Page 29 of Rubbing One Out

“If it is aspers, we’ll need a miracle to get her through it,” Alison observed softly. “She was already a little immunocompromised, and this could be something she can’t fight off. Antifungals may help, and we can give her some intravenous fluids and force-feed her fish gruel by tube if necessary.”

Ben shuddered at the thought of the stout penguin resembling something out of a sci-fi film, filled with tubes and monitors. A glimmer of hope struck him.

“I may know someone who can help with a miracle,” he said, then bit his lip because, honestly, he didn’t want to have to explain the presence of a magic genie in his life. He’d be carted off in a straitjacket.

Alison looked hopeful. “Oh, who?”

“Erm, a specialist I know. He may have some advice. I’ll give him a call.” Ben plonked his mug on the counter and walked into the small office at the back of the surgery. This was a call he couldn’t afford anyone to overhear.

At home, the phone rang, over and over again. “Come on, Dae, pick up,” he entreated. The man had probably gone back to bed. Well, this was an emergency and Ben was sure the genie could cope with it for one night. “Pick up, you bastard.”

There was a click and Dae’s voice came over the line. “If you’re trying to fucking sell me anything at this time of night, I will—”

Ben didn’t have time to hear one of Dae’s rather creative curses. “It’s me,” he said urgently. “I want to make a wish.”

“A wish? What kind of wish?” Dae asked, sounding apprehensive. Ben took a deep breath.

“Oh Djinn of the lamp, please grant me my wish. I want Honey the penguin to be healed from what ails her and restored to full health.” Ben waited for the confirmation of his wish, not expecting to hear Dae’s deep sigh of regret.

“Oh Ben, that won’t work at all. I’m sorry.”

Ben’s stomach dropped. “What the fuck do you mean, it won’t work? You have to grant me my wish. That’s what I want.” Anger built in his chest at being denied.

There was a short silence on the other end of the phone. When Dae finally spoke, his tone was compassionate. “Ben, when we first met, I told you one of the things we Djinns can’t do is heal. I don’t have the power to do what you ask of me.”

“Why the hell not? This is my mate, Dae. She’s a mom and she doesn’t deserve to have a lingering death, unable to breathe. I need her to get better.”

“I can’t. I would do it in a heartbeat if it were within my remit, but matters of life and death, sickness and health, are not one of them. I’m so sorry.” Dae’s voice caught. “I understand you’re upset but—”

“Oh, I get it,” Ben spat into the phone, catching another glimpse of Honey in the surgery. “You can grant frivolous wishes to aspiring actresses and wannabe Hollywood stars, but when it comes to the serious, really meaningful stuff, you’re hopeless. What’s the point of having a genie if they can’t grant the one thing you really want?” He tightened his grip around his mobile.

He heard Dae draw a deep breath. “Ben, that’s not fair. I was clear when I told you what was and wasn’t within my powers to grant. I’ve never misled you or promised anything I couldn’t deliver.”

“Well, I’d have thought that as my lover of the aeon, and the man you owe something to, you’d make an exception. Guess I’m not as special after all.” Ben heard the bitterness in his tone. He wasn’t usually prone to drama, but…this was Honey. Defiant mischief-maker of the enclosure and mother to one other little penguin called Taffy.

Dae didn’t reply but Ben heard his soft breaths. He felt a little guilty going off at Dae as he had, but what was the point of having magic if it couldn’t be used to do good for an ailing animal?

“I hope your bird pulls through, Ben,” Dae said quietly. “I shall continue to channel positive thoughts from my side.” The call went dead.

Ben stared at his mobile in frustration. Now what? A face peered in at him from the doorway. Adam stood there, his freckled face ruddy under a thatch of ginger hair.

“Alison told me to tell you the results of the tests will still be a while. She wanted to know if you wanted any more coffee?”

Ben grimaced. “No thanks, I value my stomach.” He tried to grin at Adam to take the sting out of his words. “Tell her I’ll be there in a bit.”

Adam nodded and disappeared. Ben slumped down in the desk chair and laid his head on his arms. Damn and blast. Now he was sure he’d pissed Dae off. He did vaguely remember Dae telling him the rules back at the beginning, but in truth, he’d not listened to them much, being so surprised at having a mystical being in his house.

What the hell am I going to do now?

***

Back home, in bed, Dae sat in darkness, trying to calm his rapidly beating heart. Ben’s pain had seeped through the phone and Dae understood it all too well. The pain of losing something you loved was agonising, whether it was the love of your life or an animal you had a lot of affection for. No one had a monopoly on it, and it snuck in at the most inopportune times.

Dae felt useless in the face of Ben’s entreaty and he wished he could grant the wish. Tess had jumped up on the bed with him and Dae stroked her warm fur as he mused.

“He was angry, Tess,” Dae murmured to the dog. “And so hurt.” His chest ached with compassion. Being a Djinn might have been a punishment, but it was his current lot in life and he tried to make a proper job of it. Being accused of not taking it seriously wounded him.

Tess snuffled and licked Dae’s hand. “Doggy kisses for me? Thank you.” Dae patted Tess’s head. He’d grown quite fond of the lazy mutt to the point he didn’t mind her drool on his hands. “Your owner is a bit of a douchebag, you know that?” He huffed as he settled back in bed. Tess, as anticipated, stretched out beside him, taking up most of the space. “Tess, move that fat behind of yours. Now. There’s two of us in this bed, you know.”