by A and E Kirk
Ayden gave Mrs. Martinez a concerned look as she headed into the back room. She tapped a finger to the side of her temple. “Like I said, a bit touched in the head, but he’s harmless.”
OPERATION:
A Totally Healthy Way to Deal With Emotions
LOCATION:
Gossamer Falls Hardware Store
Logan hustled through the hardware store with the sign on the door that clearly read CLOSED. The large two-story building was filled to the brim with supplies set up in an orderly fashion along many aisles. The place seemed empty, but Logan heard voices and ran in that direction.
An elderly couple followed Blake, who pushed along a shopping cart and grabbed things off the shelves. Jayden waved frantically at Logan, gesturing him to hurry over.
The man used a cane for support, hobbling along as fast he could, a bit wobbly on his feet. Gray hair stuck out from underneath a cap which bore the Gossamer Falls Hardware logo. He wore jeans and a denim button-down shirt that hung on his thin frame.
“These are friends of Aurora,” the man told the woman, then waved Blake’s list in the air. “And these supplies are for Gemma, so you bet I’m going to help.”
“Of course we’ll help, but that’s what we have employees for,” the woman replied in a frustrated tone. “You’re supposed to be home resting. I knew you left the hospital too soon.”
“Do you see any employees here, Miriam?” He swept an arm around to indicate the empty store, the motion causing him to teeter on his feet.
The woman immediately grabbed his arm to help him steady. “Because I told them to take the day off since I was closing the store today.”
“Why would you do that?”
“Because you had a heart attack last night!”
“Doesn’t mean the folks in this town don’t need supplies.”
“Cyrus! You are the most infuriating man I have ever—”
The tall metal shelves around them started to shake, making the various supplies rattle loudly.
“An earthquake?” said the man as the couple looked around with concern.
“Ah, yes.” Jayden hurriedly shoved at supplies that were about to topple off of shelves. “That would be the most obvious conclusion to draw.”
Logan rushed to Blake’s side. The big guy’s hands fisted tight around the shopping cart’s handle. The metal had started to bend and warp.
Logan laid a palm on Blake’s arm and said quietly, “Calm down.”
Blake’s eyes swirled with supernatural colors. He squeezed them shut and breathed deep. The shelves shook less and less, until they stilled completely. When he opened his eyes, the irises had reverted back to hazel. Normal but for the worry and pain Logan recognized from the old memories. A familiar hatred boiled up inside Logan, but he gritted his teeth and tamped it down. Better to concentrate on how he could help his friend now, rather than how he didn’t help him all those years ago.
Blake took another deep breath and nodded at Logan, then turned to the couple. “Please, Old Man Cyrus, don’t fight with Mrs. Old Man Cyrus.”
“Blake,” Logan said with gentle admonishment. “You shouldn’t call them that.”
Blake looked confused. “Why not? That’s their names.”
The man shrugged. “Oh, I don’t mind. Feels like I’m in a Scooby Doo cartoon. Right, dearie?”
Miriam gave him a playful nudge. “We aren’t fighting.”
The bell over the front door jingled. Miriam rolled her eyes. “Oh, for goodness sake. Does no one see the closed sign? I’ll get rid of them. Cyrus, you help these boys, then we’re going home.”
As they put the last thing on Blake’s list into the shopping cart, they heard Miriam laughing.
Old Man Cyrus’ brow furrowed. “I know that laugh. Someone’s flirting with my girl. Come on, boys.” He tried to hustle faster but his body refused to cooperate. He had to stop to catch his breath, leaning heavily on his cane. His face paled.
“Your heart rate is accelerating into dangerous levels,” Jayden said. He shared a look with Logan and Blake. “His vitals are concerning.”
Logan took the man’s elbow with one hand while the fingers of his other flickered softly. “You should take it easy, sir.”
“Easy?” Old Man Cyrus wheezed. His gray hair fluttered in a sudden gentle breeze. His breathing deepened for several inhales and suddenly became smoother, less labored. Color returned to his cheeks. He straightened, albeit slowly, his face showing relief.
“That’s better. Was having a little trouble there.” He looked at each of the Boys. “Don’t tell Miriam.”
