Aka Amy

"What about your girlfriend?" Emma asked quietly. "How is she involved?"

I hesitated as I had a sip of my wine, then asked warily "What makes you think Amy's got anything to do with the supernatural?"

My coworker glanced at the kitchen door before replying, "I'm pretty sure purple eyes aren't natural, Theresa. I originally assumed she was wearing colour contacts, but now that I know you're involved with a Goddess and you have access to magic? That leads me to think Amy's exotic look is more than just a costume."

"I'm sure she at least knows about your involvement with the supernatural?" she added.

I nodded, "Amy's aware of my connection to the Goddess, and that I'm a cleric. What about Carol? Does she know what happened to you?"

Emma sighed but nodded, "Yes. It happened before she and I got together, but M... Something happened not long after Carol and I started dating, and I had to tell her everything."

"One of your daughters said something?" I asked. It wasn't hard to guess what she was about to say, and I remembered Carol said something about the twins being troublemakers.

My host grimaced, "Mara has a knack for blurting things out. Over the holidays, no less. That was an uncomfortable xmas dinner, but we all got through it."

"So your twins also know about the supernatural then," I commented. "What about their friends?"

Emma sighed again, "I'm sorry Theresa, I think I've already said enough. And we should probably go join our significant others? I think we've been absent long enough, they're going to start questioning what we're up to in here."

We'd been sitting across from each other at her kitchen table since we finished all the washing up, and the two of us got through most of the wine I conjured up earlier as we talked. She was right though, we'd spent a little too much time hiding out in the kitchen together. Except it was a conversation we both silently agreed we needed to have away from Amy and Carol.

We both got to our feet, then she moved to the fridge and got out another bottle of white wine to take with us back to the den so she could top up all the wine glasses.

"Are we going to continue this conversation with Carol and Amy?" I asked softly as I followed her out of the kitchen.

"I'd rather not," Emma replied just as quietly. "Perhaps you and I can talk more over lunch at some point, if we can find somewhere private."

"Of course," I agreed. I was still curious about a number of things, especially about 'thaumagenic plurality'. It was a little frustrating she only mentioned it once then sort of let the subject drop.

"There they are," Carol said with a grin when we joined her and Amy in the den. She teased, "We were just about ready to come see what happened to the pair of you."

Emma apologized as she moved to top up her wife's wine, "Sorry. Theresa and I got a little carried away in a conversation we actually started yesterday at work. What have you two been up to while we were in the kitchen?"

I sat down on the sofa again next to my girlfriend as she replied, "Probably not that different? Carol was telling me a little more about her work with the university."

"That was ten minutes ago," the older woman responded with a smile. "You were just describing your recent vacation in Ireland and Wales."

She looked to her wife and asked, "Have you already heard that story from Theresa? It sounds like they had a lovely trip, maybe we should think about doing something similar next summer?"

Emma nodded, "Tess told me a little about their vacation last week. And I agree, I'd love to tour the British Isles at some point. I should try and learn more about my family history first though? I know they're from England, but I don't know where exactly. It might be fun to visit wherever they're from."

She more or less emptied the bottle of wine between my glass, Carol's, and her own. Then Emma excused herself for a moment and went back to the kitchen, before returning with a fresh glass of cola for Amy. She finally settled into the love-seat next to her wife. There was a bit of an awkward silence at that point, as nobody seemed to know whether or not to continue the prior conversations or start something new.

After a few seconds Carol spoke up, "So you mentioned something earlier about adopting a cat?"

That made both Amy and I grimace. Then my girlfriend joked, "You don't adopt cats, they adopt you. Or that's what I'm told, anyways."

That got a laugh out of both our hosts, and Emma responded "That's not far from the truth. They'll do their best to train you too, if you're not careful. What sort of cat is it?"

I replied, "They're a cute little tortoiseshell, all dark brown fur with lighter splotches. I'm not sure about their age though? Older than a kitten, but not quite mature yet, going by how they look."

Carol raised an eyebrow as she asked, "They?"

"They're non-binary," Amy replied. "They/them pronouns."

Our hosts both exchanged a glance, like they weren't sure if my girlfriend was serious or if that was a joke. Emma replied with an uneasy smile, "I've never heard of an enby cat before, but I guess there's no reason why cats can't be non-binary too?"

"What's their name?" Carol asked. "Or do you not have one picked out yet?"

"They're called Siggy. And we haven't actually adopted them yet," I explained. "We only just met them for the first time yesterday? Although the way Amy was cuddling and petting them we may well end up with a cat before long."

"Hey!" my girlfriend protested. Then she smiled and pointed out, "You're the one who brought them home, and you were cuddling and petting them long before me."

Both our hosts had a little laugh about that, then we turned the tables slightly and got them to tell us about their dog and cats. That turned out to be the right move, as Emma had several amusing anecdotes about Pumpkin and Spice specifically. Although hearing what sort of mischief her cats got up to gave me some second thoughts about whether or not I'd want one myself.

