Chapter LIX:

Ah yes, her. Where do I begin? Her name was Dorthey Thatcher. She was English like me, but she ended up in California for reasons I forgot. She was a brash, modern woman for her time. Maybe that was why I liked her so much. I tried to avoid her for her sake. I did my best. But apparently it wasn’t enough. I remember the first time we met.

I was a café in Los Anglos. Now, why would I be out there? That’s going to be another story for another time. All I am going to say is that I was trying to look for a way to kill Luna. The world had changed by the 1930’s. Not many people had faith by then. They just relied on themselves. Luna and her people would have easy pickings. Somehow, I couldn’t let that happen. I don’t really understand it myself. Maybe I just didn’t want more like me to exist. Why should I care, though? They wouldn’t listen to me. They wouldn’t believe me. Still, something inside of me wouldn’t let me give up.

That’s how I ended up in this café. I tried not to have as much human contact as possible. Fate loved to betray me. I looked up when I heard the bell above the door jingling. There she was.

The first thing that I noticed was her deep red hair. Luscious Hollywood curls. I couldn’t take my eyes off of her round face. She looked like a baby doll from the 1800’s. She worn a man’s suit. That’s one of the details that stuck out to me for some reason. I couldn’t take my eyes off of her. She walked over to the counter. A bubble of unease formed in my chest. I could already see where this was heading. I bit down on my thumb, trembling. I watched as she ordered her coffee. I hadn’t planned on making any contact with her. Just ignore her. I was about finished with my breakfast anyway.

“Hello?” I heard over my head. My stomach dropped. Don’t tell me… I turned my head. She had a concerned looked on her face.

“Are you alright?” she asked. Her accent made me jump.

“You aren’t from here, are you?” I asked. I don’t know why that came out the way it did.

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “And neither are you.” I put up my hands in a shrug.

“Fair enough,” I said. She came over and sat down at my table. I wouldn’t keep the conversation long. Don’t tell her anything about yourself. Only give short answers. Make yourself a dull man. Maybe then they will leave.

“What is your name?” she asked. I didn’t answer.

“Where are you from?”

“England.”

“Which part?”

“I forgot.”

She frowned at me. “How do you forget?”

“I just did.” I hoped that would be the end. It usually was. She stared at my face intently. I narrowed my eyes at her.

“Can I help you?” I asked. She didn’t say a word.

“Do I have something on my face?” I asked.

“You don’t like me, do you?” she asked. I about fell out of my chair.

“Excuse me?” I asked. She took a sip of her coffee.

“I get it,” she said. “You don’t want me here. Can you at least let me finish my breakfast first? You could at least owe that.” I tried to figure out what just happened. Something about her spelled trouble for me. I knew that I had to get away.

“Excuse me,” I said. I got up and threw my trash away. She didn’t even look at me once. Who was she anyway? She couldn’t have been Luna. That woman was too brash for that. It was like she didn’t care what anyone thought of her. I made my way to the door. Before I left, I stole one last look at that woman having breakfast alone.

“Who are you?” I asked. She lowered her cup.

“Dorthey,” she said. “My name is Dorthey Thatcher.”

“Oh,” I said. Her lips curved into a little smirk.

“And you are?” she asked. I quickly gave her my name and hurried out of the café. I hoped that it would be the end of that. Deep down, I knew that it wasn’t. It was best to try and get out while I still could. I couldn’t risk her getting attached to me. It would be like Elizabeth and Maddie all over again. That encounter with Dorthey had me so wound up that I forgot what I set out that day. So, I wound up wandering the streets.

You can already predict what was going to happen next. Looking back, I couldn’t help but wonder if Dorthey was a test. A test sent to snare me. That had to be it. That had to be. In any case, I had to make this stop. There was only one way that I knew how to.