We arrived just as they were opening the doors to the reception, and filed in with everybody else. I'd chosen my dress very carefully. It was an electric blue number that I'd bought back when I thought I might actually get a partner I could do things like go clubbing with. It was really too . . . well just too . . . for a wedding, cut down to here and slit up to there as it was. But it was perfect for hiding a knife sheath a la Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and I really did hope to do some dancing.
I was drawing a lot of attention. Women were gasping. Men were staring. Georgie was very quietly beaming. He liked the dress. Blue is his favorite color. My phone told me so.
Did Georgie dance? An excellent question. I'd have to ask him when we got to our table.
We chose a table right up front where everyone at the head table could see me. The groom goggled. The bride choked badly enough that the grooms mother had to pat her on the back and they were dabbing champagne off of her dress. Aw darn. Being a gentleman, Georgie held and then scooted in my chair for me, and he didn't even peek down at my cleavage when he did. I hung the little blue bag with my cell phone in it off of the back of my chair, and set about making polite conversation while shifts of uniformed waiters began moving among the tables pouring water, delivering bread and then the meal.
I turned at the sound of a polite cough. My boss was standing just behind Georgie. Her expression unreadable.
"Would either of you happen to know where my assistant might be? Man by the name of Cail. He can be dreadfully annoying, but he is somewhat indespensible, and quite efficient."
"Oh, I'm sure he'll be along . . . " I smiled, and hoped it wasn't too predatory. This was, after all, the boss. ". . . eventually. He wasn't feeling all that well when I saw him last."
"Oh, how unfortunate." Her eyes darkened and there was a dangerous purring quality to her voice. "But he will recover?"
Georgie fielded that one. "It'll take a few days, but he should be fine."
She turned, actually looking at him for the first time. Her eyes widened. She glanced from him, to me, and back to him, her expression growing more thoughtful with each look.
"I'm afraid we haven't met. I'm Jo's boss, I run the Academy."
"I know."
"And you?"
"This is Georgie. He's my friend, and my escort." It was polite and the truth, but it didn't tell her what she wanted to know. I watched her eyes narrow slightly, and her smile widen.
"Jo," she turned to me and paused, phrasing the next question very carefully. "How has your cell phone been working since Georgie has been around. Getting good reception?"
Even if Georgie knew about earth and various other things he might not know about that. But she was underestimating him. People do.
I thought about her question before I answered. Actually I'd been getting very good reception. Instead of coded garbage, she'd been giving me straightforward, honest, input. That would only happen if the mage I was partnered with was actually cooperating. Cerise obviously wasn't.
The implications hit me, and I turned to Georgie, who was actually beaming.
"George, are you a mage?" She asked it flat out.
He grinned, eyes sparkling. "Yes ma'am."
"Do you, by any chance know anything about earth?"
He nodded sagely.
"George has been studying pop culture." I provided.
"And weapons." He added.
I thought about the explosives and gave a small shudder. Yes, definitely weapons.
"Really?" She smiled then fired a pop reference at him -- "Beverly Hills . . ."
"That's where I wanna be. Gimme Gimme. Living in Beverly Hills. Weezer."
She blinked, it wasn't the reference she'd been looking for, but it was absolutely accurate. I was thrilled. He'd been listening to Weezer. I LOVE Weezer. Woot.
"The Glock 9 millimeter. . ."
"Is actually my favorite of the handguns." George started to reach beneath his jacket, stopping at my slight shake of the head. We wanted to shock people. We didn't want to terrify them. George with a gun, pretty terrifying, even under the best circumstances. Still, he was getting ready to tell her everything there was to know about it when the groom stood behind the main table and began tapping the champagne glass with a knife to make it ring like a bell, getting everyone's attention.
"Hello everyone. Thank you for coming and helping us celebrate. Before we get started, there's an announcement I'd like to make. Jo, I'm particularly glad you're here,"
Really, his wife wasn't. I was absolutely sure of that. If looks could kill, I'd have been incinerated as slowly and painfully as she could manage. I must really look good.
"I've been offered an embassy job on the far fringes. I've asked Cerise to give up her job so that we can be together." He gave her a smitten look. She smiled over at him. "She's agreed. So, Jo, I'm afraid you're out a partner."
I did not cheer. I didn't. It took great strength of wil not to dance in the aisles for sheer joy, but training and willpower won out. My "cell phone," however, showed no such restraint. It wiggled out of my purse, dropped to the floor and began transforming, into a huge shaggy Golden Retriever.
Smiling, I rose to my feet. Raising the glass of excellent champagne we'd been provided I looked from George, to my boss, to the bigwigs at the main table. "I'd like to propose a toast."
Everyone lifted their glasses, waiting to hear what I had to say. My boss shot me a warning look. Cerise squirmed, wondering what I would do; knowing I was capable of saying pretty much anything.
"To the future." I smiled at George. At my feet I felt the thump of a fringed tail, the warmth of a furry body leaning into my legs.
"The future."
Saturday, August 29, 2009
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4 comments:
Love it! Thanks Cie the story just keeps getting better and better!
Thanks. NOW I think it's over. If this were a story going out I'd edit it quite heavily. For one thing, I don't think I wound up making it clear that Laura sent the killer to replace the stripper. He took out the man who was supposed to go get Jo in the first place and tried to kill her so that Snake COULDN'T get out of dying. But I didn't make it clear. Other things too. But that's also part of the fun of the serial, writing off the cuff.
Oh no...it's over. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing. Some things you think you didn't make clear were clear to us readers I think. You're right...I really was getting into Georgie. Thanks for this one.
This was such fun. I have been derelict in my reader reading and had to go link by link to print them all in sequence. I had a serious serial morning and loved every minute. Your faithful minion,
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