The Vegan and the Wolf by Julie Steimle (red white and royal blue hardcover txt) 📕

Audry felt like banging her head on the steering wheel.

Of course. A town that believed in witches also believed in werewolves. And that stupid rumor spread from there. Small town logic. It was an effective way for the little people to vilify a wealthy business owner without any real life legal issues. After all, who could possibly sue over people spreading lies that you were a mythological creature? It was like complaining because someone said you owned a dragon, or that your relatives were actually zombies. Only harassment due to the stupid rumor could be a viable case in court.

She said, “So… the coven of witches want werewolf hair.”

Painfully chuckling, Silvia nodded.

Moaning, Audry shook her head. “Is there no way to tell them that there is no such things as werewolves?”

Silvia shook her head, smirking.

“And what will happen, again, if I get you this hair?” Audry asked, trying to keep focused on the road.

Looking a little hopeful, Silvia replied, “Uh, the coven might see my move to New York City as advantageous and get off my case for stepping outside their plans.”

“But what will happen to the hair?” Audry asked.

Sighing, Silvia shrugged. “It will be put in a safe place and used for future, well…, spells.”

Audry drove silently onward, thinking about that. Spells were just ridiculous. The hair would end up in some apothecary for people who believed they were doing witchcraft. The question really wasn’t the spell but what they thought the spell would do and how they would act on the spell. Would they think it gave them luck? Or was it put with poisonous things and used to kill someone? One thing had been made clear about Silvia’s coven—they had killed people. Silvia herself looked like she was afraid for her own life. And that part Audry latched on. Silvia was asking for help to save herself from crazy women who had murdered their own before.

“I’ll think about it,” Audry said.

Looking to her, Silvia’s face brightened with honest-to-goodness relief. “Really?”

Audry reluctantly nodded. “But I doubt I will be spending any close time with Rick Deacon to pick up hair, so don’t hold your breath.”

Silvia nodded though, smiling. She seemed almost lighter for it, lifted a little out of the darkness that surrounded her.

Audry dropped her off at Columbus Circle, then took her car to the nearest parking place. The problem with downtown parking is that most of it were metered. Most of her coworkers took the metro, rode bicycles, or were picked up. Having a car was a blessing and a curse. It was a good thing it was a hybrid.

Audry walked from parking to work at a brisk pace. As soon as she arrived, she clocked in and cleared her head of all the nonsense.

Or tried to. She got a call on her cell phone just as she was putting it into her breakroom locker.

“Hello?”

<< Hey Audry. This is Wendy. I’m just calling to let you know Harlin showed up after you left. We didn’t tell him where you went, but we think he may have added it up. >>

“Urg…” Audry groaned, slumping against the gray aluminum. “Do you expect he’ll come here?”

<< Most likely, yes. I just wanted to give you a heads up. >>

“Ok.” Audry thought over her options. “I’ll go tell my boss. I think he can get him kicked from the premises.”

<< Good luck, >> Wendy said, then hung up.

Luck? Audry sighed. She didn’t need luck. She needed help.

Immediately she texted Doug and let him know what had happened. He was sure to tell Vincent. Or maybe her grandfather would show up with a shotgun. After Silvia’s arrival, it seemed possible.

Chapter Five

Audry’s boss at the café wasn’t too happy hearing about the ex-boyfriend who might show up and cause trouble. Unfortunately, his attitude was that Audry was bringing in the trouble rather than the trouble was following her whether she liked it or not. He bluntly told her that if her tiff with Harlin disturbed his business, it was grounds for dismissal.

“Unsympathetic tyrant,” Missy Gates, Audry’s co-worker and another waitress at the café muttered. She shot acid looks back towards the inner part of the café. “Why is it people always blame the victim?”

Shrugging, Audry decided not to worry about it. She was in a public place not far from Central Park. If Harlin tried anything, he would have a huge audience. Besides, Missy wasn’t the type to let any man mess with any woman. She had a voice that when she screamed it hit a certain part of the ear, causing the sensation that a siren was going off. She could draw attention to anything.

They spent most of the morning serving late breakfast eaters and brunch dates. All types stopped off at the café. They had jet-setting business types and environmental philosophers. Most of them ordered simple things like coffee, tea, and juices. But as the time neared lunch, dishes such as sandwiches, salads, and soups were served. Audry had on her Ask me about our vegan options button, proudly suggesting without being too overt that their vegan options were perfect for a healthy morning meal.

The best part was that Harlin never came around.

As she was cleaning up another emptied table, Audry lifted her eyes to the sidewalk—then did a double take.

