Never An Angel

Sixth

        After a shower, Magdalen padded downstairs early in the morning. She found one of Petra's heels on the floor so threw it up the stairs to take care of later. She walked into the kitchen to make breakfast enough for two, but paused when she noticed a visibly shaking Olive lying outside in a tight bundle, trying to keep warm. She had forgotten him the night before, and she certainly had forgotten how cold it was getting. She let him in and filled his food and water bowls as an apology. She may not like the idiot, but she wasn't going to abuse him.

     With Olive taken care of, she grabbed her phone and called Murello. She held the device between her shoulder and cheek so she could start on breakfast.

     "Well, hello," Murello greeted after a moment. He sounded breezy, as though he was outside. "Have a good night?"

     "Yes, it was lovely. Petra healed nicely, thank you for asking. I had to deal with her drunken self but I handled it."

     "You've never handled her drunk?"

     "Not on magic."

     "It was a small dose, Jessie said."

     "Yes, well." Magdalen moved away from the stove, having thrown bacon into a pan when the pan was far too hot. She turned down the heat then said, "Anyway, I called because I wanted to know when I could come over."

     "Any time. Right now if you want. The door's open."

     "Yeah?"

     "Of course. I'll be seeing you."

     Magdalen hung up a millisecond after Murello did. She texted Declan to go to Murello's for support, and told him to do whatever Murello needed him to. Then she finished up breakfast- French toast, bacon, and eggs- in peace. Olive sat near her as she placed everything on dishes. He appeared sad to her, and she wondered if he was hurt from being left outside all night. She stared at him for a moment, disturbed that he didn't wag his tail at her the way he usually did, then tossed him a piece of bacon. He let it drop at his feet. Frowning, she picked it up and held it out to him. Only then did he delicately take it into his mouth and eat it. His tail wagged the barest.

     A moment later Petra padded into the kitchen, her hair in disarray. She wore nothing but last night's underwear. "Morning," she croaked.

     Magdalen finished making two plates and put them on the table. "Morning. Sleep well?"

     "Sort of. I've got a bit of a headache. Thank you." Petra sat and sighed heavily. "Going into work early?"

     "No. I'm going to see Murello to thank him for last night."

     "Oh? Can I come?"

     "You want to come?"

     "Sure. I want to thank him. I think I need to apologize, too. I got drunk last night and... Well, I don't know what was in that wine but it was strong. That so wasn't like me. I'm not a lightweight. I need to apologize."

     Silent, Magdalen slipped her phone into her lap to text Murello that an extra guest should be expected and the appropriate changes should be made. She took a bite of her breakfast and slid her phone away. "I was planning on leaving in an hour. That enough time for you to get ready?"

     "Make it an hour and a half. Breakfast is good, thank you for making it."

     Magdalen nodded. "You're welcome." She ate slower since she didn't want to spend too much time simply waiting, and said nothing when Petra finished and left the table. Instead she sat back, eyeing Petra's left behind empty plate, and contemplated. She needed her own space where she wouldn't be bothered. She could use one of the extra rooms, and she seriously considered erasing Petra's memories of them so she could have secret places to do magic or other things she didn't want to be seen. But the whole point of having a human was to pretend to be one as well. Then, she thought of what Declan had tried to tell her some time ago, about bringing Petra in and telling her everything since they were in a serious relationship. That certainly would make life easier. But it would also make it harder, too.