Out of the Darkness

173

She looked doubtful so I tried harder. "We have a big meeting in a few minutes, but I'll go to the doctor afterwards." She still looked doubtful but, she stared at my arm for another second, before nodding. 'Okay, I will get it. Hold on." Sam and I watched her walk to the back. "That was close," he whispered. "Yeah," I said quietly. The lady didn't take long, so another minute and she was back, carrying a medium sized red latch kit. "Here you go. Bathroom is back there." She pointed us in the right direction, and Sam grabbed the kit. "Thanks so much. Be right back." Once inside the bathroom, I hopped up onto the sink counter, and held out my arm. "Alright Doctor Sam, work your magic," I joked. He was already working on wiping the skin around the wound with a wet napkin, but I saw the small smile on his face. "Shut up," he replied. I was quiet for a little while, watching him work over the wound. It didn't really hurt at all, which was weird. Every now and then, it would pull a little, sending a sharp pain through my forearm, but it was nothing unbearable, like it had been before. I felt like this was definitely not a good thing, but I shoved it to the back of my mind. "Okay, all done. Now, be careful with it. Just because it doesn't hurt as badly, doesn't mean that it isn't still injured. You can see that. So, be careful. I'm not trying to be your doctor any more than I need to be," he replied, grinning as he put the medical stuff back in the kit. "Aye, aye, captain," I said, saluting him. He gave me a short chuckle, then closed the kit and picked it up. "How much time do we have now?" he asked. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and checked it. "We can go ahead and find a table, if you want. She should be here in about 30. He nodded, and held the door open for me. "After you, good sir." I curtsied with my imaginary dress, and walked through. After he returned the kit, we found a small table, towards the back of the restaurant, and sat down. "So, how are we gonna start this?" I asked, hoping that he had a few ideas, or even one idea. It would be one more than I had. "Not really sure," he replied, rubbing his chin. "I assume she'll ask about whatever building that you told her you were interested in. Since you don't have a building, that's gonna be a problem. So, come clean. Tell her that we were researching the old Witch's House and saw her picture in an article. Some weird things happened, and you were wondering if she could tell us anything about the place." I nodded, thinking about what he said. "Okay, but how am I supposed to bring Anna into the conversation?" I heard the bell ding to alert the workers that a customer had entered. "I  have no idea, but you better think of something fast. She just walked in," he said, standing up. "What the hell, she's early!" I exclaimed, standing up with him. I turned towards the front of the restaurant. It was definitely Christine. She looked like she was maybe in her early 40's, but I couldn't be sure. It seemed like she should be older than that, but I definitely wasn't going to work out the math. She had blonde hair, expertly cut and highlighted, down to her shoulders. She wore a long sleeve, button up that had tiny flowers scattered across the front of it. Paired with that was long pencil skirt, with a split in the side, that went above her knees. She was poised and elegant, but not in the stuck up way that I had seen in so many people around here. She smiled brightly when she noticed us, and walked straight towards us. "Hello, Mr. Brock, I presume? I'm Christine," she said, confidently holding out her hand to Sam. He laughed, and shook his head. "Um, no, I'm not Colby, or Mr. Brock. He is," he replied, pointing at me. "I'm Sam. Just here for...well, I don't know. Support?" She laughed, and looked at me. "Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry. Mr. Brock, how are you?" "It's no problem," I answered, taking her hand in mine. "I'm doing well. I hope you are too." I pulled out a chair for her, after we shook hands. She smiled graciously, and sat down. I took my original seat, which was right next to her, while Sam took the one across from me. "Well, I'd be doing better if people would stop trying to tear down these beautiful, architectural dreams but, other than that, I can't complain. Have you gentlemen ordered?" We both shook our heads. "No ma'am," I answered, shaking my head. "We were waiting until you arrived." She giggled, and smiled. "Please don't call me ma'am. I know that I've got some age on you two, but don't remind me. I'm still pretending that I'm in my 20's. Of course," she said, waving her hand in the air at the server. "Sometimes, my body doesn't let me pretend. Enjoy your youth. You don't know that it's gone, until it's too late." I watched as her face fell, and something happened in her eyes. She looked crushed for all of two seconds, and then the smile returned. The server walked over and took our orders. I just pointed at a picture that was on the menu that looked good, trying to hurry the process. I was eager to speak with Christine. When the server walked away, she asked the question that I had been dreading. "Let's dive right in then. I don't have much time. Which building are you bringing to my attention today, Mr. Brock?" "Please, call me Colby," I answered, still trying to think of some way to answer this without alarming her, or freaking her out. "Colby then," she replied, smiling. She had a beautiful smile. Older or not, I could appreciate beauty. "Yes ma'am. Well, you see, I haven't really brought you a building," I said, holding her gaze. "It is very important that I speak with you about something and that seemed like the best option to get your attention." Jesus, I was really just laying it out there right off the bat, huh? I saw her eyes narrow, and knew the situation could go south quickly.