Spell Checked (18 page)

Dearest Mae,

I know my leaving will have a profound effect on you and not by your choosing.  I have enclosed the card for your account and, added a little extra so that you can do some shopping today.  They say shopping always makes a girl feel better.  I would love to see you in something blue and lacy tomorrow night so we can pick up where we left off.  I am always just a phone call away if you need me.

Mon coeur est à toi,

Beckett Worthington

His thoughtfulness made her cry all over again.  “Why was it so hard for me to say those three little words?” she thought as Gemma snatched the note from her hands and read its contents.  She looked relieved when she had finished and stood up while squeezing Mae’s hands.  “Mae, it looks like we girls have a mission to accomplish.  If Beck wants something blue and lacy, we need to find something blue, lacy, and completely sinful,” Gemma smiled, pulling Mae off the bed and walking her to the bathroom to dry her eyes and fix her face.

“I know this great little shop in town; it has the naughtiest nighties you have ever seen and it’s within walking distance from the spa,” Meredith chimed in.  It was a place Meredith had frequented when she and Aidan were dating.

After three hours at the spa, Mae felt relaxed enough to endure the rest of the afternoon.  They stopped at one of the local shops where Gemma and Meredith debated whether the new “in” color for purses was red or yellow.  Mae preferred green, but settled on a more practical brown one that matched more of her clothes.

Meredith reminded Mae of Beck’s status and felt she needed to dress the part of a corporate exec’s future wife, including new dresses and shoes, Gemma agreed. They searched through the racks finding dresses for Mae to try on in the dressing room.  Mae remembered that she owed Gemma a new dress to replace the one that Beck ripped off her. She was starting to think about him and knew it wouldn’t be long before the waterworks started again.

 They finally walked to the shop Meredith had mentioned earlier.  “Oh my God!  Are you serious?  Surely you don’t expect me to buy one of these.”  Mae was holding up a pair of red lace panties that were split down the center, ensuring easy access.  Mae was almost mortified at the skimpiness of some of the lingerie on display.

Gemma laughed, “Mae, where is your sense of adventure?  I’ve never known you to be a prude when it came to undies,” handing her a light blue teddy from the display.

“You’re right.  I’m just not feeling like myself today, which is ironic since Beck really does bring out the vamp in me,” realizing what she just said, all three of them started to laugh at Mae’s unintended pun.

“I bet he would like that one.”  Meredith said, pointing to an aqua colored corset with beige lace trim, hanging on the back wall.  “You should try it on,” she suggested, walking over to the back wall and retrieving it for Mae.

Mae looked at herself in the mirror and was pleasantly surprised.  The corset fit perfect and gave the illusion of having curves.  She smiled thinking of Beck destroying the laces in the back in the attempt to get the tightly fitted garment off of her.  Gemma handed her the black dress she bought earlier today so she could see if it covered the corset, which it did.

After about an hour, they left the store, each of them with purchases that would catch the eye of any man lucky enough to see them.  They headed back to Beck’s house in Meredith’s Prius when Mae started to think about what turns Beck on.  She remembered that they always had a hard time controlling themselves when she wore the perfume he bought for her in Waterford. 
Was there something about the ingredients that made them so randy?
 Meredith was good with herbs, so Mae asked.  “Mere, every time I wear the perfume Beck bought me we can’t seem to keep our hands off each other.  Are there any herbs that work like vamp nip?”

Meredith giggled at her, then tilted her head and paused to think. “I heard that the mixture of water lily and rice can entice vampires.  But that is a very odd combo, so you’re not likely to come across it very often.”

“Unless you use rice powder foundation and spray yourself with perfume that has water lily in it,” Mae added, laughing at her own mistake before leaning back in her seat.

