Chapter 15: Ride-Share   Lisa walked up to the car. It was completely spotless, solid white, and worth more than 3 times her annual income. Normally, she wouldn't spend this much on a ride-share, but it was a 15-minute ride and was to one of the fanciest places in town. This was no ordinary ride for her; it was a carriage ride to meet her shining prince.  "Wow! I take it you are Lisa?" The driver stood outside of his car, ready to open the door to the backseat for his passenger like a true chauffeur would. Lisa blushed slightly at his remark. She knew she looked good, and seeing this older gentleman stunned made her feel special.  "That I am." Lisa walked up as the man opened the car door.  "Well, might I say your date tonight, is one lucky guy." The man smiled as he closed the door behind her as he stepped into the driver side of the car, getting ready to drive his passenger to her destination.  "Thanks. He is quite the guy himself." Lisa smiled from the backseat.  "I'd say so. I took my wife to this restaurant a few years back for our 40th anniversary. It's quite the place. You are in for one great treat and night." The man checked his phone to confirm the location as he buckled up and started driving towards the restaurant.  Lisa was shocked to hear the man had been married for so long. Most of the people she knew nowadays seemed like they didn't believe in marriage. Most of the families she knew growing up had their parents divorced, none of them even remotely close to 40 years! "Congratulations! 40 years is impressive," Lisa complimented the man, semi-curious as to how he managed to have a relationship for that long. "Why thank you. It hasn't always been easy, especially lately... We... had a few rough years for a while there... But things are starting to look a lot better now." The man kept on driving, already a few minutes in. They would soon be arriving at her destination. He looked like a pained memory had crossed his mind. "I'm sorry to hear. But I'm glad things are starting to turn around and get better." Lisa moved some of her hair out of her face, pushing it back behind her ear to expose the earring she was wearing while simultaneously flashing the bracelet in the rearview mirror. The man's eyes widened, seeing the bracelet Lisa was wearing. He couldn't believe his eyes, but he also knew better than to say anything about it. "That's some beautiful jewelry you have there, miss. Did your boyfriend get those for you?" The man wanted to see if he could get some information out of her without being too obvious. If the bracelet was what he thought it was, it spelled bad news for her, for her boyfriend, and for anyone who came in contact with her. "Oh, no. Nothing like that. I got these earrings from my mom." Lisa didn't even think about the bracelet. It wasn't very common for men to ask about accessories, and if they did, it usually was just a compliment or trying to find out where they could get something similar for their wives. "What about the bracelet?" He didn't want to make it clear he knew something, but he had to make sure it was indeed the bracelet. He thought that the thing was finally out of their lives, but here it was again. Lisa was a little shocked someone would ask about it.  "Oh, um, this thing? I don't know where it came from. I just randomly got it in the mail one day." Lisa knew he likely didn't really care, and realistically, even if she did know where it came from, she would never tell anyone, not after the chaos it caused in her life. "Ah, I see..." The man knew he didn't have much time left. They were just around the corner at this point, with only a few more blocks, and it would be too late to say anything. He wasn't sure if he should say something in the first place. Maybe it wasn't a curse after all. This young lady seemed like she was doing well for herself. She looked stunning, had a successful boyfriend by the appearance of things, and seemed happy. If it was bringing someone happiness, then that's what matters. Besides, everything it did to them appeared to have finally gone away. Did he really want to risk bringing that evil thing back into his life? "You have arrived," His phone spoke as he slowly approached the restaurant.  The driver had gotten lost thinking about the bracelet. He nearly missed pulling off the road to let Lisa out. He quickly pulled the car over to the side of the road near the entrance to the restaurant.  "Here we are, my darling." The man turned on his four-way, exited the car, and rushed over to open the door for Lisa. All the while, the internal battle continued. Should he tell her he knows about the bracelet? It's been a few years since they managed to get the damned thing out of their lives. Sure, it brought them prosperity, but it also cost them everything. "Thank you for the ride. It was very nice chatting with you." Lisa grabbed the man's hand for support as she stepped out of his car with her bag.  "The pleasure was all mine, my dear. I hope your date goes well tonight." The man thought for a moment about offering his number to her in case she wanted a ride home or if she needed to chat about the bracelet later. "Here, take my number, just in case you need a ride back." the man handed her his business card. As much as he didn't want to deal with that evil bracelet again, he knew giving her the option to reach out if she needed it was the least he could do, given he and his wife played a part in it, eventually ending up in her hands.  "Frank..." Lisa tried reading his last name but didn't want to butcher pronouncing it. "It was a pleasure; I appreciate it. Hopefully, I won't be needing a ride back tonight." Lisa smiled as she placed the card in her bag. "Okay, wish me luck!" She shook the man's hand.  "I don't need to, darling; you have all the wishing power you need." Frank didn't want to make it completely apparent he knew, but he felt he had to drop a hint. His handshake was gentle, but his face was serious. Lisa noticed the look on his face, slightly concerned by what he meant. but before she could say anything, he stepped away and got back in his car while ushering Lisa toward the restaurant. Lisa walked up to the table and spoke to the hostess.  "Hi, I believe my date is already here. Table for Craig Stevenson." Lisa felt nervous asking about their table. She had never been to such a fancy place before. Typically, this dress was saved for weddings or large social gatherings for work where she needed to network, and dressing in something like this meant she might be able to make some more beneficial contacts.  "Let's see... Stevenson... Ah Yes! Here he is! Right this way, ma'am." The hostess guided Lisa over to the table Craig was already sitting at. As soon as he saw her approach, he quickly stood up from his chair. He was dressed in a fancy-looking suit without a tie. He looked incredible and devilishly handsome, so much so that the other well-dressed men in the restaurant practically looked like a bunch of chumps in comparison.  Craig's eyes were wide, and Lisa was able to see that he was slightly nervous when he saw her. His reaction made her feel like a million dollars. To make him feel that way made her feel special as if she were the only woman in the world for him. Everything about the bracelet, her experiments, the pull-ups, her mom, all of it disappeared as she walked up to her chair.  "You weren't kidding about the dress" Craig stood up from his chair, clearly flustered by Lisa's attire. Craig stepped over to her chair, pulling it out for her to take a seat. Lisa took off her bag and handed it to Craig. He slung it on the back of her chair.  "You look gorgeous." Craig was awe-struck as he pushed her chair in for her, getting her in a comfortable spot as they sat to enjoy their date with each other.  "Thank you." Lisa was already enjoying herself. She had a huge smile as she felt like a total princess in this moment. Craig stepped back around to his chair, taking his seat as Lisa and he pulled up their menus. 

Andrew was happily engaged in a delightful playtime session with his T-Rex, sitting on the cozy floor. He was immersed in a world of imagination, skillfully maneuvering his toy to walk and roar. Although he was thoroughly enjoying himself, a pang of longing for his beloved Deny Dog tugged at his heart. Determined to reunite with his furry friend, he eagerly scurried off to retrieve him from his crib.

I wanna visit that market. I'm guessing the vampire baguette has blood mixed in. Still think there's more to Avery than we've gotten so far but she seems nice. Maybe she's a cousin of the hunters from earlier. Maybe there was some old misunderstanding that caused a family scism over how to deal with monsters.  

