by M J Hutto
“Good idea. I’ll pick up something later. Or maybe there’s something in Granda’s stuff in the attic at Mother and Father’s house. I should’ve brought those things home already.”
Shoulder lifting, I wondered aloud. “Hell, he could have a book of shadows in there. I went through it not long after he died but I was in a miserable state so who knows what’s actually there.”
I finished my breakfast and showered. I had to find something to wear to this birthday thing tonight. I really had no idea what. I wondered if Jaylin might know who my jerk cousin was sending to check on me. Please, not Mother. I didn’t think she would be torn away from party prep, but one never knew with her. She chose inopportune times to act maternally. And they’d returned last night, she had left me a voicemail.
A gentle knock on the bathroom door caused my eyes to slant suspiciously. I took a deep breath and released it slowly. Not Mother, not Mother, not Mother was my chant in my head but there weren’t that many choices with my wards intact. Although I guessed Dorian could’ve let them in.
“Be there in a few.”
A muffled reply came. Female but I couldn’t really hear. I finished up, the hot water no longer soothing. I wrapped one of my fluffiest towels around me. Karmine was waiting outside the door with a cup of hot tea when I opened it.
“Oh, thank goodness!” At her raised brows and o shaped mouth I went on, “Dorian, being Dorian, wouldn’t tell me who he had coming to check on me.”
She laughed. “Dick. He could’ve at least told you it wasn’t Mother.”
“Right!?!”
I sipped the tea while we walked to my room. Dressed in a white pantsuit and heels, Karmine looked happy and bright. Her hair was smooth and freely swinging, her makeup highlighted her exotic looking eyes. She rarely went out without being put together.
“I have no idea what to wear tonight,” I sighed as we went into the room.
She pushed the door closed motioning to the clothing bag on the back of the door, “Lucky for you, you have a fairy god-sister. There are shoes on the bed too. You’ll just need to accessorize.”
Jaylin was standing in the corner. Karmine didn’t even glance in that direction. She didn’t seem the least sensitive to chaos, nor had she ever. She had been sad when we were children, now she simply accepted it.
As I unwrapped the dress I explained about Jaylin. Karmine accepted it with little fuss, simply asking where Jaylin was in the room. She waved, said hi and asked what we thought of the outfit.
It was beautiful. And not something I would have even tried on without her prodding. It was a deep forest green pantsuit made of chiffon; three-quarter, open billowing triangle sleeves, wide leg pants, diamond open back with clasp at the neck and a deep V-necked front. There was a wide silver belt around the waist.
Jaylin clapped her hands, I looked at the outfit and wondered if I could pull that off. I was about to tell her how beautiful it was, but I couldn’t possibly wear it.
“Do me a favor and just try it on. And TRUST me!”
I put it on and twirled around. It flowed and drifted softly around me. It was a little long, but I was willing to bet there were heels in the box on my bed.
It actually looked pretty good. I could wear my hair up or down. She brought a pair of gem encrusted heels over. They were sparkling and audacious, I loved them. I slipped them on and stood three inches taller. The length was no longer an issue.
Karmine pulled part of my hair up, leaving the majority down around my shoulders. She leaned her chin on my shoulder and smiled happily. Jaylin whistled.
“You look beautiful, and the outfit looks great too. What do you think?”
“You chose well,” I said in my best English accent. “I love it. But what are you wearing? What time is it now and what time do I need to be there?”
“It’s like eight-ish. You don’t need to be there until tonight, right? You’re the guest of honor, get there when you’re ready. But probably no later than six. Okay? I don’t want Mother sending out the cavalry looking for you. What are your plans today and how are you feeling?”
I changed into more comfortable clothes while I answered her. “I feel better today. Less tired, more coherent.” I shrugged into my favorite old sweatshirt. “Better. No plans really. You’ve taken care of the outfit debacle, so I don’t have much to do. I need to check on the shop and my animals. Yesterday was scrambled egg day and they’re probably…”
“We took care of it.”