Logan’s fingers kept fluttering behind his back, sending oxygen into the man’s lungs. “Wouldn’t think of it.”
Blake pulled his fingers across his lips in a zipping gesture, then took out his phone and dialed as Jayden caught Old Man Cyrus’ other elbow.
When they neared the front of the store, Miriam said with a smile in her voice, “Oh heavens. Aren’t you the charmer. Well, if you need anything else, be sure to stop by. Oh, wait! You forgot your change!”
By the time the Boys and Cyrus turned the corner, she had a wad of cash in her hand and stood holding the front door open. Tires squealed outside. She watched the van drive away and called, “Come again!”
“Everything okay, dearie?”
“Fine. Just two nice young men who needed supplies for some work on security fencing. In such a hurry, they didn’t wait for their change. Charming though.” She smiled. “One of them even kissed my hand.” She saw the Boys on either side of Old Man Cyrus and her smile vanished. “What happened?”
Jayden said, “His vitals are—”
“Just fine,” Logan said and flashed Jayden a look to shut him up. “But he told us you were right. He did leave the hospital too soon.”
Cyrus frowned. “I didn’t—”
Blake raised his phone in the air. “Didn’t want to take any chances so he had us call an ambulance to take him back to the hospital and Dr. Lahey. Right, Old Man Cyrus?”
The elderly man gave the three boys mildly irritated glances, but sighed. “Right.” Miriam wouldn’t take money for the supplies, so Blake promised to work it off later. The ambulance arrived quickly and when Old Man Cyrus was safely on his way with his wife by his side, the Boys piled into Blake’s truck and headed toward Aurora’s house.
“Aurora will be most distressed that the man she saved last evening is in a perilous condition once again,” Jayden said.
“Don’t worry, dudes. He’s gonna be fine.”
“How are you doing?” Logan asked.
“Awesome. We just saved a life!”
“I meant about the other thing,” Logan said.
Instead of answering, Blake turned on the radio. Logan looked to Jayden for help.
Tucking his hair behind his ear, Jayden cleared his throat. “We know that regarding Mr. and Mrs. Lahey’s recent bout of marital disharmony, you are harboring feelings of guilt. It explains your enigmatic behavior with the females.”
“What are you talking about, dude? My behavior is always magnetic with the ladies. That’s why they are all saying yes and signing on to my dance card for the Spring Fling.”
Logan punched Blake’s shoulder. “He means you were acting weird. You didn’t even notice when Aurora’s friends flirted with you.”
“Oh, I see,” Blake said knowingly.
“Finally,” Logan sighed.
Blake parked in front of Aurora’s house. “You dudes are jealous because all the ladies want to dance with me and not you.”
“What? No!” Logan scrambled out after Jayden.
Blake went around the back of the truck and pulled boxes from the bed of the pickup. “I understand. But just because my dance card is full and getting fuller, doesn’t mean there won’t be ladies left for you.”
Jayden frowned. “I believe you are purposely evading our intent in discussing your disturbed mood. There is empir
ical evidence that sharing your emotions is beneficial to a healthy psychological state.”
“Dude, first of all, empires aren’t evidence of any healthy states. Democracies rule. And second, my mood is awesome.” He smiled as he sauntered down the side of the house. “Because I was unstoppable with the ladies. All day long. It was like…” Blake burst through the side garage door with a dramatic twirl. “Boom! Went the dynamite that is my irresistible charm, and they all agreed to a dance with moi at the Spring Fling!”
Logan and Jayden followed him in, Logan rolling his eyes. “Yeah, so you’ve been saying.”
“Repeatedly,” Jayden agreed.
“You guys are just jealous because I need a new Spring Fling book to accommodate all the ladies’ names!” Blake saw Aurora hugging a shirtless Ayden. He grinned. “Hey, dude and dudette! What? Are we having a Taking Off Our Shirts contest? Awesome! I’m in.” He quickly dumped the boxes into the arms of Logan, who stumbled under the weight. Then Blake pulled his shirt off over his head and stepped back, grinning, spreading his arms wide. “Yep, yep. Take it all in, fireboy. I know you do your best, but look at this.” He began rubbing his chest and abs in a suggestive way. “I clearly win. You lose, loooo-zah.”