Then again, I probably couldn't compare the behaviour of a couple actual house cats to that of a retired goddess who just liked turning into a cute little kitty so they could get pets and tummy rubs. And if Siggy ever did start knocking things off shelves or chewing through phone charger cables or stealing bras out of the laundry hamper and shredding them, I could always get Amy to have a talk with them.

Eventually the conversation segued from the cats' hijinks to Emma's girls, and while she didn't reveal any more clues or hints about potential supernatural involvement she did switch back and forth a few times between referring to them in the singular and plural.

I actually started to notice a pattern, the more she told us about them. When she was describing events from more than about two years ago she tended to use the singular, and in fact she only referred to Mara in those older stories. More recent anecdotes included Mira as well, and she almost always used the plural daughters rather than singular daughter.

And once again I became convinced that some sort of magical incident led to her daughter becoming plural, until I remembered that she had pictures of Mara and Mira side by side. In the end I gave up trying to figure it out. Whatever was going on with her twins was probably too complicated or esoteric for me to guess.

It was only around ten or so when it seemed like Emma and Carol were about ready to call it a night. Amy and I took the hints and the four of us all got to our feet, then we made our way over to the door. We thanked them both for dinner and the entertaining conversations, exchanged some more typical pleasantries, then finally bid each other a good night.

My girlfriend and I headed over to the car, and as soon as we were both ready Amy backed out from where we were parked then turned us around. As we started down the driveway towards the road she commented, "That was nice. Both Emma and Carol seem like good people."

"Yeah," I agreed. "That first day back after our vacation when I got to work and found Emma there I was worried she was meant to replace me or something? She's nice though, and I'm glad to know her."

Amy smiled, "Good. I'm glad the people you work with are good, friendly folks."

A moment later she asked, "So what did you and Emma talk about, when you hid yourselves away in the kitchen after dinner?"

"Supernatural stuff of course," I replied. My voice took on a serious tone as I continued, "Apparently she was targeted by a demon three years ago? It manipulated her somehow. She didn't go into specifics, but I got the impression it must have been pretty horrific. She said she was saved by another demon, but again no details."

"I told her I was a cleric," I added. "And I showed her my wine-conjuring trick. I didn't say anything about you though, I didn't tell her what Goddess I was cleric for."

My girlfriend thanked me for that. "If you're talking with her more on the subject, I'd appreciate you kept quiet about me? Sorry Tess, I probably didn't have to say that. Better safe than sorry though."

I nodded, "Of course Amy. She did guess that you're aware of my involvement, but I didn't give her any details. She guessed your eyes and hair were something supernatural, rather than something you did with dye and coloured contacts."

"Emma also told me her wife knows about the demonic incident," I told her. "And her daughters too. For that matter, I'm half convinced her girls or at least one of their friends were or are involved in the supernatural? A few things Emma's told me over the past two weeks sort of stuck out, and she seemed eager to steer us away from some of those pictures this evening."

Amy smiled, "I noticed. It's none of our business though. Unless something comes up that you think we need to get involved in? Like something dangerous, I suppose."

"Remember what Raven and I said about attracting attention?" she added. "Even though you're human some supernaturals will be able to tell you're different because of your contact with me, and because of the magic I've given you."

"I'll keep that in mind," I replied with a frown. "You didn't notice anything about her or Carol, did you? Or sense anything? How does that work, anyways?"

My girlfriend made a snort-laugh sound and admitted, "I have absolutely no idea. It's never really come up before. If I figure it out I'll let you know."

I rolled my eyes and teased, "Awesome. Glad to know I picked the right Goddess to pledge my undying faith to."

That got a giggle out of her, and by that point we were already pulling into the apartment's underground garage. As we followed the arrows down Amy said, "Actually that reminds me? Can you keep your schedule clear for next Saturday evening?"

I thought for a moment, "I'm meeting Ada that afternoon, but I'll make sure to leave the evening open."

"Ah right," my girlfriend grimaced. "Thanks for setting that up Tess. I sure hope she's doing ok."

"Me too. Obviously I'll let you know how it goes after the fact." I paused then added, "Unless she swears me to secrecy or something."

We pulled into our spot then Amy shut off the car and smiled, "Thanks Tess. Now let's get up to our apartment? I was a good girl and limited myself to one glass of wine so I could drive, but now we're home and I want a glass or two of our favourite plonk."

I gave her a curious look as we headed for the elevator, "Our favourite what?"

She grinned, "I learned a new word the other day. Plonk, it means cheap wine."

"Where'd you hear that?" I asked with a frown.

We were at our apartment by that point, and she grimaced as she unlocked the door. "In a pub in east Kent, England? May Hawthorne invited me out for a drink, she wanted to talk with me again."

"Just be careful cutie," I sighed. Once we were inside I added, "I'm glad you're making more goddess friends, but you know I worry about you."

"I know," Amy replied as she turned and gave me a hug and kiss. "Now go make yourself comfy on the sofa, I'll get us both a drink. Then I'll try and make it up to you, for making you worry about me."

That put a smile on my face and I settled onto our sofa as I responded, "An acceptable arrangement."