Page 44 of With This Witch
Petra tries and fails to stop the tears streaming down her face. She’s numb and doesn’t know what to do.
“We have called Calle in to cover for you in the meantime. So know that your children are in the best of care,” Sheila adds with a note of finality.
That’s it. She can’t even work the day. She is to leave immediately. Sheila and Rosemary stand, waiting for Petra to follow. She has to command her legs to get herself to stand. Upon doing so, Sheila takes her hands and looks apologetically into her eyes. They walk her out, past the group of caregivers, past the yard, and to her car as if she were on a perp walk. They each hug her, wish her well, and then leave her standing next to her car, a leaking faucet about to burst open. She finds her keys in her pocket and lets herself in.
Sitting in the car, she stares over the steering wheel, watching a group of children come out with their educators. She’s supposed to be in there, helping her little crew get ready. A child notices her and waves; she waves back. She hears a phone ringing through the speaker. Looking down, she sees Lachlan’s name. It’s only then that she realizes that upon not knowing what to do, she did the only thing she could think of: call Lachlan.
Lachlan and Daisy arrive shortly after her call for help and drive her back home.To Lachlan’s home,she corrects herself. Though, if she’s honest with herself, the last few weeks here have felt more like home than anywhere else she has ever lived. But she’s choosing not to dig into that right now. Instead, she’s still trying to numb herself to tell them what happened. She keeps calling on her magic to help calm her emotions, but it’s clearly out of sorts and is not responding.
They check to ensure she has everything she needs before they are required at the Acorn and remind her that they’re only a phone call away. In the meantime, she is encouraged to zone out with trashy reality TV and all the ice cream and junk food she wants. No judgment, they explicitly tell her. Morris joins her on the couch, curling up on her legs, shortly after they left. Within minutes, he is snoring contentedly.
Once alone, she scans through the TV options and settles on season one ofToil & Trouble, a reality dating competition where several single supernatural creatures date to try and find their fated mate. It’s like watching a cauldron on fire, but it helps. It distracts her enough that she is no longer freaking out over being put on leave, and it helps to prevent her from catastrophizing. The last thing she needs is another shield-forming incident.
When Lachlan arrives home after his shift, she is still in the same position he left her in, with more food particles around her and half a season intoToil & Trouble. He changes out of his bar clothes into black basketball shorts and a dark blue T-shirt, then comes to sit next to her on the couch. He picks up her outstretched legs and slides himself underneath her feet, resting them on his lap.
“What are we watching?” He asks.
“Toil & Trouble.”
“This season one?”
“Yeah.”
“This was the best season. I totally rooted for Sylvia and Marcus from the start.”
Petra’s eyes snap to his. “You’ve actually watched this?”
“Every season,” he says proudly, taking her left foot in his hands as he begins to run his thumb down her sole absentmindedly. The firm pressure releases some of the tension within and liquefies her core.
“You surprise me, Mr. Grace.”
“What can I say? I don’t want the drama, but seeing the shenanigans that go on, however staged it may be, on a reality TV dating show brings me joy. It’s twisted, I know.”
“I get that.”
The silence unfolds comfortably between them as they watch couples battle it out in a sponge and bucket competition, trying to soak up as much water as they can into the sponges and squeeze it out into buckets to fill them as fast as possible so they can win a date night adventure. Lennie and Hazel win, but Marcus and Sylvia are not happy about it, claiming Lennie and Hazel cheated and that they, Marcus and Sylvia, deserve the date.
“I am pretty sure Sylvia is going to hex Lennie to prevent them from going on this date,” Petra says, still enjoying the comforting and relaxing foot and now calf massage Lachlan bestows upon her.
“I thought the same thing, but apparently, the production put a ‘no magic use against other contestants’ clause in place to prevent potential issues.”
“Smart.”
“I thought so. I mean, you have a load of horny supes essentially fighting each other to find love; you need some protection plan in place, especially with how territorial we can be.” He moves his hands up her calves, running his fingers and thumbs down her legs in the most remarkable ways. “So you wanna talk about what happened at work?”
“Not particularly.”
Lachlan slides his hands back down her legs and resumes massaging her feet. “Valid. But I feel like you need to.”
Petra releases a long breath, blowing up the hair at the side of her face. She knows he’s not wrong. “I’ve been having some troubles with my magic, and some of the kids were worried,” she says, noticing his furrowed brow as he concentrates on what she’s not saying. “But anyway, they went home and told their caregivers I have been scary lately, so the parents came in and spoke to my managers. I’ve been put on paid leave for a month while I ‘sort my life out.’”
“Damn. I know it’s shitty and not what you would prefer. I know you care about those little rug rats and wouldn’t do anything to hurt them,” he says. “But maybe it’s for the best?”
“Best for who?” Petra shoots back, repeating his words from earlier.
“For everyone. You can’t care for them properly if you are a risk to their well-being. So take the time, find ways to relax…” he says, letting the word and innuendo hang in the air.
“I guess.”
