Midnight Moon's new Luna

Chapter 1

Vera

I looked at the clock and sighed. I still had an hour until my replacement came. And I really didn’t like working the lunch shift. People tipped better at night after a couple of beers, and the Goddess knew how badly she needed the money.

So I was already in a bad mood when I saw my least favorite guests walk in. A group of four men, all in their late forties, who thought it was funny to flirt with the staff. The moment I saw them coming, I hoped they wouldn’t sit down in my section. But of course they did. Couldn’t the Moon Goddess just give me a little bit of grace?

They knew the menu by heart and were ready to order within a minute. They announced it by loudly complaining about the “lousy service.” I sighed to myself and walked over.

“Hello, gentlemen,” I said. “Are we ready to order?”

“Hi, sweetheart,” one of the men said, looking me up and down. His name was Marvin, and he was the worst of them. “I suppose you aren’t on the menu?”

“No. But if you keep talking to the staff in that way,” I said with a fake smile, “I’ll ask the chef to add some grinded glass powder in your food. You know, for some extra seasoning.”

He stopped smiling and moved as if to stand up, but thought better of it. He probably didn’t want to risk getting banned from his favorite lunch spot. They all placed their orders with grumpy voices, and I left to get their drinks.

“You know,” Marvin said when I placed his soda in front of him, “when someone is as cute as you, they don’t really need to be good at their job. They just have to remember to smile.”

“I guess that means you’re excellent at your job then,” I said. “That unibrow and acne-scarred face can’t be hidden by a smile as big as the sun.”

When I later came back to serve their food, Marvin spilled his soda on my pants. He sent his burger back twice and complained loudly enough for every guest in the restaurant to hear him. I had wounded his pride, it seemed.

I was clearing a table nearby when someone grabbed my arm.

“We are ready to pay,” Marvin said. “But don’t expect any tips from our table. The least you could do to give good service, and make sure your guests have a nice time, is to take a joke and smile a little. Just some advice for the future. You could see that as your tip.”

My temper boiled, but soon they were out the door, and shortly after my shift was over.

As I was walking home, my mood got better. It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining and there was a clean crispness to the air. The autumn winds had started to blow into the valleys that held Crescent Moon’s packland. I loved fall and couldn’t wait for the trees to turn vibrant colors.

“Vera! Vera, wait!”

I turned to see who was calling for me.

“Jessy, hi,” I said as she caught up to me. I liked Jessy. She was one of the few people in the pack I actually considered a friend. She had chin-length, straight, black hair that matched her tilted eyes. Fine-featured and olive-skinned, she was a very pretty girl. And today her red lips curved with a bright smile.

“Happy birthday!” She held out an envelope to me.

“Thank you,” I said, but I looked at her quizzically and made no move to take the envelope. “But my birthday isn’t for another month. Your birthday, on the other hand, is in five days.”

“I know all that, but I got this for you now. And I want you to have it now. So why won’t you just take it.” She pushed the envelope into my hand.

There wasn’t much for me to do, so I gave her a smile and opened it. I pulled out the slip of paper and looked at it. A check? Yes, it was money. A lot of money.

“Is it enough?” Jessy asked, almost jumping in her excitement.

“More than enough.” My voice was barely a whisper, as I stared at the check. I shook myself. “I can’t take this,” I said, trying to hand it back to her.

She jumped back, shaking her head. “I want you to have it.”

“But I haven't been able to get you anything for your birthday. Where did you even get this kind of money?”

“I pulled some strings.” She smiled in a mysterious kind of way. “Besides, your gift to me will be using that money for your mother’s treatment. She’s always been kind to me, and I want her to get well almost as much as you do.”

She seemed so sincere. “Some strings, huh? And I guess you won’t tell me the names of those strings''?

“Nope.”

“I really shouldn’t accept this, but…”

“But,” she finished for me, now speaking in a solemn voice, “if you don’t, she might die before you have enough time to earn the money.”

We stood quiet for a second.

“I will pay you back,” I said. “It might take time. Years, even, but I will. I promise.”