Aurora shook her head in disbelief.
“Babe, try not to drool. On second thought. That’s impossible. Drool away.” Blake pointed at her. “Now for the ladies’ category. I’ll be the judge. Aurora, off with your shirt so I can make a proper assessment of your assets.”
From inside the house, Mrs. Lahey yelled, “I heard that.”
Blake’s eyes bugged. “Oh, crap!” He scrambled to find his shirt. It had slipped under a table when he’d flung it on the floor. He dropped on all fours to get it. “Just kidding, Mom Lahey!” He fumbled to his feet as he yanked his shirt back on, shouting, “I would never do such a thing!” He glared at everyone. “Why didn’t you guys warn me?”
Logan smirked. “And miss watching you squirm? Not a chance.”
“Yeah,” Ayden said. “Who’s the loo-zah now?”
As the rest of them snickered, Blake snatched back the boxes from Logan and headed into the house. As he turned the knob and shoved the door open with his hip, he said, “I brought you a present.”
“Thank you, dear,” Mrs. Lahey said before the door closed. “What could it be? Oh, first, fix your shirt. It’s inside out.”
OPERATION:
A Payne-ful Night
LOCATION:
Lahey Residence
“You are dead, sucker! Again! Yeah! That’s what I’m talking about! Woo!” Lucian pumped his fist in the air. “I took down the big bad Hex Boy. Man I’m good. Or am I bad? Oh, yeah, I’m bad.”
Sitting next to Lucian on the bed in the Lahey’s guestroom, Matthias had to smile at the kid’s enthusiasm. “Yeah, you got me,” the Aussie said, conceding his defeat at the video game.
But he was happy to lose if it got Lucian out of his bedroom. Lucian wasn’t supposed to be playing this late at night, but he’d convinced his parents that the hospitable thing to do was spend some quality gaming time with their guest.
Lucian bounced an odd victory dance on the bed as he sang, “I’m bad, I’m bad, I’m really, really bad. Uh-huh. I’m bad, I’m bad…”
Matthias set the controller down. “This was fun, but I need to get to bed. It’s been a long day.”
Lucian stopped “dancing” – thankfully – and focused squinty eyes on Matthias. “Going to be a tough mission tomorrow, huh? So what are you planning at M-Terprises? Infiltrating enemy territory? Diffusing a bomb? Almost getting taken out by a horde of assassins?”
Matthias gave him an odd look. Since when did he start asking about missions? And since when did he come up with guesses so close to the truth? Did Aurora let something slip? Typical.
“What are you talking about?” Matthias said. “We’re going to your aunt’s company for a tour.”
“Ohhh,” Lucian nodded thoughtfully. “So you are stealing company secrets. Corporate espionage. I get it.”
Now the kid was scaring him.
“No.” Matthias swung off the bed, turned the TV off, and grabbed his toothbrush. “Seriously, I’ve got to hit the hay.”
“Come on. You can tell me. I could really use the cash.”
Matthias paused. “What?”
“Luna and I have got a bet going about the latest mission.”
This was getting more and more disturbing. “Sorry, I can’t help you, mate.”
Lucian almost giggled. “Mate. That sounds so cool. Your accent, I mean. Maybe you could teach me some Aussie talk. Like,” he cleared his throat, “how’s that shrimp on the barbie, eh, mate?”
Matthias cringed. “We don’t say that. But maybe I’ll teach you some real stuff later. Now I really need to get ready for bed, so if you don’t mind.” He made a motion toward the door.
Reluctantly, Lucian shuffled out of the room and down the hall, Matthias following behind. Luna’s goth music played in her room, loud even with her door closed. As Lucian passed the open door of Aurora’s bedroom, he stopped and said, “No fair pumping her for info.”
Luna sat on the bed while Aurora combed out her wet hair in front of the mirror.
“Oh, please,” Luna said. “Like you haven’t been grilling Matty. But don’t worry. She won’t tell me anything about the mission.”
“There’s nothing to tell!” Aurora said with a pleading look at Matthias. “Am I right?”