“Oh no!”  Meredith laughed.  “Well at least you know what perfume to wear when you want to get his attention,” she said, pulling into the driveway and parking.

~~~***~~~

Evening had come and gone.  Mae lay in her bed trying to get her mind off Beck, but the vision of him haunted her every time she closed her eyes.  The band of her ring was humming the song of the diamond it held, reminding her of Beck’s protective care as well as his absence.  Mae’s cell phone suddenly rang, breaking the trance of the ring.  It was Beck.

“Hello?” she answered.

“Hello beautiful, did you have a good day?”

“I’m glad you asked Gemma and Meredith to distract me, otherwise I think I would’ve died,” she said dramatically.

“I know how you feel.  I cannot wait to get back home.”

“How are your tests going?” Mae asked, hoping they went well so he could leave soon.

“The tests look very promising,” Beck replied with excitement in his voice.

“I miss you,” Mae admitted, her voice faltering as tears welled up in her eyes.

“Mae, do not cry. I miss you too.  I called because I could not fall asleep,” Beck said as his voice started to crack.

“I’m sorry, I just can’t control my emotions today and you’re not the only one who can’t sleep,” Mae sniffled trying to hold back the tears.

“Meredith can help you with that.  Ask her to put a sleep charm on you so at least one of us will get some sleep tonight.”

“I’ll do that, otherwise I’ll cry all night.”  Mae was emotionally exhausted and desperate for sleep at any cost.

“I have to go now, I promise to be home tomorrow before dinner.  I heard Meredith has something planned for us.  And tell Gemma I wish her a safe trip home and that I hope she comes back soon.”

“I’ll tell her.  Good night Beck,” she sighed.

“I love you.  Bye,” he replied, ending the conversation.

Mae hung up the phone and walked down the long hallway to Meredith’s room.  She and Gemma were sitting on the bed, laughing when she walked in.  “What’s so funny?”  Mae asked, putting her hands on her hips and tapping her foot, waiting for a reply.

“I thought you were asleep.  We were just talking about Mr. Casanova…I mean Aidan,” Gemma laughed. She gestured for Mae to sit with them on the bed.  “How are you holding up?” she asked, her brow furrowed with concern.

Mae remained standing by the door.  “I came to ask Meredith to put a sleep spell on me.  I can’t sleep; every time I close my eyes I think of Beck,” she moaned, holding back her tears.

Meredith and Gemma both got up and put their arms around her in a group hug.  Mae hated being such a whiner.  It was not a role she felt comfortable in and this whole pity party was not working for her.  She simply wanted to sleep through her emotional agony and try to get over it at some future date.

“I will put you to sleep.  You don’t mind if Gemma and I stay up and talk?” Meredith asked her leading the way down the hall and back to Mae’s room.

“I don’t mind.  In fact I’m glad you’ve become friends, because I don’t know what I would do if I lost either one of you.  It’s ironic how the one man in this house, that we all love to hate, has brought you girls together.”  Mae crawled back into bed and tried to relax while Meredith worked her magic.  Her mind went completely blank as she drifted to sleep.

Gemma watched Meredith work her spell.  “How long will your spell work?” Gemma asked.

“I hope the entire night, but with Mae you never can tell.  She’s very different from the rest of us witches.”  Meredith walked around the side of the bed and turned off the lamp before she and Gemma went back to Gemma’s room to finish their conversation about Aidan.

~~~***~~~

“I don’t know how you managed to date him no less than ten times and for three years straight!” Gemma squealed while sitting with her legs crossed on the bed.

Meredith was walking around the room when she confessed, “Were it not for Helen, I think I would have gone after Beck instead.”  She stopped cold in her tracks, realizing the error of her words.

Gemma gave her a puzzled look.  “Who is Helen?”  She asked, hugging her pillow waiting for the response.

Meredith realized she had just opened a can of worms and it would not be easy to explain without creating more damage.  She sat on the edge of the bed with one leg curled under her and the other still on the floor, looking at Gemma pensively.  “I guess I need to start at the beginning, if you are to fully understand,” she sighed.  “How is your Greek mythology?”

“The story of Beck and Helen goes back to the days just prior to the Trojan War.  His name had been Paris in those days.  The Veshtu had become the gods of Greece and Rome at the time and they enjoyed meddling in the lives of their half-breed children.  It was at the wedding banquet of a friend when most of Beck’s troubles began.”

