Luminary (Expanded Edition)

  * * * * * *

  On the other side of the skimmed portal, Wicus turned to Waxine and smiled more broadly.

  "At least she's moved on from those vampire novels."

  "Twilight" author, Stephanie Meyer, had one thing right, the monsters of folklore do exist, Wicus thought. He had yet to meet any that were as benign as the fictional vegan clan depicted in her books.

  "I'm glad she's gotten over that phase. It's slow, painful work retrofitting the two candidates that I've selected to be her perfect soul mate as it is."

  "I don't want to think how exponentially more difficult that process would become if you had to retrofit a vampire or a werewolf," smirked Waxine, obviously picking up on his train of thought.

  Wicus snorted in good humor.

  They watched as Emily paid her bill, hugged her friend goodbye and left the salon. She walked into the grocery store that occupied the same strip mall.

  "Time for the cheez-its," announced Waxine.

  Wicus watched silently.

  He knew what the human would purchase without using any of his magical abilities; cheez-its, frozen dark sweet cherries, a dark chocolate candy bar, and a bag of dog food for her blue-gray terrier, Max. That's precisely what she placed in the plastic basket and headed to the front of the store.

  "She does that every time."

  "Emily Wren is one of those humans who likes order and routine," he said. Wicus could be funny or ruthless in his appraisal of people. And he knew it. She’s a good kid though.

  "Do you disapprove?" Waxine asked, glancing at him.

  He gave her a look, “Do I have a problem with orderly people? Of course not. And I have no problem with her dietary habits. There's nothing wrong with what she eats... Besides she's a very grounded person... considerate...practical."

  "Yet I detect some measure of discontent in that assessment," Waxine observed, waiting for him to finish.

  "I'm not unhappy with her...at all..." hedged Wicus, carefully shifting his expression. "But I do wish she were not so shy. She’s uptight...and holds herself back."

  He knew the edicts of this realm, knew that he wasn’t supposed to favor any one soul over another. Privately, he did admit to himself that he was a bit paternal over this one. The girl will get a perfect soul mate. If he was doing his job properly, he hoped, once again questioning his judgment.

  Emily Wren was a little too reticent to join in on the social activities that many of her peers enjoyed, activities that could have opened new doors for her and helped her make new friends, he thought. Guaranteeing that she had a soul mate -- might be the easy part -- he couldn't create a social life for her.

  "I expect she will grow out of that...there's nothing wrong with a little caution," encouraged Waxine.

  "I hope so..." he responded, turning his attention back to watching the portal.

  * * * * * *

  Emily placed her items on the conveyor belt and watched the cashier ring them up.

  Her phone beeped.

  She knew from the tone that it was a new email. Hands occupied with her wallet at the moment, she didn’t bother to grab it.

  Playing a mental game of who-could-it-be, she weighed the options; Work? School? Mom or Dad? Her parents were always sending her adorable animal pictures from the internet. She thought it was cute that they’d discovered the world wide web at their age. They claimed it kept them hip. A comment which always elicited a snort and a roll of her eyes. Mom and Dad are not hip, she thought. Her friends sent texts, so it couldn’t be them.

  She paid her bill, picked up her two bags with one hand and walked outside heading toward her car. Reaching into the back pocket of her jeans with the other, fished out the phone and checked her email. Tilting the screen to avoid the glare of what was left of the sunny day. A warm wind was blowing.

  There were two, one from Millstone University, asking if she had finalized her class schedule for next semester? The second was from work.

  Her boss wanted to know if she could pick up an extra shift? He was old school -- hated texting. He’d sent the email to her and the six other freelancers. The unspoken rule was that the first person to respond would pick up the extra hours.

  Emily wrote content for the local community newspaper's website. It was kinda like being an author, she reasoned, online anyhow, allowing her to get paid while indulging in one of her passions in life. She loved the idea of facing a blank page or in this case a blank screen and creating a story.

  Granted it wasn't a work of fiction -- her true passion. Most of the duties involved follow up assignments on events that took place in the Marietta City Council chambers which meant that she did not go out and actually cover stories like reporters did. Still, she found the work satisfying.

  To her writing wasn’t an occupation in so much as it was a calling. It was simply what she was meant to do. And come heaven, hell or high water -- she meant to do it.

  The breeze picked up several heavy strands of hair blowing them in her face. Detaching her thumb from the phone’s screen, she used it to tuck them behind her ear.

  She didn't remember which courses she still needed to add to her schedule for her American Literature degree, so she ignored the email from school and called her boss. Luckily, she had him on speed dial.

  He picked up on the second ring.

  So quickly that Emily thought, nobody’s called in yet, he must still be looking for someone. Smiling to herself.

  "Hi, it’s Emily, when do you need me?" she announced without preamble.

  "Can you work Friday? Jenna wants to take a vacation day, I told her that I'd try to find someone to fill in," her boss, the managing editor of the Marietta Gazette, explained.

  "Sure... Is it okay if I come in a little late...like around nine? I have to take Max to the vet."

  "Nine's fine. Is something wrong with Max?"

  "I think he's probably fine...but he's been favoring his back paw off and on for the past few weeks... I can't tell if it’s hurt or not... the vet told me to bring him in to be on the safe side," she explained.

  She loved Max and didn't like the idea that he might be in pain. Not only was he a beloved pet, he was her best friend. "I can come in after I drop him off."

  "Great, thanks, I'll see you Friday.... and I hope that everything turns out well for Max...bye," her boss added kindly, before hanging up.

  Emily was pleased to pick up another shift.

  Classes were almost finished for this semester. All of her major projects were turned in. She didn't have any finals to worry about, and her social life... 'Ha, what social life,' she chided herself internally.

  Aside from work, school or Wendy, the most social interaction she had was chatting with the Starbucks barista when she placed an order.

  She did wish there was someone. Someone of her very own, someone to love, longing for that sense of belonging. It just hadn’t happened yet.

  Stowing her bags on the back seat, she climbed in her Camry and headed for home. Beyonce’s Lemonade came on the radio and she enthusiastically joined in with the chorus. She was in a great frame of mind.

  Maybe there’d be time to get in a little exercise, she mused.