Mated to a Human

☽ 24 ☾

I head downstairs minutes before our dinner guests are due to arrive. Dad isn't in the kitchen — he must still be getting ready in the master bedroom — but Mom is there piecing together her latest charcuterie masterpiece.

She peers up at me as she works. "Harvey messaged me and said he couldn't make it. Do you know what's going on?"

"Oh, no, but he's probably busy with something at Norwood House."

Harvey actually told me they picked up a scent and are tracking it through the woods. He didn't confirm anything regarding what it is, though I can't help but assume it's whatever toyed with me past our back gate.

"Gosh, that place sure is a lot of work," Mom mutters.

I lean against the opposite side of the counter island. "It's a big, old mansion — I'm sure it is."

"I wonder what his house insurance is like. This house already costs too much, I can't imagine the damage Norwood House must do to him."

"Yeah, it's probably expensive."

"That boy must be sitting on a hefty fortune to keep it up while not having a job of his own."

"It keeps him busy."

She pauses. "Has he ever talked about his family money?"

"Mom. Come on. I'm not dating him because of family money."

"No, I know. I'm just curious." She tweaks the placement of her dried orange rounds and then looks over the cheese board. "You think it's full enough?"

I lean over the counter. "Yeah, it looks nice."

"And I don't mean to pry into his business. I just want to know more about the guy my daughter is dating, that's all. I don't think it's rude to wonder about his financial situation."

"If he's wealthy or not, I'm capable of taking care of myself. I'm not going to college for nothing."

"I'm glad because that degree costs an arm and a leg."

The doorbell rings.

"Darn, I still have to light the candles. Will you get that? It's Betsy, I know it. No matter how many times I tell her to just come on in, she always rings that damn bell."

I step away, heading for the door.

Betsy arrives first, followed by Dennise and Al, and then Charmaine and Louanne, and finally Cathy. Mom tells the members gathered around the counter snacking, "It's a good thing I invited Jane — the girl I messaged about — because Marianne just texted me. She can't make it either."

"Well, you know her cat has been sick the past few days. I hope everything's alright," Louanne says.

My dad emerges from the hall showered and sharp, and everyone greets him.

"I was about to come looking for you," Mom says.

"I got caught up on the phone. Lodge business."

"What's new."

Betsy teases, "You work too hard. Is no one else at that place capable of handling things?"

I drift from the group and check my phone, hoping for a text from Harvey saying he can make it after all, but my screen is blank. The fact that he's out there hunting some monster has me on edge.

The doorbell rings, and Mom says, "Let me grab that. It should be Jane."

I hang by the archway and watch as she answers the door. I can't see much past my mom, but she gleefully welcomes, "Jane, you made it, I'm so glad. Come on in, get out of the cold."