by Chris Cannon
With a shaking hand, my dad took the phone and listened. He didn’t say anything, just nodded along to whatever the person was saying. He ended the call with the words, “Thank you for letting us know.” And then he hung up.
“She’s gone,” he said.
“She’s at peace,” Sage said. “And she was able to spend her last moments with Meena. That’s a wonderful gift.”
“Did she say anything?” My dad wiped his eyes with his hands. “Did she say anything about me?”
I nodded. “She said to tell you that…she loves you…and that she’s sorry about everything…and she wants us to be…happy.”
My dad laughed. “Happy? Why in the hell would we be happy?” He stood and headed for the kitchen. I heard the refrigerator door open and the clank of beer bottles. He stalked back into the living room. “And another thing, I thought I’d be relieved when she…when she moved on, but this isn’t any better. It still sucks.” My dad went back into the kitchen.
I cried until I hiccupped. She’d been so close and then she’d slipped through my fingers. I cried until my tear ducts burned and my mouth was dry and Jake’s shirt was soaked. He didn’t complain. Not once. I blinked and swiped at my eyes with my hands. My throat felt like it was full of sand. “Can I have a drink?”
“I’ll get you something.” Sage went into the kitchen.
“How long was I gone this time?”
“Four days,” Jake said. “At least this time we knew about the time difference, so I freaked out less.”
Sage brought back a glass of orange juice and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I scooted off Jake’s lap so I could eat and drink, but he kept his arm around my shoulders.
After I finished my snack the gross grungy feeling set in. “I’m going to take a shower.” I turned to Jake. “Don’t leave. Okay?”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
“Good.” I cried through the shower and managed to snuffle shampoo up my nose, which burned far more than you’d think it would. I put on a pair of soft pajamas and went to the kitchen table where Jake and Sage sat eating pizza. “I called for carryout,” Sage said.
My dad gave a strange laugh from the other room. “The cat bought pizza.”
“He’s at that everything-is-funny drunk stage,” I told Jake. “Soon he’ll fall asleep.” I peered in at my dad tipping another brown bottle to his lips. “This whole thing is my fault. I never should have told him that I might be able to save her.”
“You did save her,” Sage said. “You set her free.”
Chapter Twenty
Jake
I knew Sage meant well, but nothing anyone said made this emotional hell any better. All of that he’s-in-a-better-place-now bullshit used to make me homicidal. As I got older I figured out people didn’t say that to make you feel better. They said it to make themselves feel better because suddenly they were faced with the fact that we could all die tomorrow.
Then again, Meena’s mom wasn’t stuck in a coma anymore. That was better. Just not for Meena who’d thought she’d be bringing her mom home.
I pushed the box of pizza toward her. “Eat.”
She grabbed a slice and stared at it. “I think I’m going to go through a phase where the only things I care about are books, cats, and a few people who are in my bubble. Everyone else can go away. Including Bane. I didn’t sign a contract with him. I’m done. He can drop a dump truck of blue envelopes on my nightstand and I’m going to ignore them all.”
“Zelda and I can pick up the slack until you’re feeling better,” I said.
“If you want,” she said. Like she didn’t really care. I wish ignoring Bane was an option, but I had a feeling he was a vindictive son of a bitch. Then again, he liked Meena.
“I’m not sure a power struggle with Bane is a good idea,” Sage said.
“What power?” Meena practically screamed. “I have no power. None. He’s the one with all the power.”
Kaboom. Lightning lit up the sky and thunder shook the house.
Sage smiled. “Maybe you do have some power after all.”
“That wasn’t me,” Meena said.
“Let’s go see.” Sage stood. “Come on. Humor me.”
“Fine.” Meena rolled her eyes but followed Sage out the door to the driveway.
This should be interesting.
“Close your eyes, Meena. What do you feel?” Sage asked with a hopeful tone in his voice.
“Unbelievably pissed off,” Meena said.
“No. I mean what do you feel around you in nature,” Sage said. “What do you feel in the air?”
“This is stupid.” Meena closed her eyes and stood very still. Her lips curved in a smile. “I feel everything. I feel the electrical charge in the air, waiting to be released. I feel the moisture built up in the clouds. I feel the potential of a storm.”
“Bring it all together,” Sage said. “Release your grief and anger into the elements. Use them to nurture the earth rather than letting them destroy your peace of mind.”
“She can do that?” I wasn’t sure this was a good idea.
“Let’s see,” Meena said.
Sage pulled a small silver switch blade from his pocket. “You’ll need this.”
“Dude, you carry a knife?” I didn’t expect that from him.
“I miss my claws in human form. The blade takes their place.”
I did not love where this was going. Should I try to call Aunt Zelda? Maybe she could stop this.
“Remember,” Sage said. “You need a rhyming couplet to breathe life into your magic.”
Meena’s brow furrowed like she was thinking. “What about, ‘Wash away the grief and pain with lightning, thunder, and some rain.’”
“Not very fancy,” Sage said. “But it should work.”
“You sure you want to do this?” It didn’t seem like a sane idea.
