* * * * * *
Josh pulled his motorcycle between two parked cars in an area that really wasn't a parking space. The Harley Softail fit there nicely, as long as nobody opened a door, he thought, especially that Camry. The driver’s door was right next to the handlebars. He’d be quick.
After getting a block down the road, he’d reached inside his jacket pocket and realized that he'd left the sunglasses on the table. He might not need them now with the rain about to close in but he didn't want to lose them. They were RayBans.
He walked back inside.
* * * * * *
On the other side of the portal, the candelabra was nearly beside herself.
"You're not orchestrating this are you?" asked Waxine, shaking her head at the unfolding scene.
"No... But I'd guess this is the first time you've seen a soul pull."
Waxine's confused expression was enough to goad Wicus into a proper explanation.
"A soul pull happens as the harmonics of soul mates get more in-tuned. They're drawn to be in the same proximity. It rarely happens with soul mates who are born with the correct designated markers and hallmarks because they have activation deadlines."
"I know all about activation deadlines," commented Waxine with a thoughtful look. The old girl was apparently absorbing this new nugget of information.
"Good, well... It’s only during retrofitting or when I have to make minor tweaks that the harmonics of a soul are shifted in the human world. The people, the candidates… are inexplicably drawn to the same places as their soul mate."
"Are you worried about them meeting prematurely? Before they're fully retrofitted?"
"That's doubtful... I mean I've never had to retrofit a primary and a secondary for the same soul mate before. But it hasn’t happened when I’ve made minor adjustments to secondaries either. Besides... listen."
A metallic brow rose in puzzlement.
From her confused countenance, it was plain to Wicus that Waxine didn't hear anything out of the ordinary.
“What?”
Plug nodded at its mistress, perplexed as well.
"No event alarm... No alarm. No meeting."
"Are you sure?"
"Watch."
Josh walked over to the corner of the eatery where he'd been sitting earlier. A backpack, a laptop and a jacket occupied his former seat. There was nobody sitting in it.
He reached down to the table and retrieved his sunglasses.
"I'm just getting my sunglasses..." he said aloud to nobody in particular.
Brown eyes open wide, looking undeniably honest, no doubt worried that someone might think he was pilfering the stranger's stuff. Nobody challenged him or approached as he briefly stood there.
Pocketing the RayBans, he sauntered to the front of the store and stepped through the exit.
The glass door fell back into place behind him with a slight swish.
Emily walked out of the bathroom and headed back to her seat.
A motorcycle engine roared to life somewhere in the parking lot as she passed by the counter.
The barista held up a hand getting Emily’s attention and pursued her lips, evidently waiting for the noise to die down as the machine exited the vicinity.
Here you go, Emily,” she said, handing her a tall cappuccino.
Watching Emily walk off with the coffee, Waxine blew out a loud breath that she’d evidently been holding. Relief in her expression.
"See, told you," reassured Wicus.
"Are we going to see that happen again?"
"It's possible, neither candidate is fully retrofitted. I still have some adjustments to make on both.... So it is possible," he theorized. Both were coming along but more work needs to be done.
"Okay... note to self... Don't freak out, when I see the soul mates circling Emily," the shinning candelabra chided herself. “I don’t know if my heart can take it.”
Plug looked at her in askance.
"Plug...you don't freak out either."
The attachment nodded, a sage expression on its three-pronged face.
Wicus flicked his wrist and watched as the image of Emily became transparent. She took a sip of her coffee, pulled off a piece of banana bread and popped it into her mouth before the portal entirely disappeared.
"I need to get back to work," Wicus remarked, especially with this new deadline looming.
"Do you know yet which one is going to be her soul mate?"
"At the moment, no, but both will be well within the specifications that her soul needs," he said with conviction. The girl will have a perfect soul mate.
"I'm not worried about that.... I was thinking... technically Emily is going to have four soul mates, right?"
Wicus grimaced, unsure of where Waxine was headed with this conversation. “She never met her first primary or secondary... They were killed... Remember?"
"Oh, I know that, that's not my point. Her primary from this second batch though will technically be soul mate number three, right?"
"Theoretically, yes."
"Fine...Plug has been trying to make a wager on which candidate will be soul mate number three... I think it will be Josh, but Plug disagrees."
He frowned.
Wicus disapproved of wagering on so sensitive an issue as to who would be Emily's chosen soul mate. He was very protective of souls in general, especially those under his care. He closed his eyes and became perfectly still while he figured out how he wanted to respond.