Dead Is Not an Option

by Marlene Perez

  "That might look good on you, Daisy," Rose said. "Try it on."

  Grandma pulled out a red and black mermaid dress. "What about this one?" she said.

  It looked like the dress Rizzo wore to the dance in Grease. I couldn't picture my Grandma wearing it. Poppy had the same thought. "You wore that, Grandma?"

  "I was trying to impress a certain boy," she said. "Tall, broad shoulders, wavy dark hair. He was dreamy."

  My grandfather had had wavy dark hair, at least in the pictures I'd seen of him when he was young. Grandma had a dreamy smile on her face, and her thoughts were clearly far, far away. "I miss him so much sometimes. Your father looks so much like him," she said, which confirmed that she was talking about Grandpa, who had died when I was a baby.

  She stirred, then said briskly, "What about this one? It would go wonderfully with your coloring." She pulled out a tea-length dress. It was cream-colored taffeta with a navy lace overlay, sleeveless with a deep V-neck. It had a navy velvet belt and a silk flower pinned to the waist.

  Grandma surveyed her closet and pulled out another armload of dresses.

  "You went to a lot of dances when you were a teenager," Rose commented.

  "Lucky for me," I said.

  "There are matching gloves around here somewhere," Grandma Giordano said. "Ah, here they are." She handed me a long, narrow white box.

  I took three of the dresses from her.

  "Grandma, did you keep anything else? Something for everyday?" Poppy asked. "I want to volunteer to work the prom that night. Wouldn't it be cool if I could dress the part of a fifties waitress?"

  "Daisy, why don't you try a few of the dresses on while your sisters and I look through some of the stuff in boxes?"

  I stepped out of the closet with the first three gowns and laid them on the bed to get a better look.

  I decided to start with the white dress. It was beautiful and fit like a dream. I went back into the closet with it on.

  Poppy was wearing a red poodle skirt over her jeans, and a pair of saddle shoes were on the floor beside her. She looked up when I came in. "No," she said, vetoing the white dress. "Too vanilla. You look like a ghost." She said the word ghost without a trace of melancholy, which meant, if nothing else, that Liam was easing the heartbreak of losing her first love, Gage, who was a ghost.

  I marched back into the bedroom while they continued to rummage through the closet. I studied the next two choices. The daring red or the subtler navy dress?

  I knew which one Poppy would choose, so I slipped on the red and black mermaid dress and slipped my feet into a pair of black heels.

  "Va-voom," Grandma said when I presented myself for their inspection.

  "That's the one!" Poppy crowed.

  "I don't know," I said. I tugged on the plunging neckline.

  "Don't wear it if you'll feel uncomfortable," Rose advised.

  "Try on the navy dress next," Grandma said. "I also found these." She held out a frilly pink number and another white dress, but this one had a plainer cut and was embroidered with tiny yellow silk daisies.

  The navy dress seemed to meet with Grandma's approval. "Oh, to have such a creamy complexion," she said. She tilted my chin up and looked into my eyes. "And the navy makes your eyes look even bluer, if that's possible."

  "It's a little short," I said.

  Grandma flipped up the hem. "Hmm. I can take the hem out about an inch," she said.

  The navy was added to the maybe pile.

  The pink dress made me look like I was wearing a bowl of sherbet, so I eliminated that one without even showing it to my fashion consultants.

  The white dress with the yellow daisies was gorgeous. I twirled around, and the wide skirt flared as I moved.

  "It's definitely the right era," Grandma said. "But it's a little too casual for prom, I think."

  I was disappointed, but rallied quickly. "What about graduation? Would it work for a graduation outfit?"

  "It would be perfect," Grandma said. "In fact, I wore it to my own graduation."

  That left the red dress and the navy. "I can't decide!" I said.

  "Why don't you take both of them home and sleep on it?" Grandma suggested. Poppy scooped up the poodle skirt, the saddle shoes, and a snowy white blouse with a Peter Pan collar. "Can I borrow these?" she asked.

  "Of course," Grandma replied. "Now, who wants a snack?"

  A snack at Grandma Giordano's meant espresso and cookies.