As unbelievable it was to see him at NYU, Audry spotted Rick Deacon walking up the road toward her café. It gave her chills. It was like Silvia knew she was going to bump into him again. But he did not see her at all. Rick was preoccupied with a middle-aged couple walking down the street with two children who were walking with him. The children were cheerfully holding Rick’s hands, clinging onto them really. A boy about seven or eight was on Rick’s left side, and a girl probably in kindergarten was on his right. The most striking thing about it was that the boy and girl had the same exact hair color as Rick, and so did the woman.

Audry grabbed her full dish bin and carried it quickly into the café so he would not be able to catch sight of her. In the shadow of the doorway, she watched them approach, hoping they would just pass by. Their conversation was coming into hearing range.

“…around here. This café looks good,” Rick said. He was dressed in ordinary jeans and a tee shirt this time. If she hadn’t personally known him, she would not have spotted him in a crowd. He looked like an ordinary guy.

The group halted in front of the roadside tables of their café, gazing about.

Audry ducked deeper into the shadow so that even she could not see him but only hear him.

The woman’s soft graceful voice carried. “I suppose so—for us. But what about your grandparents? They would consider a café like this below their dignity.”

Rick emitted a snort. “Grandma and Grandpa need to grow up.”

“But aren’t they already old?” the little boy protested with confusion.

“Yeah…” Laughing, Rick amended, “What I mean is, this place is good enough for anybody. It is neutral and it is near Central Park. It is also public, so they can’t shame you here.”

“Would they?” the man asked. His voice was deep. And Audry got the impression from his tone and manner that he was a working man. Salt of the earth.

“I wouldn’t put it past them,” Rick replied.

“I’m afraid so,” the woman chimed in. “My parents are just…” She heaved a sigh. “They don’t understand. They don’t listen.”

“They’re snobs,” Rick cut in, way more judgmental. Audry was astonished he would describe his own grandparents that way.

“Hey, Audry,” her boss snapped, “What are you doin’ lingering in the doorway? Bring ‘em in.”

Sighing, Audry went inside, quickly carrying the bin-full to the back room for the dishwasher. She quickly went about work, her mind swirling. They were talking about Rick’s grandparents familiarly, and he looked like he was related to those kids and that woman. Was what she seeing what she thought she was seeing? Was that his mother? And what about that man and those two kids? She knew Rick’s parents were divorced. But she also knew that his mother had disappeared after his grandparents had institutionalized her because she had a nervous breakdown. Was it possible that Rick Deacon had been reunited with his mother? And when? It wasn’t in the news at all.

When Audry went out again, as it was her duty to take orders outside and clean up there, she found that Rick and the two children had gone. But the woman and the man remained. They had claimed the table she had just cleared, and as soon as she had emerged from the café they waved her over.

“Hi, can we see a menu?” the woman asked, her lovely blue eyes shining up at Audry with cautious hope.

“One moment please,” Audry said and went back for the menus. She also brought out more napkins. Handing them to the couple, Audry said, “Just let me know when you are ready to order.”

They both nodded.

They seemed like an ordinary couple. The woman had a quiet elegance to her though. Her clothes were roughly middleclass, but the way she did her makeup showed she had a more refined style than your average middle-of-the-road homemaker. As for the man, he truly looked like a salt of the earth kind of guy—the type who would be an electrician or a construction worker.

Audry handled a few other customers’ orders before they finally flagged her down.

“Two waters,” the man said, taking on the traditional role of ordering for them both. “I will have the roast beef club. And she would like the grilled chicken avocado sandwich with pesto.”

“Can I interest you in any of our vegan dishes today for an appetizer?” Audry asked, pen to pad. “We have an excellent Moroccan chickpea salad and marinated mushrooms available, as well as several healthy smoothies.”

“Actually, that berry delight smoothie looks quite good,” the woman said, gently licking her painted lips.

The man, however, shook his head. “No thanks, for me.”

Nodding, Audry went back in to place the orders. She returned with the tall glasses of iced water. Then she went back in to make the smoothie. When she brought it out again, she overheard them chatting.

“Do you think Howie will take them around the park and then call us? Or should we text him when we’re ready for him to bring over Jessie and Claire?”

The man replied, “I think we should just let your son contact us. He knows what he is doing. He arranged this.”

The woman sighed nervously. “I know. I just…”

He took hold of her hand.

Audry came in then and set down the smoothie with a straw. They stopped talking and looked up at her smilingly.

“Your sandwiches will be here soon,” Audry said.

They nodded.

She went back in and stood at the main station, waiting to be called over while waiting for her orders. But mostly, she was listening in.

“The thing is, I’m afraid they’ll try to drag me back… and you know, put me somewhere with doctors and I have to undergo another psych evaluation,” the woman said.

“It won’t happen,” the man assured her. “Your son won’t let it happen.”

“I know that,” she murmured. “But I don’t want him hurt