I frowned at her. “We who? You were here yesterday?”
“No, but I talked to your Detective Aether on the phone several times. He gave Jekyll and Hyde their well-cooked, blandidy bland scrambled eggs and Emma and Lucy a pouch of tuna each. They were in heaven. All of them allowed him to pet them and showed him their palatial estate.”
“Oh,” I replied quietly. “That was nice. How did he get your number?”
“He didn’t. I called to check on you. He picked up the phone when I asked him to. It’s probably still on your machine,” she said pointing. “I guess it saves messages if you pick them up. He called me back later when you didn’t wake up after several hours. I told him not to worry, that chaos was sometimes unforgiving, and it might take you awhile to get over it.”
She touched my arm tentatively. “Did you use a potion and miscalculate? Doing something different?”
I shook my head. “No. I didn’t realize I was using chaos to be honest. That ruby necklace Babushka gave me is apparently enchanted or spelled or something. Maybe it uses a person’s personal chaos to power itself. That might explain why it was so strong when it was next to my skin.
“I had a DREAM too. That probably explains why I slept so long. It was not a good one. I couldn’t get out of it, he had to wake me up. You know I have a harder time recovering when someone else wakes me than if I do it on my own.”
Her forehead crinkled. “So, like, who was the dream about?”
I shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know. I couldn’t see and most of what I remember is pain and whistling.”
“You mean like Andy Griffith, whistling?”
“Well, yes and no. It was whistling like the intro to the show, but it wasn’t that one. Although, it was a song. Something I should know. But I can’t quite catch it.”
“Can you whistle it?”
“I probably could’ve remembered it well enough right after the dream but couldn’t have made my lips do it. I can’t remember it enough to try now. That is very frustrating. I think I’d know it if I heard it again.”
“We can go to lunch and listen to whistling songs on my mobile. I checked on them in the shop before I came over too. Reva is baking and they’re planning to close early tonight to come to your birthday party. They’ve also given all the “leftovers” out.
“I don’t really know. Jaylin and I are supposed to be doing some things today. I really don’t feel much like being around a lot of people,” I groused. “It’s going to be a struggle tonight. It’s hard when there are so many,” I shrugged. “Shielding from everything, just depleting I guess, not really hard.”
“That’s okay, no problem,” she smiled encouragingly. “Why don’t I go have lunch with Victor and I’ll bring you something back? I’ll bring my outfit with me and we can get ready together. We can even ride over together if you want. It’ll give us both an excuse to leave if we need it tonight.”
I nodded. “That sounds good. I might rest a little this afternoon, so I don’t get so tired tonight.”
She nodded, waved, and left. Jaylin was watching it all.
“Why didn’t you want to go? We don’t have plans.”
“We should, there’s still someone out there that might kill me. Unless you know something I don’t. Have they told you I’m safe now?”
She shook her head slowly. “No.”
We stared at each other from each end of the couch. I had no idea how to make this better, how to not die? How does one go about that? Do I change my routine, d
o I leave it the same? I’d learned long ago that trying to fix things often meant making them happen or making them worse.
We brainstormed for hours. The animals came and went. I checked on the shop and came back. We tried to come at it from every angle. Thibbs joined us, his input added notes we hadn’t thought of before. Like maybe it was someone totally unknown, a random event. Maybe the best plan was to have someone with me all the time, to get help when the time came.
Our plans finally amounted to me keeping someone with me as much as possible, staying focused and hyper aware, and giving someone a locator charm attuned to me.
Thibbs could be with me most of the time and could actually talk to people if it was needed. Jaylin could be with me, we hoped, during the hours he was in the InBetween. But she couldn’t talk to anyone. She could maybe get Detective Hottie’s or Dorian’s attention. Maybe.
