Was it a good date?
No.
But, had Martha
learned something from it?
She took a big bite of
her burger and sighed with her mouth full. She’d learned that dating was
pointless and women who did it were stupid. That counted as a life lesson,
right?
Or maybe women weren’t
stupid, and it was only Martha who had such bad luck with guys. It couldn’t be
normal to find this many weirdo men in such quick succession. From the one who
spent the night on his phone, refusing to make eye contact and barely uttering
a word, to the one who massively insulted her in French thinking she wouldn’t
understand him.
It said a lot about
the whole mate-search that the best date she’d been on was the one where
she was stood up. That would have certainly been preferable to what she’d
just experienced with the man she’d fled not two minutes ago. He was the worst
of them because he was the first to make her feel bad about herself. Even the
one who’d called her a ho in French, hadn’t been personal, but Jeff… His
comments had stung in their thoughtlessness.
Well, screw him! At
least she got a burger out of it. She’d paid for it herself and it was damn
good.
It placated her temper
as she made the five-minute walk from the restaurant to Garrett Park.
Maybe she was still cursed. What if they’d
misunderstood the goddess’s decree that their coven was forgiven for the
atrocities committed by past members?
Martha’s coven sisters
had done their best to make amends, but how could you make amends for the acts
of others? How did you repent for the sins of the unforgiveable? A curse would
certainly explain the string of bad dates she’d been on.
Except… the coven
couldn’t be cursed. Her sister River had found her mate in Alex, a handsome,
tall, toned man who saw only perfection in his mate.
Could be her sisters
were forgiven but Martha wasn’t. She hadn’t done anything bad, though, to
warrant being singled out with and ancient curse. Hell, she was one of the
better-behaved of her immortal sisters.
There was no
explanation for the men she’d had no more than a single date with. If even
that.
The burger was gone long
before she reached the park, but that was okay. The angry stomp of her brown
boots hitting the sidewalk was soothing.
The lap she did around
the muddy park, seeking out her sisters and Alex not so much, although, it did
give her a chance to see what stalls were set up.
She was just about to
get her cell phone out to call River and find out where they were when the
fiery red of April’s hair caught her attention from the corner of her eye.
Her coven, her family,
were standing by a food truck that sold soup and they were gathered together,
paper cups held in their gloved and mittened hands. Or at least some of her
coven were.
Bethany, April, River
and River’s mate Alex. He was an honorary member. Always there to support River
but with no magical abilities. He’d become one of them quicker than Martha had
expected, and now he was the big brother they’d never known they wanted. Even
her older sisters, those whose ages were in the hundreds were treated like
annoying little sisters by Alex.
Martha crossed the
park to join her family. Bethany was the first to notice her approach, and a smile spread over her heart-shaped face. Her dark hair was tucked under a grey woolly hat with a blue bobble on top. Her eyes shone behind the smudged lenses of her square glasses and she was dressed in jeans and a dark grey puffy
jacket. Her Converse trainers were marked with mud and as always, a heavy
camera hung on a long strap, slung over her shoulder.
“Martha!” she
exclaimed, and the others turned in surprise.
“I thought you
couldn’t make it,” River said.
April winced and then
asked, “How was the date?”
Four pairs of
attentive eyes locked on her, and she glared at her red-headed sister. “It
was great,” and yes, that was sarcasm dripping from her voice. “It lasted eight
whole minutes. We get married next week.”
With a roll of her
eyes, April ignored Martha’s attitude. She was used to it. They were roommates
after all.
“What happened?”
“You didn’t get stood
up again, did you?” River asked.
“No.” Unfortunately.
“I arrived and he was waiting outside. He eyed me up and down, frowned and it got
worse from there.” She was definitely deleting her dating app. “The next five
minutes were spent telling me that he didn’t usually date chunky girls, and how
attractive I’d be if I lost twenty pounds.”
“Jerk!” River
exclaimed.
April’s fiery temper
kicked in and she ground her teeth together, parting them only long enough to
grind out, “Bastard.”
“You’re beautiful,
Martha,” Bethany rushed to tell her. “Don’t listen to him.”
“I won’t.” But his
words had wormed into her self-confidence and made her wonder if he was right.
She tried to not let it impact her, but it was hurtful to hear. She wasn’t the
skinniest girl in the world, but she’d always been content with what she considered
to be an ordinary shaped body.
“Did you leave then?”
Alex asked.
She should have, but
she hadn’t wanted to be rude. “Not quite. I stuck around for another five
minutes, but all he did was give me advice on nutrition and fitness, and when I
ordered a burger, he told the waiter to bring me a grilled chicken salad.”
“He actually changed
your order?” April asked. “While you sat there?”
River would have reacted,
but she was too busy standing there with her mouth hanging open. It took Alex
lifting her chin up, to have her snapping her jaw shut.
“He tried, but I
didn’t let him. I said I wanted a burger, but when they brought it, he had such
disgust on his face that I’d have never been able to eat it in front of him. I
gave him money for it and I left.”
