“Which one of you was smoking weed in my kitchen?” my mother demanded, her cheeks flushed with fury.
“No one smokes weed anymore,” Jack said, choking back laughter. “Not anyone cool, anyway. And definitely not with…that. Besides, when would we have had time to smoke it? We walked in and went straight to dinner.”
My mother focused on Harriet. “You left the room. Darcie, perhaps you should pay more attention to what your latchkey children are doing after school.”
Harriet released a bitter laugh. “You think I’d put that crap in my lungs? No, thank you. And besides, Mom and Ella were in the kitchen a lot longer than I was gone from the table.”
My daughter had just thrown me under the bus.
For good measure, she added, “And remember? There was a funny smell.”
Then she walked to the front door and waited with her hand on the handle.
It was a hit and run.
“That’s mine,” Nana Stella said, stepping forward to take it from her stunned daughter. “I can’t believe I left it on the kitchen counter.”
“It was in the sink,” my mother said, starting to regain her senses.
“Oops. See, kids? Don’t smoke weed or you’ll suffer memory loss. But I’m going to need this later,” Nana said, stuffing the distended glass into her purse. “Come on, Darcie,” she said as she scuttled for the front door. “I’ve got some partyin’ to do when I get home.”
All eyes turned to me for answers, the kids barely suppressing their laughter. Of course, I had more answers than they knew, but I wasn’t about to admit to it. The real question was why my grandmother had stepped up and taken the blame.
“Really, Darcie,” my mother snapped, her eyes blazing.
“Why are you blaming me?” I asked, hoping my guilt didn’t show on my face.
“Gambling. Drinking. Doing drugs,” she spat out. “Mother never did such things when she lived with me.”
“Maybe she was ready to live a little after being trapped in your rule-guided hell,” I said, then instantly regretted it. Not only was it hurtful, but I’d set a terrible example for my children.
“Mom,” I said, my tone softening. “That was uncalled for.”
“I should say,” she said in a stiff voice.
“I’m sorry. Truly. I didn’t mean it.”
She gave a stiff nod.
Not knowing how to fix this, I hurried out, the kids following behind like baby ducks.
Nana Stella and Cyn were waiting for us on the sidewalk. Ella soon joined us, and from the look she gave me, I knew she wasn’t going to let this go. Not that I would have expected any different.
“I’m sorry for that ugly display of my temper,” I said.
Elena wrapped her arms around my waist and hugged me tightly. “Grandma shouldn’t have accused Harriet of doing something bad.”
I could hear the pain in her voice. For some reason she worshipped my mother, and her grandmother had dabbed some tarnish on her shiny image tonight.
“She was wrong to do that,” I said. “But perhaps she was concerned for Harriet’s welfare.”
Ella released a short cough, and the glare Harriet shot me let me know exactly what she thought of that.
What a disaster.
“I’ve got a headache,” I told them all. “I’m going to head home. Jack, are you good with taking Nana Stella?”
“Yeah,” he said, looking confused.
I opened my car door. “Great. Thank you. I’ll see you at the shop tomorrow, Cyn.”
And I got into my car and drove away.
Chapter Fourteen
I wasn’t lying about the headache, but the pain in my head was nothing compared to my confusion and fear. The worst part about it was that I didn’t know how to get answers, and I didn’t have the time to search like I should. If this had happened twenty years ago, when I didn’t have any responsibilities other than going to college classes, it would have been easy to pour myself into finding out what I needed to know. But I was forty-two, the newly divorced mother of three children, and I had both a full-time job and a side hustle. I barely had time to shower, let alone unravel the mysteries of the supernatural.
I didn’t feel safe to be around anyone else, plus I didn’t have the energy, so I sequestered myself in my room. Harriet and Elena came in to check on me and found me lying on my bed in my dark bedroom, watching Netflix.
“Are you okay, Mommy?” Elena asked as she stared down at me.
“It’s just like I told you, I have a bad headache and I need to rest.”
“Hangovers cause headaches.”
I nearly laughed, but the serious look in her eyes stopped me. “I had a few sips of wine to appease your grandma, not nearly enough to give me a buzz, let alone a hangover.” I took both of her hands in mine. “I’m not an alcoholic, Elena, but if you like, we can dump out every bottle of alcohol in the house.”
Her forehead furrowed, and then she shook her head. “No. That’s okay. Deep down I know you’re not. I’m just so…”
“Anxious?”
She nodded.
I pulled her down and hugged her tight. “There’s nothing to be scared of, baby. You go get some rest. You can pack for Dad’s tomorrow.”
She pulled back and looked down at me. “I already packed after school.”
Of course she had. “I love you, Elena.”
The divorce had made her grow up faster than she should have. I hated that, but it was one more thing I was powerless to change. It hurt knowing my mother probably blamed me for that too.
“I love you too, Mom,” she said, then gave me a kiss on the cheek before she left.
“Was there another fire, Mom?” Harriet asked as soon as her little sister walked out of the room.
I considered telling her the truth, but I didn’t want to scare her. The kids were supposed to go to their father’s house in the morning, so I’d hopefully have time to dig deep and figure out what was going on. No point in frightening her before I did that.
