Max, Samael is still in there. I know you don’t want to hurt Lauren. If he remains inside you, it is only a matter of time.”
Lauren still looked confused, so I didn’t attempt to emulate a new emotion and there was no way I was going to show any fear. Showing fear would be the equivalent of admitting deception, and that would mean certain death. Lauren asked, “Who is Dakota?”
Rewsna continued concentrating on me but answered Lauren. “Dakota is a Cabinet member that represents Doubt. As you can guess, her presence here makes me extremely uncomfortable.” Rewsna could see that neither of us understood this revelation, so she continued, “Dakota represents Doubt, I represent Confidence. As I told you before it is extremely uncomfortable to be physically close to your opposite.”
Lauren said earnestly, “Rewsna, I don’t care who comes or how they make anyone else feel, I’m done with all of this. Samael is gone, Max is fine, I’m better than I’ve been in years, and we’re leaving this place and all of the drama behind us. Cabinets, Council, Demons, or anything else the world has to throw at us are no longer a priority, or even interesting. We’re leaving tomorrow. I don’t know if we’ll ever be back. The only thing I know is we don’t want any part of any of this anymore. You and everyone else in the yard can show yourselves out. We’re done.”
“Lauren I’m afraid it isn’t that easy. Samael is still in Max, I’m sure of it. We cannot allow him to simply walk away. . . ” Lauren didn’t let Rewsna finish her sentence.
In a voice that left no room for interpretation, Lauren demanded, “Get out. Now.”
Rewsna glared in my direction. I kept my mind as blank as possible, not wanting to let on that I had been purposely deceitful. I put an image of the ocean in my mind, with Lauren and I sitting on a sandy beach, and the surf encroaching on us. The seagulls were overhead, the sun glared off the water: I let myself be taken in by this fantasy. If Rewsna was searching me for any sign of Samael, I wouldn’t make it easy on her.
Without another word, Lauren walked to the front door and held it open for Rewsna and Mike. Lauren and Rewsna stared at each other long enough, that the general awkward feeling that had been prevalent was replaced by an unnerving silence from both women. For several long minutes I stood frozen, looking from one face to the other to see who would triumph. I could see Rewsna was angry, the emotion radiated from her. Lauren, on the other hand, was not upset in the least, just resolute that whatever had happened during the course of their relationship had no bearing whatsoever on how she planned to go forward.
A woman I did not recognize began climbing the steps to the front door. She was enough of a distraction that the tension between Lauren and Rewsna ebbed briefly. This woman was of average height, not fat or thin, had dishwater-blonde hair, wore blue jeans, a t-shirt and running shoes. She was, to say the least, unremarkable. She was someone I might have never seen before in my life or she could be someone I’d seen at the grocery store hundreds of times. She was exactly the type of person that almost no one would remember meeting.
I was standing against the far wall of the kitchen. Lauren was still at the door holding it wide open and Rewsna stood half way in between us. This stranger reached out her hand to Lauren as she stepped to the door. Lauren shifted her body in an effort to block this new person’s entry, but continued to keep the door open to her side. It didn’t look as though this action offended the stranger in any way. When strangers introduce themselves, they typically are over enthusiastic about greeting a complete stranger, which was not the case with this woman.
Lauren did not accept the stranger’s hand. It looked as though she were unwilling to acknowledge that it had even been offered. Lauren simply asked, “Can I help you?”
The plain woman said, “I don’t believe so, but I’d like to have a word with Renny, if you don’t mind.”
“I don’t mind a bit. She was just leaving.”
Lauren stood to the right of the door again and motioned for Rewsna to exit. Whoever this stranger was, her presence at the door prompted Rewsna’s departure. The two women stepped quietly down the steps together with Mike a few steps behind. Lauren closed the door quietly and locked it, then turned to me and said, “Not a word.” She handed me one of her handguns. I hadn’t