Well, it took a bit longer to get back into the swing of writing than I expected, but, guys, gals, and non-binary pals, we're back! Thanks for the patience! Chapter Twenty             Ms. Akiyama was just sitting up in bed and rubbing the sleep out of her eyes when she heard Rei’s bedroom door creak open. She glanced at the time: just a little past 7am. Way too early for Rei to already be up on a Sunday. She listened carefully to soft footsteps making their way down the hallway, and smiled when she heard the folding doors in the hallway that hid the washer and dryer slide open.             “Oh, Rei,” Ms. Akiyama sighed sleepily, not having to fake the last part, as she found her daughter in the upstairs hallway, wearing fresh pajamas as she shoved a bundle of sheets into the washing machine. “Oh, sweetie, did you have an accident?” She asked as casually and nonjudgmentally as she could manage. Never treat the first accident like a big deal; it was a piece of advice Emma had given her and one that had been reinforced by all the parenting blogs she had read the day before.             Rei’s eyes were as wide as a deer’s in oncoming headlights as she stared back down the hallway at her mother. She braced for an explosion, for anger or frustration.             “Well, that’s okay, honey,” Ms. Akiyama said as she approached and shooed Rei away from the laundry machines, “let me take care of it, okay?”             Rei blinked, confused. “Sorry, Mom,” she said weakly, unsure of what else to say and off-balance from how just utterly…blasé her mother was being about this. Ms. Akiyama had never expressed true anger over Rei’s nighttime accidents back when they had been a regular thing, but she had certainly been frustrated. Why would she be anything less than that when it seemed to be returning out of nowhere years later?             “That’s quite alright, Rei, accidents happen,” Ms. Akiyama replied, acting like this was completely natural, like nothing was out of the ordinary. Because this was the new ordinary, right? Ms. Akiyama had been nervous about dealing with the first accident, but she found herself coming to it naturally. Old maternal instincts from when Rei was a toddler were kicking back in like they’d never been offline. “Why don’t you just go take a shower, and I’ll handle everything, okay?”             “O-okay…” Something was off, her mother wasn’t responding the way she would have expected her too, and Rei couldn’t explain why. Rei wanted to say that Ms. Akiyama was acting like this was a regular thing, but Rei knew how she acted when it was, and it wasn’t like this.             Rei continued to mull it over as she took a quick shower, but was no closer to an answer when she got out than she was when she got in. Towel wrapped around her, Rei made her way back to her bedroom, where she found her mom just finishing up cleaning the mattress.             “Once it dries, I’ll help you make the bed, okay? And I pulled your old mattress protector out of the closet, so if this keeps happening, we won’t have to worry about ruining the mattress, okay?”             Rei nodded, looking down at the all too familiar mattress protector she had been so happy to take off all those years ago.               “Get dressed and come downstairs,” Ms. Akiyama said as she walked past a flummoxed Rei, “I’ll make pancakes!”             “What is happening?” Rei asked out loud to her empty room once her mother had left. Why was she suddenly wetting the bed again? Perhaps more importantly, why was her mother so unconcerned, so blasé, so calm about it? Shouldn’t she be having more of a reaction? She didn’t even seem surprised that it had happened.             Wait…could her mother be behind it?             Could her mother be making her have accidents?             No, that was ridiculous. She knew the methods parents used for regressive behavioral therapy: her mom hadn’t started giving her any new medications or ‘vitamins,’ no recent doctor’s visits, no recent memory lapses.             But…if her mother hadn’t somehow caused it, then Rei truly was regressing back to her longtime bad habit. And last time she had been a bedwetter, the world was only just beginning to lose its collective mind; what would it be like being a bedwetter in this brave new world?             Maybe that was why her mother was acting this way. Lately, Rei’s Mom had seemed to be increasingly swallowing the propaganda, so maybe, to her, Rei wetting the bed was just a normal thing for a girl her age. Rei’s face blanched at the thought of where that might lead if Rei truly was becoming a bedwetter.             Of course, the thought of how much her mother was swallowing that propaganda lately led Rei back to the idea that maybe, just maybe, this could be her mother’s doing.             Rei genuinely wasn’t sure what was worse: the idea that her mother might be behind her accident or the idea of what her mother might do to her if Rei was starting to have accidents again.             Maybe…maybe she should talk to Riley about it. It would be an embarrassing subject to broach, but maybe she’d have something helpful to say. She picked up her phone, opened her messaging app, and immediately put her phone down again.             What if she really was just wetting the bed again? What if there wasn’t anything suspicious going on and she just told Riley that she was wetting the bed again for no reason? Why would Riley think of her if she knew Rei was a bedwetter?             