“Hit me,” I say, sliding onto my favourite bar stool. “And make it strong.”
Maudie eyes my dirt-encrusted skin and bloody fingernails as she grabs the kettle. “Oh honey, what’d she do this time? Bury you alive?”
I nod.
“Fire last week? And poison yesterday?” She pats my hand. “Either this is going to be the most thrilling story ever or she’s a bona fide pantser.”
She slides my Earl Grey (white with one) over and I take a sip, my tense muscles easing instantly.
I take another sip and gaze around. Maudie’s Basement Bar is busy tonight. Usual crowd. Most of the regular characters are sporting genre-specific injuries but I blink when I see Donny near the window — the dashing English gentleman is now half cyborg.
I raise my eyebrows.
Maudie shrugs. “His writer’s switched to a Sci-Fi / Romance mash-up.”
I chuckle. “Guess I’m lucky mine sticks to Action and Adventure. On Earth.”
She takes my empty cup. “Refill?”
I nod.
“Where’s that nice young lady you came in with last time? The nuclear physicist?”
I look away. “Gone. Written out completely in the latest edit.”
“Oh honey, what a week you’ve had. Perhaps you need something stronger than tea?” She winks and hands me an enormous slice of chocolate cake.
“Thanks, Maudie. You’re the best. I don’t know what I’d do if this place didn’t exist. We all appreciate it, you know. The things our writers put us through… just knowing we can come here for a brief respite makes all the difference.”
I glance at my watch. Almost time to get back.
I close my eyes and stretch out my arms. My fingers bump something feathery soft.
“Watch it, mate,” a gruff voice says.
Startled, I open my eyes. A stunning pink and purple butterfly glares at me.
“Sorry, little lady. Didn’t see you there.”
“Not a lady.” He lands on the bar. “Hit me, Maudie. And none of that tea nonsense. I need the hard stuff.”
“Rough day?” I inquire.
He laughs. “Something like that.”
Maudie pours his water. “What’s wrong, hon?”
“I’m sick of being a background element,” he says.
“I hear you,” I reply. “I’ve been the bad guy forever. I mean, why can’t I be the hero just once?”
The butterfly nods.
I appraise him closely. “Actually, everyone loves pretty butterflies. You would make a perfect undercover spy.”
I grab my hat and stand up. “See you next time, Maudie,” I say. She doesn’t respond. Too busy scribbling in that tatty notebook of hers.
***
“Today we’re joined by bestselling author, Maudie Jones-Smith.”
“Hello everyone, happy to be here.”
“Maudie, you’re renowned for your inventive plots but your latest release definitely takes the cake. A reformed criminal and a butterfly teaming up for a spy mission? Amazing! Please tell us, how do you come up with these super creative ideas?”
Maudie smiles. “I just listen to what the characters tell me.”
Jane Brown is a web programmer and short fiction writer who lives by the beach in Australia. Her stories have been published in The Centropic Oracle, Etherea Magazine and Every Day Fiction.
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