Chapter 7

Todd helps Annette put the groceries away once they get home. He could tell Annette was tired. "Anna go lay down and rest. I'll finish with the groceries. Ill wake you up later to we can go to that cafe," said Todd.

"Todd, I told you I'm fine," said Annette right before she yawns. "Oh dearie me. Guess I am tired. Do you need me to show you where everything goes?"

"I'll be fine. Go lay down. I'll wake you when it's time to go to that Café."

Annette grabs her cane so she could get to her bedroom. She was a bit sluggish when she was tired.

"On second thought..." Todd helps Annette to her room. He makes sure she was laying down and underneath the blankets, fast asleep, before making his way back to the kitchen. Todd opens all the cupboards to see where everything goes. It's been less than a day since the start of his stay with Annette and he wanted to make sure he knew where everything went. It takes almost an hour since he had to resort a few things. Todd ended up putting the sugar in the fridge and the milk in the cupboard.

Todd stands back to admire his work. "At least I didn't do too bad. Still part of the contract with a summoner to help out but it is the life of a demon." He washes his hands off in the sink. "So far, Annette hasn't given me any orders other than to get myself cleaned up, rest, and eat. A bit out of the norm but I kinda like it." He makes his way back towards Annette's bedroom. He slowly opens the bedroom door and checks in on her. Annette was still sound asleep. Her breathing was steady with a slight snore.

Todd closes the door quietly. He decided to let Annette to sleep a bit longer. At her age, rest was best needed. "Might as well explore the place and see what I'll be working with for however long this contract will be." Todd heads outside to the backyard to see about this garden that Annette had told him about.

The garden was fairly big. It almost extended out to the property line, which was close to the woods. "Looks like I'll have to keep my eye on the woods now. Who knows if anyone else summoned my brethren recently. Still makes me wonder why that imp was under the other Todd's bed." Todd walks around the garden, taking note on the many plants and flowers. There were snapdragons, bleeding hearts, daffodils, hyacinths, and hydrangeas, just to name a few.

Todd looks at the different colors in the garden. He'll had color to it but not the color you expect it to have. The colors were more....muted. The colors that Todd was seeing were vibrant and beautiful. Todd was no stranger to seeing beauty, it's just never really interested him.

Everytime Todd is summoned, it's a new opportunity to see something new. But not all things new are good. Many years ago, he was summoned during the time period of the Salem Witch Trials. Not a story worth telling but all that will be said is that contract didn't last long. Not all witches he met were good. That was not a good time period to be a part of.

After a few minutes, Todd was pulled from his thoughts by a sound. It was faint at first but he could soon hear it. It sounded like meowing from a cat. He decided to figure out where the cat was coming from and soon enough a black and white cat comes out of the bushes.

"Well hello there, small one. What brings you here?" Todd asks.

The cat meows and sits down at Todd's clawed feet.

Todd kneels down to be closer to the cat. "So how long have you lived in this garden?"

For any sane person that would come across Todd, by appearances, he was talking to a cat. But in fact he was having a full conversation with the cat. After spending thirty minutes talking to the cat, Todd heads back inside. He heads into Annette's room to wake her up. Unbeknownst to him, the cat had followed him inside. Todd gently shakes Annette on her shoulder to wake her up. "Time to wake, Annette."

Annette pulls the blanket over her head. The cat decided to jump up onto the bed and lay by her head, purring loudly.

"Oh my...." Annette slowly pulls the blanket off of her head. She takes her glasses off of the night stand and puts them on. She first sees Todd standing by her bed side and then she sees the cat laying on the pillow next to her. "Come kitty. Time for your dinner." She slowly gets out of bed. "Mind being a dear and helping out your grandmother, Todd?"

Todd carefully pulls Annette to her feet. "I made a friend," said Todd as he points to the cat.

"I can see that. Let me wake up more before we go to the Café. It won't be a good idea if I drive drowsy. Go give the cat the can of food that is in the cupboard next to the microwave."

"Will do." Todd picks up the cat, earning a small hiss from it before leaving Annette's room. He takes the cat into the kitchen and gives it some food, which it greedily eats. "It's not going to be your last meal, small one. Annette will take good care of you." He pets the cat while it eats. After a bit, the cat finishes eating and Todd lets it back outside. The cat runs across the yard, to the garden and discovered into the bushes.

Annette comes into the kitchen. She was still a bit sleepy. "Ready to go?"

"Would you like me to drive? I can still tell you are tired."

"Do you know how to drive, Todd? I didn't know you have a driver's license."

"There's a lot you don't know about me still. Let's go. Tell me where to drive and I'll take us to the Café."

"Thank you, Todd." Annette grabs her purse and keys off of the coffee table before heading outside.

Todd follows after Annette, locking the door behind him. Keys or not, he made sure the house was locked up. He wanted to make sure that Annette's house was safe.