Shelley
They were telling me to rest, but I was wired. I’d just had a baby! My eyes looked at the sleeping bundle in the crib at the side of me. I felt like my heart was going to burst out of my chest. Such love, such pride; and when I watched Theo pick her up so very carefully and stare at her in awe, I wanted to bawl my eyes out with the perfectness of it all.
But a cloud overshadowed everything.
It wasn’t fair.
Ebony had to be here because someone might wish my newborn baby harm. All because Charlie’s future role would be to keep peace in Withernsea. Peace between land and sea, human and supernatural, species to species. For that reason I couldn’t just be a normal mother showing my baby off, thinking about the little shopping trips we’d do together where we bought far too many clothes; our taking her on her first day of school. What would any of that be like? Would we have to have bodyguards for her?
There was a knock. I looked up and saw Theo knocking on fresh air. He should be asleep by now. He should have been asleep since dawn, and he was struggling.
Then I realised I’d put a force field up around me and Charlie. Oops!
“Janice has left. She’ll be back tomorrow to check on you and the baby, but she says just call her if you need her for anything. Your parents are downstairs. Are you okay to see them?” He yawned.
“I am. Theo go get in bed now.”
“Yes, I think that would be wise. If I have a few hours now then you can sleep later while I take care of Charlene. Only it would be nice to spend a little more cuddle time with my daughter.” He smiled.
“I know I’m hogging her. But I can’t help myself, Theo. She’s perfect.” We both looked back at the crib where Charlie was still sound asleep. I didn’t know how her sleeping patterns would be with her being a mix of witch, wyvern, and vampire, but so far she’d napped on and off after feeding like most babies did. She was being breastfed. Janice had said my body would give her the right mix of what she needed, both blood and milk, so I was making sure I drank and ate regularly.
Theo left, and my parents came into the room.
“Oh my goodness, Shelley. What a beautiful angel you have.” My mum’s eyes filled with tears as she looked in the crib. My father walked over to me and hugged me, kissing my cheek. Then he also went over to the crib.
“She looks like you did as a baby, Shelley.” My mum broke down then and my dad clutched her. I gave them some time to process the situation. My mum had had to give me up for adoption and my father had been tricked into Hell, so he’d only ever seen photos of me as a baby, and only in the last year once he’d been freed. For them this was a bittersweet moment.
My mum moved to hug and kiss me and then they both took seats next to my bed.
“How are you feeling, darling? Theo said the birth was quite quick?”
“Yes, just a couple of hours, so I feel very fortunate in that respect. The spell helped so much, Mum. The first pains I experienced were incredible. I thought I was going to die. Then I did the spell and had one intense pain and then everything numbed. From then on she couldn’t wait to be born.”
“That’s because she knows she’s going to be the most spoiled child in the universe.” My dad said. “It’s a good job you live in a large farmhouse with what your mum’s been buying.”
“Mum!”
“Well, everything happened so fast. One minute you’re in your first trimester, the next the baby’s coming. So I went shopping before we came here and just made sure you have enough of everything you need.”
“There’s enough for everyone in Withernsea.” My dad winked and my mum pushed him on the arm.
“Behave yourself, Dylan.”
“Now where would the fun be in that?” He winked at her again.
Mum went out into the hallway and dragged in several large shopping bags and then she proceeded to unveil every possible thing a baby could need. I wouldn’t need to shop again for months.
“Thanks, Mum.” I laughed.
“So, we have to ask, darling.” Mum’s tone softened. “The name. Charlene. How did you choose it? Is it a relative of Theo’s you named her after?”
I snorted. “Not quite. Theo has an unhealthy obsession with Scott and Charlene from Neighbours. He wouldn’t hear of her being called anything else. Luckily for him, I liked it.”
“Theo is so lucky,” my dad started to sing Kylie’s hit and me and my mum both groaned.
“Oh look at that. Charlene is smiling. She thinks Grandad’s funny, don’t you, Charlene?”
“It’s just wind, Dad.”
My mum’s face went wistful again. “I so wish we’d been able to keep you, to stay together. That you could have experienced our love for you. I know you had a rough deal from your foster parents. Are they coming by the way?”
“Yes, on Monday, and they’re bringing Polly.” Polly was their younger daughter, my kind-of sister in that we’d been brought up together, though she’d been given a lot more attention than I had. My adoptive parents and I had a strained relationship but had recently made more of an effort to try to get along once I’d realised a lot of what had happened had been born from fear about my supernatural abilities.
“They weren’t all bad. I had some fun times with them too. Just not very often.” I told them. “But I got by and turned out okay.”
