Supernaturally Yours Episode 7: The Pink Dinner

Supernaturally Yours Episode 7

 

Franz had laid awake for most of the morning just thinking about Rob. He was sure that Rob was not going to make it out of this dinner better than he started. He was aware of the tricks that witches played on people that had crossed them. The whole thing smelled like a trap.

Actually, it smelled like burning sage. Griselda opened her shop for the day at 10 am. She waved a bundle of sage around the room and blessed every corner of it. Franz tried to sleep, but the smell kept him awake. She hummed as she went along and loudly at that.

“Do you have to do that?” Franz asked.

“Yes, each corner of the shop must be blessed to allow the energy to flow,” Griselda said. She didn’t expect him to understand, but she felt gracious enough to answer his question. She went back to ignoring him and and continued to hum loudly.

“Must you hum so loudly?”

“It harmonizes with the energy, sending positive vibes throughout the universe,” Griselda said, clearly making things up at this point. “If you don’t like it, close your ears.”

Franz rolled his eyes at her and laid back down on the cushions he had piled up.

Either Griselda stopped humming or he was finally able to drown her out. Franz slowly drifted off to sleep. He didn’t have a dreamless sleep.

He dreamt that he was in his apartment watching satellite television, a day like any other. There was suddenly a knock on his door. A strange feeling came over him. He wasn’t expecting any visitors and he knew that something terrible was on the other side of the door. He could see its shadow leaking in from underneath the door. He slowly got up and walked over to the door. He peered into the peephole to see who it was. There was only darkness. He reluctantly reached for the door handle. It began to flap up and down; someone or something was jiggling it from the other side. Franz couldn’t help but think of the scene in Jurassic Park where the velociraptor learned how to open doors. As suddenly as it began, the door handle stopped moving. Franz looked back into the peephole only to find nothing there.

Franz grabbed the door handle, defying it to act up again. He flung the door open and saw the hallway outside was gone, leaving a black void in its place. There was a low rumble that echoed throughout the space. Then over it all, a woman’s laughter was heard. It started off innocently enough, but then it morphed and mixed with the rumbling and became more deviant with each passing second. Something was coming… something was coming for him.

He was awakened when he heard a door slam shut. He sat up and found that he wasn’t in his apartment, but still at Griselda’s shop. He searched for her and saw that she was standing at the front door. Seeing the deep orange light from outside, Franz knew that it was sunset. He didn’t expect to sleep so long.

“Oh good, you’re awake,” Griselda said, waving a Chinese fan. “You were moaning and groaning all day. I had to close up the shop early because people were disturbed by it. I suppose that’s what I get for humming at you this morning. You cost me money, boy.”

“Well, it’s your own damn fault,” Franz said, raising the chains on his arms. “You could have let me leave with Rob last night.”

“You would have liked that, wouldn’t you?” Griselda laughed. “No, that’s not how we play the game.”

“It is a game to you!” Franz knew it.

Griselda didn’t dignify him with an answer. She started pulling the four tables together in a row. She brought the cushions over to the tables and arranged them so that there were two at every table. She started placing placards at each spot with the names of her friends on them.

“That looks, alright, doesn’t it?” Griselda asked.

Franz didn’t care. “I’m not being paid to be your set designer. Put the cushions wherever the hell you want.” Though Franz couldn’t help but wonder if there was a place set for him. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to eat anything, but at least he wouldn’t look like an animal chained to something while his master ate.

Franz was alerted by the sound of someone walking down the sidewalk. He looked through the window of the front door and saw Rob standing there. He was carefully holding a casserole pan while wearing oven mitts. Without available hands to knock on the door, Rob used his head to accomplish this task.

“Delivery,” Rob said.

Griselda came out of the kitchen and answered the door. She smiled as she saw the casserole pan. “It smells divine. Do come in.” She stepped aside and allowed Rob to enter.

