Page 41 of Clinically Bewitched
The elevator dinged.
We stepped out.
“I should probably pack,” Athena said thoughtfully. “I didn’t bring much, just some crystals, my tarot cards, and a few changes of clothes. The universe told me to travel light. Which makes sense now, doesn’t it? Because I’m not going back to where I came from. I’m going forward. With you. To Connecticut.”
I unlocked the hotel room door.
She breezed past me, already talking about which crystals she should bring and whether the airplane’s altitude would affect their energy.
I stood in the doorway and wondered, not for the first time that day, if this was what a nervous breakdown felt like.
Probably.
This was definitely what a nervous breakdown felt like.
McCarran International Airport was a special kind of hell.
Not because of the crowds—though there were crowds, lots of them, all moving in seemingly random directions like particles in Brownian motion—but because Athena had opinions about everything.
The slot machines near the gates? “Very interesting energy. Lots of hope and desperation mixed together. The universe is trying to teach people about attachment.”
The overpriced airport coffee? “Probably not organic. You can tell by the aura. It’s very... corporate.”
The TSA security line? “Do you think the scanners disrupt your electromagnetic field? I read somewhere that they might. I should probably cleanse my crystals after we go through.”
I didn’t respond to any of it.
I just stood in line, shoes off, laptop out, trying to pretend I was alone.
It didn’t work.
“Are you nervous about flying?” she asked as we approached the scanner.
“No.”
“Because I can hold your hand if you want. Some people find physical touch grounding during stressful situations. It helps balance the—”
“I’m fine.”
“—root chakra and creates a sense of safety and—”
“Athena. I’m fine.”
She smiled. “Okay. But the offer stands.”
I stepped through the scanner.
It beeped.
Of course it beeped.
“Sir, do you have anything metal on you?” the TSA agent asked.
I looked down at my hands.
At the ring.
The wedding ring that I’d tried and failed to remove this morning.
