Patrick Two: Mystery Lady

Tonight at the bar, I had a new trick. Emmanuel had made a suit of chains for me to wear and then escape from. It went well, but I still wasn't getting the turnout from the audience that I wanted. Part of it was because I was still performing at the bar, but Emmanuel also had a hunch that it was because I didn't have an assistant. People like to stare at pretty girls during a magic act. I figured he was probably right since the majority of the audience was made of males. For some reason, women were few and far between in the audience. I guessed that they preferred the lighter types of magic, and maybe my act was too dark for most of them to enjoy. There were always a few women I saw, but never as many as men. After the show, a blonde woman with purple highlights in her hair walked over to me as I was packing up my things.

"Hey, I liked your show tonight."

"Really? Thank you. Most women don't, at least I don't think they do. It's too intense or something."

"I can be intense, Hunter."

I finished closing the latches on one of my trunks, and took a glimpse of this woman standing in front of me. It caught me off guard that she called me Hunter because that was my stage name, and my whole life, everyone had called me Patrick. I didn't particularly like her calling me that, but I also didn't stop her. Truth be told, I wasn't interested, so I didn't feel like it was necessary to tell her I disliked it, since I'd probably never see her again after this. Despite my annoyance, I did notice her lavender colored eyes that matched the highlights in her hair.

"Is that right, Miss?"

"Ephemera. My name is Ephemera Wallace."

"It's nice to meet you, I'm Patrick-"

"I know who you are, Hunter."

"Right."

I looked down shyly, feeling kind of stupid. Obviously she knew who I was, I was a celebrity in this town. I was still unsure if Ephemera was trying to hit on me earlier or if she was just an admiring fan. Ephemera crossed one arm over the other and continued to linger around me.

"So, what does a lady have to do to get a guy to buy her a drink around here?"

Ephemera's red lips turned upward into a smile as she asked me that question. That was the cue I was looking for, happy that she was finally telling me what she wanted from me.

"What's your poison, Ephemera?"

"A Captain and Coke would be fabulous, Hunter."

I headed over to the bar to get her and myself a drink. Emmanuel caught my eye and we silently communicated with each other. He would pack up the car and bring the equipment back to my house. I nodded my head towards him, and he did in response as well, before stepping out of the bar with the equipment in tow. As I turned my attention back to Ephemera, she had found herself a table and was sitting patiently at it, glancing in my direction. I found myself finally checking her out. She was definitely beautiful. I've never felt like I was the type to seek out love, I'm fine with my life the way things are. I don't feel like anything's missing in my life because I'm not dating. I've had some one night stands, but nothing serious. I found myself wondering what Ephemera wanted from me, did she want some fun for just tonight, or did she want a relationship?

"Patrick."

The bartender jarred me from my thoughts, handing me the two drinks I'd ordered. I smiled at her and took the drinks, walking over to Ephemera. I sat down with her and took a swig of my scotch.

"Nervous, huh?"

I nodded, and looked into my glass. I didn't know what to think of Ephemera and I didn't really know where to start. My dad had always been the smooth talker, not me. Apparently I hadn't inherited that part of his personality. Ephemera seemed too forceful for my taste, at least upon first impression. I decided not to write her off completely, since she was nice, and also nice to look at.

"Um, so what did you think of the show?"

"Honestly? I think you need an assistant. I mean, honey, you and your engineer are excellent eye candy, but you need pizzazz in your act. You're great at the illusions, but it's clunky. He's good at helping you get ready for it, but I think I could help. I worked as an assistant before, and it doesn't take much on my part, I just help you get ready for things, and take things away when you need to move on to the next illusion. You can tell me as little or as much as you want about the trick. Promise. I'm not here to screw you over."

Ephemera's words took me by surprise. I didn't think she was trying to apply for a job as my assistant, I had truthfully thought she was trying to flirt with me or something. I was secretly happy though, that she hadn't been trying to start a relationship or ask me out. I don't know how I would have reacted to those things.

"You know I'm going to have to discuss this with Emmanuel first before I give you an answer, right?"

"Of course. No worries. Thanks for the drink, Hunter."

With that, Ephemera finished the rest of her drink, put the glass down on the table, and walked out of the bar. I watched her ass as she sauntered away from me, the door closing behind her before I realized she hadn't given me her phone number or any other way to contact her. Shit.