“You turned out more than okay. We are beyond proud of the young woman and new mother you have become.” My father said. “We wish we could have been responsible for your childhood, but then you wouldn’t necessarily have met Theo and have had this beautiful little baby, so things must have been meant to be that way.”
Charlene stirred in her cot and then opened her eyes. “Do you want to get her, Mum?”
My mum picked her up and sat back in the chair with her. She rocked her slightly while she spoke to her softly. “I’m your grandma and I love you so very much. I’m going nowhere, Charlene. Me and your grandad will be here when we can. We will make some beautiful memories.” Then she seemed to become lost in her thoughts and a minute or two later my mum passed Charlene to my dad with tears in her eyes.
“What’s wrong?” My dad said.
My mum shook her head. “Nothing, but just take her. She’s so beautiful.”
My dad held Charlie tight and after a moment he also seemed to go into a small trance. Coming back around he stared at my mum with glassy eyes.
“What’s wrong?” I sat up concerned, ready to leap out of bed. “Tell me what’s going on.”
“Did you get them too?” My mum asked my dad, and he nodded.
Mum turned to me. “Shelley, I can’t explain it, but while I held Charlene, I received mental images of you as a small child. Happy ones.”
“I got the same.” My father said.
“But… how?” I stared at my baby.
“I don’t know.” My mum wiped a tear that had run down her cheek. “Shelley, this baby is the most blessed child I have ever known. She’s a few hours old and already displaying her gifts of peace.”
“Take that those mothers who show off their kid was born with a tooth.” I joked, though I had to admit to being a little freaked out by what had just happened.
A commotion broke out downstairs and we strained to hear who the voices belonged to. I could just make out Ebony and Mary’s exasperated tones and then I knew who was here. Footsteps sounded on the stairs and without so much as a polite knock on the door, my bestie walked in.
“Shelley, my girl. Where’s this new girl in your life who has come to usurp my place of favourite female?” She cast her eyes down onto my mum’s lap.
“Oh my God, she is beyond cute. Beyond.”
“Kim. Can you keep your voice down? She’s been really well behaved so far. I don’t want you setting her off crying.”
Kim looked at me as if I was the one out of order, “I’m this girl’s Auntie Kim. She’s my girl. I’m going to lead her astray let me tell you.” She looked down at the baby. “You come see me when your mummy says you can’t have your ears pierced, hair dyed, tattoos, or go to the family planning clinic underage, okay sweetie?”
My dad shook his head and stood. “We’re going to get going, darling. We’ll leave you to talk to your friend in peace.”
“Peace. You have met Kim haven’t you?”
My mum passed Charlie to Kim and then came over and topped up the glass of water I had by the bed. “You need anything else before I go, darling?”
“No, Mum. I’m fine. Thank you for visiting. You too, Dad.” They kissed me and then Charlie’s forehead, before saying farewell to Kim.
“So how was it? Your vajayjay ruined forever?”
“Nope. Vampire healing power. Everything down there is A-okay. I feel absolutely fine.”
Kim paused, looking me up and down. “Then why are you in bed?”
“Because I’m playing the exhausted new mother card and if you tell anyone I will drain you.”
“Yeah? I’ll bite your throat out before you get near me, biatch. Ow.” Kim looked down. “Erm, I was stroking your baby’s cute mouth and she bit me.” She waved her finger in the air where a drop of blood appeared.
“How can she have bit you when she doesn’t have a tooth yet?” I beckoned for Kim to pass her over and then I ran my finger over Charlie’s gum and felt a canine. What had I just been saying about mothers and their kid’s teeth? Looked like someone was getting her vampire fangs already. “Oh, she grew a tooth already. I’m going to feed you now, baby, please don’t bite through my nipple.” Luckily she settled at my breast.
“First time I’ve seen you flash them sober.”
“Ha ha. So how’s married life? Don’t think I’ve forgotten that in my hour of need, you choose an hour of seed.”
“It was my wedding night. We had to keep doing it over and over to cement my turning into a were.”
I stared at her for a beat. “That’s not true is it?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “No. I’m sorry. I was mesmerised by Darius’ cock and by wild kinky wolf sex. As soon as I woke today, I came straight over.”
“It’s ten past two in the afternoon.”
“And I just woke at half one after all the wedding night and wild kinky wolf sex.”
“I don’t want to know about you doing it as a wolf.” I shuddered.
“Right back at you. You’re the one who chose to shag a dead guy. Perve.”
“Yeah, you make a good point.”
Kim stood up and drank down my water. “Gosh, didn’t realise how thirsty I was, must be from the wild kinky wolf sex.”