“Good,” River said.
“He doesn’t deserve a date with a woman as beautiful as you.”
Alex nodded his
agreement. “He sounds like a moron. His loss.”
It was heart-warming
how they rushed to soothe her hurt feelings, but she was still deleting the
stupid app when she got home. She’d have done it right then, but she didn’t
want to be rude by getting her phone out.
April slipped her arm
around Martha’s waist and squeezed comfortingly. “You look lovely, and that
jackass was a waste of lipstick.”
“Thank you.”
“At least now you’re
here for the bonfire and fireworks with us. That’s much more fun than a date
with some random man.”
“You want soup,
Martha?” Alex asked.
Martha shook her head.
“I had my burger as I walked here. I’m going to have a toffee apple tonight
though.”
“Ooh, donuts for me,”
River said. “They have hot sugar donuts freshly made at the pink truck.”
It was a cold night,
but Martha was wrapped up warmly inside her black woollen coat. She’d worn a
dress for her date, but her tights were thick, and she and April held onto each
other for warmth while Bethany went around the park taking pictures, and River
and Alex stood together in a tight embrace. After a while Alex went for a walk around the park and River joined their little huddle until he returned with
donuts for her and a toffee apple for Martha. She always forgot how difficult
they were to eat until her face was stained with sticky red toffee like a
child’s.
When the bonfire was
lit, the heat wrapped around them along with the cloying aroma of smoke. She
loved the smell though. Even when she was little, she’d enjoyed the festivities
of bonfire night. The flames, the people, the fireworks. When she was younger it
had been exciting, and now she was older, it still held the same magic for her.
Even in her twenties,
she loved trying to write her name with a sparkler.
Bethany returned to
them, sipping a hot chocolate, her cheeks pink from the cold, and a big grin
on her face.
“The fireworks are
starting soon,” she announced excitedly, her gaze already drifting up to the
sky.
Her anticipation was
infectious, and they all huddled together, waiting for the bursts of light to flash throughout the black sky.
When they did start the
bright colours were vibrant against their dark backdrop, and the bangs made her
jump, but they laughed, and they oohed and aahed at the pretty sight.
Dating strangers just
wasn’t for Martha. She hadn’t enjoyed any of it. She didn’t feel comfortable, and
if she was honest, she’d known nothing was going to come of it because she
hadn’t felt attraction for any of them. Not even a hint of desire, and it
couldn’t be that way with her mate.
No, dating wasn’t for
her, but as she looked at her family, her heart was full. She had a lot in her
life. She had love and laughter. She had constant joy. Things weren’t always
easy, but she was happy with what she had.
April watched the
fireworks with just the slightest curl to her pink lips, whereas Bethany had
tipped her head right back, her teeth white from her wide grin, completely
immersed in the lights above her. Her camera hung limply, forgotten.
It was the sight of
River and Alex that got to her though. They were so natural together. Every act
was centred on the other person without them even realising. Alex had his arms
wrapped around her waist, leaning down to hear what she was saying, the soft
tendrils of her blonde hair brushing his lips.
Both were smiling, but
it was the tenderness as they looked at each other that stabbed Martha in the
heart. This was nothing special for them, just a conversation like any other
day, but it was something Martha wanted for herself.
For someone to look at
her the way they looked at each other.
Her mind flashed back
to when she’d approached Jeff, her date earlier in the evening and the
disappointment she’d seen there.
She sighed, drawing
April’s attention.
“Are you okay?” she
asked.
“Yeah,” she replied.
“I’m good.” And she was. She’d love to find her mate, but not the way she had been.
She wasn’t searching for him any longer. She’d put her faith in the goddess and
have faith that he was out there. Probably pushing a pull door. He’d come when
it was the right time, and until then, she had all she needed.
“I forgot to tell
you,” April said. “A guy at work has a friend who manages a nightclub, and
they’re hiring.”
Oh, right. She had
almost all that she needed. A job would be good though. Five days ago, she’d
been made redundant from the library she’d worked at for years.
“I know it’s not anything
you’ve done before,” April continued, “but you said you wanted something
different, and this is different.”
It was certainly that.
“Late nights, loud music,” Martha said. “Might be fun.”
April pulled a card
from her coat pocket and handed it over. “You just have to email your resume to
the manager Mervin.”
Martha looked down at
the small, white card in her hand. She’d spent a long time in the peaceful
quiet of the library, that a job in a nightclub would be a shock to her senses,
but it might just be a shock she needed.
“Thanks, April,” she
said.
“You’re welcome.”
Fireworks exploded
above her head, the smell of smoke clung to her, she was surrounded by love, and
a prickling sense of anticipation washed over her.
Bonfire night was
always exciting, but it was the sense of hope in the night air that had her
heart kicking up its beat. The future was scary, but it was wide open. Anything
could happen. Anything.
