Page 17 of Midlife Witch Unexpected

Bianca and Branson waved at each other, and Branson made his way toward us. I leaned forward, hissing at Bianca, “If you say he’s like a son to you, I’ll scream.”

“He’s like my younger brother.” Bianca grinned from ear to ear.

"Nice choice of tables," Branson said, nodding toward the view through the windows. The front of the Waldorf was the original street front red brick façade, but they had opened the back of the building up and modernized it with floor-to-ceiling tall windows that overlooked Gargoyle Park.

“I wanted to show Mae a view of our gargoyles,” Bianca said.

There were three statues, each with its own streetlight, in the garden. They were ferocious-looking beasts with lifelike detail, webbed wings, and massive fangs.

"Who the hell has things like that sculpted?" I asked. "Especially in a place like this. Also known as, the middle of nowhere. I'd be hard-pressed to even imagine those in Los Angeles. They'd be much more appropriate in Paris."

Branson chuckled. “Your ancestors had those commissioned and placed here. The first Hayes who came to Cougar Creek. They said he was on an expedition to find the head of the river and he came up this way and shot a cougar. Somehow the experience changed his life so much he wanted to stay here forever. He built The Estate and said he wanted to be buried there. That was the start of the cemetery. He took riches from the land and invested in the town.”

“He sold absinthe in the town,” Bianca added. “Right here. The Waldorf used to be a hip absinthe place back a hundred years ago in the 1920s.”

“They did that, too,” grinned Branson. “They were real businesspeople. Not only did they offer absinthe, but they turned the hot springs into a public recreation spot. Once that was set up, they sold it off to encourage other long-term families to stay around.”

The way he made it sound…was delicious. Community the way I had always expected it. I wanted to lie in it and soak in it. I wanted to be from a place where people wanted to stick around. Instead, I had been born in the city and had always felt out of place there wondering if perhaps there was something or somewhere else, I should be.

“Can I get you a drink?” Branson asked.

I stood up. This guy needed the opposite of encouragement. “I’ve got to go.” I took a deep breath.

“We just got here,” Bianca said.

“You can stay. I’ve got to take a walk outside,” I said. “Then I need to get home.”

“I’ll go with you,” said Branson.

“No, I don’t think that will solve the problem,” I protested vehemently. “I just need to get some air. It’s safe out here at night, right?”

“Of course,” Bianca said.

“But like anywhere,e it’s always good to have company,” Branson said. “Unless you really need some time alone.”

Branson was going to insist on coming with me or I was going to look like a lonely old maid. I turned to Bianca. “Do you want to walk with me through the gargoyles?”

“Of course,” Bianca grinned, standing up.

"Have a good night," I said sincerely to Branson.

I felt a little tipsy, but nothing too crazy. Just enough to know it’d be good to walk a little bit before I got behind the wheel. Besides, I had quite a lot of time on my hands and nothing better to do. I might as well get to know the small town.

Gargoyle Park was two blocks long by three blocks wide, stretching across the valley floor with the river running through the center. It was a lovely little parkland, with the three gargoyles facing different directions, none of them catching the other’s eye, or perhaps they were avoiding them.

We walked between the gargoyle statues their hulking wings casting long shadows over the gravel that crunched beneath her feet. The fierceness in their expressions was comforting for some reason.

“Why would they make statues of the gargoyles?” I asked.

“Well, you could ask me, and I can make something up that somewhat resembles the truth, or you could go over there and read the plaque about what somebody else wrote down as the truth,” Bianca said, nodding her head toward an erected sign.

“But why would my ancestors set three gargoyles to…?”

“It says here they were to ward off evil spirits and if anything, unusual, supernatural, should occur, then they would stand guard for the town and The Estate.” Bianca’s gaze scanned the sign.

I looked up at the cliffside where the cemetery sat. Behind it in the forest was the house or the place everyone else called The Estate.

“Why is the cemetery up on a cliff? It’s a little dumb, right?” I shrugged.

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