“One of the Veshtu named Eris was left off the wedding list because she had a tendency to cause strife. She was insulted by this slight and plotted her revenge.  During the banquet, Eris threw the Apple of Discord engraved with the word
Kallisti- “for the most beautiful one”
in front of the three most prominent female Veshtu….Hera who was the wife of their leader, Zeus; Athena, the tactician and strategist of the Veshtu; and Aphrodite, the scientist in charge of the breeding program and the most beautiful Veshtu of all. With no humility, the three goddesses allowed their vanity to take over and an argument ensued as to whom the Apple was meant for.  Zeus was asked to settle their argument, but he feared it would cause chaos if he, their leader, chose a winner.  He delegated the task to Paris, the most intelligent and handsome among the half-breeds.”

The goddesses each attempted to bribe poor Paris; Hera offered him the realms of Europe and Asia. Paris knew that retaining ownership of the land was not guaranteed, so he passed on it.  Next came the bribe of wisdom and skill in battle offered by Athena. Paris was already more intelligent than most of his peers and as a herdsman, he had no need for skill in battle, so he also passed on Athena’s offer.  The last bribe was from Aphrodite, who offered him the love of the most beautiful woman on earth…Helen of Sparta.  This seemed like an odd bribe to Paris since vampires are not known to dabble in love.”

“Love is not logical and goes against their nature, but Paris had once allowed his human half to rule his life and still remembered what it was like to be loved.  He also knew the pain and emptiness of lost love, especially at the hands of death.  So, Paris struck a deal with Aphrodite.  He would accept Aphrodite’s bribe of Helen’s love and proclaim her the winner, but in return Aphrodite had to promise that Helen’s conscience would continue to be reborn in a different body upon her death.  Paris never wanted to feel the pain of loss again.”

“The one thing Aphrodite failed to mention was that Helen was married to the king of Sparta and Paris would have to kidnap her.  Thus began the Trojan War.”  Meredith paused for a second before explaining that Helen had returned in Mae’s body.

“Beck started the Trojan War?”  Gemma was visibly intrigued as she asked her question.  “But in the books, Paris dies and Helen winds up back with her husband in Sparta.”

Meredith shifted her legs under her.  “Yes, he did and with the assistance of Aidan they were able to steal Helen.  As far as the written word, we tend to bend the truth to fit our needs.  We don’t want humans to find out they have immortals living among them, so we sometimes pen our own deaths to hide the truth.”

“What does all of this have to do with Mae?”

Meredith paused; this was the part she dreaded answering.  “Mae is Helen’s host, but Helen is not able to take over Mae’s consciousness because she is not human.”

Gemma furrowed her brow and shuddered. “You mean Mae could eventually become Helen?  Is that why Beck keeps her close?  If it is, I don’t like this situation at all.” Gemma got up and started to pace the room.

Meredith watched Gemma walk circles around the room.  “When Beck went to meet Mae for the first time he assumed that Helen had already taken over which is why he left the bar that night in a hurry.  But it did not take him long to fall in love with Mae and it wasn’t because of Helen.  He battled his conscience over this very issue to the point of almost killing himself.  That is when he decided it was Mae that he wanted, and not Helen.” Meredith was fidgeting as she tried to explain what Beck had confided to her.

Gemma stopped pacing and sat on the edge of the bed near Meredith.  “How do we stop Helen from surfacing?”

“Beck asked me the same question,” Meredith explained.  “And like I told him, I haven’t a clue as to how to remove Helen.  I’m afraid that whatever mechanism Aphrodite put in place those thousands of years ago, is far beyond our comprehension.  Please understand that this was not something Beck ever had control over…he did not choose to make Mae, Helen’s host.  All he did was fall in love with Mae after the fact.”

“Why hasn’t he told Mae about Helen?”

“He’s afraid she would leave him.  You saw what kind of chaos that created today.  Look Gemma, Beck is a good man and wouldn’t do anything to hurt Mae; you have to understand what he is giving up to be with her…He and Helen have been together for thirty-five hundred years and it was not an easy choice for him to let her go; not to mention the fact that he’s been off the dating market since the Trojan War and hasn’t a clue what to do,” she laughed, stretching her legs across the bed next to Gemma.

“I just don’t want anything to happen to Mae.  I hate to add to her confusion, but she needs to know about Helen.  This is her life we’re talking about.”  Gemma threw herself back on the bed and lay down.

“I told Beck the same thing and he promised he would tell her when he thought she was ready for the truth,” Meredith sighed.