Page 3 of Gaming with the Gargoyle in Hallow's Cove
“See! That’s exactly what I’m talking about!” she says, pointing to the message I’d done a bad job at hiding. “What man is going to want to marry a woman that gets phone messages from another man every night at the exact same time! It’s weird!”
“It’s not weird, it’s nice! It’s our thing!”
We’ve lived in Hallow’s Cove since the early advent of cell phones, and my mother has always thought they were weird. Preston got me mine and had wifi installed basically everywhere I go so he could keep tabs on me. He also went on this whole crusade trying to get cell phone towers installed, alienating basically the entire town… it was a mess.
What he didn’t realize was that he basically gave me and my best friend a two-way walkie talkie. Gabe has his own phone leftover from when he went away from school, so now, he’s basically the only person who texts me… at all. My mom’s tried to get me to get rid of it, but it’s become our special thing and my little pink flip phone isn’t goinganywhere.
I can’t trying to fight the fight about her assumption that I would only be with a man. We’ll cross that bridge if and when we get to it. Right now, there are no bridges in sight and I am already on the defensive.
“Anyone who has an issue with Gabe isn’t welcome in my life, period.” Hopefully she’ll get the message that if need be, that could include her.
Gabe: Oh, no! I think suddenly I am having some sort of emergency that I cannot solve by myself, you must take this excuse, and leave immediately, (if you want to) to come, save me! It appears the inventory system is on the fritz again, and you have to come fix it before the 50 duplicate orders of mini figures are transmitted to the manufacturers (I have not by the way).
I look down at my phone, feigning surprise. “UGGH Gabe messed up the inventory again, I’m sorry mom, I’ve got to go deal with this.” I push away from the table before my mom can protest. Though, of course, me walking towards the door doesn’t stop her.
“I swear, you need a new inventory system. If he can’t handle placing orders on his own, how are you supposed to meet anyone!”
She follows me out, going into a complex rant about how Gabe’s inability to order inventory clearly means that I will never be able to meet anyone. At no point during her explanation does she actually give solid evidence as to how the two things might be related. I pause before her door, turning back to her to kiss her on the cheek.
“I will look into it, Mom. I think Barnaby’s wife is some sort of IT whiz, maybe she will have an idea. I’ll see you soon.”
“I’ll see you soon.”
“Send my love to Gabriel, but remind him that you are a single lady now, and if he wants any hope of you being happy, he will give you more space. Honestly, I’ve never heard of such a thing…”
My mother is still mumbling as I hop onto my bike. Hallow’s Cove is a small town, and we have a company van for when we need to move large amounts of product. I could buy a car, but I have never seen the point. Between my bike, the company van, and a best friend who is a gargoyle, I’ve never had any transportation issues. Halfway down the block, I pause and pull out my phone to respond.
Ha ha, do you think you’re so funny?
Gabe: I am though?
I shake my head and pedal toward the Gargoyle’s Horde, the game store I own with Gabe. I live in a little apartment upstairs because I hated sleeping in a house that was constantly under construction. I’d slept there with him when he’d come to town on the weekends, but I’d leave as soon as he did. Now, every time I go by, I just see all of these unfinished renovations. He’d been trying to take a gorgeous Victorian to some modern monstrosity and I get overwhelmed with everything I need to undo. Even if I could stomach moving into the house, I think I would freak myself out at every little noise. I’m used to noises in the night, Gabriel is up all night long, of course, but I’m used to Gabe’s sounds. Empty new house sounds though? No thanks. Not interested.
Hallow’s Cove is all decked out in preparation for spring. Lampposts are festooned with baskets of flowers that are just now bursting to life, and with the sun set, the lights are flickering to life. I pass houses on my bike, and see mothers leaning over their kids’ shoulders, helping with homework, or calling out doors to remind them to come inside. At first glance, I might seem really out of place in Hallow’s Cove, it’s mostly populated by monsters and I am human after all. But we moved here when I was pretty young, and everyone has always been really lovely to me. I wave at people as I pass; the family of rabbit-shifters that run the inn, and a brother-sister pair of cyclopes biking down the street.
On my way back to the store, I pass our local coffee shop, Cool Beans, and the really pretty—but really abandoned building across the street. The wolfmen who run Cool Beans are… kind of particular about how things look, and their adorable shop shows it, so I have always wondered if they will buy the building across the street and make it into something cool, but I am not one for spending other people’s money, so I’ve never said anything. They are nice, even if Clay is grumpy and still insists our shop should be called Gargoyle’s Hoard instead of Gargoyle’s Horde. At this point, it’s even a bit a of a joke, he and Barnaby—the “Hallow” of Hallow’s Cove—poke fun of me about it at our Business Owners Association meetings and it makes me feel like they’ve really accepted me into the fold, considering how they tease each other.
Barnaby’s bookshop is still lit up. I’ve never really figured out what the hours are, but his mate has at least made them more reliable, and—since she’s responsible for getting so many people in town wifi—I am a huge fan of hers.
I park my bike out back of the store, and walk through the rear entrance. Judging by the voices, Melanie still hasn’t left for the day, even though Gabe’s awake. At the sound of the bell, Gabe’s voice rings out in a falsetto. “Please Gwen, save me! I don’t understand this silly inventory system, it’s too much for my pea brain.”
“You are never going to let me live that down are you?” I ask, pulling an owlbear plushie off a display and chucking it at my friend.
“Wasn’t planning on it, no,” he says, juking out of the way of the plush and giving me a cheeky grin over his shoulder.
Perhaps my mother did have a small point. Gabe might be unreasonably attractive. Maybe. Probably.
He’s bent over the central table of our store, jeans stretched within an inch of their life over his thick thighs and ass. I certainly hope he wears jeans with some stretch, because he’s testing their limits for sure. Cracking his neck, he stands up, so in tune with our little shop that he doesn’t even think twice about how to maneuver his horns to avoid the chandelier that hangs over our table.
“How’s your mom?” he asks. His voice drips with sickly sweet sarcasm.
Fine. My mother is absolutely right. The man is a massive hunk in the most disheveled way. He’s got a pencil stuck behind one ear, a nerdy shirt on that shows some dinosaurs looking up in horror at a flaming D20 asteroid and that pair of ripped jeans. He adjusts his thick rimmed glasses on his smooth horn-topped head and screws his mouth up in sympathy.
“Shitty. She just nags at me to ‘get back out there’ and date the whole time. Or, even worse, about how I should spend less time with you.” I slump down into a chair at the table and toy with my mini for tonight’s game. She’s a gnome archer that has a bow damn near as tall as she is which makes for good spinning when I need to fidget.
“Do you not want to ‘get back out there?’” he asks. Gabe sits in the chair next to me—in his designated dungeon master seat before turning my chair to face him. “It’s been a few months…and you were going to leave him anyway, seems like it would be reasonable...”
“Reasonable, sure, but...” I lean back in my chair and groan. Gabe grabs each of my knees and shakes my legs.