Rei chewed her bottom lip. She was at a bit of a loss for what to do. She wished she had someone to talk to about this, but the only friend she’d ever had that knew of her bedwetting was Megan, and texting her…             Well, either she’d never understand, or she’d understand all too well, and Rei wasn’t sure which was worse.             It’s fine, Rei told herself, everything is fine. She did, after all, drink a lot of soda last night. Surely it wouldn’t happen a second time, right?             She just had to hope it wouldn’t.     Chapter Twenty-One The Greenham Post Monday, October 16th Adjudicatory Hearing for Greenham City Hall Bombers Delayed as Congress Convenes to Discuss New Bill To Amend Hayes Act             Originally planned for later this week, the Adjudicatory Hearing for Melanie Wright and Josie Stone, two young women accused of participating in the Greenham City Hall bombing earlier this month, has been delayed pending debate of a new bill, the Hayes Reassessment, Protection and Rehabilitation Act (or HaRPR Act), in a special session of Congress set to convene on Monday, October 16th.             When Melanie Wright and Josie Stone were taken into custody early last week, the Office of Juvenile Affairs initially moved swiftly to push the girls through the juvenile justice system, hoping to get them to an adjudicatory hearing as quickly as possible. Late Sunday night, however, the Office of Juvenile Affairs issued a statement saying that they would be postponing the adjudicatory hearing pending the outcome of the special session of Congress set to convene today. In the wake of this decision, Wright and Stone find themselves in indefinite limbo in a juvenile detention facility given that the judge denied the girls bail during their arraignment. The Office of Juvenile Affairs has not yet given any indication that further consideration will be given to the issue of bail given the new circumstances.             This decision has been criticized by some as the HaRPR Act, if passed, would implement harsher penalties for Wright and Stone. Critics argue that the two girls should face their consequences under the law as written at the time of the crime, while supporters of the decision argue that we should be given the chance to decide as a country how to handle this rising domestic threat before passing judgement on the girls.             If passed, the HaRPR Act would have two major effects. The first effects target acts of domestic terrorism with the specific aim of protesting the Hayes Act. The new bill would implement harsher penalties for such crimes, up to and including permanent revocation of majority status. Upon reaching the age of 28, girls convicted under the HaRPR Act whose parents are unwilling to maintain their status as legal guardians would become wards of the state. Opponents to this clause of the bill criticize it as effectively disenfranchising anyone who disagrees with the Hayes Act, but the popularity of the Hayes Act makes it unlikely that this concern will prevent the bill from passing. The second effect would be to establish both a rehabilitative path for those convicted under the bill and provide a way for the state to care for the aforementioned wards. While Congress has not officially revealed any specifics of this plan, inside sources suggest they may tap behavioral therapy experts Brighter Days to establish a minimum-security rehabilitation center.             The HaRPR Act is expected to pass quickly, with most people considering this special session to be largely a formality.             Chapter Twenty-Two             It was raining again, and this time it wasn’t a dream.             Rei was shivering under her umbrella as frigidly cold rain splashed on the ground around her. It was nearly freezing, and even under multiple layers of clothing, the wind sliced Rei to the bone. Any colder, and the roads would have been bad enough to cancel classes that Monday. Rei was grateful it wasn’t any colder.             Any other day, she might have chosen not to wait at the bus stop that morning. After all, since her mother had removed her from Professor Lewis’ class, she had no real reason to be on campus this early on Monday. She could have waited to go to campus until later that afternoon for her second class; especially since the weather had said the rain would clear up by late morning. But there was a reason Rei had still been going to campus early on Mondays and Wednesdays since her mother had unenrolled her from that class: lately, school was a reprieve from home. And that Monday morning, Rei needed that reprieve more than ever.             Rei had been sound asleep that morning, oblivious that her alarm was about to go off in just ten minutes, when Ms. Akiyama had silently slipped into her room. Rei had no idea that Ms. Akiyama had gently lifted back her daughter’s covers to reveal Rei in a pair of soaked pajamas laying in the center of pool of pee. So, of course, Rei had no idea that her mother had been waiting outside her room when her alarm did go off. Rei had no idea that her mother was just on the other side of the door as she struggled to consciousness with a rising sense of dread as she realized the bed was, once again, soaked.             Rei climbed out of bed, her wet pajamas sticking to her; she absolutely reeked of pee. Sighing, she set to the task of stripping her bed for the second day in a row, a chore she was already becoming quite tired of.             