Grenadine Dreams

15. Banana Pancakes

15. Banana Pancakes

{Naya}

After we returned from the aquarium, I decided to make Uri's transition from djinni to human my number one priority. I put my laptop to use and signed him up for as many job search databases as I could find. It became my goal to match him to something that would make use of his skills. Skills that I had yet to discover, but I had every intention of finding out what they were.

The next morning, I made him wake up bright and early for some driving practice. Uri begged to stay inside so he could cook a big breakfast instead. I ignored his tempting pleas, even when Ritsu chimed in, and dragged both of them to the garage so that we could get started.

Once we were fastened up in the car, I said, "Your road to domestic survival officially begins. Are you ready?"

Uri didn't hold back a mischievous grin.

+++

{Uriel}

Over the next five days, Naya kept her word. She wouldn't let Uriel come anywhere near the Angry Birds app until after his daily driving practice and lessons on navigating the internet. When he wasn't required to study some mundane task, he played on Naya's phone or watched one of the several juvenile films they had purchased on their trip to Walmart. Ritsu was especially enamored with the animated musicals. Uriel was sure that the monkey had watched the one called Beauty and the Beast no less than thirty-seven times. The monkey would always croon during the ballroom waltz scene serenaded by a personified tea pot.

Although Uriel got breaks in between his lessons, Naya never slowed down in her search for a suitable job for him. Uriel wondered how she could spend so many hours hunched before her laptop, browsing – as she called it – through all of those identical-looking websites.

"Perhaps you gave my mistress too much time when you designed her contract to last a month. At this rate, I doubt she'll need that long," Ritsu whispered to Uriel one day. They were seated on the couch, watching the rolling credits of Shrek.

He decided to ignore the monkey's jab.

Ritsu glanced back across the sofa. Once he saw that Naya was preoccupied on her laptop, he added, "Why the long face when both of you are so close to your freedom?"

Uriel grinded his teeth. "Silence, demon." He traced a pattern of binding letters with his forefinger.

For the rest of the afternoon, Naya kept asking him why Ritsu had suddenly lost his voice.

Despite the monkey's taunts, Uriel knew how unwise it was to care too deeply for the human. If his internal fire were to ensnare her, there would be nothing either of them could do about it. She wouldn't be able to return to her human body and his own temporary form would dissipate. His true form would return and cloak him in that inescapable suit of fire.

Reluctantly, he pictured the horns and cloven feet that came with that suit.

No. Going back is not an option. Not when I'm so close to reclaiming my humanity.

Yet all it took was one look at Naya to stunt his ambition. When he was around her, his mouth made words without his approval. His inner fire romped around like a damned billy goat during the rut. And his resolve . . . he had no idea where the hell it wandered off to whenever Naya came near.

Uriel hadn't been able to hide what had almost happened at the aquarium. Ritsu had known exactly what he was doing when he interrupted them. Later on, the monkey scolded Uriel about it.

"You are perhaps the densest djinni I've ever met! Can't you control your emotions long enough to see that the closer you get to her, the more at risk you both become? Think of what will happen if a collector ever got their hands on Naya! Just think of what they would do to her."