“Did you see a fire?” I teased.
“No,” she said. “But I smelled smoke.”
“That was probably Ella. She accidentally burned something on Grandma’s stove.” I hated lying to her, but I suspected she’d refuse to leave if she knew the truth. I needed time to figure this out, and I also needed to know the kids were safe while I did that.
She sat on the edge of my bed and looked deep into my eyes. “I’m scared.”
I reached out and scooped her hand in mine, squeezing. “Why?”
“I don’t know. Something just feels off. It all started the night of your boss’s house fire, and then when I saw your hair…” She shook her head. “It makes no sense, but I just have this ominous feeling that something is about to happen.”
I forced a chuckle and squeezed again. “The only thing that’s going to happen is that Logan’s going to ask you to the winter formal and we’ll be shopping for the perfect dress for you.”
She frowned. “I’m not sure that’s going to happen. He was all business in science lab. Definitely no flirting.”
“Well, maybe he had something on his mind. Or maybe he’s not interested, but that’s okay. You’ll find someone worthy of you. In the meantime, don’t settle for anything less.”
Harriet rolled her eyes. “Mom.”
I laughed and another round of pain shot through my head. I winced, then said, “I know, I know, but trust me on this one, okay?”
“Okay.” She studied me for a moment. “I love you, Mom. I’m not sure what I’d do if something happened to you.”
“Nothing’s going to happen to me, but if something did, you’d be sad, and you’d grieve, but you’d be okay.”
Tears filled her eyes.
Sitting up, I gently grabbed her chin and looked into her eyes. “Stop worrying, Ettie.” I used her childhood nickname hoping it would help my message sink in. “I’m fine. You just focus on school, and dance, and your weekend with Dad.”
; She made a face. “Do we really have to go?”
I hesitated, then said, “You’re sixteen, so your father can’t force you and Jack to stay with him, but Elena still has to go. I’m sure she’d like it if you and your brother came too. And while your father may have…” Imploded our lives? Spent more time on his new life and had forgotten his kids in the process? Thought with the junk in his pants and not his heart? “…chosen a different path,” I said diplomatically, “he’s still your father and he wants his time with you.”
“Yeah,” she snarled. “So he can stick it to you.” She got off the bed, clearly frustrated.
Stick it to me? Did Richard have some kind of vendetta against me? How could he? I’d given him practically everything he’d asked for. “You don’t have to go, Harriet,” I said emphatically. “I meant what I said. It’s your choice, just like it’s Jack’s choice.”
“But you want us to go,” she said, her voice stiff.
If they didn’t go, Richard would accuse me of manipulating them, which made this whole situation almost laughable. And I also needed the time to figure everything out. “I want you to be happy, Harriet. All I’m saying is maybe there’s a compromise there. If you and Jack decide not to go, let me know, and I’ll just tell your dad to pick up Elena.”
The tears in her eyes threatened to spill over, and my heart broke that she was stuck in this situation. I wanted to spare her from pain, but there was no sparing her from the dissolution of her family. All the more reason to keep the fires from her for now.
“I love you, Harriet. With all my heart. Maybe sleep on it and decide in the morning. I can even drop Elena off on my way to work if Jack stays home.”
“Nikki’s making you work on a Saturday?” she asked in horror.
“No, I’m working at the coffee shop tomorrow.” I planned to go to the library before my shift, but no need for her to know that.
Worry lines creased her forehead. “To pay for the dress.”
Dresses, but I wasn’t telling her that. “That and other things.”
“I’ve been meaning to tell you, Katherine asked me if I’d like to help teach a couple of beginner classes. She says I’ll get a free class for every class I help teach.”
I almost told her no. She was at the studio five to six days a week as it was, and I had no idea how she kept her 4.16 GPA. Now she wanted to add a job on top of it? But the responsibility might do her good, and she loved dance and little kids. She’d thoroughly enjoy helping with the classes, not to mention it would help ease her guilt about how much money I paid for her passion.
I gave her a tight smile, feeling like I’d failed her somehow. “That sounds great, Harriet. I think you’ll be a wonderful asset to Katherine.”
Her face lit up. Sixteen was such a mercurial age.
“But let’s discuss the logistics tomorrow,” I said. “After I sleep off my headache.”
She left, and a minute later, there was a rap on my door.
“It’s open,” I said, presuming one of the girls had come back to touch base again, but my grandmother walked in holding a red velvet bag with a corded drawstring.
I sat up and offered her a pained smile. “Hey, Nana.”
“I have something for you,” she said, taking a hesitant step closer as if trying to decide whether she actually wanted to give it to me. It seemed touch and go for a moment, but she gave a sharp nod and closed the distance to the bed, setting the bag down with a shaky hand.
Nana was far from frail, so her hand tremors concerned me.
Her fingers fumbled with the knot of the drawstring, and I almost offered to help her, but the determination in her eyes stopped me. Once she got the string unknotted, she reached into the bag and pulled out a patinaed silver object with a bas-relief on the back. She held on to it for a moment before handing it to me.
“This was my mother’s. She said it had been passed down from her mother and so on.”