When a sharp knock rattled at Rei’s bedroom door, she froze, her soul having left her body for a moment. She shouted, “Don’t come in!” Or she tried too; it came out in a strangled cry. Not that it would have mattered—the door was already cracking open.             And then Rei Akiyama found herself staring down the gaze of her mother with pee-soaked pajamas clinging to her skin.             For Rei, it felt like high noon at the Akiyama house.             “Oh, you poor thing,” Ms. Akiyama said gently, “I’m so sorry this happened again.”             Rei had simply looked back at her mom and burst into tears.             The wheels of the number 9 county bus sprayed water as it pulled up against the sidewalk. Fortunately for her, it stopped well short of her person, keeping her from being caught in drenched clothing a second time that day.             Rei climbed aboard the bus, awkwardly collapsing her umbrella from inside the stairwell and uselessly shaking it a bit before bringing it still dripping into the bus. She smiled apologetically at the driver, wished him a good morning, and swiped her bus pass.             There was hardly anyone on the bus that morning, and Rei wasn’t particularly surprised. She was sure no one who didn’t absolutely need to be out in this weather would be. She quickly found a seat as the bus pulled away from the curb and went splashing down the street.             Her mother hadn’t been frustrated or angry or disappointed, just sad for her. In that moment, Rei had felt so utterly horrible that she had ever even thought to suspect her mother of doing this to her. And that meant Rei really was wetting the bed again, and it was her own fault. Rei really wasn’t sure how to feel about that.             “You’re probably just stressed out from school,” her mother had said over breakfast. “I’ve told you studying so hard isn’t good for you.”             “But…I like school…”             “I know you do, but maybe you’re just not ready for college yet.”             Rei saw where her mother was going with this and had wanted to get angry with her mother for trying to use this as excuse to get her to agree to an extended high school program, but…she just couldn’t quite muster the anger under the circumstances.             “Maybe,” her mother continued, “something like an extended high school program would be less stressful for you? I’m sure then you’d enjoy school even more, right? If it was less stressful?”             “Mom, can we just…not have that discussion this morning?”             Ms. Akiyama frowned, “then when can we have this discussion? Because I really think it’s one we need to have, Rei.”             “Never” was what Rei wanted to say, but she knew that was the wrong answer. So, instead, she shoveled a spoonful of cereal into her mouth, determined to avoid answering at all.             Ms. Akiyama sighed; her daughter was stubborn and hard-headed, for sure. She briefly considered dropping it—after all, hopefully her little playdate with Megan would loosen her up. Oh! That was it! “You know,” she said with a cadence that suggested she was changing the subject, “you’ll never guess who I was talking to the other day.”             Rei crunched down on more cereal. Her mom was right; she would never guess.             Ms. Akiyama pretended not to notice Rei’s attitude, “Heather Eckridge! You know? Your old friend Megan’s mom?”             Rei tensed up. What was this about? Why had she been talking to her and why did it matter?             “Well, you know, she was telling me Megan goes to one of those extended high school programs, and she loves it.”             Megan? Megan Eckridge? Megan, the last time Rei had seen her she’d been being pushed through the store in a stroller with a onesie straining over her diaper, Eckridge? Rei had to admit, this ploy caught her off guard—for a few reasons.             “You too used to be such good friends!” Ms. Akiyama continued, “wouldn’t it be nice to have such a good friend at school again?”             Rei wanted to point out that she had friends at school. Friend, at least. She had Riley. But Rei already knew what her mother really meant: friends she would approve of, friends who weren’t a bad influence.             “I was even looking into these programs the other day,” Ms. Akiyama kept talking, and Rei kept cringing as it got worse, “I know you think they are just housewife classes, but you know they offer a full catalogue of classes similar to Greenham community college? They even have clubs and extracurricular activities!”             Rei had continued to slowly crunch her way through her bowl of cereal as Ms. Akiyama had continued to extol the virtues of the extended high school program and how great it would be for her to reconnect with her old friend. Rei wasn’t interested in any of it and was out the door and into the frigid rain as soon as she could be. But even as the bus sloshed its way down the street towards her college, Rei couldn’t shake the conversation. Part of Rei knew she was fighting a losing battle, and her recent spat of bedwetting had cost her serious ground, but she couldn’t go silently back to high school without a fight. She refused to give her mother an easy victory.

Sorry that I missed this earlier because yours is an interesting take.  When Sofia described her relationship with her late husband, I read it as a Captain/First Mate D/s relationship.  But Sarah seems to be forging a Master/Slave relationship with Ian, and a Caretaker/Little relationship with Vickie.  I get the feeling that she doesn't know what she's doing because her mother hasn't taught her diddly squat.