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LOVE IS IN THE AIR again. I eventually get a text from Leigh, telling me she's officially engaged to Taishi. I congratulate her, of course—and I leave out the part about my eavesdropping.
Love is also not in the air for some people. After two missions together, Gramma and Eidrick break up. That has to be the shortest “relationship” ever, right? Apparently, they parted on bad terms, because she's trying to get a new instructor. She hasn't even finished spirit school yet, and my sexy grandma already has an ex-boyfriend.
As for me, love might be the air. After Orias kissed me, I haven't been able to concentrate on anything else. I want to believe he likes me, but I have a serious case of denial. Hot, muscular, tattooed guys don't get with girls like me. It just doesn't happen! The afterlife might be different, but I haven't seen any evidence of people caring less about their physical appearance. The entire concept of “shifting” your appearance tells me they do care. Looks-wise, I'm not a match for Orias, and I know that.
We meet up for our fifth and final mission, which takes us to London. I really hope we don't discuss our kiss. I just want everything to be normal today.
I've never been to London before. As much as I would love to do some sightseeing, we don't have time for that. I skip the London Eye, Buckingham Palace and St. Paul's Cathedral and warp us to the “flat” of an Indian woman.
“There she is. Our charge, Karun Varadkar,” I point her out to Orias—which is pointless, because Karun is the only one in the room.
“Oh, so our charge is a Karen?” Orias jokes.
“Not Karen. Karun, with a U,” I correct him. “I think it's an Indian name.”
“It's another old person,” Orias says. “Why are we always getting stuck with old people?”
“That's mean!” I exclaim, but at this point, I shouldn't be surprised. Orias isn't exactly tactful. “Do you have something against older people?”
“No, of course not. I'm old myself, even if I don't look it.” With a grin and a wink, he finishes, “I'm just a few thousand years old, you know.”
I should be focusing on Karun, but my thoughts drift to strange places. If Orias has been around that long, that probably means he's had a lot of girlfriends, right? I hope he's not reading my mind, because I don't want him to confirm that. I don't even want to think about it!
“Karun looks lovely. I'm sorry I was rude,” Orias says, which is probably the most shocking thing he's ever said. He never owns up to his rudeness.
I agree with him, by the way. Karun does look lovely. Despite her age and graying hair, she doesn't have too many wrinkles. Her sari is absolutely beautiful, and her hair is long and curled.
“Karun is sixty-eight years old,” I report to my partner. “She's not even that old.”
“Compared to me, she's a baby!” Orias exclaims. “Compared to most humans, however... she's getting up there.”
“Well... whatever.” I ignore his remarks and focus on my LightTab. Karun's permanent spirit guide left some comprehensive notes for us, including Karun's favorite flavor of ice cream. I don't know why we'd need to know her favorite ice cream flavor, but I wouldn't have guessed it was Mississippi Mud, not when she's living in London.
“So, according to these notes, Karun's husband passed away just short of a year ago,” I tell Orias. “She's been alone ever since.”
“That's a shame.”
“I mean, she never even leaves the house, apparently,” I spell it out to him. “She gets food delivered to her door.”
Karun's attention is on the tv. She seems to be watching a British game show, which makes her chuckle every now and then. I've never understood British humor, and I certainly don't understand Orias' humor, and he's got a British accent, so it's all strange to me. “She and her husband never had any kids,” I report.
“Did they want kids?” asks my partner. “To me, there's a huge difference between wanting them and never having them, or just not wanting them.”
“If these notes are accurate, it sounds like they tried.” My bottom lip dips into a pout, which I send in Karun's direction. “That's too bad. I bet she would've been a good mother. She's got strong mom vibes.”
I sit on the couch, not far from our charge and her bag of “Walker's Crisps.” The flavor, prawn cocktail, sounds kind of gross, but I don't judge. I try to read her thoughts, to figure out her wish, but she's only thinking about the game show. That doesn't help.
“I can tell you what she wants,” Orias speaks up.
“Oh?”
With a shameless smirk, he replies, “She wants you to kiss me again.”
“Ugh... Orias! Be serious!” I exclaim. “If you figure out what she really wants, let me know.”
Puckering his lips, he says, “Alright, I'll behave! But if you wanted to kiss me, I wouldn't complain...”
“Orias!”
“Alright, she wants a friend!” Orias blurts. “I've been in her head already, and that's all she wants. She wants someone to ring her up and check on her every now and then. She wants someone to watch the telly with her. She wants something like a concerned son or daughter. She's lonely.”
“Awww!” My pout returns, and my heart breaks for her. “That shouldn't be too hard, right?”
“It'll be hard if she never leaves the house!” Orias points out. “How can she meet someone when she's a shut-in?”
I stroke my chin and consider our options. Nowadays, it's easy to meet people through the internet, but according to my notes, Karun doesn't even have a phone. How can you live in this era and not have a phone? That's craziness.
“Wait,” I speak up, jabbing a finger at Orias. “You just said she wanted someone to ring her up. How can she do that if she doesn't have a phone?”
“A landline, darling. They still exist.”
For some reason, I get stuck on the word darling. In his accent, he makes the word sound beautiful. I know he's called me darling before, but this is the first time it hasn't gotten on my nerves. This is the first time I've liked it, even. I guess he's growing on me, impertinence and all.
“So, how do we find a friend for her?” I ask. “Maybe... we arrange an encounter with one of her neighbors?”
“Good luck with that. She doesn't leave the flat.”
I chuckle a bit, because he accidentally rhymed. “Well... you're the internet expert. Do you have any social media manipulation you can pull out of your sleeve?”
Orias' adorable, cheeky smile is back on his lips. He stands behind me, leans over my ear, and whispers, “As a matter of fact... I do.”