Chapter Eight
Life couldn’t get any better for Cynthia. Her shop was booming and everyone kept commenting on her stylish dragon necklace, not knowing that it was a living breathing dragon that nuzzled her neck every day. Sullivan’s companion had been strange to live with at first since he was a little snappy and temperamental, but over time she had learned to get along. Most of the time he slept the day away, only waking up when she decided to feed him a cherry−his favorite snack.
Getting along with Sullivan, on the other hand, came more naturally than anything else in the world. Whenever the antique shop owner came to visit, a smile always appeared on her face. She didn’t know what it was about him, but whenever they were together, she felt her heart soar. Never before had she had a boyfriend she loved so much. She was just thinking about him as she sat in her shop, doodling with her wand when her phone buzzed with a notification. She picked it up, turning it over so she could see the screen. She was hoping it was a text from Sullivan.
It wasn’t. She stared at her phone in horror. Your period is two days late! The period tracker on her phone told her. Quickly, she opened up her phone and checked the calendar. For two months now, she hadn’t gotten her period. Had she simply forgotten to tell her app? She tried to remember, desperate to recall the last time mother nature had come to visit. But, to her dismay, she couldn’t remember ever getting it since she had been together with Sullivan. Suddenly, a sense of dread washed over her. Was she pregnant?
Hurriedly, she searched in her draws and pulled out what looked like a magic eight ball. She held the large black sphere in her hand, her fingers trembling slightly. What would happen if she really was pregnant? She bit her lip and shook the ball, closing her eyes and praying for the best.
When she opened it, there was a small sixteen-sided dice floating in the ball, the word yes printed on the side that now faced her. She was pregnant! Her mind rushed with possibilities. What was she supposed to do now? She instantly thought of Sullivan. Was she supposed to tell him? What if he didn’t want to be a father? What if he got angry at her?
As she thought about this, Attar started to wake up, yawning slightly and nipping at her collarbone. Her eyes grew big. If Sullivan’s companion could sense that she loved him, could he also sense that she now carried his child? She waited with bated breath to see if the little dragon would do anything unusual but he just laid his head back down and went back to sleep, his tail curling around her neck, making his presence known.
Cynthia sat there, battling her inner turmoil when a customer entered the store. It was one of her regulars. A rubenesque woman who taught gender and sexuality at the local university. “Hey Charlotte, how are you today?” Cynthia greeted her with her usual friendly smile.
“I’m good. Gave my students an exam this morning. I think they all did really well. I haven’t graded them yet but the class has been really engaged this semester.” She said this as she looked through a rack of dresses. “Do you have anything I could wear to a gala. I’m looking for something in black or a navy blue.”
Cynthia picked up her pencil for a moment, twirling it around before she finally put it down. “I should. I think there’s some here in the clearance rack.” She guided the woman toward the back of the store where a wide array of different dresses hung, all up to par with Charlotte’s taste.
“Oh, these are wonderful!” Charlotte exclaimed, picking up a simple, tampered black dress with a boxed neckline. “What do you think about this one?”
“I think it would look really nice on you. Do you want to try it on?” Cynthia asked politely. The woman nodded and moments later she emerged. All her curves accentuated perfectly. She did a slight three sixty in the mirror, admiring her reflection.
“This is perfect. I don’t know how you do it Cynthia, but you always manage to have the best things for girls like us. What’s your secret?” she asked, laughing. Cynthia laughed along with her. A few moments later, Cynthia was ringing out her dress at the register. “Oh is this one of those balls you ask a question to and it tells you the answer?” Charlotte had grabbed the black sphere Cynthia had left on the counter, shaking it, but nothing happened. “Is it broken?”
“Yeah, I was just going to ship it back,” Cynthia lied.
“Oh, that’s too bad,” Charlotte said. “I really wanted to ask it something.” She shrugged like it was no big deal before she paid for her dress and left the store, a bright smile on her face. Cynthia sighed, picking up the sphere once more. She stared at it, asking it one more silent questing before she shook it.
When she looked down at it, the words follow your heart appeared in tiny lettering. She frowned slightly at the indirect answer before she put the ball away. Maybe it was right. Maybe she should just tell Sullivan. If he really loved her as much as he said, then he wouldn’t get mad. Hell, he would even be overjoyed by the news of her pregnancy. Either way, Cynthia knew, deep down, that she needed to tell him.