Chapter Three

“So, tell me, what was it like being alone all day with that hottie?” Kathy asked, wiggling her eyebrow at Evette suggestively. Evette couldn't help but laugh at her silly little sister. Apparently, under the direction of her, her husband had brought Evette to stay there for the night, joining the whole family for dinner. Now, the kids were put to bed, and the adults were left to relax and play a little. Though, Evette’s brother in law, Carter, was using the time to get on a video game which he was actively cursing at in the den. They laughed at him every once in a while. The guy was an accountant, though, so Evette couldn't blame him. He was so bored and buttoned up all day.

“Completely professional, as it should have been, regardless of whatever it was you were trying to do by bringing him back into the triage room at the hospital,” Evette struck back at Kathy, though she knew she wouldn't stay mad at her about any of that. Kathy was impossible to stay angry at. She was just so nice and fun. It was what made her the best mother possible. Her kids were lucky. But then again, she had also learned from the best. Their mother had been pretty awesome too.

“Oh, c'mon, sis, I know you had to have felt something, some twinge. You are still alive, you know, even if you’re going through it right now. He lifted you up, put you in the back of his car, and took you to the ER, not knowing a thing about you. He made sure they had your insurance and that they called me. Not every guy does that. In fact, do you think either of your ex husbands would have?” Kathy asked, getting more serious.

“This guy is so much younger than me and so not my type. Besides, I doubt old, sick, and twice divorced is much of his type either. He will be gone by the end of the week if I ride him hard enough, and do not make any dirty jokes about that. You know exactly what I mean,” she added, knowing exactly where her sister's mind would go.

Kathy scoffed. “You don’t always have to be so strong all the time, Evette. I admire you for what you do and how you have lived your life, but sometimes, you do have to lean on someone.”

Evette looked down, sighing. She hated to think that Kathy was right, but she often was. She may have looked like this fun little blonde thing, but she was actually very smart and intuitive. Evette hated being vulnerable. She had been way too vulnerable in her first marriage, which had not lasted very long at all and had been horrible. She also had always wanted to run that shop and prove she could take care of herself. That had actually attracted her second husband, even if he had hated her determination in the end. But she had blamed herself for that. “Well, I know I can always lean on you, though, I feel guilty about it sometimes,” she admitted, hoping to move on from the conversation. The last thing she needed was to get involved with any guy right now, even if it was just a fling. She had to make her health a priority instead.

“I know you do, and you totally shouldn’t. We all love you, and we all want to help you however we can. I just wish you would let Mom and Dad in on this too. They would be so mad if they knew you didn’t let them come back and help in some way. They will always be our parents. It doesn’t matter that we are in our 30s,” Kathy explained, making Evette feel guilty yet again. Really, what it was on her mind was that if they didn't come back and see her, that she would just waste away with this disease and die and they would never get to see her again unless it was inside of a coffin. It was her worst fear in all of this, but she didn't dare say it out loud. It was childish, but if she didn't, then maybe it wouldn't be real. There would be a miracle and she would wake up from the nightmare and never have to worry about it again. She would be old Evette who could run for two or three miles and never tire, who could get rid of every sneeze with a simple concoction at her shop.

“I’ll think about it… telling them. For now, I am so lucky to have you.” Evette smiled, sharing a rare moment of affection with her sister. They were generally the joking type, not the kind to go around hugging each other and singing Kumbaya. But those moments were just as nice; just a reminder that she wasn't alone in any of it.

“Yes, you’re right, you absolutely are, and before I go lay down and get some rest, at least as much as I can in this very pregnant state, I want you to admit to me that your new employee is hot. It doesn't matter if you don’t ever do anything about it. You can fantasize. It's the stuff like that that keeps you going and alive, you know?” Kathy pressed.

Evette rolled her eyes, but her sister had worn her down. She did need to stop being so uptight, especially if she was trying to heal. Stress never did do the body good. “Okay, so his muscles and that whole goth vibe have their place in a fantasy or two. I will admit to that. But he is still way too young for me.” Both sisters cracked up before hugging and parting for the night.

*****

“Hello, sir, how can I help you today?” Valen asked the older man that had come up to the counter. There were two others in the store as well, seemingly just browsing. One of them was in the spa products and that at least made him breathe a sigh of relief since they probably already knew what they were looking for. His first week had been overwhelming, and here he was on the first day of his second week of working for Evette, and he was thrown out there on his own. She was down in the cellar with her apprentice, working while they could. He didn't know whether to take the situation as trust or a test. Either way, he needed to pull it together.

“I am just here for my monthly order.” Valen nodded. This must have been one of the regular customers that were in the computer system that Evette had shown him how to use that very first day. It wasn’t too complicated; an alphabetical list that led to whatever they had prescribed and the payment they owed. Valen took a deep breath and went for it, take his name first.

“Roy Cameron,” the man replied in his raspy voice, and Valen found the Cs so he could find his name. There it was, and there were two, already paid for prescriptions waiting for him. Valen had to squat down, taking his eyes off the rest of the store, and grab the paper bag with his initials on it from under the locked counter. For security purposes, it wasn't the best setup, but he got the feeling the customers were not the type to bring a gun in and start shooting. Phoenix may have been a big city, but the people seemed to keep to themselves, and if not, they were kind. It was nothing like he expected so far.