Rob saw that Franz was still chained to a table. He didn’t want to say anything, but Franz looked terrible. If it was possible, Franz looked paler than usual. “How are you doing, Franz?” Rob asked.

“I’m doing fine, just relaxing,” Franz lied.

“You don’t even get a place at the table?” Rob asked Franz.

“Not really,” Franz replied. “These are decent folks.”

“Please allow me to take this into the kitchen,” Griselda said, taking the casserole pan from Rob. She walked into the kitchen and set the pan on the tiny stove. She removed the tin foil from the goulash and allowed the smell to overtake her. It smelled wonderful, as if she had made it herself. The proof would be in the taste itself. She decided to wait until her guests arrived before she had some of the goulash. She put the foil back onto the casserole pan and slid it into the oven, to give the illusion she had baked it.

Rob took the oven mitts off and sat down next to Franz. “Is she treating you alright?” Franz held up the chains around his hands and gave a frustrated sigh. “Right. It could be worse, I suppose. You could have been stripped naked and strapped to the roof. That would have been very bad for your complexion.” He offered Franz a sympathetic smile.

There was a knock on the door. Rob and Franz looked at the front door and saw an older woman wearing a loose fitting fuschia top and matching hat. Griselda walked over to the door and opened it. “Winifred, darling! Come in!” She stepped aside and let the Pink Lady inside. Her skirt was disappointingly black.

Winifred looked at Franz and frowned. “Why do you have a vampire chained to a table, Selda?” She was carrying three different bags that gave Franz the impression that she had been to the mall in the San Francisco. “Since when do you associate with vampires? Such trash.”

“You sure do know how to make a guy feel welcome,” Franz said, baring his fangs. “The Nineties called, they want their outfit back.” He chuckled to himself while Winifred checked out her get up. She didn’t think there was anything wrong with it. This amused Franz even more.

“Jadzia and Patty are parking right now,” Winifred said, setting the bags down on the table. “Doreen’s not coming. She got stuck at a board meeting.” She noticed the placards and looked for the one with her name on it. When she found it, she sighed. “Why do you always have to seat me next to Jadzia? You know I think she smells funny.”

“Because it amuses me,” Griselda said. She brought out candles and placed them on the tables. She carefully lit them one by one. She could have used a spell to do it, but she enjoyed the smell of lit matches. “It’s my party and you will sit where I put you.”

When Griselda wasn’t looking, Winifred switched Jadzia’s placard with Doreen’s.

“So, where’s this goulash that you made?” Winifred asked.

“It’s almost ready,” Griselda said.

A moment later, there was another knock on the door. Two older women wearing black tops with pink flower pins on them, from what Franz could tell, were standing outside. Griselda snapped her fingers and the door swung open, allowing the women to enter.

“Jadzia! Patty! So glad you could make it!” Griselda hugged them and let them find their places. “Please sit down. Would you like some wine and cheese?” She watched as Jadzia sat a seat away from where she was intended to sit and she instantly glared at Winifred. “Fred, wine?”

“No, thank you, dear.” Winifred gave Griselda a smug look.

“What’s with the pair of fangs in the corner?” Jadzia asked. “Is he for dessert?”

“He’s collateral,” Griselda said. “Please feel free to ignore him. I invited his friend there as well.”

“Oh, the squirrel guy?” Patty chuckled. “He’s cute.”

“He is cute!” Winifred giggled.

“He’s not completely unfortunate looking,” Griselda said.

Rob began to blush.

“Oh, the door is still open.” Griselda snapped her fingers and the door slammed shut just as a young woman with pink hair was going to walk in.

“Is that Piper?” Patty asked. “Who invited her?”

The women looked amongst themselves and no one confessed. Jadzia was the guilty one and didn’t want to be ostracized. She liked Piper because she was the next closest to her age. She didn’t understand why they hated Piper so much. Yeah, she had pink hair and liked to listen to loud music, but that didn’t make her a bad person, right?