We could give the charm to someone or leave it where the closest person could find it. We decided giving it to Dorian would be the best. He would be nearby and would be one of the first to get notified if something happened to me. We could make that happen too. The charm would need to be activated to track me and would probably only last about two hours. My blood for the activation should last a week refrigerated, I’d have to provide new samples weekly if we didn’t get this sorted.
Luckily, I had created those Placement Potation’s earlier in the week. I snagged one from the shop. I would be able to use the potion to create an amulet he could use to locate me if we needed. I chose something he wouldn’t mind wearing on a bracelet, a shark’s tooth. It would only increase the hunter drive of the potion, hopefully making it easier to locate me.
I poured the potion into a small copper bowl and submerged the shark’s tooth, added two lava beads to the mix, for testing purposes later tonight, raised the bowl with both hands, and presented it to the four corners, the earth, and the sky. I placed the bowl on the counter and chanted my spell for joining the potion to the amulet.
I used my mini torch, like the ones they use to flambé in the kitchen, to heat the bowl during the last sentence of the chanted spell. I pushed chaos around it into the amulet and felt the spell lock into place. A braided hemp bracelet to hold the shark’s tooth with lave beads on each side in place and the amulet was competed.
I used a finger stick, like the ones diabetics use to check their blood sugars to prick my finger. I had pediatric blood tubes I could use to hold my blood so he could refrigerate it, they held about half a milliliter of blood, a very small amount. We could transport it to Mother and Father’s house in an ice pack and stick it in their refrigerator tonight.
A look at the clock showed it was nearly time to get ready for the party. I wondered where Karmine had gotten off to but maybe I could lay down for a quick nap before she got there.
Before I fell asleep, I heard Thibbs and Jaylin talking about the party. They were both planning to attend.
“We just need to make sure she’s okay. We’re going to have to watch her all the time. I just wish I knew where the attack was coming from.”
“Not much we can do but keep her in our sights. It’s a party, cher. There gon’ be plenty of ne’er do wells there. I found in the past it’s not the ones you expect it to be. It’s the sneaky ones, the ones NO one expects.”
Jaylin sighed loudly. “That is exactly what I’m worried about. How can we keep her safe if we don’t know?”
“We just gon have to do our best and laissez les bon temps rouler, mon amie.”
“Oh yes, the good times may roll but heads will if something happens to my friend.”
Jaylin was vehement, Thibbs chuckled. “We gon do our best, we gon do our best.”
18 Mistletoe, Mother?
Karmine arrived, woke me up, then we dressed and made it to our parents’ home in less than one hour. This was a record for both of us. I allowed her to do my makeup and my hair, mostly because my brain was still groggy from sleep. She did a fantastic job.
She gave me another gift-as if the outfit, hair, and makeup weren’t enough. It was a string of mixed color freshwater pearls. They were irregular, colorful, and beautiful. They nestled along my collarbone and at my throat hung a large trillion shaped diamond. I rode with her to the party. I had the amulet bracelet, my secret stash of blood and a pair of ballet flats in my purse. It did not match my outfit; I’d have to hide it in my old room during the party or my mother would take it.
There were so many cars we thought we’d have to park on the street three houses down. We were waved to the house by several gentlemen with coned flashlights. Apparently, my mother had hired parking attendants for tonight. Swell. It seemed this was indeed to be a grand social event.
She handed over the keys, grabbed my arm and escorted me inside. There was a chill to the air, could be snow in the forecast for my birthday. Or maybe not, likely not.
Once inside we headed for the living room but realized the party was out back. There was quite the winter wonderland out there. Huge, decorated trees, snowmen (only Mother could do snow in the south with no snow), an ice rink in the swimming pool, and a marshmallow-roasting fire pit. This was set up in the conservatory. The skating rink had someone with ice skates for anyone who wanted to try.
I shook my head incredulously. “How did she manage to put this together on such short notice?”
“I think we underestimate her abilities, or at least her ability to prove her party prowess. Plus, this will be the talk of the season.”
