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Just then the waitress—who I guessed must also be the owner, since her name was Goldie—came back with a fresh pot of coffee and two mugs. One of the mugs was much larger than the other—she set it down in front of Rath and gave me the normal sized one. In her other hand she had a pot of cream which she also plunked on the table.
“Okay, what can I getcha?” she asked, digging a pad and pen out of her apron pocket.
“Ladies first.” Rath gestured at me courteously. Unfortunately, the presence of the waitress had trapped my words again. I put a hand to my throat and felt my face go red with shame. God, I hated it when this happened!
Rath frowned as though he didn’t understand and I shook my head at him and touched my throat again.
“Sweetie? You all right?” Goldie leaned down to get a look at me. “You want some water?”
I nodded swiftly. Anything to stop this embarrassing scene!
“Be right back,” she said again. As soon as she left, Rath looked at me.
“Are you okay? Got something stuck in your throat?” he asked, anxiously.
I shook my head and found that I could talk again.
“No—I have a condition called Selective Mutism,” I explained as rapidly as I could. “I…I can’t talk in certain situations. I’m sorry,” I added, feeling both ridiculous and helpless.
“Hey, no…” He put a hand over mine comfortingly. “Don’t apologize,” he said. “I’ll order for you—okay?”
Though I didn’t feel the sexual tingle I’d had when we shook earlier, his hand was still warm and I noticed that his nails were clean and neat, which I liked. I always noticed a man’s hands—or in this case, an Orc’s hands.
I nodded gratefully.
“Okay. Thanks.”
“No problem.”
Goldie came back with two glasses of ice water, which she plunked in front of us. I took a sip of mine while Rath ordered.
“Two cinnamon rolls,” he told her.
“You want human sized or Creature sized?” she asked him.
“Hmm…” He looked at me. “How hungry are you?”
I waved a hand in the air indicating so-so and he nodded.
“One human sized roll and one Creature sized,” he told the waitress.
“Coming right up.”
She left and once more I found myself able to talk.
“What did she mean by ‘Creature sized?’” I asked him as I fixed my coffee—lots of sugar and lots of cream.
“Oh, don’t you know about Creatures?” He looked surprised.
I shook my head.
“No, I’ve been living in the ‘human world’—remember?”
“Right. Okay, well a Creature is someone like me—a sentient, non-human, magical being,” he explained. “And believe it or not, I’m probably not the first Creature you’ve ever met.”
“I think I’d remember it if I met someone like you,” I said dryly.
“Not if they were in disguise,” he pointed out. “There are plenty of Creatures in the human world. Lots of accountants are gnomes—they’re good with numbers and finance. And plenty of movie stars and celebrities are fairies—they don’t have to use much of a disguise, actually—except to hide their wings. They’re all so pretty that being in the spotlight comes naturally to them.”