  Rose looked at her watch. "Sorry, Grandma, we've got to get going. I have tons of studying to do. But we'll see you for Daisy's birthday, right?"

  "I wouldn't miss it," she assured me.

  With everything going on, my impending birthday had completely slipped my mind.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Saturday morning, I awoke to the sound of singing. It seemed to be coming from somewhere outside. Bleary-eyed, I stumbled over and looked out. My boyfriend was below my bedroom window, singing "Happy Birthday" off-key and at the top of his lungs.

  I loved him even more when I saw that he had a cup of coffee in each hand. I opened the sash and yelled, "Give me a minute and I'll be right down."

  I changed into something a little more attractive, brushed my teeth, and put my hair in a ponytail, then tiptoed down the stairs. I wasn't sure why I was tiptoeing. The rest of my family seemed to still be asleep, and if Ryan's serenade hadn't woken them up, nothing would.

  Once I was outside, Ryan handed me one of the coffees and gave me a kiss. "Happy birthday."

  "I didn't think I'd see you until later today," I said.

  "There was no way I was going to miss another one of your birthdays," he said. When he first found out he was a Were, he'd missed my birthday, but he'd made up for it by giving me a very special locket.

  "Besides, I missed you," he added.

  "You just saw me yesterday," I told him.

  "I still missed you," he replied. I kissed him.

  A long time later, we came up for air. I took a sip of my coffee, which had gone cold. "C'mon, let's go inside. My coffee needs to be warmed up."

  When we got inside, my whole family was up. "Happy birthday," they shouted.

  There were balloons at the breakfast table, and it looked like my father was in the process of whipping up enough food for twenty.

  "Ryan, would you like to join us for breakfast?" Dad asked.

  I smiled at him. It was nice to see Ryan and my dad getting along so well.

  "I'd love to," Ryan said. "In fact, I was hoping to spend the whole day with Daisy, if that's okay?"

  I waited for my dad to explode, but he smiled mildly. "Sounds like a plan."

  After a leisurely breakfast, Ryan and I decided to catch an early movie.

  "What time is everyone coming over?" I asked Mom.

  "Four," she said. "So make sure you're back by then."

  It was going to be a small celebration, just family and significant others.

  When Ryan and I returned from the matinee, Poppy was setting the table in the dining room.

  "It's so beautiful out," I said. "I thought we would eat outside."

  "Liam's coming," she said. "So I thought we'd eat inside. If that's all right?"

  I gave her a hug. "That's great. Inside is fine."

  Grandma Giordano was helping in the kitchen, so I went to give her a hug.

  "Where's that gorgeous boyfriend of yours?" she said in a loud, carrying voice.

  "Hello, Mrs. Giordano," Ryan said. "You're looking lovely."

  She was. Grandma wore a blue and white floral cardigan, a dark blue shirt, and matching trousers. She looked immaculate, even though she'd been helping my dad cook.

  "How do you do that?" I asked.

  "What?" she replied.

  "Stay so clean when you're cooking. I always end up with sauce all over me."

  She laughed. "Years of practice."

  Liam and Nicholas arrived shortly after, and we all hung out in the family room until dinner was ready.

 
; After a delicious dinner, Dad and Mom brought out this huge birthday cake. And then there were presents. Ryan gave me a pair of earrings that would look great with the locket he'd given me the year before.

  "We'll clean up," Mom and Dad said.

  "You two just want to canoodle in the kitchen," Grandma said.

  Mom laughed. "We'll never tell."

  We headed back to the family room, where everyone sprawled around in a food-induced coma.

  "I'm so stuffed I can't move," Nicholas said. "And that's hard to do to a werewolf."

  We all laughed, even Liam.

  "There's nothing I like better than catching up with my granddaughters," Grandma said. "Now, Rose, when are you and Nicholas going to get engaged?"

  Rose sputtered and blushed, but Grandma's comment made me think of Lily and Balthazar. They had just gotten engaged when their lives were changed forever by Circe. She had said something about a symbol of true love.

  "That's it!" I said. "I know what Circe used to trap Lily in the jukebox."

  Everyone jumped about a mile, but Rose sent me a message.