Did I mention there was snow sprinkling down from the glass ceiling? I had no idea how she had done that. Maybe an enchantment or spell. Or maybe they’d set up snow blowers. Maybe there was a giant shaving ice up there. I looked up; I didn’t see one.
We saw Maxine and Reva. They were laughing and talking with a group of people. They seemed to be having a great time. I needed to ask Reva how her dad’s appointment had gone. Hopefully, it was a false alarm. I checked my shields, so many people would quickly overload my senses. It was important to keep them locked up tight.
Karmine was leading me over toward Victor and his group. She wasn’t letting go of me so I could fade into the background. The chill in the air grew as we stopped beside him. He leaned into Karmine to kiss her cheek while nodding to me.
“Happy birthday, Kable.”
I smiled thinly, “Thank you very much. I’m glad you could all come. Mother certainly seems to have invited everyone who’s anyone.”
His group of people included the mayor, a congressman, the police chief, a local celebrity, and someone I didn’t recognize. I nodded to them all and thanked them for their birthday wishes.
As I glanced around, I noticed a live band near the house, playing classical Christmas music. When I say band, understand there was a cello, a violin, flutes, a piano, a trumpet, a drum and maybe some others I didn’t see or know. And at least one vocalist. There was a dance floor set up in front of them. And they were dressed as elves, bless their hearts. I looked around for Santa, he was sitting amongst the Christmas trees with a large bag full of toys.
Among all the things and people I saw, what I didn’t see was my mother. I needed to thank her for the beautiful party and the thought she had put into it. I sent a thought to Jaylin and Thibbs flew out from the safety of my hair. He flew over to the refreshment table to look around. I went to put my bag away and find my mother.
On my way back from my room, she found me.
“You look lovely, dear. You can’t hide in here. Show off your beautiful smile and enjoy your party.”
“Thank you, Mother. You look amazing as always.”
She smoothed her hands over the silver silk pants suit. The black and silver beading on the top was exquisitely done in the shapes of snowflakes. Her hair was done up on a simple chignon.
“Thank you, darling. Have you been out yet? Are the decorations all right?”
“Yes, ma’am. Everything is wonderful. I’m astonished and delighted. The snowfall is amazing. Is it a spell or s
now blowers?”
She smiled, pleased. “It’s a charm I believe. Your father arranged it with someone from his club. It is quite lovely.”
She kissed my cheek and took my elbow with her own to lead me back toward the party. She snagged us both a glass of wine on the way out. I nodded my thanks to the server before we walked into the chilled snowy air.
She marched us over to my father before letting me go. We exchanged cheek kisses as well and he complimented my outfit. I accepted and gave him one in return. His dark gray slacks, white button down and green cardigan gave him the look of a wealthy golfer, which he was. He’d paired them with expensive leather loafers and a dark gray newsboy hat that matched his slacks perfectly. He removed the cardigan to show off his gray suspenders.
I shook my head, laughing happily while my mother pursed her lips. She shook her head and covered her mouth to hide her grin.
“You are incorrigible.”
He snapped his suspenders and winked at her. “Here’s lookin at you kid.”
I laughed. They were pains in my ass sometimes, but they loved each other deeply and always tried to do what they thought was best for us. Sometimes that meant trying to get us to conform. Sometimes it meant being harsh and sending us away.
Mother wasn’t like her parents; she didn’t understand them, and I was much like them. I guess she saw them in me and tried to guard against what some might feel were bad outcomes. The parts she didn’t appreciate or approve of in them were parts she tried to squash out of me.
I personally didn’t feel like growing old with the person you loved with your whole heart was a bad thing. Be that in poverty, wealth or somewhere in between. My grandparents gave it all away while they were here to see it used. They didn’t care if there was a single thing left to give away when they died. They traveled and lived and loved. They also practiced alternative lifestyles, never conforming to traditional values.