“I want to try.” She smiled at me. “Promise you won’t freak out and run away with a pageant girl.”
“I promise the second part, the first part, I’m not so sure about.”
“Here goes.” She drew the knife across her thumb so a few drops of blood fell. “Wash away the grief and pain with lightning, thunder, and some rain.”
The wind picked up, lashing the tree branches around. Lightning flickered through the sky. Thunder sounded, and the sky opened up. Rain poured down. Meena laughed. “I did it.”
“That’s it,” Sage counseled. “Now, dial it back. Make it a nice gentle rain.”
“Why?” Meena waved her arms around like she was pointing at the storm. “This is how I feel.”
The wind picked up and the temperature dropped.
“You need to learn control,” Sage said.
Meena clenched her fists. “Control? Really?” She laughed and it sounded a little unhinged. “Maybe I should make the storm bigger.”
Lightning flashed across the sky followed by the loudest kaboom of thunder I’d ever heard. The rain stung when it hit my skin. I approached her slowly. She’d been through a trauma, but I needed her to see reason. “Meena, think of all the cats and dogs you’re freaking out right now. Not to mention the people.”
“I need this,” Meena said. “For a few minutes, let me have this.”
It’s not like I could stop her. “Okay, but ease up on the lightning.”
The rain poured down, but the thunderous booms stopped. That was a step in the right direction. I stood there, soaked to the skin, watching the girl I might love have some sort of post-traumatic, magically-enhanced breakdown.
After a few more minutes she took a deep breath and blew it out. She squeezed her thumb so more crimson drops fell to the concrete. “Wash away the grief and pain with a slow, gentle rain.”
The rain lightened up. Meena gave a sad smile.
“You did it.” I sm
iled back, even though this scared the crap out of me. But if it helped her cope with her mom then it was a good thing. A warm summer rain never hurt anyone, right?
She yawned and the rain slowed to a sprinkle. “I think I’m ready to sleep.”
I grabbed her hand and we headed inside together. Her dad was asleep on the futon. “I meant it when I said I wasn’t leaving you alone tonight.”
“My dad—”
“Is sleeping.” I tugged her down the hall to her room. Once we were inside with the door shut, I said, “I’m not trying to talk you into anything, I want to be near you and to know you’re okay.”
“Okay,” Meena said. “Let me grab some dry clothes for you.”
The door opened and we both jumped a little bit. Sage stood there with a package of pajamas and a sleeping bag. “I’m gifting you a set of ridiculous llama pajamas that I received as a joke. And you’re sleeping on the floor.” He tossed the pajamas to me and tossed the sleeping bag on the floor. “Don’t forget to text Zelda and I’ll wake you at five so you can leave before her father wakes up.”
“Thanks, Sage.”
He nodded and left.
Meena brought me a towel and then went to change in the bathroom. The navy llama pajamas were freaking ridiculous, but they were dry. I texted Zelda and sent her a picture of the sleeping bag so she wouldn’t ask any questions. I was unrolling the sleeping bag when Meena came back in wearing gray and pink plaid pajamas.
She turned the light out and climbed into bed. “Could you hold me, for a little while?”
“Sure.” I lay down in the bed and she snuggled against me with her head on my chest. With every breath I inhaled the sweet scent of her shampoo.
“Jake?” She propped herself up on one elbow. “I want to tell you something, but I don’t want you to freak out.”
I smiled. “Okay.”
“I think I love you,” she whispered.
It felt like I released a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. “I think I love you, too.”
“Good,” she said. “That could have been awkward.” And then she kissed me.
…
Meena
This had turned out to be one of the worst and best nights of my life. The worst was self-explanatory. The best was Jake saying he loved me, too. The only problem… Jake snored. If my dad hadn’t drunk himself to sleep he would have heard the chainsaw-like sound and come to investigate.
When Sage came in to wake Jake up at five, he frowned at both of us. At first I couldn’t figure out why, and then I realized it was because Jake hadn’t made use of the sleeping bag.
“I’ll call you later.” Jake kissed me and then dashed out the door.
I said goodbye, rolled over, and went back to sleep.
“Meena,” Sage’s voice broke into my dream.
Fuzzy headed, I asked, “What time is it?”
“It’s ten. You need to wake up and eat.”
I sat up and moaned, clutching my head. “Why does it feel like my head is trying to explode?”
“You have a magic hangover.” Sage held out a yellow sports drink and two Tylenol. “This should help.”
I grabbed the pills and took them with half the bottle of the lemon-flavored drink. “Why does magic give you a hangover?” And why hadn’t anyone mentioned that?
“Everything costs. Your magic is tied into the natural elements. It requires your blood and some of your life force.”
“Nothing is ever easy, is it?”
“No. And if it is, it usually isn’t worth having.”
My dad knocked on the doorframe. His eyes were bloodshot and his face was pale. “I’m going to take care of the arrangements this morning. If you leave, check in so I know where you are.”
“Okay.”
He nodded and headed for the kitchen.
Arrangements. For my mom. I didn’t want to deal with that level of sadness yet this morning. Food. I’d focus on food and the good things in my life, like Jake.