  Thanks for changing the subject. There's nothing worse than being grilled by Grandma about getting married, even though she means well.

  I nodded absently, my mind elsewhere. I finally stopped when Grandma gave me a strange look.

  Poppy caught on. "Stop it, you two," she told us, then turned to Grandma. "They're using their powers to talk because they know we can't hear them."

  "Sorry," I said. "Grandma, I need a favor. I need to get into Merriweather House. Can you help me?"

  "Sounds intriguing," she said. "I'll go with you."

  "Me too," Ryan said.

  "I'm too tired for any detecting tonight," Poppy said.

  "Sorry, Daisy," Rose said. "I'm going to pass."

  I was on a roll in the detecting department.

  Grandma made a quick call to one of her historical society buddies, and ten minutes later we were on our way to Merriweather House and, I hoped, a solution to Lily and Balthazar's enchantment.

  "You can drive. Let me get my bag out of my trunk," she said. "Beatrice said she'd leave a key under the mat. She lives only a few blocks from the mansion."

  We pulled up to the mansion and got out. Grandma carried an expensive weekender bag that was almost as big as she was, but it matched her shoes, which I knew was what really mattered. At least to Grandma.

  The Merriweather House was the site of last Halloween's Nightshade Through the Ages ball, which is when I finally found out that my beloved jukebox contained the spirit of Lily Varcol, Mrs. Wilder's sister.

  Beatrice had come through. The key was right where she had said it would be.

  Once inside, Grandma ran her index finger along the banister. "The caretaker is slacking off," she said. She raised her finger to show me all the dust, then reached into her bag and brought out a feather duster and cleaning supplies.

  "I told Beatrice I thought the place could use a quick cleaning," she said. "And from the look of things, I'm glad I did. Now, you two, get to sleuthing while I whip this place into shape. Mrs. Wilder has been thinking about turning this old house over to the historical society, and I want it to be clean if she does."

  I hugged her, and as I left her on the first floor, she was still muttering about the disgraceful state of things.

  "I'll take the third floor, you take the second," I told Ryan.

  "Can't we search together?" he asked. "I don't even know what we're looking for."

  "You know as well as I do that we wouldn't get anything done that way," I told him. "Look for a ring. An engagement ring."

  "This is so sudden," he joked.

  I laughed. "Not for me," I said. "Lily's engagement ring. That's what we're looking for."

  I climbed the stairs to the third floor. I assumed that was where Bam's bedroom would be.

  As I walked through his room, I noticed there were several photos of Lily on his nightstand, but it was a full-length photo of the two of them that had me mesmerized. It hung opposite a huge teak four-poster bed.

  In the photo, Lily wore along white dress and some sort of flower in her hair. Bam looked debonair in a black tux and crisp white shirt. He was holding Lily's hand above his own, so that the engagement ring was proudly displayed.

  A ring with a stunning ruby and a filigreed band shone on Lily's finger, but it was the happiness on their faces that glittered the brightest.

  What had happened to that ring? Had it disappeared with Lily? Or was it still in the house somewhere?

  I searched every square inch of the bedroom but didn't find it.

  Ryan wandered in a few minutes later.

  "Any luck?" he asked.

  "No," I said sadly. I gestured to the photo. "But at least I know what it looks like now."

  "You know, I know a thing or two about police procedure," Ryan said, "and there's a chance it was seized as evidence."

  It suddenly dawned on me what Circe meant when she said that the item had been confiscated.

  I needed to get ahold of whatever evidence there was in the Nightshade police files. "Can we ask your dad to let us see the evidence from the case?"

  Ryan shook his head. "I don't think so, Daisy. Only family and authorized personnel are allowed to see that kind of stuff."

  That meant another late-night visit to the police station.

  "Hey, Ryan," I said. "Do you still have those keys?"

  He looked confused for a minute. "Keys?"

  I waggled my eyebrows at him. "You know, the keys you had when we first kissed."

  "Oh," he said. "I'm afraid not, but if you give me some time, I can get them."

  "Fabulous," I said. "Let's go see if Grandma needs any help cleaning."

