Author Note: ….just moving the story along…we are now live
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Chapter 09 – On Your Own
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Current Day
Tabitha led the way to an outer building that Jackie/Belle hadn't seen in her two weeks at the clinic. "Darling, I'm just going to give this old girl to you because I have no use for her." She lifted the dust covered tarp and exposed a well loved 76 Chevy Nova. "I come out once a month to start her up but I really prefer my old truck. Tiny hates the car." Tabby whispered, "She can't fit in it any more."
Jackie/Belle was amazed at the old woman's generosity. "What if I pay you back after I get a job? I couldn't just take your car."
"Belle…darling…just having you around for company has been payment enough. So the big question remains….which pup are you taking with you?"
Jackie/Belle's heart sunk. She loved both! Pawn was the smaller of the two and if she was staying in a duplex, she couldn't possibly care for two potentially large dogs. She knelt down and buried her face in Grunt's fur. "I'm going to miss you boy."
Grunt whined and tried to cuddle but Jackie/Belle had to look away. "I'll take Pawn." The little checkerboard colored pup jumped around excitedly when he heard his name. Tabby held up her finger, "I almost forgot your bag!"
Jackie/Belle opened the car door and Pawn jumped up on the passenger seat. She scratched the pup behind the ears, "You did good!" The dog curled up on the cold leather and promptly went to sleep.
Tabitha came back, "Now, here's that wad of bills you had in your jacket and these are the things I found in the snow. You have the key and address…when I get my phone reconnected, I'll call and have you put down as a tenant."
Jackie/Belle was overwhelmed with gratitude for the old woman. "So, I'm Belle Morgan, until I remember what my real name is. I'm getting a job that doesn't require a driver's license or social security number and I'm wearing a wig in public."
Tabby smiled. "Honey, that's going to get you where you need to be until you remember. Always observe and don't approach strangers unless you feel safe. Everyone has an agenda these days and I don't want my new "granddaughter" getting hurt okay?"
She smiled, "Okay Grandma. Pawn and I will come back next weekend for a visit."
Tabby waved, "I'm counting on it." She clucked at the ducks and motioned for Missus Ed and her baby foal to follow. The Nova started on the first turn of the key and the engine roared to life. This was a nice car!
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Hyde sat with his arms crossed over his chest and listened to the story. Eric felt ridiculous after telling it but someone else had to know…in case something happened to him! Hyde lifted his shades, "So you're telling me you get to wear a goodie-bag for the next ten days until you go back for your sauna? What happens then?"
Fez held up his hand. "It's for the cleansing. Eric is unclean right now and the curse has to be removed. Later he will be blessed and the spirit can cross over."
"The zombie of dead Jackie Burkhart I presume." Hyde said flatly.
Eric nodded. "I'm getting messages from her. Songs on the radio that shouldn't be playing. Notes in my car from beyond the grave…"
"Forman, maybe you just need an Ouija Board so you can tell her to get the hell out of your life. This is a bunch of bullshit and you're making yourself crazy. Wait until Donna finds out."
Eric didn't care if Donna did or didn't know. This was Eric's life and it was in turmoil. Fez was really his only true friend right now and this curse had to be removed. "Sorry to bother you man…just let me know if you start hearing things that go bump in the night."
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Jackie/Belle gasped with glee. The "duplex" was a lovely little cottage that shared the lot with a separate house. The other house was empty but the shared yard was fenced and it was just like she imagined a gingerbread house to look "out of season". She parked on the street and carried Pawn with her little bag of belongings up the sidewalk and opened the small white gate. Pawn shot off for the front door making her laugh when he realized there was no doggie door to jump through.
The key fit effortlessly and she pushed open the door to find a living room filled with old dusty furniture. She had a sofa that needed a good cleaning, a couple of tables, big windows that had raggedy curtains. She could always sew more. Did she know how to sew? Hmmmm….. Walking through the living room, she noticed that it had one bedroom and had a smaller one that was obviously being used as an office.
"Pawn! Don't chew on the sofa!" Jackie/Belle scolded. Pawn put his head between his paws, stuck his rump in the air but the happy tail was wagging back and forth. "You are too cute for your own good! Now, let's get some lights and gas in this place. We're going to make it our home!"
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Eric went to work the next day with the talisman tucked under his shirt. Showering with it had been a bitch. If the flannel got wet, then the candy necklace would dissolve and he'd have a wet sock lying against his chest all day. He ended up wrapping it in a baggie, tying off the open end and that seemed to work. Just remembering what happened the last time he took it off was not something he wanted to repeat!
He felt very fortunate that the radio wasn't playing stupid shit like One Eyed Purple People Eater or something eerie from Black Sabbath! So the burden of wearing the magical pouch evened out the annoyance of just having to wear it for the next ten days. Work went smooth; there was talk of maybe a permanent tutorship with the prep school. As the week went on, Eric was actually looking forward to the sweat lodge…he just wanted this curse to be over!
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By the end of the week, Jackie/Belle had new linens, dishes, a three day set of clothes and she ran out of money. While spending her cash, she stopped at a second hair store and found a blonde wig which was cut in a short bob and grabbed a pair of costume eyeglasses. She practiced tucking her long brunette hair under the wig and changing the tone and volume of her voice.
The next morning, she walked into a diner that was in the same strip mall as Tabitha's feed store that had a job opening for a waitress. "Well honey, we get most of our business after school is out so I need to make sure you'll be here every day." The manager of the diner, Max, was a decent fellow who knew Tabitha and welcomed the "granddaughter" with open arms.
"I don't have anything else going on." She replied. "I will be your perfect employee."
Max gave her a simple application to fill out and she used Tabby as a reference and her new address and was given a short pink uniform for work. "We'll see you tomorrow morning!"
Jackie/Belle was excited. Maybe now she would meet someone who knew who she was. Maybe her life would finally make sense. She stroked Pawn's furry belly. "I don't think I was a waitress in my old life. I would probably have worked in the mall selling cheese!" Why did that seem familiar?
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