The Grim Reaper’s Mate

The Cohort

“...and decided to pick up a souvenir for my hard work,” he was finishing as he opened the door.

“Huh?” I heard the new man’s voice clearly as he leaned down to look in the limo. “Dude! You kept Christine Rivers alive?! Boss is gonna KILL YOU!”

“Whatever, man. You know I don’t care what he thinks. I did my job. Why not have a plaything for awhile, y’know?” David sounded nonchalant, but I could detect tension in his voice.

“I ain’t tellin’ on ya, but if he finds out, he’s gonna make an example of your sorry...”

“Chill man,” David interrupted abruptly, “No cussin’ in front of the lady! Didn’t your mama ever teach you manners?”

If I wasn’t scared of the situation I would have laughed. My father used vile profanity around me. The worst. Especially when he had hired a professional to entertain him at night. I could hear him yelling the worst kind of profanity. Being naturally curious, I snuck down to peek in the room during some of the times and watched some of the ‘business’ taking place. I didn’t care that my father was the recipient. Nobody would talk to me about s*x and a woman’s body, so I read books on it in our massive library, read smut on the internet, and then watched the professionals at work with my father. I felt pretty confident I could please a man if I wanted to, much less endure him yelling out profanity. In fact, I kind of wanted to try pushing David to that limit. He seems like a challenge. I turned to look toward David, but I see that both men are leaning down to look at me instead.

“Since when is Christine Rivers so hot?” The new guy asked bluntly. I felt my cheeks redden, and the guy grinned at me impishly.

"Easy blusher. Honey, you want to get laid, you tell David to get Mac any time, ‘kay?”

“Okay,” I answered without thinking. My cheeks got hotter as Mac started laughing.

“This chick is awesome! When you’re done with her, I want a turn.” Mac laughed as he slid into the driver’s seat.

“Where are you taking the limo?” I couldn’t help but ask.

Mac smirked at me, but it was David who answered, “To the boss. He’ll get new tags and repaint it and everything. You won’t even be able to tell it’s the same limo. He’ll add it to his collection. Mac is the only one who knows the secret entrance to the boss’ garage from the outside.”

“Oh,” I don’t know why, but I felt a little sad getting out of it knowing that it’s the last part of my former life that I’m hanging on to. Well, the limo and my bed. I’ll never give that up! “Do you mind if I sit in the back one more time and drink a Sprite? I need some closure. Just for a minute.”

David looked at me, and his eyes were actually gentle and sympathetic.

“Yeah. You've been through a lot. Go get ya one last Sprite and drink to your old man,” Mac answered.

“I’ll be right outside the door,” David assured me. I stepped out of the passenger's side, clutching my pillow, and walked to the back to slide in for the last time. I went to the fridge in there and opened it. My father’s favorite wine is there along with some cans of soda for me. I can’t stand brown sodas. They all taste nasty. I love glass bottle fruity sodas, cream soda, and Sprite, though Sprite is the best in a glass bottle as well. I took it out, symbolically raised it in a toast, and popped the cap off. As I sipped it, I couldn’t help but feel nostalgic. I don’t know what possessed me, but I got the bottle cap and eyed the sharp ridges. Just sharp enough. I reached under the seat and dug in the cap lid, twisting it a little to make a mark. I felt under there. Sure enough, there was a small set of tears in the leather. Well, if I ever end up in this limo again, I’ll know for sure it was mine since I left a mark. Not that I plan to ever be important enough to ride in a limo again, but it just felt good to leave a mark. Like a calling card. ‘Christine was here’ kind of thing.

I climbed back out with my mostly full bottle and put on my best smile for David. "Thank you for your mercy and sensitivity. I'm ready to move on now."

"Good for you, doll," Mac praised from the window of the driver's seat. "But if I were you I'd change my name. Christine isn't too common a name, y'know? David'll be found out in no time."

"Oh. I didn't think of that. You have a point. Well, David, I am born anew today, so if you don't mind, I'll let you choose a name for me." I looked at David and saw him blink in surprise. He cupped his chin and gave me a serious look.

"How 'bout Martha? That's a common name," Mac suggests.

"Nah. It doesn't suit her. I was thinking Pearl or something because of her pale skin and white hair, but that doesn't suit her either, and we're gonna change her hair anyway..." David paused and looked me over again.

"Angel," he declared with a satisfied smile. "Your new name is Angel, but I'll still call you Christine at home, if you'd like."

"Oooh. In private at home," heckled Mac from the limousine. I ignored him. I liked it. Angel.

"It's perfect. Thank you," I reassured David. He nodded and gestured for me to head to our new ride, which is the stately Ol' Blue. My bed was already loaded in it.

"Boss is expecting your report, dude. Don't play around and keep him waiting," Mac called, wagging his eyebrows suggestively. With a laugh, he waved as he took off too fast in the limo.

David rolled his eyes and helped me in the truck. He jogged around the front and got in. "Don't worry. Boss sleeps until noon most days. I have plenty of time to take you home before I have to leave to report to him."

"Home," I repeated, and for the first time in a long time I felt like the word was not trying to deceive me.