Sunshine's shadow

12

7th February 2020

I sat at the table swirling my glass of Jefferson's Ocean Bourbon I had purchased but never opened. It was almost 10pm and I was still waiting for Nestor to come home. His last message was at 7pm saying he was dropping Emily off home and I was getting anxious. I knew he wasn't hurt or I would feel it but I didn't like not knowing.

I sent yet another message and emptied my glass before pouring another. This decadent bourbon was aged as it crossed the seas around the equator and, whether it actually affected the bourbon remained to be said but, it was a fucking good drink. Definitely in my top 10 list. I had hoped to share it with my other half but at the rate I was going, he may only get a drop.

Deciding the house was too quiet, I turned on the stereo and finally found a radio station that was more music than static. The music had me swaying as I kept my glass mostly upright and I couldn't remember the last time I got drunk like this. I decided maturity was boring and refilled my glass before having to take big gulps as I overfilled it.

I felt, rather than heard, Nestor's arrival and skipped down the hall to the door. The alcohol may have numbed the bond but I didn't need it, I could see the frustration clearly on his face. I handed him my full glass before I pushed his jacket off his shoulders and massaged them through his dark floral shirt.

He hummed in appreciation before sipping from the glass and licking his lips. I kissed him, tasting the bourbon and drew his bottom lip between my teeth.

"If this is the welcome home I get, I'll never be back on time again." He husked in my ear as he groped a handful of my ass.

"I've had nothing but hours of imagining what I would do when you returned and bourbon to fuel the fire." I purred back before unbuttoning his shirt and pulling it out of his waistband.

Stepping back I let my eyes roam over his edible body. I would never get enough of watching the way his body moved, the seamless transitions of his muscles beneath the sun-kissed skin. It was my turn to lick my lips as he smirked and raised his glass for another sip.

"And what would you have of me, my Sunshine?" He asked, teasing me with his words.

"Well, I had a delivery arrive that I think you might enjoy." I said cryptically as I pointed to the box on the hall table.

He looked intrigued and put the glass down and picked up the box, with a gentle shake as tried to figure it out before even opening it, like a child at Christmas. I was shaking in anticipation at his reaction when I felt someone pull at my hand. Through my buzz it took a moment to realise it was a hand pulling me through the veil.

"I have to go." I managed to say before I was ripped into the netherworld.

I was always in charge of coming to this realm, except when I died from a burst ectopic pregnancy. This had never happened and I growled at my mom ready to yell at her but she was pale. Worry overtook my anger and I ran up to her to find she wasn't pale, she was going invisible.

"What's happening mom?" I asked as I tried to touch her fading hand and mine passed right through.

"Being the anchor is never meant to be forever." She said quietly, her voice fading as much as her form. "My mother was here before me. When she began to pass on, I had you and I took her position. It's what the women in our family have been doing for millennia. It's time for you to have a daughter."

"Why the hell would I want to do that? And why are you only telling me now!" I asked.

"It's not a matter of want. You can't fight fate Sunshine. I hoped you would have a child by your own choice by now but it's gone too long. This is the last time you can leave this realm, when I disappear your spirit will take my place." She said holding my hand tightly with her single solid hand. "There isn't much time, weeks at the most and the only way to slow it down is if you are carrying the heir."