“Here you go, sir. You have a nice day,” Valen said, smiling and handing the paper bag to the man. That would probably be the easiest encounter he would have for the day. Now, he was going to have to go up to the woman who was browsing through the various remedies and see if she needed help. Was he ready for that? Then again, if he ran into something he didn't know, he could easily go and call for Evette. He doubted that she expected him to know all the remedies yet. He knew very few.

Valen glanced at the door that led into the break room and then down into the cellar to reassure himself. He could breathe fire, fly through the sky at top speed, and avoid detection despite his massive size, but the thought of helping a customer made him petrified.

He walked up to her, and as he got close, he could see her head was wrapped in a very colorful scarf. There was no hair hanging out of it anywhere. She looked like she had not been getting too much sleep and was very thin. This woman was sick in some way, he could actually smell it on her. That was one of the other special things about being a dragon; a sense of smell that was unparalleled. He wondered what could possibly help this woman at all. Was she dying? Because if he had to guess from the look and smell of her it was possible. “Hi, ma’am, is there anything I can help you with?” Valen asked kindly, holding his breath. It was no offense to her. She probably couldn't smell it at all. And she probably couldn’t help it either. It was just not a pleasant scent.

“I hope you can,” she said weakly with a sweet smile. Valen could see a hint of beauty and strength that used to be there. “I actually have been going through chemotherapy, and I don't know if you have ever known anyone who had treatment for cancer, but it makes me very sick and nauseous. I can hardly keep anything down. I was hoping there was something here that could help me out that was natural, since I already have to put these awful chemicals in my body just to survive.” What she admitted saddened him. Valen had heard of cancer, though it was rare among dragons. A few humans who had found out about dragon's blood had come to see them for a cure, but that was one thing that was not always curable even by such a potent healing substance. It was the worst disease on the planet as far as Valen could tell.

He smiled back at her with sympathy. “I have to be honest with you that I am new here and still learning. I do know of a few things that are great for nausea, but I am not sure how they will specifically help your issues or how to use them without taking a whole bunch of pills, which I am sure you must be sick of. The owner is actually downstairs in the cellar right now, making some tinctures. Would you mind waiting here while I go get her to help you?” Valen asked.

“We all start somewhere, honey. Of course, I would be happy to wait here.” She was very nice, and Valen was grateful for it. Before making a beeline for the door down to the cellar, Valen walked up to the older woman who was browsing through the soaps and candles.

“I will be with you shortly, but is there anything you need form me right now?” Valen asked her, making sure she did not feel neglected.

“Oh, I am fine. I am just looking for a birthday gift for my daughter in law, and she is really into this kind of stuff.” Valen nodded his head politely before walking away and quickly making his way down the stairs, seeing the two women down there working diligently bad carefully in the makeshift lab down there.

“I am sorry to bother you, Evette, but there is a customer that has kind of a complicated case, and I think you would be best to help her,” Valen announced.

Evette looked up at him, taking off her goggles and gloves. “Okay, tell me about it so I can be prepared.”

“She has cancer and is taking chemotherapy drugs. She has a lot of nausea and wants to know if we have something to help. Obviously, there are individual things, but I thought you might be able to tell her something that required less pill taking and maybe something extra that could help her with her illness.”

“Hmm,” she said thoughtfully, going past him up the stairs. “I am impressed by your insight. I hate to admit it, but you are learning.”

Valen smiled behind at her as he went up the stairs. He followed behind her as she went up to the woman. He watched as an expert went at it, not only giving her a  miracle for her health but also being completely compassionate as if they had known each other forever. Valen hoped he could get to that one day.

“I am so happy you have come here seeking help. I can’t imagine the struggle you are going through trying to beat this thing, but I know you can do it. Let’s try and get you feeling a little more like yourself so you can kick cancer to the curb.” Evette gently grabbed the woman's shoulder while she said this, and it was like she lit up, color coming to her face that was not there before. “Now, I can put all of these ingredients together in the right amounts. They will be in little packets, and I will put instructions on how to boil them down into a tea that you can drink each morning.  I’m also adding a bit of a platelet booster to help you with your immunity. I know that you don’t have much of that right now, and how can you fight this if you’re getting sick?”

As she rattled everything off, Valen watched each ingredient she pulled to see if he could memorize them. It was a brilliant way to put it all together. He hadn't even thought about the idea of making them into a herbal tea so she didn't have to take pills or tinctures. And it would all support her in her needs as a cancer patient. He was even more in awe of this woman in front of him.

“Bless you for all of this. I will certainly recommend you to all the women I know from radiation.” The woman reached out for a hug, and Evette gave it. That was what Valen didn't have, that human affection. He still hadn’t gotten that down quite right yet, but also the women seemed to be better at it in general.

“That is very sweet. Honestly, I just love helping people heal in any way I can. Illness is not easy.” That was genuine. Valen could tell. He thought yet again about how she had fainted the first time they met and still wished he knew what was wrong with her. Maybe he should not have tuned that doctor out. “I can have all this ready for you by closing time if you would like to come back,” Evette offered.

Valen noticed the other woman, the one with sops, coming up to the counter to check out. He had to leave the two women to it and go do his job. This part, he could do, and he hoped the more he worked the floor, the more people he would be able to help on his own. If he could ever find a place among humans, this place would be it.

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