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KATY STOOD AT THE CURB with her new— friends? “Let me do the talking. Try not to worry when my husband freaks out. It will be okay, but expect a strong reaction.”
“How strong?” Faye Frog asked. “I don’t have my anxiety medicine with me.”
“Frogs take anxiety meds?” She shook her head. Learn something new every day. “Do you want to wait in the garage?”
“Let’s face it head on,” Dolly Dog said. “No use in putting it off.”
“Easy for you to say,” Faye quipped. “My internals have been shaking non-stop since being yanked into this world.”
Hazel nudged Faye with her nose. “Hop up. You can rest on my back. I’ve got you.”
Faye drew a deep breath. She pursed her lips, err, little froggy mouth and blew out. “Thank you, Hazel.”
Katy glanced at the trio. “Okay, I guess this is it.”
Chip was fast asleep on the sofa. Katy dropped her head back and stared at the ceiling. It was now or never. Dolly walked over and hopped up onto a chair.
Fritz ran down the stairs. “I smell dog.”
Dolly took it as an insult. “Excuse me?”
“Well, hello, beautiful.” Fritz strolled to Dolly’s side.
“Fritz,” Katy snapped. “Would you not hit on my friend.”
Dolly laughed. “A cat? Right. As if...” Ooh! He was a charming cat. So, charismatic. Dolly fluttered her eyelashes.
Chip startled awake. “Who? What?”
“Hey, baby,” Katy started. “Good nap?”
Chip stretched his arms up over his head and let out a big yawn. He looked around and frowned. “Katy, would you care to explain why there’s a barnyard of animals in my house?”
“Well, I never,” Hazel said and jumped up beside him.
“Great, they talk. Of course, just like the cat. Why is nothing ever normal around you?”
“Wait, listen...” Katy started.
“No, I’m done listening. It’s always something. Whatever it is, handle it. I’m going to get a snack, and when I come back I want these critters out of my house. We are not an orphanage for wayward mammals.”
Faye croaked.
“Whatever,” Chip said. “You knew what I meant, Froggy.”
Katy cut in. “That’s Faye. Faye Frog. She’s a fairy frog mother. Over there is Dolly, and this is Hazel.”
He shook his head.
“They’re all fairy godmothers. Well, a frog mother, a dog mother, and a hog mother, but technically, same thing,” she corrected.
“I don’t care, Katamara. Do you understand me? Get rid of them.”
“It’s only for a couple of days. They’re stuck. We need to find something called the Fairy Express. Otherwise, they have nobody. It was during class, Victoria... Oh! Victoria. I need to call the hospital and check on her. Anyway, during class, she collapsed. We called an ambulance. Otherwise, she was mid-spell, and the three here were trapped between worlds. It’s not their fault.”
“And why is it always your responsibility to pick up the pieces? You have a business. We have our own problems. Why, Katy? Why?”
She shrugged. “A couple of days...”
“Fine, two days, then they find a new place to live.”
Katy clapped her hands together. “Okay, deal. We should be able to get them home by then, right?”
He side-eyed her. “We?”
“Me. I’ll figure it out. Don’t worry. I’ve got this.”
“Not making me feel any better. Two days,” he reminded as he headed to the kitchen, a crutch under his arm.
Katy’s phone buzzed. She pulled it from her pocket. Mindy had sent a group message. Victoria didn’t make it. Just called hospital to check-up on her. She died.
Katy gasped.
“What is it?” Fritz asked, only pulling his attention away from Dolly for a moment.
“Bad news,” was all she said.
Fritz shrugged and turned back toward Dolly. “Where was I, gorgeous?”
“Fritz! Back away from the dog,” Katy snapped. “Please, not now.”
Fritz picked up Dolly’s paw and kissed it. “Until we meet again.”
Dolly giggled, then realizing others notice, she cleared her throat. “What?”
Fritz slinked up the stairs, trying not to look back. Dogs were his weakness. The past incident with the poodles and borzoi flashed through his mind. Would he ever be able to kick the addiction that called to him like candy to a baby?
Katy quickly texted a message back, then went to the doorway of the kitchen. She pushed the swinging door open. “Victoria Bean just died.”
“Wow? What happened? She’s not much older than we are.”
“I know. It’s kind of freaking me out. She was there at class, then just like that she’s gone. Makes me think of Crystal.”
“Crystal was different. She was murdered. It sounds like Victoria must have been sick or something. Didn’t you say she collapsed?”
Katy nodded. “I think she mentioned getting a flu shot or something. She was running late. I hope it wasn’t tainted.”
“Flu shot? Tons of people have been getting them without a problem. Even if she was allergic, I don’t think she’d die. Maybe she had history of heart problems.”
Katy closed her eyes. “I know. It’s just shocking. It makes you think of your own mortality when somebody dies too young.”
Chip hobbled over and wrapped his arm around his wife.
“How’s your ankle?”
“Better. Another day and I should be as good as new.”
“I’ll go fill the godmothers in on the news.” She started back toward the living room.
“What’s going on?” Hazel asked.
Katy sat beside the hog. “Friends, I’ve got some sad news. Victoria didn’t make it. She died at the hospital.”
“That’s tragic!” Faye said.
Dolly gasped. “That’s horrible news!”
“That’s so sad,” Hazel answered.
Katy nodded in agreement. “I hope her daughter is okay. I should check-in on her tomorrow. Lola’s father isn’t around, and she doesn’t have any siblings. I don’t want her to be alone.”
She’d check in on her, but when? Short-handed at work, it didn’t allow her much freedom. Thankfully, she’d just hired Valentine. She hoped the woman worked out, but it’s not like she could leave her alone already! She’d have to run by and see Lola after she closed the deli.
“Might I get some water,” Faye said. “I’m a bit dehydrated. Maybe a sink to bathe in?”
Katy looked at the frog. Yep, this was going to be an experience.
After showing her trio of guests to a spare room, she led Faye to the bathroom and filled the sink with lukewarm water.
“You don’t have a bowl of crickets, do you?” Faye asked.
Katy grimaced. “No, sorry.”
“That’s fine. We can pick some up tomorrow,” she said optimistically. “Thankfully, I just had a pastrami on rye at Bingo, so that should hold me over.”
“Pastrami and rye, I can do. Not sure about the crickets.”