  Grandma had managed to get rid of the dust and leave the rooms smelling of Lemon Pledge while we were gone. All and all, a great birthday.

  But the celebrating didn't end with the weekend. Monday morning, Sam and the rest of the cheerleaders had a surprise for me. Next to the vending machines was a table piled high with cupcakes. I looked closer and noticed that every single one of them was decorated with a daisy made out of frosting.

  "Happy birthday, Daisy!" Sam said. "Cupcakes for everyone."

  I said to Rachel, who was in the chair next to Sam, "I can't believe you're encouraging her."

  She handed me a cupcake and then shrugged. "You know Sam," she said. "She's unstoppable."

  "You should have asked me to help you bake," I said. I bit into the cupcake. "Hey, these are good."

  Sam gave me a little nudge. "Don't sound so surprised. I've learned a few things hanging around you."

  "Yeah, how to call up Slim and get him to bake enough cupcakes for the entire high school," Jordan snorted.

  "That must have been expensive," I said.

  "Don't worry," Sam said airily. "Dad gave me the money."

  At my frown, she added, "And your boss gave them to us for half price when he found out what they were for."

  "Slim is a great boss," I said. Despite myself, I grinned.

  I took a bite of my cupcake and then headed for my first class. Turning eighteen was turning out to be sweeter than I expected.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Two weeks later, most kids were going to their prom. Instead, Nightshade teens got all dressed up and went to the alternative prom.

  When Ryan and I walked in to the diner, the first thing I noticed was a huge banner that read NOT THE PROM in bold letters.

  Slim's was stuffed with high school students decked out in 1950s chic.

  Flo was working the fryer, but I caught a glimpse of her when she brought out a huge chafing dish full of the delicious potatoes. Her only nod to the theme was that she had her jeans rolled up and wore bobby socks and saddle shoes. She had on one of her many T-shirts. This one read FRIES BEFORE GUYS, which made me laugh. We waved to each other before she headed back to the kitchen.

  Poppy and Liam were working the soda fountain. Liam wore a wh
ite button-down with the sleeves rolled up, a bow tie, and bore a slight resemblance to Tobey Maguire's character in Pleasantville. Poppy wore Grandma's red poodle skirt and shirt and had braided her hair into perky pigtails and threaded red and white ribbon through the braids.

  I spotted Natalie, who was wearing a bright pink uniform and white roller skates decorated with pink pompoms. Her engagement ring gleamed as she skated by with a tray of food.

  "I didn't know you could roller-skate," I told her when she stopped to say hi.

  She examined the vintage four-wheelers ruefully. "I can in-line fine," she said. "But I just can't get the hang of four-wheelers. Slim told me to just use my inlines, but I wanted to look like an authentic fifties carhop. So I did a little spell, and now the skates do all the work."

  The menu was simple. Cheeseburgers and fries, shakes or vanilla colas. Slim had made allowances for the unique tastes of Nightshade residents and included extra-extra-rare burgers and some unusual choices for shake flavors.

  Ryan wore a gray flannel suit, white shirt, and thin red tie, while Sean channeled his inner early Elvis with a shiny gold wide-lapeled suit, black shirt, and pants. Some of the guys opted for the beatnik look and wore black jeans with turtleneck sweaters, while others went the simple route with rolled-up jeans, white T-shirts, and black leather jackets.

  The girls, on the other hand, went all out. Jordan wore a lavender number with an iridescent poufy skirt and a little peplumed lace jacket. Rachel wore a dark green long dress that fit her like a glove. Her date couldn't stop staring at her.

  But it was Samantha's butterscotch floor-length sarong that was stunning. Her upswept hairdo showed off a pair of huge diamond earrings.

  "You look like Grace Kelly," I said.

  "Who is that?" she asked.

  "Was in a lot of Hitchcock films, married a prince," I summarized.

  "So, you're saying I look like a princess? Thank you," she said. "Daddy's been treating me like one lately." She touched the earrings self-consciously. "He gave them to me today. You look fabulous too. Very prom queen," she said.

  I'd finally decided to go with the daring red and black dress but had asked Rose to sew a black lace panel into the plunging neckline, since I wasn't crazy about revealing half my cleavage.