Chapter 3.

“Erica Saunders, Darling!” Mitzie heard Marva yelling across the room as she strolled away to her next victim. Alford knew how Marva annoyed Mitzie, and instantly placed his hand on the small of her back to sooth her.

Mitzie watched Marva as she made her way to Erica and repeated the 2-cheeck air kiss with her. For a woman who Mitzie guessed was maybe in her late sixties, Marva did not let age overtake her. Mitzie knew that Marva worked with a personal trainer at least 5 times a week, and instead of going full grey-haired, she kept her bob-cut hair dyed a vibrant silver color. She was not a bad looking woman.

“I swear that woman annoys me” Mitzie whispered leaning into Alford.

“I know. I was wondering how long you were going to entertain her touching your stomach” Alford chuckled. “Surely she’s no worse to you than your best friend Zara?”

If Mitzie admitted it, Zara could be annoying at times, but she chose to overlook that side of her. 

They seemed to be from two different worlds, but somehow they meshed well, and their personalities complemented each other. Mitzie wasn’t quiet, but Zara could be loud. Whereas Mitzie would oftentimes play a passive aggressive role, Zara was straight forward and didn’t take shit from anyone. Mitzie was into boys, but Zara paid them no mind. Lots of guys tried to date Zara, but she always said she’d rather have a V8.

Her biggest peeve with Zara was that she talked a lot. And talked. And talked. There was only so long Mitzie could entertain Zara’s constant rambling, then she would either tune her out, place her hand over Zara’s mouth, or tell her to shut up when it got to be too much. Sometimes Mitzie had to do all three.

Once Zara aged out of foster care, she and Mitzie rented a 1-bedroom apartment together for college, until Mitzie met Alford in the middle of their freshman year. Zara moved into the on-campus dorms for their sophomore year to give Mitzie and Alford their own space.  Zara had remained the best friend Mitzie could ever hope for, and she wouldn't trade her for all the stars in the universe. 

“I mean, she’s not that bad, for an old coot. The difference between her and Zara is I can shut Zara up when necessary,” Mitzie joked and rolled her eyes as they made their way to find the table setting with their names. 

Mitzie rolled her eyes as they made their way to find the table setting with their names.

Alford let out a small laugh and shook his head in agreement. “Well, Mrs. Damos, let’s hope you don’t jinx our child for your annoyance of Marva or Zara,” he said winking at Mitzie.

Mitzie sighed in agreement as she took her seat when Alford pulled the chair out for her.

The dinner went well and raised millions of dollars for the Veterans’ cause. Mitzie and Alford were both impressed with the total donations amount Mr. Slater announced at the end of the night.

Unbeknownst to Alford's colleagues, during the auction portion of the dinners, Alford would always be the first person to bid on an item just to drive up the price.

No matter how small or invaluable an item might be, Alford never started his bids below half a million dollars. He would continue driving the bidding until either the others gave up, or he could tell that they really wanted the item.

If the latter were the case, he would gracefully bow out of the bidding war. He wasn't trying to bid a business into bankruptcy, he just knew the limits each colleague had potential for spending.

It surprised Mitzie that after 4 years of the same dinners and auctions Alford's method of getting more money out of the executives for the benefits had never been discovered.

As they were leaving the dinner, Mitzie felt a slight stab in her womb that caused her to pause.

“Are you all right? Is the baby okay?” Alford’s anxious voice came from Mitzie’s side. He made sure he had a good enough grip on her back and arm to support her.

Mitzie stood still for a moment, waiting to see what was going to happen. Just as quickly as the pain came, it left. Mitzie shook her head, as if she had been in a daze.

“I’m fine. Seems our child may not have agreed with some of the foods I ate” she brushed off and proceeded towards the hotel exit.

“Honey, if this continues, I really think you should consider going to see Dr. Spandau. He might be able to give you something to help with the discomfort.” The concerned tone in Alford’s voice almost made Mitzie tell him of her worries, but she quickly decided against it. Instead, she shook her head and continued walking.

“No, I’ll be fine. I will say earlier at the cliff I felt the same pain, but I think it just might be part of being pregnant. I’ll be fine. We’ll be fine,” Mitzie tried to assure him smiling and giving his hand a squeeze.

Alford wasn’t easy to give up when it came to ensuring the safety of his wife and baby, but he digressed and continued forward with her.

Once they arrived home, Mitzie changed out of her fancy wear, slipped into her knee-length silk camisole night gown, and began her nightly skin care routine. As she sat at the vanity applying lotion to her arms, suddenly a blinding light pierced her vision, causing her to tumble from the small stool.

She could hear Alford’s stressed voice calling her name, but she laid there with her eyes closed and unable to respond.

“So, it seems the daughter of Samael has found her way home.” Mitzie’s eyes shot open with a gasp at the sound of a strange woman’s voice. She looked around, finding herself not in her bedroom. Mitzie had no idea where she was, and all she could see was white for as far as her vision would let her.

“Who’s there? Where am I?” Mitzie asked panicking as she struggled to sit up. Instantly her hand went to her stomach in a protective manner. Her bump was still there, and she could feel the slight flutter of the baby, so that helped her to relax a little.

When there was no response, Mitzie slowly made her way to stand. She felt a little light-headed and tried to maintain her balance. Once she was steady, she rubbed her eyes, and looked around again. Still nothing but what appeared to be an oversized white room. Mitzie could barely see from one end of it to the other and thought herself to be standing somewhere in the middle of it. There was no furniture, no windows, just a huge, empty white room.

Looking in both directions, Mitzie yelled hoping someone would hear her “Hello? Where am I? What’s going on?”

“Daughter of Samael, I bring you greetings” the sound of the woman’s voice caused Mitzie to jump in fear as she looked around trying to place where the voice was coming from. It seemed to come from all around her, like digital surround sound.

“What the hell is going on? Where am I? Who are you?” Mitzie screamed placing her hand on her stomach again in a protective stance. As she did it this time, the slight flutters that Mitzie would normally feel became full strong kicks. Mitzie looked down at her stomach with a gasp, as her eyes widened at this sudden change.