Sleeping with him, and I mean the not-being-awake kind of sleeping rather than the don’t-knock-up-my-daughter kind of sleeping, had been wonderful. If only he didn’t snore.
After eating a PB&J and taking a shower, I teetered on the edge of tears. I sat on the couch with Marshmallow and Pumpkin, running my fingers through their warm fur. Sadness swamped me. I needed a distraction. I picked up one of my favorite books and tried to get lost in someone else’s world.
When that didn’t work, I grabbed one of the books I’d borrowed from Carol. I perused the contents, looking for anything to do with contracts or business deals or partnerships. It came up with a bunch of dead ends. Literally. Apparently magic contracts only ended when one or both people involved died. I sighed in frustration and slammed the book shut.
Sage hopped up on the couch. “What’s wrong?”
His question made me laugh. “Where should I start? I couldn’t save my mom. I’m stuck working for Bane unless I can dissolve the contract with Carol. The contract only ends if one of us dies.”
“Unfortunately, I think time is the only thing that will solve all of your problems. Grief becomes more manageable over time. Your job with Bane will end when you go back to school. ‘Time heals all wounds’ is a saying for a reason.”
“I appreciate the input, Sage, but that doesn’t really help me right now.”
“Do something to take your mind off your feelings,” Sage said.
“That’s what I’ve been trying to do. It’s not working.”
“Let’s practice some magic,” Sage said.
My head no longer ached, so it couldn’t hurt to try. “Okay. Where should we start?”
“Let’s go outside.”
I followed him out into the backyard. The ground was still muddy but the sun was shining and the air smelled of green growing things. Sage walked over to what was left of my mom’s rose garden. Where there used to be a dozen plants there was now one scraggly rose bush with a few red blossoms and some short green stalks that used to be a yellow rose bush before my dad ran over it with the riding mower.
“Try to direct your power into the rose bush.” Sage touched a bud which wouldn’t open for a few more days. “Try to make this bloom.” He handed me his pocket knife.
Okay. I needed a rhyming couplet. Nothing fancy. “How about, I direct my powers to restore these flowers?”
Sage grinned. “Simple and efficient. I like it.”
I cut my thumb and several drops of blood hit the ground. Closing my eyes, I felt the sun shine down. “I direct my powers to restore these flowers.” I imagined the sunlight flowing through my body, into the ground and into the rose bush. A tingling sensation started in my scalp and traveled down my neck and back to my feet. I took a slow deep breath and focused, saying the spell again. “I direct my powers to restore these flowers.”
It felt like someone turned on a faucet and power flowed through me into the ground. The scent of roses filled the air.
“That’s enough.” Sage touched my shoulder. “Look at what you’ve done.”
I opened my eyes and gaped at the rose-covered bushes. My mom’s rose garden was back. All twelve bushes were alive and thriving and covered with flowers. Tears filled my eyes as I inhaled their scent. “How?”
“You tell me,” Sage said.
“I could feel the sunshine, so I fed it to the rose bushes.”
“That’s amazing,” Sage said. “And I don’t think Carol or Zelda could have done it.”
“Really?” It hadn’t seemed hard. “Maybe because I don’t really know what I’m doing. I just improvised.”
“You have an impressive control over the natural elements,” Sage said. “I don’t think you’ll find your magic in spell books. I think it’s in your heart.”
“What else should I try to do?” I looked around the yard.
“What does your gut instinct tell you?” Sage asked.
My stomach growled. “Um, right now I think my stomach says it wants food.”
Just as I finished eating, my cell rang. Jake’s name popped up on my screen. “Hello.”
“Hello, Meena. I miss you.”
“I miss you, too.”
“Want to run some errands with me today? I’m not fixing anything, just delivering orders.”
“Sure.”
“I need to deliver something to Sybil’s sisters. After that, we can do whatever you want.”
“Will Sybil be there?” If she ticked me off I might feel like testing my newfound powers.
“If she is, you can strike her with lightning.”
I laughed. “That works for me.”
When I saw Jake’s truck pulling into the drive, a warm feeling started in my chest.
“Did you text your father?” Sage asked before I could walk out the door.
“Crap. I didn’t.” I opened the door and waved at Jake before ducking back inside to text my dad about running errands.
He texted back a thumbs up followed by the message, Tell the cat I want Chinese for dinner tonight. I showed the text to Sage.
“He’s never going to get tired of that joke, is he?”
“No.” I headed out the door. “See you later.”
When I climbed into Jake’s truck, he looked at me like I was the most amazing person in the world. After I put my seat belt on, he leaned over and gave me a quick kiss.
Once we were driving, he said, “What are the chances that your dad wouldn’t notice if I stayed over on a regular basis?”
“Not good, but maybe we can figure something out. Like a spell to mask someone’s snoring.”
“Funny,” he said.
I reached over and grabbed his hand. “You make me forget about being sad.”
He squeezed my hand but didn’t say anything.
“I did something cool today.” I told him about the rose bushes.
“You could make a killing as a landscaper,” he teased.