Beauty and The Beasley

Chapter 33

Melinda sat still, unable to move a muscle as the strange fellow tried his very best to explain things to her. When he revealed he used to be the animal Bree was friends with, Melinda did not look surprised at all. She only nodded and hummed when necessary.

"You mean to say you're not from around here then?" Melinda finally asked when the young man was done.

He shook his head. "I am not."

"America? You're not from America?" She asked again.

"No, i'm not. Beautiful country but i'm not a citizen." He said whilst snuggling his coffee mug. He felt incredibly exposed as a human being and hated it. Beasley had been some sort of shield against the cold for a long time and he despised how he missed all the advantages that came with being a wild beast.

"Are you Australian, then?" Melinda asked. She also held on to her mug as though it was the only thing connecting her to the real world.

"No!"

"You most certainly must be from Africa or Europe maybe." Melinda said.

"Probably. It's a shame i've never looked up my home on a global map before. Bree does the best research with her laptop." He said mentioning the last word with care.

"About you two, how long have you been friends?" Melinda asked, placing her mug on the counter.

Frances wanted to laugh. Melinda was full of questions just like her daughter was.

"uh, months. I don't know." He said flicking his fingers.

"She was with you all that time she went missing, wasn't she? Where were you two anyway? And you came to the police station? What happened to those men that were chasing after you?"

Once Melinda started, she couldn't stop. The questions kept spilling out of her like a leakage.

"Mom? Can you please stop already?" Someone yawned from behind.

"Bree!" Frances called quietly.

Bree smiled apologetically at him. "sorry about my mom and passing out on you."

Frances stood up and walked over to her. "It's fine. We were just having a little chat and you were excessively exhausted. Feeling better?"

"Much better. Thank you." Bree replied.

Melinda watched the pair smiling and holding hands.

"Whoa whoa!" She said whilst standing up and accidentally knocked her mug off the counter. "oops!"

"Make that the third mug you've broken in a month." Bree said rolling her eyes.

Melinda pouted in disappointment. "It was my favorite."

Frances walked over and squatted then picked up the larger part of the broken mug. One by one, he began to piece the remnants together.

"What in the. . . .?" Melinda asked with wide eyes as she watched pieces of glass glue back together like they hadn't being broken.

A few more touches later, Frances stood up and handed the mug, all fixed up and without as much as a scratch, to a shocked Melinda.

"You can still do that?!" Bree asked walking over to Frances. He took her hand.

"I don't know. I'm glad it worked. Would've been embarrassing if it hadn't." He replied with a laugh.

Melinda rotated the mug in her grasp, trying to check for cracks but there was none. She looked up at Frances, her jaw slightly hanging.