Griselda opened the door manually and smiled at Piper. “Oh, look at you, darling.” She hugged the young woman and let her enter the room. She quickly darted over to the table and picked up all of the placards and stuck them into her pocket, not wanting Piper to know that she hadn’t made one for her.

“Yes, there’s a vampire in the corner, ignore him.” Griselda went into the small kitchen and threw the placards in the trash. “Piper, do you want some wine and cheese?”

“Yes, please,” she replied happily as she took her seat next to Winifred.

Griselda pulled the wine and cheese out of the small refrigerator and walked it over to the table. As she set the tray of cheese on the table in front of Piper. “Please, eat as much as you’d like, but keep in mind dinner is just about ready.”

Rob was a little overwhelmed to see the women sitting at the tables staring at him. He felt as if they were sizing him up, looking for the biggest piece of meat to satisfy their lusty, cannibalistic tendencies. Were they cannibals? He supposed they looked the type, except for the Pink Lady. Why would they want a vegetarian dish if they were cannibals? Sometimes his mind ran away without him.

“Dinner is ready!” Griselda walked into the small kitchen and pulled the casserole pan out of the over. “Doesn’t that smell good, ladies?” The women gave their approving hums.

Griselda came out of the kitchen carrying two plates with a big servings of goulash. She set a plate down in front of Piper and one in front of Winifred. They both grabbed their utensils and got ready to dig in, but Griselda stopped them.

“Not until everyone gets theirs,” she said.

She walked back into the kitchen and got two more plates for Jadzia and Patty. They waited anxiously for Griselda to fix herself a plate so that they could dig in. Griselda emerged from the kitchen with a plate for herself and one for Rob.

“Thank you,” Rob said, receiving his plate.

“It’s only right.” She winked at him as she sat down.

“Doesn’t Franz get some?” Rob asked.

“Yeah? Why not me?” Franz asked, knowing full well he couldn’t eat it, even if he wanted to.

“Aww, the vampire thinks it’s people,” Winifred said. All of the women started laughing.

“Fuck you, bitches,” Franz spit. “I hope you all choke.”

Rob looked at Franz and shook his head cautiously at him. He didn’t think it was a good idea to tick these ladies off. He saw the way that they were looking at him and did not get a good feeling from it.

“Let us pray.” Griselda raised her hands and all of the women raised theirs then joined them. “All praise the glorious Goddess who blesses and caresses us. Blessed be.”

“Blessed be,” the other women said.

“Blessed be,” Rob said, not wanting to be left out.

Griselda’s friends picked up their utensils and dove into the goulash. The reviews were immediate. They all nodded their heads as they chewed their food. They mumbled their approval and gave Griselda a thumbs up.

“It’s an old family recipe,” Griselda said. “It’s so easy, even a squirrel could do it!”

All of the women laughed. Rob joined in uncomfortably. Franz rolled his eyes and sighed.

The women had a good time eating and badmouthing witches from other covens. Rob ate his goulash and waited to be excused. He knew that he and Griselda had some business to talk about and didn’t want to skedaddle before it was time.

Everyone’s plate was mostly empty. Rob still had some on his plate because he felt it tasted funny because it didn’t have any real meat in it and he had never had anything with eggplant in it before. The women seemed to enjoy it, so he guessed that Evan did a good job. He looked over at Griselda and saw that her plate was half full. Rob worried. Did she not like it? Did Evan eventually decide that it needed something more than what the recipe called for? The uncertainties ran through his mind like a rampaging rhino.

Franz wanted to go home. He had been stuck in this shop for almost twenty-four hours. He was ready to leave. He tugged at the chains that restrained his arms and legs and sighed. Stupid witch magic, he thought.

“Well, it’s about time I get going,” Piper said, standing up. “I have a final that I have yet to study for. Dinner was very good, Selda. Maybe I’ll have you cook for me one day.” She turned to Rob and smiled. “We’ll be seeing you, Squirrel Boy.”

