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Mabel whacked her thigh so hard the mosquito splatted its blood all over her leg.
Bleurgh.
But also… kind of cool.
Mosquitoes were the worst. Such tiny creatures, responsible for spreading so much illness. One of the things she’d learned to be most vigilant for on her travels.
Any time she managed to splat one she felt like she’d got rid of one less peril in the world.
But seriously, what were these things doing still buzzing around at this time of year? It was late in the fall. These things were meant to be hibernating or dormant or whatever by now. That was global warming in action, she guessed. Another reason she was glad not to be out there in the wilderness trying to survive right now. The world was changing too fast right now. It was dizzying. Trying to imagine what the planet would look like ten, twenty, thirty years in the future… It made Mabel’s head hurt.
That’s one of the reasons Mabel loved to be a Little. When she was in Little Space, she didn’t have to worry about things like mosquitoes or global warming or survival. When she was in Little Space, she was living purely in the moment. Just like her niece, Ada, who had turned four today.
Who she wasn’t allowed to see ever again, according to her sister, Rochelle.
Mabel spat at the ground. It was all down to that idiot husband of Rochelle’s. Fabian had been a mess before having kids, and now, frankly, he was a cataclysmic disaster. He had been going through a shaky period before Ada was born, drinking and smoking too much. He told Rochelle that he thought that having a kid would change him, but they couldn’t manage to get pregnant.
To be fair to Fabian, he had cleaned up his act when they started fertility treatment. Fabian was a wealthy man, and he’d spent a ton of money on the treatment. He’d paid for a nutritionist to prepare healthy, fertility-boosting meals in their own home. He’d paid for acupuncturists and hypnotists and more supplements than you could ever imagine. But even so, it didn’t work out. There was an issue with Rochelle’s uterus that stopped her being able to conceive.
Finally, Rochelle had come to Mabel begging for her help. They’d asked her to act as a surrogate for them.
She hadn’t even had to think about it for a second. She’d seen how Fabian had stopped drinking. How Rochelle’s body had tried so damn hard it hurt. There were a ton of crazy things that Mabel had done in her life for money, but this wasn’t one of them. She wouldn’t take a cent off her sister. This was an act of love.
And it had all worked out beautifully, hadn’t it? Rochelle’s egg. Fabian’s sperm. Mabel’s uterus. All of it handled in laboratory conditions. Nothing sexy or weird about it. Just a sister helping out a sister. Gifting her a child.
Obviously, being pregnant with someone else’s child had been an unusual experience. Especially as Mabel was, technically, a virgin. The irony of the situation hadn’t been lost on her. Of course, there was nothing miraculous about the conception, it was all pure science.
Mabel had never wanted a baby of her own, and it had felt good to hand the baby over when she was born. Sweet little Ada. The baby that her sister had longed for for so long. It had felt like the greatest thing in the world to be able to give that gift to her.
But now, Rochelle was telling her that she couldn’t see Ada anymore. She guessed Fabian was behind it. Reading between the lines, it sounded like he was drinking again. Fabian got… bad when he drank. Threatening, controlling and just plain weird. She hoped and prayed that he was still sober, and that there was some other reason Roch was saying she couldn’t see Ada. It was all really hard to deal with. But what could Mabel do about it? And if Rochelle wouldn’t talk to her, how could she help?
The ridiculous thing was, this wasn’t the first time something like this had happened to Mabel. Years ago, after her mom had died, her dad had gotten together with a new partner, Lavinia. At first, Lavinia was all smiles and bear hugs and dinner invitations. But slowly, Lavinia had changed. She’d seen how close Mabel was to her father, Fred, and she’d grown jealous. It started with little things — thinking up reasons to interrupt their phone conversations or cut short their visits. Then she redecorated Mabel’s room in their family home, turning it into a ‘reiki room’ for herself. Finally, she’d gone the whole hog and told Fred he couldn’t see his daughter anymore.
The dad who’d taught her how to make fire. How to turn seawater into drinking water. How to skin a rabbit.
The dad who she’d loved as fiercely as the universe itself.
And for some reason, for some fricking reason, he’d agreed to it.
What was that quote?
Love makes fools of us all.
Well, it had sure made a fool of her dad and now her sister. Love could go suck a rubber duck.
Oh well. Screw everyone. Screw Lavinia. Screw Fabian. Screw Rip-flipping-Steele.
“Mabel! Miss Waters? Has anyone seen Mabel Waters?” A panicked voice was floating around from somewhere on the other side of the trailers. Mabel didn’t even have to go out there to know that the voice belonged to someone with a clipboard. Everyone carrying a clipboard on this movie set seemed totally stressed.
She got up with a sigh. At least she had this job to focus on. Helping the Littles. Defeating the bully boy Rip in a duel. Okay, okay, not a real duel, but still. It’d be fun to play-act beating him in a fight.
She emerged from her hiding place behind the trailers, and, sure enough, there was someone standing there holding a clipboard, who looked very, very stressed.
“Here I am,” she said, wiping the hair back from her face. “And I’m ready to whoop ass.”
Rip surprised her by not grunting or snorting or making any other insulting sound. Instead, his eyes bore into her as though assessing her. Then, finally, he nodded.
