Laura's Secret by Lucy Kelly

she still had a lot of things to get set in place before she’d feel totally moved in. She decided to talk to Mara about it and get her opinion. It had only been one day but she felt a connection to Mara, she was Laura’s first girlfriend. Sure her parents had made sure she had play dates with other children when she was small, only after time her illnesses and her intelligence combined to set her apart and she found she didn’t have enough in common with those little girls. Mara was her first real girlfriend, at least she hoped she was and Mara wasn’t just humoring the human chick.
    “Mara?” she called out, wheeling down the hallway from her room where she’d been resting after lunch. She was still getting used to being up in the day and sleeping at night.
    “I’m in here, hon,” Mara answered from the living room. When Laura rolled in she saw Mara putting books onto the bookcase. Looking around she noticed Mara had done a lot more than that. Pictures of her family had been hung on the walls. Her digital frame was on one of the end tables. From the door she could see the changing images. Mara was helping her turn her house into a home.
    “Oh wow, Mara, you didn’t have to do all this,” she said.
    “I didn’t mind, this is fun. And Lola has been helping too.”
    “Lola…who’s that?” Laura asked.
    Mara laughed, “You’re the one that hired her. She said she’s your interior designer and housekeeper. She was a little hurt that we cleaned the kitchen. She wanted me to ask you if you wanted her to leave.”
    “Oh, no I’d love for her to stay. I had told her that she could. Why didn’t she come and talk to me?”
    “I’m not sure, she said something about you not being awake yet,” said Mara. What the little Kobold had said was that until Laura’s magic had awakened, she’d be unable to see Lola. It was true that humans rarely had enough magic to see many of the world’s supernatural beings, especially those that were mostly magic themselves or from other realms. When Laura mated to a shifter, she’d pick up some of his magic from the mating. That would allow her to participate in supernatural society.
    “Well, I’m awake now. I’d like to thank her for all her hard work,” Laura said.
    “I’m sure you’ll get the opportunity. But first, what did you call me for?” Mara asked, placing the last book on the shelf from that particular box. She began to break the box flat so it could be put in a stack with others that Laura could see at the end of one couch.
    “I’m supposed to have therapy on my legs every day, or at least every other day. It helps me with a lot of issues. I have a list of physical therapists that are in this area. Most of them have experience with sports injuries. I was hoping you might know some of them and help me decide who I should try,” Laura explained. She was perfectly capable of evaluating and choosing a therapist on her own. She wanted Mara to be included in the decision because it was another way of letting the shifters know that she trusted them and that they could have input into her life—for the moment.
    “Sure, I’d be happy to take a look. Do you have a list?”
    “I have all the information in a file on the computer. Is now a good time to take a look?” she asked.
    “Absolutely, let me ask Tom to take these boxes out to the recycle container. I’ll meet you in the office.”
    Laura decided to stop by the kitchen first to get a glass of milk and an apple. Amazingly, she was hungry again. Rounding the corner she noticed there was a fire in the pizza oven she had added in one corner. The fireplace below looked a little strange, she hadn’t noticed before. Instead of the insert she had ordered, there was a little door. It was open a few inches.
    “Hi, Laura, did you need something?” said the small head suddenly sticking out around the edge of the door.
    “Um…a glass of milk and an apple? I mean that’s what I came into the kitchen for,”