“Hopefully, I’ll be Human Boy again and not Squirrel Boy,” Rob said, kind of hinting to Griselda that he had done what she asked. He looked to Griselda but she wasn’t paying any attention.

Patty patted her stomach and she burped. “Oh, my goodness. Compliments to the chef.” Then she burped again. Her stomach gave a rattle and a churn. “Something doesn’t agree with me. Probably that spinach dip I had for lunch.”

Jadzia’s stomach gave a loud growl. She clutched it as a pain that she had never known coursed through her body. “My stomach is acting up, too.”

Then Winifred doubled over, holding her stomach. She cried out as it felt like something was trying to claw its way out of her abdomen. “What is happening to me?”

Griselda looked at her friends and wondered what was going on. She looked at the goulash on her plate and inspected it. She picked up the plate and held it up for further scrutiny. She even sniffed it. She then turned to Rob. “Did you stick to my recipe exactly?”

“Of course!” Rob said.

“Did you use gluten free pasta like I had asked?”

Rob didn’t like the look that she was giving him. Her stare could have flayed the skin off his body. “Yes,” he said cautiously.

Griselda honed in on the uncertainty in his voice. She slowly set the plate down and turned her whole body to Rob. She ignored the cries of her friends that were rolling on the floor. “Are you certain you used gluten free pasta?”

“Yes!” Rob tried to sound more confident, but doubt had managed to sneak in there. “I mean, I think so. The guy at the store said that all pasta was gluten free.”

Griselda glowered at Rob and slammed her fist down on the table. “You fool! Do you know what you’ve done?” she shouted. It was her stomach’s turn to revolt. She grabbed her gut and doubled over. She looked to her ailing friends and watched as rolled around. “You’ve killed us. You’ve killed us all!”

“What are you talking, Selda?” Jadzia cried. “I thought you made the goulash.”

“The squirrel made it,” Griselda admitted between pangs of pain.

From his position near the back of the shop, Franz watched in confusion as the woman began to writhe and scream. What in the world was going on? He stood up cautiously as the women began to crawl away from the tables. He turned to Rob and shouted. “What the hell did you do?”

“I just brought the goulash!”

“KILL HIM,” the pain stricken women cried. “Kill him! Kill him!” They all managed to get to their feet, holding their ever expanding bellies. Rob stood up and backed away from the women. They had their arms stretched out and ambled towards Rob like zombies.

“Yes, my sisters, exact your revenge!” Griselda called to them, moving the tables out of the way. “He is the one who poisoned us!”

“Kill him. Kill him,” they cried.

Rob stood by Franz and they put their backs against the back wall of the shop. There was nowhere else to go. The women came towards them, their faces now dry and shriveled, mouths agape housing their screams.

Piper and Patty grabbed Franz by his shirt collar and clung to him. They put their faces close to his and he could feel some intense heat coming from their mouths. In a matter of seconds, their bodies suddenly caught fire. Pink flames erupted from underneath their skin and crackled like a firecracker. Franz did his best to push the flaming women off of him. They screamed as their bodies crumbled into a smoldering pile of ash at his feet.

Jadzia and Winifred grabbed Rob and shoved him up against the wall. “Kill him! Kill him!” they chanted. Jadzia licked Rob’s cheek with her dried tongue, the heat almost unbearable. Rob yelled and begged for help. Franz reached over and pulled the two women off of him. Winifred’s left arm still clung to Rob’s shirt collar. Franz pushed Winifred and Jadzia towards Griselda and they burst into pink flames. The women screamed shrilly as they burned into a collected pile of ash. Rob saw that Winifred’s arm was still clinging to him. He shrieked and he threw it onto the pile where it disintegrated.

Franz and Rob looked up at Griselda, who was crying at the loss of her friends. “You have single-handedly destroyed my coven. You will pay for this.”

“Why? All of this is your fault!” Franz shouted.

“Silence!” Griselda pointed at Franz and with a flash of pink light, Franz was a goldfish.