“Absolutely,” Matthias said. The last thing they needed was the twins in any demon business. More casualties? No thanks.
“See, the Aussie confirms it. Now you two lunatics leave us alone.” Aurora gave Matthias a grateful smile and a thumbs-up.
Concerned that it could be misconstrued as some sort of bonding moment, Matthias scowled and pushed past Lucian, who entered his own room. Matthias almost made it to the bathroom when Mrs. Lahey appeared.
“Hi, sweetie. Forgot his bottle downstairs,” she said, coming down the hall with a big smile and Oron on her hip. She stopped in front of Matthias, blocking his path. “Did I tell you how happy we are to have you here?”
“Yes, ma’am. Thank you.” He tried to get around her.
“Ma’am?” She lost the smile. “Ick, that’s a little formal. You could call me Mom—”
Matthias froze.
“—Lahey. That’s what Blake does. But maybe for you we could try Mrs. Lahey. Or Mrs. L. A little less formal but not too cozy. Gemma is fine too. Or you could—”
“Sure, Mrs. Lahey.” Matthias forced a grin.
Her smile returned. “Is everything okay? You’re comfortable?”
“Yes ma— Yes, Mrs. Lahey.”
“How’s the bed? M said it wasn’t good for her back, but honestly, I figured it was more the pregnancy than the bed. Not to mention her being so grumpy. But how do you like it? Too hard? Too soft?”
“No, it’s fine.”
“And you have enough towels? Pillows? Blankets? What about soap?”
“I have everything I need. Thank you.” He lifted his hand that held the toothbrush. “Just going to brush my teeth, then off to bed.”
“Sure. Toothpaste is—”
“In the top right drawer,” Matthias said. “So just need to…” He glanced down the hall toward the bathroom. So close and yet so far.
“Of course, but speaking of teeth, are you getting enough to eat?”
“Yes. Plenty.” He started to move past her.
“What do you like?” she said, hitching her hip to resettle Oron who was chewing on his fingers, drool dibbling down his chin. “I’m on a mad cooking binge. I could make one of your favorites.”
“Everything you cook is delicious. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”
“Aw, thank you, sweetie.” She reached out and gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze. Then she brushed his hair off his forehead. “Sure you don’t want me to give you a haircut? It’s getting rea
lly long.”
Matthias tensed at her touch. He hoped she didn’t notice. He hadn’t flinched, so that was progress. “No thanks. Like I said, I’m growing it out.”
“Okay, but if you change your mind, let me know.”
She headed down the hallway. Finally. And Matthias booked it in the opposite direction.
“Did you find the Milo?” Mrs. Lahey said.
Matthias stopped. Then turned around. Slowly.
“It’s in the pantry,” she said. “Aurora said you liked it already made in cans, but the Internet said real Australians like the powder, so that’s what I bought. But if you’d rather, I can buy the cans.”
“No,” he said quickly. “The powder is great. Really, uh, great. Um, thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Now go get those teeth brushed.”
“Mom!” Lucian yelled from his room. “I can’t find my Robotics Club shirt and I need to give a presentation tomorrow.”
“I’ll check the laundry,” she yelled back, then handed Oron to Matthias. “Watch him for a minute. I’ll be back lickety-split.”
Matthias stared after her as she disappeared down the stairs, then he sighed and nestled Oron securely to his chest. He inhaled that fresh-from-a-bath baby scent. It was nice. Even calmed him a little. But not much.
There was so much family. All the time. And so much noise. All the time. He knew he should enjoy it more, but in reality, he felt overwhelmed. And claustrophobic. He also knew they would never understand. This crazy was their normal.
Matthias smiled wearily at Oron. “You know what I’m talking about, right, mate?”
Oron made a slurpy sound, then reached out a slobber covered hand and grabbed Matthias’ hair. The Aussie let out a low growl. Then he snarled and pretended to bite fiercely at Oron’s arm.
The baby recoiled and stared wide-eyed at Matthias. When the Aussie abruptly smiled, dimples in full force, Oron giggled and tentatively reached for his hair again. Matthias growled and snapped. Again, Oron jerked back, but this time it was with a beaming smile and loud squeals of delight.