“You don’t have to. I meant for this to be a gift. But I won't stop you if you feel it's something you need to do. Just know, you don’t have to.” She smiled. “Well, what are you waiting for? Go, go tell her!” She beamed at me. “Just do me a favor and don’t tell Rowena where the money is from.”

“Are you sure?” I asked, surprised.

“Yes. I don’t want things to be weird between us when you two come back home. Now go!” She made a shooing gesture. I embraced her in a big hug and whispered “Thank you so, so much.” Pulling back, I gave her a quick smile before I turned around and dashed home, check clutched in my hand.

“Mom?” my voice was soft as I stepped into the small wooden house that was our home. We’d been forced to move to a smaller house after we lost our father and my mother got sick.

The kitchen was to my left, and the bathroom to the right. I walked straight ahead into the living room. There was an old, gray couch, but no TV or computer. For entertainment we had a bookshelf stacked with second-hand books; dogeared and with broken spines. The curtains framing the windows were no longer white, but a grayish yellow color. The floor needed vacuuming, but I ignored it and kept walking into the one bedroom where my mom was lying in her bed. She spent almost all her time under the covers, not strong enough to stand for long periods of time. Her cancer had been more aggressive than we had thought at first.

“Mom?”

She looked so fragile lying there. When I was little, people used to remark about how similar we looked. The main difference was hair color. My own hair was a dark red, and she was brunette. Now her hair had fallen out. It seemed to me that our previous likeness now only emphasized how sick she looked. Whereas I was fit from working so much, she was wasting away. Her cheeks had sunken in. Her soft features had sharpened, and her skin was paler than before. Her brown eyes had lost their spark.

She turned her head and gave me a tired smile.

“Hi, sweety. How was your day?”

“Great, actually,” I sat down on the bed next to her. “The staff got a bonus for doing so well this spring. So we finally have the money needed for your treatment.” It was a lie, but I wouldn't go against Jessy’s wishes after such a great gift.

Not a gift, I told myself. It’s a loan. I will pay her back.

“Do you need help getting to the bathroom? There’s a lot I’ve got to do, to get things moving. But I can help you with that, or draw you a bath or…”

I trailed off as she shook her head.

“You sure?” I asked. “Do you just want to stay in bed? Should I bring you a book?”

“Sweety,” She said, “you should put that money in the bank. You have given up too much of your life for me already.”

I shook my head, confused at her words. But as I opened my mouth to object, she cut me off.

“You’ve worked so hard to help me. And I am receiving treatment already. Let that be enough. Save your money for the future. I’ll be here, fighting to stay with you for as long as I can.”

”Mom,” I said, “Our pack’s hospital isn’t good enough. It’s rundown and the staff is overworked. I have the money now to take you to M.I.S.”

M.I.S, The Medical Institute for Supernaturals, was the best hospital for non-human patients in the world. There I could be sure she got the treatment she needed. And if it still didn’t work… Well, at least I would know I had done everything I could.

She looked at me, her eyes searching mine for what seemed like a really long time. There was a painful lump in my throat, and I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from crying. I wouldn't lose the only parent I had left without a fight.

“You’re sure about this?” Her voice seemed even weaker than usual. I just nodded.

“Alright,” she said. “Let’s give this old body of mine one more shot.”

We might not have a TV or a computer, but I did have a cell phone. I had invested in a phone soon after I started working, knowing how useful they were. Everyone in today's world needed some means to connect to the internet.

I called M.I.S right away. They had been so good to my mother and me, agreeing on a set price, and finding ways to cut the costs without risking the quality of her care. Even so, I knew that those I’d been in contact with at the hospital were doubtful I would be able to get the money in time. But they truly were one of the best hospitals in the world, and not only for the skill of their staff, or the tech they had access to. They were great because they cared. When patients like my mother needed their help, they really tried to charge as little as possible. Just enough so they wouldn’t lose money on her treatment, since that would eventually run the institution into the ground.

“Welcome to the Medical institutions for Supernaturals, this is Maya speaking.”

“Hello Maya. This is Vera Jones.” We had spoken often. As one of their receptionists she had helped me with getting all the connections I needed to organize my errand.

“Oh, hi Vera! How are you doing?”

“Fantastic! I have the money.”