It was a hand mirror, only the glass in the mirror was so old and smoky it was impossible to see my reflection.
“Don’t you want to keep this, Nana?” I asked. It was obviously very precious to her.
“No,” she said, but it looked like she was trying to convince herself more than me. “I think it might help you.”
I turned it over to study the image on the back—a young woman wearing a Grecian tunic. Judging from the trees in the background and the flowers at her feet, she was standing in a garden. A small bird was perched on her outstretched hand as she looked up to the sky.
My gaze lifted to hers in confusion.
“My mother believed her future was tied to that mirror.”
“To the mirror?” I asked in confusion.
She gave a sharp nod. “It sounds…unlikely, but maybe it has something to do with what’s happening to you.” A sly grin lifted her lips, and she reached into the bag and pulled out the melted wine glass. “I figured you’d want this back too.”
Was Nana about to confront me about melting the glass?
She gave me a sly grin. “I can’t say I’d blame you for smoking weed with your cousin to take the edge off dinner. If it were actually a bong. Your mother could drive a Pentecostal to drink.” She winked and tossed the bag on the bed. “I think you need this more than I do. I’m sure you know what to do with it.”
She turned and walked out the door, leaving me torn between trying to figure out the significance of the mirror and dwelling over the fact my grandmother thought I needed an orgasm.
There wasn’t enough bleach in the world to wash that thought out.
Chapter Fifteen
I checked on Elena once I was out of bed, but she was already up and dressed. “Jack still says he’s not going, so I’m going to drop you off at Dad’s.”
“Okay.” She was sitting on the edge of her bed, her hands on her lap, looking so forlorn it made my heart ache.
I pressed my lips together, guilt stabbing me deep in the heart. Maybe I should have let Richard stay. Sure, we were both miserable, but our kids had been mostly oblivious. If I’d just sucked it up and dealt with it, Elena wouldn’t be unhappy now.
Forcing a smile, I said, “If you give me a few minutes to get ready, I’ll make you chocolate chip pancakes before we go.”
“That’s okay, Mommy. Daddy said we’d go out to breakfast since it’ll just be the three of us.”
“You and I haven’t had a good chat in ages,” I said, forcing a brightness into my tone that I didn’t feel. “What do you say you come into my bathroom and talk to me while I get ready?”
Her dark brown eyes gazed up at me and she nodded. “Okay, Mommy.”
She followed me into my bathroom and sat behind me on the edge of the tub as I started to put on my makeup.
“I bet you were sad to leave Grandma’s so early last night.”
She shrugged, but her frown was confirmation I was right.
“I’m sorry,” I said, “but I know Grandma will love taking you to tea. In fact, I’m surprised neither one of us thought of it before.”
“Why do you and Grandma fight so much?”
I sucked in a breath, knowing I had to tread carefully with my answer. “Grandma and I didn’t get along much when I was a kid. She was always busy with work, and her charities, and my father. We didn’t spend much time together, to be honest.”
“But you work and volunteer at the homeless shelter once a month, and Daddy used to live with us. You’ve always found time for us.”
I nodded, then started to swipe on my foundation. “Some people are meant to be parents,” I said. “They’re nurturing and loving, and they make great parents.”
“Like you,” she said matter-of-factly.
I spun at the waist to face her, placing my non-makeup-covered hand on my chest. “That has to be one of the sweetest things you’ve ever said to me.”
She frowned in confusion. “But it’s the truth. You’re a great mother. Even Breanne says so. Her mom is always on her phone and never pays atte
ntion to her.”
Breanne was Elena’s best friend, but I realized I hadn’t heard much about her lately. Hadn’t seen her for a few weeks either. “Why haven’t I seen Bree here for dinner and sleepovers?”
Elena looked down. “She’s been busy.”
“Doing what?”
“She found a new friend to play video games with.”
“Why haven’t you been playing video games?” I asked, turning around completely to face her.
“Because video games are for kids.”
There was so much wrong with that statement, I wasn’t sure where to start. “Jack plays video games.”
She gave me a pointed look.
“Lots of grown-ups play video games. There are tournaments for grown-ups who play video games. Remember when Dad took Jack, Jeremy, and Brayden to that tournament in Chicago last spring?”
A cloud crossed over her eyes. “That was before Daddy left.”
Well, crap.
I sat down on the side of the tub next to her. “You do know that you’re still a kid, right? You’re only eleven.”
“Declan said that when parents get divorced, they find boyfriends and girlfriends and then they don’t pay attention to their kids anymore. So the kids have to take care of themselves.”
I scowled. “I take it that Declan’s parents are divorced and he knows this from firsthand experience?”
She nodded, keeping her gaze on her lap, and tugged on the hem of her shirt.
I picked up her hand and held on tight, waiting for her to look up at me. “Elena, you and your brother and sister are the most important things in the world to me. The only thing I wanted in the divorce was you guys. Sure, I wanted the house and our things so you guys could keep your home, but if I’d been given the choice of all our things or you, I would have chosen you without hesitation. Why would I replace you with a boyfriend?”
She stared up at me with tear-filled eyes. “I don’t know.”
“That’s because I wouldn’t.” I paused. “Is this because of my date the other night?”
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