Page 30 of Locke

I burst out laughing, my food falling out of my mouth.

“Years of practicing on your sister. Now go!”

I rubbed the back of my head. I think I can still feel that bump when she really got me, before I left and told her I’d be a bounty hunter. I hope she couldn’t throw this far north.

“Now,” Abuela started.

I groaned and leaned my head back into the chair. Here it comes. She was going to lecture me. Elena couldn’t keep a secret, not with Abuela. No one could, she would get it out of you, and I wouldn’t be surprised if she had a secret tonic she put in the food or drink.

“What is this that I hear about you liking it up there? Having second thoughts?” She hummed excitedly.

I lifted my lip up into a snarl and hunched my back over my food. “It’s fine. Just a quirky town. Nothing to get excited about.”

Abuela’s voice filled with excitement as she let out a joyful hum over the phone. I could almost see that mischievous grin in my mind. “And what do you think of him? He compliments your personality, si?”

I paused, hearing a licking sound, and as I looked down at my feet I found my wolf licking the dildo I had used just an hour ago. I gasped in horror and left the phone.

“No! Dios Mio! What are you doing? Give me that!” He growled as I grabbed the base. He clamped down on it with his teeth and I swatted his nose. He whimpered and I pulled back. “Bad dog, you don’t do that!”

“Emmie? What are you doing? You have a dog?” Abuela cackled over the speakerphone.

I’m glad one of us finds this amusing.

“It’s a wolf,” I retorted, placing my now pierced-with-holes dildo on the table. “He’s grown attached to me so I let him become my companion. For now. I’m thinking about kicking him out, though.”

The wolf whimpered, and Abuela laughed again.

“Don’t be so hard on the animal. I am surprised you are even toying with the idea of letting it around you. Never thought of you as being the nurturing type.”

I snorted in agreement, staring face to face with my new pet. I wasn’t one to take on pity projects, but then again, it wasn’t pity. It was something else I couldn’t put my finger on.

“Hey, what did you mean earlier? About what do I think of him? What are you talking about?” I pushed away my meal, no longer feeling hungry.

“Oh, you know, the man you are supposed to meet? He is your soulmate, Emmie, the one I made you and your sister pray for so many years ago. It’s about time you met him. I feel it in my old feeble bones. I was promised you would find him before I passed and I’m getting close.”

I wrinkled my brow. My hand landed on the table with a smack. My wolf put his head on my lap, nudging me as if to comfort me.

“What the hell are you talking about? You’re not dying.”

Abuela groaned. “Remember the bonfire? The moon was full? The sky was clear? It was the perfect night. I can sometimesfeel the forest spirits inside my body when I take just enough mushrooms.”

A groan escaped my lips as I massaged my temples, trying to alleviate the pounding headache. She was probably tripping on acid that night.

“Abuela, you took us camping when Elena and I were kids, and you were as high as a kite. If I recall correctly, you were topless.” I closed my eyes and leaned my head back. “A memory I keep trying to forget,” I whispered.

My wolf snorted, and I rubbed the top of his head.

“I was not high! I was filled with a gift of discernment, Mija. You are to do great things with your soulmate. He’s close, you’ve met him already. You just have to open your eyes and see.”

I tapped my finger on the table. “Are you high right now?”

“Yes!” I hear Elena’s yell come from the other room. “Ouch! How the hell can you throw a chancla around the corner?”

I snorted out a laugh and held my wolfs’ head close to me.

“I’m telling you, Emmie,” Abuela warned, “Elena and you both prayed to the Moon Goddess that night. You both asked to open your souls to her blessing. You wanted a love so powerful, so strong that nothing could break it.”

“Abuela,” I muttered, “we were children. We didn’t know what we wanted. We didn't know what we were saying. Real love doesn’t exist, look what happened to papa and mama”.