My 3 Contract Lovers

[5]

[Bianca]

“That’s it?” Vivian questioned and I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye. She was void of any makeup, her hair was a mess, and she wore a pair of pajamas that looked like it was twenty years old.

“That’s it,” I confirmed as I tore my gaze away from her and back to my mother – who was, for once, sitting up.

“You didn’t get to meet any of them?” my mother asked. Her voice was hoarse and frail from lack of use and I watched as she brought the glass of water up to her lips and take a sip. Talking hurt and I didn’t want her to be in pain, but I had missed her so much. It was such a wonder that she was awake and sitting up, that I deemed it a miracle. One that I knew wouldn’t last.

“No,” I said as I shook my head. “Apparently the organization scheduled both balls on the same night,” I explained once again. I had come to learn that both my aunt and my mother had once been consorts. My aunt had been with five different immortals for five years until she was deemed too old. My mother had only been with one immortal and the only reason that stopped was that she had met my father.

“So…but then…how will you know?” Vivian asked as she pushed off the doorframe and came into the room. She sat down – slowly and carefully – on the edge of the bed and stared at me.

“I have no idea,” I whispered as I looked away from them both and stared out the window. The weather was miserable and while the dark clouds littered the sky, it had yet to rain.

“This isn’t right,” my mother pointed out softly.

“No, it’s not. I’ve never heard of the organization messing things up like this,” my aunt agreed, and I listened to them discuss it softly while I thought about how disappointed Casey had been. She had known, she had been excited. For me, I had enjoyed the three-course meal. I had enjoyed the chatter around me, and I had enjoyed the soft music that had played throughout the evening. A sudden knock at the front door had me turning my head toward the sound. Vivian shot up and hurried to check who it was, while I glanced back over at my mother.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. I wasn’t sure what I was apologizing for, but my mother simply smiled as she relaxed against the headboard. She was already tired. “Do you need anything?”

“No,” came her soft reply and I got up to take the glass from her hands. I could hear my aunt talking to someone, but I paid no attention to that while I helped my mother get comfortable so that she could rest further.

“Bianca!” Vivian called out and I flinched at the shrill of her voice. My mother’s eyes were already closed, so I leaned forward and kissed her forehead before I left the room. I froze when I saw a familiar woman standing in the doorway. She wore a navy-blue pantsuit and I frowned instantly.

“Hello Bianca,” she greeted with a warm smile. “My name is Justine. I was the hostess of last night’s ball that you attended,”

“And?” I inclined my head before I glanced between the two women. My aunt looked like she was watching some fascinating detective story while Justine looked apologetic.

“And I’m sorry for the way the ball was conducted last night, and since we couldn’t get a hold of you, I decided to come here to see you,” she explained. I had a phone. Granted, it wasn’t mine, but what was this about?

“Why?” I decided to ask, and Vivian silently fumed while still trying to figure out what was going on.

“Because we would like you to come in so that we can discuss your contract,” I gasped at that piece of information and my aunt squealed rather loudly in excitement. Justine smiled at her before she focused on me once again. “Are you available now?”

“Yes! She is!” Vivian answered for me, and I rolled my eyes.

“Sure, why not,” I muttered as I went over to the door to slip on my sneakers. I eyed the red shoes Milly had insisted I keep and considered putting them on instead. However, this was just about discussing my contract, so I didn’t have to dress up. Did I? I wore a pair of worn jeans and a plain white t-shirt. I knew that it had an oil stain and a tear in the right sleeve. I shrugged though as I pushed passed my aunt and followed Justine out of the apartment building. A car stood waiting and while I panicked for a moment about how I was going to return, I was far too curious to question anything. Justine refrained from small talk, and I was grateful for that. The last thing I wanted was her trying to fill the void with chit-chatter. We drove straight into the heart of the city and once the car had come to a stop, I was eager to get this over with. I got out and stared up at the tall building and it made my neck hurt. Justine led the way inside and I was impressed by the sleek design. The shiny white marbled tiled floors matched perfectly with the stark white walls. The little lounging area was bright and cheerful and fit in rather well with the beautiful artwork that graced the walls and the pottered plants made the place feel more inviting. The receptionist looked up from her work and smiled at Justine as we passed her.

“You’ll meet with Mr. Baker, and he’ll go through the contract with you,” Justine explained, and I nodded at the small piece of information. I could only hope that this Mr. Baker would be able to help me understand all of this. After waiting a few moments for the elevator, a loud ding sounded, and the steel doors opened to an empty box. We stepped inside and Justine pushed a button that made the doors close. Soft classical music played from somewhere and it was oddly comforting.

