The bed was empty when I awoke, then jumped into a quick shower before heading upstairs. I was bombarded with techno music as I shuffled over to the coffee maker.

Alec slid a well sweetened and creamy cup of addiction into my eagerly waiting hands. As I sipped my preferred breakfast, I watched Emily mirror what reminded me of her doppelganger.

Sure enough, they were born identical twins. Teresa had the same face and curves as her sister, but the similarities stopped there. Teresa had her hair dyed black, and her arms were covered in tattoos.

“I can see that you’ve never met my sis, Madrecita…” Emily chuckled as she looked up from the table she was wiping. Emily looked night-and-day different than she did when I last saw her. The color of her skin was a light toasted color versus the gray hue it did before. The dark circles around her eyes had faded, and she now smelled of jasmine and femininity… much better. She got into my bath wash again… I’ll let it slide. She was in a pair of tan capris, and wearing a “Queen of Spades” shirt. It was about a size too big, and when she looked up from the table, the lack of a bra was quite evident. Her sister was in a white A-shirt, with a black bra obviously beneath it. As she approached, black cargo pants and a pair of black combat boots, scuffed and tied at the ankles, came into view.

I nodded, holding my hand out, greeting the new person. “Jacqueline Tannin… Nice to finally meet you.”

“Likewise. I’ve been wanting to meet the notorious Madrecita.” Teresa took my hand to shake, and my perception of time slowed down. This was an angelic gift… she was trying to read my thoughts and memories. How the hell? Arcane power… I shouldn’t be surprised.

I answered her probe with a memory of the dream I had of the lake. That memory was one the most beautiful images of me that I can remember. Take that human!

“Oh my God…” she whispered, as she jerked her hand from mine. Her eyes became the size of golf balls, as she placed the same hand over her mouth.

“You tried to read her, didn’t you?” Emily fired off, slapping Teresa on the shoulder. She quickly crossed her arms, with a scowl firmly planted on her face.

“I’m so sorry…” Teresa whispered. “I just had to… I needed to make sure that who Emily was with was not going to hurt her.” she stumbled to a chair, which she fell into, then looked up at me. “You weren’t a rider on that… creature...were you?”

I shook my head, smiling. “Nope, I was not a rider. If you want to see if that memory was for real, let me know. We’ll go out back and I can show you both…”

“Show us what?” Emily asked, still upset. Teresa whispered into her ear, and Emily gasped. “¿La dragóna? ¿Me tomas el pelo? Ay Dios mío…”

Chaz replied. “Not kidding.”

Alec propped his elbows on the bar and said, “You wanna hear something that is really gonna send you two for a loop?”

Emily replied, “Um… sure. What?”

Chaz kept the conversation going. “You two are the only humans in the room. Jac is the oldest one here... but only by a few centuries to me. Alec is the baby of us.”

“Holy hell… this is definitely a lot to take in.” Teresa sighed as Emily grabbed one of the chairs beside her sister and parked herself.. “Do the rest of the Serpents know?”

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Guillermo knows, but that’s it. It is something that we…” motioning to Alec and Chaz, “...would like to keep under wraps.” I said with a nod. The others nodded in turn. As I looked around the bar, something sparkly caught my eye. “But enough of that. I see you blinging the tables…” I ran my hands across a plastic crystal strip on the edge of the table in front of me.

Teresa replied. “Numbering tables. Makes it easier when we get busy.”

“Listen to her.. Saying ‘when’ we get busy… I like that,” Alec chuckled as he walked to a booth in the far back.

“Everyone gather ‘round,” I said as I followed. I slid in, sitting so I could see the whole room. “Employee meeting.”

Emily slipped into the booth beside me, and Teresa slid in across. Confusion like large signs covered their faces. Alec pulled up a chair while Chaz just stood.

Alec spoke first. “Mr Stevenson was extremely helpful. He got us all set up, from frozen foods to fresh produce.a vendor, as well. I took the liberty of placing orders with everyone. FSI will be here tonight around eight, and the other will be here in the morning. Everything is moving right along, Jac… though having a dedicated cook will help us handle things better. If you want me to, I can call my family.. Get some advert out. We can start working on a client base.”

I looked at Teresa and Emily. “I’d like to be opening in the next couple of weeks. Do you think you two will be ready by then?”

“Um.. well.. damn,,, huh? Hell, Madrecira, I dunno,” Teresa stammered. “Why ask us? This is your business. I thought…”

“Simple. I need trustworthy people to handle the day to day running of the bar. Raziel spoke highly of Emily, as long as she could stay clean, and I like what I’m seeing in you.” I looked at Teresa, as jaws dropped around the room. “I don’t want this to be just another Serpents hangout. I want it to be one of the ‘in’ places in Asheville.”

“Shit. Talk about lofty expectations…” Teresa was completely taken aback. “Um.. Damn. Well.. to be honest, I don’t know. I have my degree to think of.”

“What are you majoring in?”” Alec asked.

“Business. I was thinking I could wait tables to help pay for the rest of my schooling.”

“Alec, couldn’t you get her some scholarship and grant money?” “I winked at Teresa. “It’s kinda his thing..” I whispered, looking at him.

He shifted in his seat, before returning my gaze. “If that’s what she wants, of course… but Jac.? I know you have some out of the box ideas… but think for a minute, okay? Is this what you want to do? Truly? Like she said, this is your bar. If this is the path you want to take,. we got you…?” He looked at the twins.

“And well, up until 10 minutes ago,” Teresa started. I thought this was just going to be a part-time gig to help put some cash in my pocket.” Teresa started. “This new information is a big pill to swallow… Sister?” she stopped and looked at Emily for a long minute.

It was interesting. I’ve never really seen the interaction between twins before. This level of non-verbal communication I only attributed to the non-humans. Fascinating…

Emily was the one who continued. “We’re in. Alec was telling us how his friends are helping The Serpents going legit, so consider this payback for you helping us. You’re our Madrecita. Raze’s father told us about how when you were running the gangs out in the 80’s, So it's our turn to look out for you.”

This actually caused me to blush, I glanced at Chaz and Alec, who both nodded at me. Chaz actually smiled.

“Good. If we are going to do this.. there are some things we need to get done. Teresa, since you are getting the schooling, I’m putting you in charge. We will need DHHS to inspect before we can open. You and Alec can start getting things ready for that. Emily, I’m looking to you to get Tito over soon. I want to hire him as a cook.. but I want to see if he is actually as good as he boasts. As for me… I hafta try to get Raze out of jail.”

“Why, besides the obvious?” Emily asked.

“I need the name of his money-man… and dealing with The Serpents in the past I know he keeps that person’s identity close to his chest. If I can get him out… maybe he’ll share. We need an accountant. A good one.”

“Why?” Teresa asked. Why not just try the papers, or online? You can find some good help online.”

“I want to work with people who know me,” I said frankly as Alec stood, grabbing his phone.

He looked at me, grinning like a child. “We’ll keep it clean,” he said as he headed to the kitchen.