*
All during the following week, I did my best to be faithful in my meditations, and building my aura and energy. I couldn’t help but think of Paleo. He was so different from anyone I could have ever imagined. Then I had to question myself: Had I imagined him? Was I finally really losing it? I hadn’t said a word to Nancy and Paul about him. After all, having an incubus for a friend was kind of personal. Of course, I hadn’t had sex with him. I have to admit, though, that I was growing more and more curious about what a relationship with him would be like.
Did I really want to have a sexual relationship with a demon? There had been a time when such a thought would have horrified me, but not since I had actually met an incubus. He had given me no reason whatsoever to fear him. On the contrary, I had felt strangely safe in his presence.
I finally had a day off. It happened to be a Saturday. It didn’t take me long to clean up my apartment, for it didn’t get very messy, as I was somewhat of a neat-freak. Done with my menial chores, I decided that I would walk down and see if Nancy or Paul was home. Just as I went to open my door I heard a small but familiar voice behind me. “You like him, don’t you?”
I spun around. “Cal! Haven’t seen you in a while.”
He smiled confidently. “Oh… I’ve been around.”
“I bet you have.”
“But you do like him, don’t you?”
“Who?”
“You know… You like Paleo… the incubus. Curiosity getting the better of you?”
“Cal! That’s kind of personal. He seems nice. But I’m not sure I want an intimate relationship with him.”
“Hmmm,” he mused. Then he got a really big grin on his face. “Still, you like him.”
“Yes! From what little I know of him. He seems really polite.”
“Oh, he’s much more than that.”
Then it hit me. “You wouldn’t be here on his behalf, would you?”
“Of course not,” he briskly replied.
I tilted my head curiously. “Cal… ”
He wrinkled his nose in a most charming way. “Can’t say.” Poof! He was gone.
“Okay,” I said to myself. I stood there momentarily, and I couldn’t help but smiling. It seemed that demon males might not be so different from human ones at that. I opened the door and headed on down to Nancy’s and Paul’s.
Neither Paul nor Nancy was home, so I decided to take a walk in the park. I did notice a lot of cars at my father’s church and wondered what was going on. After all, it was Saturday. I walked on down and sat on one of the benches that was under a shade tree. I was getting to the point that I didn’t care if anyone saw me or not. I was free of them now and no longer afraid of them. I had a job, my own place, and good friends, human and supernatural.
After a little bit, a group of folks came rushing out of the church and stood in lines on each side of the walk. Then a couple dressed in white came out – a wedding!
There was a lot of laughter and rice being thrown about as the couple ran down the steps, sidewalk, and to a red Mazda that I just realized had ‘just married’ painted in big white letters on the back. Someone had tied a few cans to the rear bumper.
I was there for about five minutes when I noticed a jogger coming down the walk from my right. I couldn’t believe it – Erick! He smiled broadly and came over and plopped down beside me.
“I was beginning to think I wasn’t ever going to see you again,” I said.
Still smiling, he replied, “I’ve been around, Brenda.”
“Funny. Everyone seems to say that.”
“Oh?”
“It’s nothing.”
He furrowed his brow curiously. “You sure?”
I screwed up my mouth, eyeing him intently. Then I finally got the guts to say it, “Are you—?”
“Am I what?”
I blew out air. “There are times when I get the feeling that you are different.”
“In what respect?”
“Honestly?”
“Yes. Please.”
“Are you… human?”
He tilted his head back, eyeing me as though I had lost my mind. “What?”
I felt utterly ridiculous. “I… I’m sorry.” I was at a loss for words knowing he must think me totally crazy. “That didn’t come out right.”
“Why on Earth would you think that I was anything else?”
I shrugged. How did I get out of this one? “I didn’t literally think you weren’t human,” I lied, not wanting to admit what I had been thinking. “It just came out wrong. I meant it more in a teasing way.”
“Oh!” He bobbed his head and grinned amusedly.
“It’s just that in the past you have shown up just when I really needed someone. Kind of like you’re a guardian angel of some kind. That’s all. Yes. That’s what I meant. You have this uncanny knack for being there for me when I need you. But I haven’t a clue who you really are.”
“I see. Makes sense.” He leaned back, resting against the bench. “I live a couple of blocks from here… Opposite end of the park.” He pointed to our left. I can just see your dad’s church from my front porch. I live in a two story house… by myself. No family.”
“Oh! So you’re all alone?” I wondered about any family he might have, but I felt so foolish already I didn’t bother to ask.
“Yes. But I’m used to it.”
“That’s good.” I said, doing my best to appear somewhat normal, but I felt so silly it wasn’t funny.
“It’s okay, Brenda. You’re right. I suppose it would seem really strange to you… the way we’ve come across one another several times and all.”
“Yeah,” I nodded. “But I am very grateful for all you’ve done for me. You have been absolutely awesome.”
“Thank you.” He stood then. “Well, I should get going.” He glanced at his watch and then looked back at me. “No dilemmas this time?”
“No. Thank goodness!”
“Good to know. And good to see you again.” He winked, and took off jogging again.
I’m not exactly sure why, but my heart kind of sank right then and there. I had actually let myself believe that Erick was kind of a guardian angel… or demon, depending on one’s perspective. I definitely felt disappointment. Though he was a wonderful person, and I would be eternally grateful for all he had done for me, I was emotionally devastated – He was human. Albeit, a good one, but still, only human. I stood. “What in the world is wrong with me?” I decided to run too. I wasn’t in jogging clothes, but I ran anyway, in the opposite direction, all the way back to my apartment.