The Familiar (23 page)

Tom goes to the kitchen and starts rattling around. As I pack up the candles and candlesticks from the cleansing ritual, Tom flips the light switch off with his elbow on the way into the room, He has a glass of wine in each hand. I retrieve a candle I've just put away and light it again.

He hands me a glass, and I sit back in the big overstuffed chair, looking at him over the candle flame as he sips at his wine.

"Hard to believe that wine comes in a box these days. What will they think of next?"

I shrug. When did wine not come in a box?

"You know, I can get my own place as soon as Robert gets me that birth certificate if you want me to. From there, I can get a social security number, and even a passport." He keeps his eyes on my face the whole time. He says it, but he doesn't seem eager to move out.

"Yeah, I know you can." The thought of him not being here makes me sad. Then again, I'm not sure if it's because I'll miss Cat snuggling up next to me or laughing and teasing with Tom over breakfast. The living situation has been pretty weird.

"Do you want me to go?"

"No."

"Do you want me to stay?"

"I don't know. The idea of you and Cat not being here..." I try not to give too much away, but I think I'm probably blushing. The tips of my ears are hot.

"I might try to downplay the whole Cat part of my future relationships. It's not exactly a trump card for most people."

Then I get this hope that he's hinting toward the thing that's making me blush and ask, "So, do you mean like male/female stuff, like you and me, because..."

Tom looks tired all of a sudden. I'd forgotten that despite his jokes and bravado, he was basically my evil grandmother's sex toy for half a century. I can't keep wallowing in my own hurt over Dan and thinking sexy Tom could be a convenient painkiller. Despite the lusty stuff, I think I really care about him. We've been through a lot together. "Whatever happens, Tom, there's enough room for the three of us here, I think, as long as Cat doesn't insist on bringing his girlfriends around."

We sit there, quietly sipping our wine until Tom stands up, walks over to me, and kisses me on the top of the head. Like I'm his daughter or something.

With that fatherly kiss, I suddenly feel like I've been completely on the wrong page about what I thought might be going on between us: have I been reading the signs through wishful-thinking-colored glasses? What was he doing naked in my lap, then?

But he doesn't move away, just leaves his hands there on my shoulders, his mouth still touching my hair. I tip my head back to look at him. Our eyes meet, and our lips meet, and my heart lurches wildly inside my chest. Tom's hands move to my hair, stroking it softly as our mouths slide tentatively together, mine opening against his gently probing tongue, until he finally pulls away, leaving me breathless.

He steps back and announces, "Thank you. Thank you for teaching me how not to be alone…I'm…I'm going out to hunt." And just like that, he's a cat, and I'm watching his furry little butt disappear through the open window.

I go to bed as soon as Tom leaves because the wine and the activity of the day and the confusion left by that kiss have worn me out. I wake to the sound of purring an hour or two later. Cat is sitting in the velvet bedside chair, preening himself with his claws outspread, his pink tongue making a rhythmic, orderly circuit of each of his toes in turn.

I reach out my hand and Cat's head rubs against it, putting an end to his grooming session. He jumps down from the chair, and disappears through the doorway. It seems Tom just stopped in to let me know that everything is okay.

Maybe we'll talk about that kiss tomorrow.

It's so awkward at breakfast. I can't believe how the easy relationship we'd begun to develop changed so much over one little kiss. Tom is quiet and thoughtful. He keeps looking at me strangely. I don't know what he's thinking, and finally I just have to blurt it out as he slips a perfectly cooked piece of French Toast onto my plate.

"Tom, talk to me. Why did you leave last night? There wasn't anything wrong with what we did."

"No, Cass. We didn't do anything wrong. But I shouldn't have kissed you. I've tried to be honest with you, but it's been so long since I was human, I don't always remember how."

I smile at him then. "I think you're doing a good job. Better than a lot of guys I've known."

"I'm not going for just 'better than a lot of guys'. I owe so much to you and to Gillian, and to all the witches who helped me out with no questions asked. For all of you, I need to be the best man that I can. And that means coming clean about something that affects you."

 "Is it about Granny? Because unless I'm actively in danger, that can wait. I've got more than enough surprises about her to sort through right now. Feel free to hold off on any more for a while."

"No, you'll want to know this. It's about Dan as much as it's about Eunice. That night—the night you found Dan with that other woman…"

"Yeah, my supposed best friend."

"It was a big surprise, right?"

"Duh."

"Did you feed Dan and this girl anything Eunice made you?"

"Just those refrigerator pickles Dan liked. I could never stand them. But both of those guys ate tons of them at dinner."

"Right," he says, "And then those two people ended up in bed together just before your wedding. A wedding your grandmother wanted to make sure never took place."

"What do you mean? Gran liked Dan."

"No, she didn't," he insists. "And she didn't want you to marry him or anyone. You know she wanted you to move to Giles and help her in the shop."

"Yeah, but…"

"And where are you now?"

I think about what he's saying. If he's right, I blamed two of the people I love the most in the world for something they had no control over. "Tom, omigod, if that's true..."

"You need to talk to Dan." I see fear in his eyes as he says it. At first, I'm not sure what that means, then I realize he's got to be afraid I won't want him hanging around if I have a man in my life. He's afraid he'll be alone again.

"Tom...no matter what happens, you're staying here, right? I wouldn't throw you out."

