Page 10 of Bewitched By the Sea Monster
“Absolutely. But I guess I’m a little…”
His happy energy soured.
“It’s not bad,” I said quickly. “Promise. I’m…It’s…Are you sure we can afford this, Jackson?”
Indignation fanned from him. “Did I not say?—”
“I know. I guess I’m confused about thehowof it. Like, Jessa’s looked into going?—”
“Jessa?”He puckered his lips. “Is that your shopaholic friend who hemorrhaged her life savings?”
“That’s not fair,” I said. “She put a lot of money into her mom’s care, and youknowthat.”
He raised his hand in a “point taken”gesture.
“But, anyway, Jessa has beendyingto go to Niverwick. Every time some travel place offers a package deal, she snags a quote. And it’s alwaysextravagant.”
“Sure it is.” Jackson rolled his shoulder. “If they dropped the prices, the place would be more crowded than an amusement park. They gotta keep the riffraff out somehow.”
Riffraff.
As in, people like us. Who didn’t have ten or more thousand smackeroos to drop on a vacation. And I must’ve made a face atthat because Jackson mumbled an irritated, “You know what I mean, babe.”
I didn’t. But I nodded. Because he was excited, and his joy was infectious, and Iwantedto bask in it. But…
“How?”I softened the question with a nuzzling kiss to his chin.
“Zohar. You know, my manager.” He blew out a gusty sigh.
Because I must’ve made a face at him.Again.“Right. Yes. Of course.” I just didn’t quite see what Jackson’s supervisor had to do with this trip.
“He and his wife have gone every year since opening, and he’d pre-booked this year. But I guess his wife got a bug up her ass and decided she wanted to go to Berlininstead. Imagine that, babe—Berlin,over Niverwick Isle.”
Oh, I could imagine it alright.
I, too, would rather take a one week furlough in Berlin.
“Anyway, he went to cancel the trip, but it was too close?—”
“Too close?”
“—for him to get a refund, so he was out the money anyway. And since I’d closed on the Serphent account for the company, heofferedthe trip to me.Me.”He popped up from his half seated position on the island and tapped his heels against the floor.
And Igaped.
Jackson worked sales—for grocery chains, mostly—bidding brands to different retailers. Serphent, one of the biggest grocer chains that soldexclusivelyto Sorcerers, had been amassivewin for Jackson six months ago. Especially since he’d been aStandiewho’d closed the deal.
I’d been a little—okay, a lot—miffed that he’d never gotten a raise for that. Zohar had thrown Jackson a piddly little pizza party and called it a year.
As if reading my mind, Jackson wagged his finger at me. “You see, babe, Itoldyou Zohar had something big for me coming down the pipeline, but you didn’t believe me, did you?”
“Idid?—”
“And I haven’t even gotten to the best part yet! The booking”—Jackson created a mini drumroll with his heels—“is May first.”
“May? That’stwo weeksaway!”
“Sure is!” Jackson exclaimed.
