Gypsy Moon

Chapter Twenty-five: Kyle

. . . . . . (early July)

I hung up the phone and stared at it for a long time. I was still trying to catch up with everything Lilian had told me. It was a lot to process. I could understand why humans weren't supposed to know about the reality of the supernatural. Movies are cool and all, but I'm not sure most humans could handle knowing they were real.

I looked around my apartment, the first one right after discharge. I have been living here for three years and it still looked like I had just moved in. Boxes were my primary furniture. I was never at home, so I never spent any time on it. It practically screamed 'temporary'. I had finished packing before Lilian had called me. I laughed and called up an old buddy.

"Hey Rick! Want to help me pack up my pathetic life so I can run away with my girlfriend? I'll buy the gas and food." I hung up to his good-natured laughter after he agreed. I dialed my sister's number as I wandered around, tossing a few last things in a backpack as I paced the apartment.

"Nat? Hey, it's Kyle. I have a question for you."

"Shoot."

"Can I sell you the diner?"

"But you love the diner. Why do you want to sell it?"

"My totally hot, nineteen-year-old girlfriend got a sweet job in another town and asked me to run away with her."

"I can't believe you want to throw away the diner for a teenager you barely know."

"Natalie, I'm twenty-five, I'm still young enough to get away with making stupid decisions, so would you like to buy the diner off of me?"

"I'm not giving it back when you realize you made a mistake."

"I'll wash dishes if I come crawling back."

"Deal. I'll write the check."

"Thanks Nat. Rick's here, gotta go." I hung up and opened the door as Rick swung down from his truck cab.

"So, you are taking 'chasing tail' a little far, bro." I chuckled wryly, if only he knew what I'd just learned.

"My girlfriend got a sweet job. If it works out for her, we'll be set for life. We shouldn't miss this opportunity."

"Nice." He picked up one of the boxes and carried it out. I followed him with the backpack and a duffle bag full of clothing. "What's the job?"

"She's some kind of personal assistant for some big wig." I grinned as I tossed the duffle in his truck bed, thinking about how Lilian had described what she decided her pack position was. "She works mostly with translations, like stuff written for lawyers, she translates them so a normal person can understand." Rick nodded.

"That's cool, I couldn't do that, I'm one of the people that just doesn't understand that shit." He went back inside to get more boxes and I stopped to chuckle again, shaking my head.

"So, it's a six-hour drive, what do you want for road food?"

"Six hours? Probably shouldn't have a greasy burger... Tacos!" I laughed at him.

"I am not hotboxing your backside breathing for six hours." He grinned and pushed the box he was carrying into the truck.

"Okay, then we gotta highway cop it. Giant coffees and a dozen donuts, the first one that needs a pit stop loses." I threw my backpack in the cab and looked at my apartment. Three years and my entire apartment fits in a single truck bed. I grinned when I felt Lilian touch my mind, like a warm light in the back of my mind.

/:What's wrong?:/

/:Not a thing, just realizing how long I've been waiting to leave this place.:/

/:I'm sorry.:/

/:Don't be, you are worth the wait.:/ She dropped the mind link abruptly, and I grinned, imagining her blushing.

"Hey, lover boy, my donuts aren't going to buy themselves, get in the truck already."

. . . . . .