Page 36 of Someone Save My Midlife Tonight

CHAPTER NINE

Consideringthat most of the people in the room were millions of years old, this could take a while. However, after a brief discussion, we decided that Tim would be the moderator. We’d all answer the same questions in our ‘get to know you’ game.

“Alrightyroo!” Tim said, looking around at the assembled group with excitement. “This will be fun.”

I wasn’t sure I agreed, but I was game to go.

“First off, we’ll start with how old we are,” he announced.

Shitty Ritchie raised his hand. “What if we’re not sure?”

Tim paused in thought. “Fine point, well made, little friend. Age is but a number and not important. Let’s go with favorite color.”

“Daisy’s golden eyes,” Gideon chimed in. “And Alana Catherine’s.”

I grinned at him. I’d thought he’d say black. “Mine’s blue gray like Gideon’s eyes.”

He fluttered his lashes in an exaggerated way and laughed. “I’m flattered, Counselor.”

“As am I, Reaper,” I shot back.

“Get a room,” Candy Vargo groused with a chuckle. “Anyhoo, my favorite color is Orange.”

Not a surprise. Her magic was usually a sparkling orange color. The rest of the favorites hit all the primary colors except for Shitty Ritchie who cheated and said rainbows. Alana Catherine, who could clearly comprehend what was being said even though she couldn’t participate, gifted Shitty Ritchie and the rest of us with her magic. She began to glow in every color of the rainbow. Our new little friend—and I used the word cautiously—was flabbergasted. He pointed at her with his mouth open and proceeded to copy my daughter. The tiny dude’s magic was the same colors.

Candy Vargo, Charlie, Tim and Heather gasped. June and Jennifer clapped. I exchanged a concerned look with Gideon. From what Charlie had shared about Shitty Ritchie, it seemed as if his many gifts, aside from violence and cannibalism, mirrored the gifts of Heather, Missy and possibly me. Alana Catherine had exhibited some of the same characteristics. Oh my hell, was she like Shitty Ritchie? Would she grow up with a penchant for eating people? The thought was stomach-churning. I pushed it away. Gideon and I would not let that happen. She wasn’t going to live in a cave for millions of years. She was being raised by people who loved her and knew right from wrong.

Speaking of being raised… “Shitty Ritchie do you have parents?”

He shook his head. “No. I was created.”

“Same,” Candy Vargo stated.

“Me too,” Tim shared.

“I was created as well,” Charlie said.

“I was created along with my sister, the former Goddess of the Darkness,” Gideon added.

“I was born from an experiment,” Heather volunteered.

It was a fact I was already aware of. Our father had been forced to donate sperm for a sadistic Angelic experiment. That was how I was related to Heather, Rafe, Gabe, Abby and Prue. We hadn’t grown up together, but we’d grown to be tight as siblings could be. Even with the bizarre beginnings, I was thankful every day that they were in my life.

“I had both a mom and a dad, God rest their souls,” June explained as Charlie kissed the top of her head. He was very protective of his wife. Her sadness was his as well as her happiness. It was lovely to see.

“I was raised by a single mother,” Jennifer said, jumping into the conversation.

“Did you know your father?” June asked, surprised.

June, Heather, Jennifer and I had been friends for years. I was surprised by the new details, as well.

“Nope,” she said with a dismissive shrug. “Momma would never tell me no matter how much I begged. I wanted to be like all the other kids in school who had mommas and daddies. Only thing she’d say was that men were crap, and we didn’t need them. When I was naughty, that old bat would remind me how much I’d cost her—her pocketbook and her waistline. Even on her deathbed, she swore up and down she’d never met the guy. My momma was a lyin’ piece of work.” Jennifer laughed, but it was forced and held no humor.

“I’m so sorry,” June said, moving to Jennifer and hugging her. “That’s not right.”

“Nothin’ to be sorry about,” Jennifer assured June with a wistful smile. “Momma was okay as far as mommas go for the most part. Fed me and kept a roof over myhead, but I sure do wish I’d had a chance to know my pappy. Even if he was crap, it might have been nice for closure.”

Jennifer’s multiple ex-husbands had all been substantially older than her. It made sense. My dear friend had daddy issues. Her new beau was Sherriff Dip Doody. The man was her age and pure gold. Dip treated her like the queen she was. She refused to get married because she loved him so much.

---