“You going to keep saying that? By the way, that was my drink.”
“Eboonnnyy. Maryyyy.” Kim shouted.
Footsteps ran up the stairs. “Yes. Is there a problem?” Ebony said.
“Yeah, you’ve let the new mother run out of liquids and not offered her guest a drink. Not good enough, Ebs, not good enough.”
Ebony took my glass. “So sorry, Shelley. Water or blood?”
“She’s feeding so could I possibly have half and half?”
“Of course.”
“Glass of wine for me. Wet the baby’s head.” Kim said. Then she raised a hand towards Ebony. “Oh and by the way. I wanted to ask you about your vision, Ebs.”
“What vision?” I asked with a frown.
“Ebony had a vision of herself, in a wedding dress. I was there as a bridesmaid, but she couldn’t see the groom.”
“I think you just had a nightmare, Ebs, if you’d asked Kim to be a bridesmaid.”
“It did cross my mind that it may just be a hallucination and the visions had taken me over to Crazyland at long last, but no, it felt like a vision. Though it has faded. Thank you for asking after me, Kim. I’ve not had anything further.”
“I just wondered what my bridesmaid dress looked like.” Kim said. “Only I’ve watched 27 dresses, and it’s made me kind of worried. You are a bit weird after all.”
“I’ll go get your drinks.” Ebony said, excusing herself and leaving the room.
“I’m not a psychic but I foretell you getting the bottle of wine being stuck somewhere the sun doesn’t shine if you’re not careful.” I told my friend.
Kim just grinned. She had no filter and didn’t care.
“So, I’m going to forego my honeymoon, being the generous woman I am, so that I can cover your maternity leave from Monday.”
“You decided to get married on Thursday, while I was being turned into a vampire in a clinic. There is no honeymoon leave approved.”
“I got Lucy to book it on the system, then unbook it, so it’s in black and white. Well, actually the computer is in colour, but you get the picture.”
“God, you are infuriating.”
“So, anyway, you’re welcome.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“Hey, look. Your maternity leave wasn’t due to start yet either.”
“Kim, you are an amazing person and best friend. Please could you oversee the business while I’m on maternity leave? If the business runs smoothly and brings in a decent income over the coming weeks, then you may receive a bonus payment.”
“Whoop.” She did a little jiggle. “Me and Lucy are going to rock this.”
I stared at my baby, reminding myself of why I was having maternity leave, so I didn’t head into a meltdown and rush back to work. A newly turned werewolf with no filter; and an ex-demon, turned earth-angel, currently on leave from angel duties, with again NO FILTER were running my agency. It was going to go under.
Look at the baby.
Look at the baby.
“I wonder what will happen at Jax’s now that she’s lost Seth? Do you think business will slow down?”
“Undoubtedly.” I replied. “But her coffee and baked goods are exceptional, so I think she’ll still have a steady supply of customers off the back of it.” Seth had been a good-looking guy who’d worked at our friend’s coffee shop as a barista, but he’d been being blackmailed and was the one who had drugged Ebony, making her lose her visions. He’d also added a potion to half the coffee shop customer’s drinks so they kept returning. All to keep him in a job where he could keep an eye on Kim for Jett, the rogue were who had recently been killed along with his mother.
“I’ll be happy for it to be quieter. Good job her coffee and doughnuts are to die for because after my recent experiences I might be tempted to go back to making a flask.”
I side-eyed her and she fell about laughing. “I don’t know how you can lie like that and keep a straight face.”
Feeding over, I burped the baby and passed her back to Kim.
“Oh my God, she is so scrumptious, Shelley.” She looked down at her, smiling. “I already love you so very, very much.” She cooed. “You are the most beautiful baby in the whole wide world. The whole universe.”
And that’s why she was my best friend. Because even though she was a gob-on-a-stick she loved me and my baby hard.
“Well of course, you are the most beautiful baby until I’m stupid enough to have one.” She added, ruining the tender moment.
Charlie gave her own response by throwing up down Kim’s white blouse. A heady pink mix all down her chest.
Kim passed her back. “I’m just going to the bathroom to clean up, and that shows you just how much I love you, Charlene Kimberly Landry because I don’t even mind you ruined my DKNY blouse.”
She left the room.
“Did you hear that, baby girl? I hope you and your daddy are okay with your middle name being Kimberly because we’d not actually spoken about the rest of your name yet with you coming so fast, but I get the feeling your Auntie Kim is kind of convinced we did.”
Charlie did the wind smile, and I decided she’d agreed. Now I just had to ask Theo. Well actually it was pretty much a done deal after the whole ‘name your baby after a Neighbour’s character’ debacle.