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Wait, she might be too young for those. Damn. I’m dating myself again, aren’t I? Oh, by the way, Tammy did watch The Little Mermaid over and over as a kid… and she thought Ariel was a moron for signing that contract over a boy. My kid wasn’t always gothy. That came with adolescence.
Then again, some people don’t grow out of that. We had a UPS guy a few years back who said he’d watched Aliens something like 147 times, and he’d always point out he meant the director’s cut, the extra-long version with deleted scenes as if that made his accomplishment somehow more impressive than simply watching the theatrical release version. Guess that’s the difference. Kids just watch the same movie over and over because they have the attention span of a goldfish. Adults, on the other hand, think it’s a bragging right.
Dammit. I’m distracting myself again.
Not really paying attention to the movie. Anthony doesn’t seem to be either, though he doesn’t look annoyed. He’s enjoying the family time even if he’s not a fan of the film. I don’t know if he likes or dislikes the movie. He hasn’t said one word either way. It’s so strange having a son who knows his time with his family is limited and tries to enjoy it while he can. How many boys his age would sit without complaint with their mother and sisters to watch a movie like this?
I mean… everyone’s time is limited. It’s not like Anthony is going to be randomly summoned at some unforeseen moment. We’re both pretty sure the higher-ups are going to let him stay here until Tammy’s time on Earth is done. Technically, I believe the agreement was that he could stay with his family until his sister no longer needed his protection. We both assumed that meant her death. Neither one of us at the time suspected she might become some sort of nature witch, druidess, or whatever you want to call it.
So, yeah. No matter what’s on the screen, Anthony is happy he gets to spend time with us.
It’s also not like when that time comes he’d never see us again… he just wouldn’t be living here.
Dammit, Sam. Get back on track and stop distracting yourself.
Shadow goblins are trying to find the unicorn. Why? What would happen if they find her? This might explain why the little things didn’t attack us. They must have been hoping Paxton would lead them back to the unicorn. Makes no sense to me, though. If they could just find Paxton at the museum, why can’t they just find her here at home?
“I don’t understand,” I mutter without really meaning to.
“It’s not that complicated.” Tammy smiles at me. “It’s a skewering of the patriarchy.”
“Ha. Not the movie. I’m thinking about our other issues.”
Paxton grimaces. “Are we in danger?”
“That’s the part I’m trying to figure out.”
Tammy raises an eyebrow at me. “What don’t you understand?”
“Lots of things.” I wave my hand about at random. “Nuclear physics. Algebra. How it is that no matter what I do, there’s always a missing—or extra—sock in the laundry.”
The kids chuckle.
“That one’s easy.” Paxton nods once. “The sock faeries. Sometimes they borrow one. Sometimes they return it.”
Again, we all chuckle.
Though, lately, I’m not so sure she’s being silly. The things I’ve seen, maybe there are sock faeries. Hell, Queen Maple could wear one of my socks as a ball gown. Okay, maybe not a ball gown but the faerie equivalent of hanging out all day at home in sweats. Probably would be quite comfortable for them.
“Be serious, ma,” says Tammy.
“Those shadow goblins… If they could just sorta find Pax at the museum, why haven’t they appeared here?”
“Eep.” Pax scoops up one of the small throw pillows off the couch and hides her face behind it.
“Probably because of the unicorn.” Tammy rakes her fingers through her raven black hair. “If I had to guess, it’s radiating a magical energy field that stops them from seeing anything around it.”
“Like a radar jammer?” Anthony goes to drink from his soda, but the can’s empty.
She gives her brother the ‘you are a nerd’ side eye. “I guess, yeah.”
Ant shifts his gaze to me. “It’s not too weird to think that the unicorn is protecting herself and everything around her from whatever those things are. If that’s true, then they can only ‘find’ Pax when she’s far enough away from it.”
“Eep,” squeaks Paxton.
“Oh, great.” Tammy gazes at the ceiling. “Now she’s never going to leave the house.”
Paxton mumbles into the pillow. “It’s not that.”
