Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 57143 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57143 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 286(@200wpm)___ 229(@250wpm)___ 190(@300wpm)
It must have been so nice for him to curl up against Cordelia. She was warm, fluffy, and kind. Marty must’ve known that she wasn’t his mother, but he needed to feel loved and safe, and Cordelia was very good at loving her kittens.
We detached the wire from Marty’s harness. No more pipes required rewiring, so we went back to the office.
Mother was gone, but Father was still here. And my aunt Diana loved me very much. My uncle loved me, too. He didn’t like people. He was mostly a wolf himself, but he knew I was family. If I was in trouble, he would come to help me and he would kill anyone who tried to hurt me.
I had the Baylors. Everyone took care of me. If I wanted love, I didn’t have to look very far.
“I think I would like to try learning Korean,” I said.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“If it becomes painful, please don’t force yourself.”
“I won’t.”
I moved closer to Father. He hugged me, and his arms were warm and safe. I smiled at him and we went back to the office to reward Marty with kitten food.
INN TALKS
While we do not have a multiverse, sometimes our characters end up at Gertrude Hunt, a bed-and-breakfast inn that caters to a very particular type of customer. They enjoy delicious snacks, prepared by a chef who was once fired in connection with poisoning of some Galactic royalty, and talk about their lives.
ARABELLA BAYLOR
Dear readers, welcome to Gertrude Hunt for this edition of Inn Talks. Today, by popular demand, we have a special guest, Arabella Baylor of House Baylor.
Arabella: Thank you for having me. The tea is delicious.
Dina: It’s our pleasure.
Arabella: Also, the little pastries with the strawberry filling are to die for.
Dina: I’m so glad you like it. I’ll let our chef know. He’ll be delighted. So, I have a checklist of things to ask you.
Arabella: Oh no. It’s getting serious.
Dina: We pride ourselves on being thorough. So first, you look very well put together. What are you wearing?
Arabella: Nothing too special today. The skirt is the cherry miniskirt from AKNVAS, multi-colored plaid, high-waisted, front-slant pockets. The pockets are functional which is my favorite thing. Also, since I’m short, the mini hits a little lower on my legs, which is great for business settings. The matching Valdi blazer is from the same brand. The white turtleneck I picked up at JC Penney’s for about $20.
Dina: Are clothes important?
Arabella: Very.
Dina: Why?
Arabella: Well, the obvious reason is that I want to look cute. I mean, we all want to look cute. As you know, I come from a very large but tight-knit family. We own an investigative agency. Prior to becoming a House, we mostly handled insurance fraud, some bail jumpers, cheating spouses, and so on. Small time non-violent offenses. Now our business revolves around the magical heavyweights of Houston. Our clients come from dynasties several generations deep. The sort of people who custom order baby apparel from a couture shop in France and have it flown in by a special courier. One must fit in to be taken seriously, especially since they usually see me when the bill comes due.
Dina: What kind of cases are you typically handling now?
Arabella: A lot of theft, both physical and IP. Fraud is very common, usually within the bounds of the family. A large sum of money disappears, and the Head of the House wants to know which one of their siblings or offspring is responsible. Background checks are huge, the kind that go beyond the basic databases. Still catch a lot of cheating spouses, though. Hehe.
Dina: Some things never change no matter how much money you make?
Arabella: Exactly. But to go back to your earlier question about clothes. It’s not just clothes. My hair is done, my makeup is on point. My nails are manicured. When my older sister, Catalina, throws on some sweatpants and trudges out in the morning to walk Shadow with her hair messed up and black circles under her eyes because she stayed up too late working on some thorny Warden case, nobody is alarmed. Everyone in the family knows that Catalina’s specialty is maintaining steel control over her magic. I don’t have that same luxury.
When everyone around you is paranoid that you might Godzilla-out at any second, you try to compensate. When I was younger, I’d adopt over-the-top cute mannerisms and get into funny fights where I would flail harmlessly to reassure everyone that I was in control. Now I accomplish it with this. ::indicates the outfit:: I’m the antithesis of frazzled. I’m composed and elegant, and in control. Do you know how much bearing sloppy clothes and unbrushed hair has on my potential to explode?
Dina: How much?
Arabella: None at all. What I look like is not an indicator of how I feel in any way. However, people can’t help but make visual judgements. Even when they are your family, and they love you.