His stiff shoulders relax. "Thank you, but even if I couldn't stay, I'd still tell you. It's the right thing to do. I'd seen Eunice throw a monkey wrench between people before. She was good at it."

"Wow! She
used me
to deliver the spell. She knew I was making dinner for both of them as soon as I got back home. How is it even possible that I just kept falling into her traps for all those years? Was anything she ever said to me genuine?"

I feel myself getting angry, really angry at Granny Eunice for the first time since she died. I may have a lot of stuff still left to deal with now that most of the weirdness is over.

Tom doesn't answer. What could he say? He gives me a sad smile. Then he goes back to dusting the shelves.

I'm immersed in my own thoughts when Robert walks in, an envelope in his hand. He comes toward me, and Tom is instantly at my side. To say his movements were cat-like would be an understatement. He practically teleported there from across the shop.

"Tom," says Robert, "I have something for you."

I take out my phone and incline my head toward the hall, "Okay if I duck out to make a call?"

Tom nods.

When I return to the shop, Robert's gone, Tom's staring at the new birth certificate he holds in his hands, and I'm feeling kind of buoyant.

Dan's coming. He's on his way right now.

Gillian bustles into the shop just as I'm flipping the sign to closed for lunch hour. She air kisses Tom on her way in and then hands me a nicely wrapped package. In her other hand, she carries a bag from the café.

"Housewarming gift for you two. Come on, let's have some lunch, and you can open your surprise."

I set out plates and Gillian pulls out three roast beef sandwiches on thick slices of crusty bread, but who can think of eating when there's an unopened present in the room?

"Now, before you open your gift, just let me say that I went to absolutely no expense or bother. It's something that I've had around the house that I think more appropriately belongs in yours now. Tom, I thought about returning Polly to you, but I don't think she'd adapt very well at her age to a new home even if you are her old master. And with Martin gone, I appreciate the company, even if the conversation is severely limited. But you
will
recognize the gift, so go ahead."

I look at Tom to see if it's okay to start tearing into the wrapping and he nods. I rip away and then lift off the lid of the box. Inside is an antique quilt. I look at Tom, waiting for a cue. I'm not sure what to say, but Tom steps in quick enough.

"My mother's quilt. It's as beautiful as I remember. Thank you for keeping it all these years. I'll insist that Cassie use it on her bed in thanks for everything she's done for me."

Gillian looks confused. "Oh? Did I get things wrong? I thought when you said you'd be living here together..."

We both shake our heads. Tom explains. "No. We're not together that way. And you may be seeing Cassie's Dan around, if things turn out the way we expect. He's coming for lunch in a few minutes and Cassie was going to go out, but maybe you and I could go instead and leave them these sandwiches and a nice warm quilt just in case they need one? I've got a paycheck. I can afford to buy a lady a lunch."

Gillian looks surprised but recovers. "All right, Tom. I'll take you up on that. Who am I to stand in the way of young love?"

I feel kind of giddy, thinking that maybe it really could be young love again, after all. I guess I'm okay with Tom brushing off my awkward crush, although I'm still wondering what that kiss was all about. He and Gillian head out the back, but in a moment, he returns and ushers Dan into the kitchen. "Look who I found on my way out." And then he's gone.

Dan and I stand there at loose ends, just sort of looking at each other after saying hi. Then we both say, "I missed you."

We sit across the table from each other and talk for the first time since the day I walked in on him and Charlie together.

I still laugh so easily with Gilly. What could I have been thinking when I first wandered off for some slap and tickle with Eunice and ended up losing my freedom in the end? Just talking about old times brings them back, and I still see the girl in her, the spark of youth.

I reach across the table at the café and take her hand. I smile at her, that smile she always said she couldn't resist. Cassie says that being back with Dan won't change things, but I know it will. I'll be deserted, and I'm desperate to avoid feeling so alone again. Gillian pulls her hand gently away. "Don't be ridiculous, Tom. I'm old enough to be your grandmother now. Just stop."

"Can't we hold hands and act stupid like we used to for old times sake?"

"You know we can't. I was foolish enough to marry a stunted boy-man once, but my youthful days of stupidity are well out of my system. Everything's different now. Everything. What do you think the other people in this restaurant see when you smile at me that way? You'll put them off their lunch."

"But you still love me. I know you do. I feel it when you look at me."

"I love the memory, Tom. That's all. Once you get to a certain age, those memories are friendly ghosts. But you don't necessarily want to live with ghosts."

"But I'm not a ghost. I'm a man." I give her my most charming grin again. "Or a cat. Or both. But I'm not a ghost."

She stands up and shakes her head. "I'm sorry, Tom. I really am. I know you're lonely. I'd hoped that you and Cassie would find each other—I was so sure you had, based on the looks you two pass back and forth. I don't understand why you'd push her back to a man who treats her as badly as Eunice did. I'll never understand you, Tom." She puts money on the table for her uneaten lunch and then walks out.

I follow her out to the street, baffled. "What do you mean, a man who treats her like Eunice did? Eunice did something to him to make him cheat on her. I know she did. I watched her send the pickles home with Cassie."

She turns and looks at me. "What? Refrigerator pickles? Tom, sometimes a pickle is just a pickle. Dan has never treated her with respect. The last time they were here, I caught him giving his cell number to one of the waitresses in the café while Cassie was helping out Eunice in the shop. I was going to tell her, but then they broke up and I didn't have to."