“I have to go. I’ll be in touch.” Time snapped back into forward motion leaving Adriel with several thoughts chasing around her head.
***
“You need a cell phone,” Pam declared with finality.
“I’m sure I don’t.”
“Trust me, you do. We’ll go get you one of those prepaid ones. That way, you won’t have a monthly bill to worry about, but you’ll have it in case of emergencies. It’s your first big step toward being more independent. First a phone, then a car.” Pam dragged Adriel past shelves piled high with various gadgets and over to the mobile phone department. Given her history with all things electrical, there was a better than even chance she would kill a cell phone inside of a week.
“I don’t drive.” Pam gave Adriel that look. The one combining sympathy with the words, what planet are you from? Adriel hated that look but couldn’t disagree with the sentiment behind it—from Pam’s perspective, she was as odd as they come.
“I’ll teach you.”
“I don’t need you to embark on a program for my betterment.”
“Nonsense. Everyone should learn to drive. It’s a rite of passage.”
“I didn’t say I couldn’t drive. I said I don’t. There’s a difference.” Adriel’s tone of absolute finality deterred Pam about as much as a bird could stop a hurricane, and earned her the look a second time. In return, Adriel blasted Pam with her patented I’m-an-angel-don’t-mess-with-me glare, which only proved Pam was impervious. Adriel might as well have handed her a kitten for all the good it did.
“What did you do to get from place to place? Teleport?” The joke fell on stony ground since it was a bit too close to the truth for Adriel’s comfort. Pam’s eyes lit with the fervor normally reserved for religious zealots when she picked out the phone she thought would suit Adriel best.
“Here; this one can access the Internet and take photos.” Clutching a blister-wrapped packaged, she then dragged Adriel to the checkout.
Back in the parking lot, Pam’s flashing legs carried her straight to the passenger seat. The little woman could move fast when she wanted to. Smirking smugly, she chirped, “You drive.”
“I don’t drive.” Insistence appeared futile.
“Whatever it is, you need to get over it. It’s four miles. What harm could you do in so short of a distance. Besides, you did say you knew how. Prove it.”
“It would be illegal.”
“Come on, take a walk on the wild side.”
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Adriel twisted the key and the motor hummed to life. With shaking hands, she dropped the shifter into reverse, looked over her shoulder, and stepped on the gas. The Jeep shot out of the space like a rocket, and if her reflexes hadn’t been sharp, would have slammed into one of the cars parked in the next row. Jamming the brake, Adriel managed to stop just in the nick of time, while Pam rocked forward then backward in her seat—one hand gripping the seatbelt, the other braced on the dash.
Nervous energy lifted the hair on Adriel’s arms to the point of creating a prickling sensation. Absently, Pam let go of the seat belt to brush a hand down her own arm—so strong was the wave of energy pouring through the small space.
Shifting into drive, Adriel attempted to take off at a slower pace. She really did. What felt to her like gentle pressure on the pedal caused the vehicle to lurch forward. Heightened emotion pushed at the boundary of the block around her power until more of it leaked into the frisson of tension running along her skin. Pam’s GPS crackled to life without being turned on and announced, you have arrived before going dead. Presumably forever.
“But I’ve barely even left yet.”
Pam’s laugh was half amused and half horrified. Goosebumps flowed across her skin like a wave. Any sane person would have demanded to take over the wheel. Instead, she waved Adriel on like an adrenaline junkie getting a fix. Tossing her head back and laughing harder had the opposite effect of calming Adriel down. The more Pam seemed to enjoy the ride, the harder the experience played on Ariel’s nerves, and the more intense the waves of energy radiated off her. Pam should have been begging to stop by now, instead of laughing like an overjoyed hyena.
This wasn’t Adriel’s first time behind the wheel of a vehicle. She hadn’t lied about that; but would Pam believe her if she explained the last time was when she filled in for a NASCAR driver’s guardian angel? The time before that was during a short stint with Henry Ford. A car is a car, right?
By the time they pulled into Adriel’s drive, Pam had finally gone quiet. And pale. And she was sweating from places Adriel didn’t even know had sweat glands.
“You know what?” Pam choked out the words, “I think Uncle Craig had a bike in the shed. Maybe you should check it out. I think it had a nice basket on the front.” Her voice trembled, “They say exercise does a body good.”
***
Over Pam’s shoulder, Julius shimmered into view. “Come outside,” he mouthed. Adriel gave him a nearly imperceptible nod and excused herself. Her shift wouldn’t start until after noon, so she said goodbye to Pam and strolled out of the building.
“Hello, Julius. Good to see you again.”
His head bobbed. “Galmadriel.” He fell silent.
“I assume you’re here in the same capacity as Estelle?” Wry humor penetrated her tone. In her present predicament, training the pair of them wouldn’t be easy, and she suspected they might have been sent to her as penance. She strolled with him toward home.
“We let you down at the bridge. I’m sorry.”
“I’m the one who let you down. I should have known it would be too much for us to handle.”
Adriel chanced a glance at him to find his face unreadable. Taciturn at the best of times, Julius kept his feelings locked down tightly. It was a habit that would stand