“Am I going to meet…um…them?” I wasn’t sure how to ask the question, but Justine understood as she quickly shook her head.

“Ah no, your case is ah…special, so you’ll only get to meet…them afterward,” she said, and while her hesitance bothered me, I relaxed, knowing I wasn’t going to be meeting an immortal today. Finally, the elevator came to a stop and the doors slid open. Justine led me down a short hallway before she stopped in front of a closed door. The personalized office wall name plate revealed that we had arrived at Mr. Baker’s office. “All right, this is it,” she said, and I tried to smile. I failed. “Good luck,” she hurriedly added before she took off down the hall. I watched until she turned a corner and I sighed before I stared back up at the nameplate. I was on my own now.

“Ok, Bianca, you can do this,” I muttered to myself in hopes of giving myself much-needed confidence. I should have worn those darn red heels. I knocked once, twice, and a third time just for luck.

“Come in,” came a rough-sounding voice. I took a deep breath and pushed open the door. I wasn’t surprised to see the same sleek design from downstairs and Mr. Baker had stood up from his chair and moved around his desk. “Bianca Fellam, welcome,” he greeted as he held out his hand. The quick handshake did nothing to calm my nerves and he took a step back and gestured for me to take a seat. He went back around to his chair, while I sat down across from him. He smiled over at me, and I cringed at how creepy he looked. His lips were quite thin, and his blue eyes gave me the chills. “How are you?” his sudden casual question threw me off guard and I stared at him.

“Fine,” I finally answered. He nodded at my short answer before he folded his hands on the top of his desk and stared at me.

“Well, why don’t we start with how much you already know and understand?”

“Um, there are apparently immortals living among us, and…in order for us to live in peace we have this contract treaty thingy,” I could feel myself getting flustered as I told him what I knew. “Um, the ball is for them to pick their next consort or whatever,”

“And?” he urged, and I shrugged. “All right, well, you have been chosen,” he said slowly, and I nodded. “However, you were chosen by three different immortals,”

“Huh? What does that mean?” I asked curiously.

“Well, it means that three different immortals have chosen you to be their consort. Now, while this isn’t necessarily unheard of, it hasn’t happened in quite some time,” he explained.

“Ok,” I wasn’t sure what else to say so I waited for him to continue.

“I will give you a copy of each contract. I want you to read through them as quickly as you can, but I want you to take your time in making a decision,”

“Oh?” I hadn’t realized that I had much of a choice in all of this, so I was surprised to hear him say that.

“You can choose to accept one, two, or even all three,”

“Oh,” I murmured.

“All right, so…each contract is for one year and each immortal requires different needs,” Mr. Baker went on to explain. “Not only for themselves but for you as well,”

“What do you mean by that?” I asked curiously.

“Well, for example, you are required to…maintain a certain diet,” I frowned at that but he quickly continued before I could ask any questions. “Once you have gone over each contract and you’ve made your decision, you can schedule an appointment with me,” he moved quickly and snatched a white card out of some cute little holder and slid it over the desk toward me. I picked it up to see that it was his business card. “Whatever decision you have made, I’ll go through the contract with you and then introduce you to your immortal,”

“Really?”

“Yes, really, so next time…please dress a bit more appropriately,” I blushed with embarrassment at his snarky remark even though it was justified. “Now…” he got up and I watched him head over to a small cabinet and he retrieved what I had to assume were the contracts. “I must warn you that two of these immortals will not like the idea of sharing their consort, so I would keep that in mind when you think about your decision,”

“What if I chose to do only one?” I asked and Mr. Baker nodded thoughtfully.

“Well, needless to say, the other two would have to choose another consort,”

“And…is that ok?” I wasn’t entirely sure but when he grimaced, I had a feeling it wasn’t ok.

“The immortals may live among us, Bianca, but their lives are far different from ours. They took the time out of their busy schedules to attend the ball to find their next consort,”

“So, in other words…they are screwed?” he barked out a laugh at my crude remark and while I was shocked at myself, I was too curious to care.

“Yes, they would be. We would need to ask everyone who wasn’t assigned an immortal to return and… time-consuming, it would be time-consuming,” I nodded at that and as he handed over the three brown envelopes that contained the contracts, I couldn’t help but wonder what I was getting myself into. I shuddered at the thought as I stood up. Mr. Baker kindly reminded me that I had his number and to make an appointment as soon as possible. I left his office and managed to find my way down to the receptionist area where the woman informed me that a car would take me home. I had some reading to do and a lot of it.