“So may I meet this young man that’s going to become your familiar and end all of our problems with the CIA,” Rosaline asked.
“I’ll text him to come here and say hi,” Loretta said picking up her phone.
Rupert’s phone buzzed startling him. He was sitting on the far side of the property deciding not to do too much walking. There was no traffic and the only homes were down the hill but the shorts he’d stepped into, with the material across the front were too much like a skirt. Or felt too much like a skirt and his diaper was getting wetter.
“Okay to come home,” the text from Loretta read.
Rupert stood and turned for the house.
“Hey Rupert, mom’s in my guest room taking a shower. Here, go into my room and change and come back and I’ll introduce you two,” Loretta said handing Rupert a fresh diaper and the wipes.
“So everything is okay,” Rupert asked.
“More or less,” Loretta said before adding, “there are some issues we need to address but I think we can address those.”
“Great, so let me go change and then we can talk,” Rupert said.
He’d make a cute girl. Loretta mused as Rupert walked off in her skort. They ended just above the back of his knee.
“Hello Rupert, I’m Rosaline,” Rosaline said gently taking Rupert’s hand. The warmth he felt followed a nerve that seemed to flow around the flesh of his thumb, along his arm warming his shoulder.
“Is that you,” Rupert asked no longer frightened of those odd sensations or at least not as much.
“You felt that,” Rosaline asked.
“Yes ma’am,” Rupert said.
“I was tracing your life and fate lines. That was your fate line that short line falling off the way it did. Very unusual actually,” Rosaline said.
“You read palms,” Rupert said smiling.
“I do. Skeptical,” Rosaline asked.
“Very,” Rupert said. “But growing less so of late.”
“Excellent,” Rosaline said and then added, “stay that way.”
“Why,” Rupert asked.
“So when we start betting against each other during the football season, I can keep my edge,” Rosaline said.
“So what’s my lifeline and fate line say,” Rupert asked.
“While your life line is a little about the length of your life it’s also how zestfully you live it. I felt a strong zestful approach in you which is good,” Rosaline said and then added, “likewise it’s also what I got from your line of destiny or fate. Your lines run deep meaning strong uncontrollable events will impact your life. You have several breaks so you face at least several more.”
“Is what you’ve seen good or bad,” Rupert asked as he added, “since a very strong uncontrollable event did impact my life?”
“You noticed that, did you,” Rosaline asked.
“As if,” Rupert said.
“The real question Rupert is what has happened to you viewed positively or negatively,” Rosaline asked.
“Interesting question Rosaline,” Had you asked me that earlier today I would have said most definitely in the negative. Seems the more I get to know your daughter, the more positive it gets,” Rupert said and then added, ‘as of right now, I’d say slightly more positive than negative.”
“She likes you too Rupert,” Rosaline said.
“Mother,” Loretta yelled.
“Neither of you are pushing right,” Rupert asked.
“You see what you’ve done,” Loretta said in frustration.
“Rupert, close your eyes for a second and you tell me if you’ve felt either of us push you recently,” Rosaline said and added, “you can actually feel it now that you know how it feels.”
Rupert closed his eyes, focusing on the areas that he knew had been made sensitive to Loretta’s push. There were no tingling sensations. No significant warming.
“No, you’re right. I don’t feel anything,” Rupert said with a little more confidence than he thought possible.
“I’ll support you daughter,” Rosaline said slapping her knees and then grabbing Rupert’s shoulders in a kind of embrace before turning to Loretta as she started texting on her phone, “and I’m calling Uber.”
“Wait, you’re not staying,” Loretta asked.
“No. No need honey. You guys are just fine without me, and within a couple of weeks you are visiting us with your new familiar,” Rosaline said and added, “so what’s the point. Besides, I need to shut the CIA down ASAP and that may require a one on one with them.”
“I love you,” Loretta said.
“I love you too,” Rosaline said hugging Loretta back before turning to Rupert and saying, “never tease a witch and, never believe we can predict a game’s outcome when we start betting this next season.”
“Got it,” Rupert said.
In thirty minutes Rosaline was getting into a very clean white 2018 Lexus ES 350. Loretta and she hugged, Rupert shook hands and both Loretta and Rupert stood at the curb watching her drive off to San Francisco airport.
“That was a very strange visit,” Rupert said standing with Loretta and waving at the woman he found as warm as her daughter.
“You don’t know the half of it,” Loretta said turning for the house.