The gothic glamour of the Dunvegas Hotel and Casino was lost on Gaelle as she headed toward the private elevator to meet Evan. It had been a long day and all she could think about was the fact that Joel was supposed to be with them. The three of them had planned the trip eighteen months earlier when they’d started their business together.
Vivify had been Joel’s baby. Combining Gaelle’s talents with plant life, Evan’s business sense and immortal contacts, and Joel’s love of adventure, the three had launched an entire line of herbal supplements used to increase preternatural pleasure. It touched on everything from drops to relieve depression, to oils that promoted blood flow to erogenous zones, to creams that when used right, would make even an incubus impressed.
Joel had built their first greenhouse with his own hands and talked about the day they’d need dozens of warehouses to keep up with the demand once they went national after breaking out at the ParaPleasures Expo. In the first six months, their online business and little boutique shop had boomed to his delight, and it seemed his plans would come to pass. Only Joel wouldn’t live long enough to see it.
They’d all known he was on borrowed time. The heart defect he’d been born with was a product of his mixed human and daemon heritage. It was inoperable, and as an infant, medical science had given him a life expectancy of five years. Alternative medicine and a little preternatural science had added nearly thirty years to that in the end. But finally, at thirty-three, his too-human heart could no longer fuel a more-than-human body and he was gone. It had been a long year without him and she and Evan had finally learned to laugh and smile again, but it would never be the same without Joel. Every smile would be tinged with a touch of sadness.
It was supposed to be the three of them. It had always been the three of them. It should have always been so. They were confidants, and co-conspirators, and best friends, and they could have been even more if Joel had just lived a little longer.
Gaelle slowed and looked at the drooping ficus tree tucked into a corner nook beside the elevator. The one there at the start of the day had been proud and vivacious, but over the course of the day had been traded out for this more humble offering. It wasn’t a bad tree. The braided trunk was healthy and the branches sturdy, but it seemed nearly as down and depressed as Gaelle herself. She walked over and ran a hand across the once-vibrant green leaves.
“Hey little guy, looks like neither one of us is quite in the right mindset for all of this. We should try to perk up for Joel’s sake. I know he’s watching.”
She’d felt Joel’s spirit for the last few weeks, his vibration getting stronger each time. It was like that the first year after a death if a soul stayed to linger. There’d be no way to know if he was sentient and remembered her until he could manifest. Not everyone stayed intact when they remained. He might be no more than a strong memory and until she knew, Gaelle wasn’t getting her hopes up. But she would let the feel of him bring a smile as it always did. She passed that smile on to the ficus and watched as its branches lifted and new leaves emerged and unfurled. By the time it was as lush and lively as she could make it, Gaelle herself felt more alive and ready to take on the rest of the Expo.