Especially since he’d put down thebluntsand snack cakes, his face had slimmed out as much as the rest of his body. I mean he was nothing like the leather clad, muscle heads I usually picked up in bars, but Travis didn’t look terrible in the black T-shirts that showed off hisathletically fitform.Plus,the decent hair cut did wonders for thenew angles of his cheekbones.
Buthis spine was made ofJell-O, and his brain wasn’t much firmer.Plus,I’d already hit that, and I wasn’t in a hurry to take a second go on that ride.
“I don’t apologize for my existence,” Travis said, his voice low.
I stared at him, making sure my face was arranged in the flattest expression I could muster, knowingexactlyhow much he hated that look.
“Krystanis that you?”Mygran’swarblingvoice filtered into the hallway from the kitchen.
I raised an eyebrow at Travis to silently convey I’d wonwithout saying a wordbefore turning around to trundle into the kitchen. I pulled out a rickety stool and slumped over the smallbutcher blockisland. I rested my cheek against the cool surface andsplayedmy arms out,so they hung over the edges. Travisremainedat the thresholdofthe kitchen, leaning a shoulder against the door jam. He looked as tired as I felt.Travisprobably would have leftafter my nonverbalassault, but as asemi-permanenthouse guest, he’dexplained hethought it would be rude to not greetmy gran if shewas around.
It was like having an annoying little brother in the house with me. Since the only family I had wasgran,and I still spent a lot of nights unableto sleepreplayingEmma’s heroic end, it was nice to have someone to razz when I needed a distraction.Hellif I'd admit that out loud though.
Mygran wasonthe phone, the old kind that still had a curly cord that was connected to the wall. Despite calling out for me, she didn’t bother to turn aroundtoface usnow. She braced herself on the kitchen sink. It was getting harder for her to get around these days.Though she wasn’t nearly as frail as some of her other friends who were also in their eighties, and none of them possessed half her spunk.
While she listened intently to the phone, I heard theTVfilter in from the living room. “Tonight,Ken Drummond’sgot the scoop on how to perform an exorcism that won’t set your house on fire.Afterthat, we got Lisa with‘what’s that creature?’where she helps you identify the new beasts roaming out there and the best way to ward them off.Tune in to the news at nine.”
An infomercial came on after that, selling demon repellent for only $19.99. Buy in the next thirty minutes and get two more spray bottles for free.
After the dimensional tearwas leftopen at length, allowing all kinds of dark creatures to cross over, everyone thought it was the apocalypse.While the whole world felt the effects of the supernatural horrors coming to lightbefore their eyes,it started in Colorado and the paranormal activity was the most concentrated here.I imagined if some places like Italy or Australia didn’t think the US was shining them on, even with all the footage and official government action.
And sure, the world got a little darker, but the thing about lifepeopleoftenforget, is thatwe all habituateeventually.In two months, people had gone from “this is the end of the world” to “how can we demon-proof littleSuzy’s birthday party in the park?”And our society, of course,had jumped on the opportunity to make a buck on the situation.I didn’t hate that idea either.
WhileWhack aGhoulwasn’tnecessarily the best exterminator company, we were the first ones on theparanormal scenewithreal experience.Did I feel guilty for referencingmyendoftheworldexperiencewhenEmmaandCalanwerealive?Nope.
“Yes, yes I see,” mygran said. Her voice delivered the words on a slight tremor which was normal for a woman her age. What was not normal, was the expression on her lined face. Her skin was as thin as crêpe-paper,crinkled up incountlesstiny ravines all over her face and body. But her already thin lips had all but disappeared asshe blinked back tears.
I pulled myselfso I was sitting upright.First running my hands through my dark hair, I then immediatelytried to smoothmy sharply cut bangs back down.The momentgranhung up the phone, I asked, “What’s wrong?”
She waved her age-spot riddled hand in front of her face, effectively banishing any trace of tears in her eyes. “Oh, that was Susan from up the street.”
“Is everything okay, Mrs.Rits?” Travis asked, taking a couple more steps into the kitchen. The kitchen had once been an homage to thecock.
No, seriously.
The place had been covered from ceiling to floor in cocks, but after mygran’s recent possession which had her biting the headoffher real-live rooster, Heraldo, the kitchen had been cleared of anything fowl related.
“Something terrible has happened,”mygran said. “Susan’s daughter has passed on.”
I perked up. “Wait, you mean Jessica? What happened?”
Mygran’s jaw seemed to harden. She wasn’t a crier. I sometimes wondered if she’d cried all her tears over my parents. I’d certainly dried up after that. I’d only cried once since I was four, and Emma was worth shedding tears over.
“While Susan was out,Jessica took her own lifelast night,” she explained.
I wondered why I didn’t notice theflashing lights and hubbub of afirst responder unitnext door.But if it was last night,I had passed outthe hell outafterrunning aroundwith Travis, trying towhacka hive ofdemonic gnomes. They’dtruly put our namesake to the test.
“The service will be on Saturday.” Despite her old, warbly tone and fragile body, mygran’s eyes glinted like steel at me. “I can expect you to find appropriate funeral attire by then, can’t I?Nothing tooostentatious.”
Imet her critical gaze with a raised eyebrow.“Does that mean you are going to skip wearingthe hat with the taxidermy duck on it?”
Waving her free hand at me, she used the other to help guide her along the kitchen counters. “Of coursenot. It’s the nicest hat I own.”
I threw a look at Travis,whoseface wascontortedhalfway between confusion and disbelief. He’d been around us long enough to know my grandma never kidded.
“About your neighbor, Jessica. How did she…” Travis asked then trailed off as if realizing it was inappropriate to ask the question out loud.
“Susan didn’t say.” My grandma stopped suddenly, staring at the tiled floor. “Jessica was so young. Onlyseventeen.”
