by Nadia S. Lee
The laugh Lina let out this time was full-blown. “You’re kidding.”
“No. I swear the man spends all his time memorizing accident stats.”
“So how many times has he been reelected?”
“Oh, hundreds, probably. Because he’s a good guy, and we love him.” Molly leaned forward. “So. The secret?”
Lina cleared her throat, then decided to just say it. There was no way to pretty up what had happened. “Well, the fact is…today’s my wedding day.” She spread her arms with an awkward, embarrassed smile. “Ta-da. Here I am.”
Molly stared at her for a moment, then realized what must have happened. “Oh no.” Her face fell. “That’s awful. I’m so sorry.”
“It’s not a total disaster.” Or at least Lina hoped it wouldn’t feel that way if she kept telling herself and everyone else that.
Molly tilted her head. “He hurt you, didn’t he?”
“Huh?”
“Your eyes are a little swollen.” She sounded almost apologetic. “That’s how I knew.”
“He did.” Lina shrugged and forced a smile, not wanting to look too pathetic.
“You should totally do the curse.”
Lina blinked. “Curse? Like make him shrivel and die kind of a thing?”
“No!” Molly shook her head. “Not like that. You take a piece of paper in your hands, close your eyes, really focus on the guy and imagine putting his essence into the paper. You can also imagine him getting hundreds of warts on his face too, if it’ll make you feel better.”
“Okay. Then what?” Lina would be gobsmacked if a girl who looked as sensible as Molly really thought the object of the curse would have a wart breakout.
“Then you throw the paper and some kind of offering into fire, and voilà, you’re done.” Molly smiled conspiratorially. “What do you think? Pretty neat, huh? You don’t have to limit yourself to just warts. You can make him sneeze every time he’s around you so he’ll never bother you again or…or give him diarrhea every time he has an important meeting. That’s a good one.”
Lina laughed. “Have you tried it? And more importantly, did it ever work?”
“I did once, but I don’t know if it worked because he wasn’t from around here.” Molly narrowed her eyes. “Still, it was deeply satisfying. You know, on a personal level.”
“Are you telling Lina about the ridiculous curse?” Sam said just then, coming out the kitchen with a glass of what appeared to be orange juice. Standing behind the back of the couch, he handed it to Lina.
“The curse is actually your thing, not mine.”
Lina looked up at him with a shock. Sam the stable, Harvard-educated lawyer was into spells?
He caught the look and sighed. “It’s not a curse, but a semi-meditative thing I do to rid myself of negative people and experiences keeping me down. She’s the one who added the ridiculous ‘make the guy vomit frogs’ stuff.”
“Exactly,” Molly said. “What’s the point if I can’t derive some good, perverse pleasure out of it? I need closure, a feeling that the forces of good will triumph over evil.” She turned to Lina. “We should totally do it. Here.” She disappeared for a moment and came back with a fistful of toilet paper. “I presume the man deserves no better than this.”
Lina chuckled. “You presume correctly.”
“Perfect. So go ahead. Close your eyes and concentrate. Plus the just desserts I told you about.”
Sam rolled his eyes and squeezed Lina’s shoulder. She closed her eyes and imagined shoving the spirit of Jared kicking and screaming into the toilet paper. How should she make him suffer? Nothing too cruel, but at the same time, something fitting. Maybe making him sneeze every time he was around women should do it. See how far he could get with the ladies if he was constantly snuffling. Then she also added Crystal’s spirit to the mix—after all, they belonged together for what they’d done—and maybe she’d get a wart or two on her face.
“Done.” Lina opened her eyes.
“Okay, now for the fire.”
“We can use the barbecue grill,” Sam said. “Come on, let me take you out back.” He extended a hand to help her up.
Lina took it, then almost flinched at the sudden jolt, a subtle but unmistakable tingling sensation spreading through her from the skin-to-skin contact. What was wrong with her that she was feeling like she’d been thrown back into her high school freshman year, when she’d first held hands with a boy in her drama class?
She stole a quick glance at Sam through her lashes. He looked totally calm and unperturbed.
She wanted to turn her hand and explore his palm and long, strong fingers. The craziest impulse to hold on to him forever flashed through her, and she swallowed a gasp at the thought. Precisely because of that, she withdrew her hand quietly and slowly. Maybe she was a little drunk from the beer she’d had at Sam’s—after all, she hadn’t had much to eat all day, and she was likely dehydrated too. At best, she was on a rebound, and her mind didn’t care what man it was as long as he was good-hearted and attractive. It wasn’t fair for her to latch on to Sam that way, no matter how dreamy he might be. It would be a crummy way to pay him back for the kindness he’d shown her.
They walked past the wide, homey kitchen with state-of-the-art appliances, then out a sliding glass door and into a big yard. Hamburger patties and hot dogs sizzled on a sizable grill under a shade. A table next to it had empty Styrofoam packages and wraps. A big, beefy man in his late fifties or early sixties watched over the food, a huge black apron around his body and a giant metal spatula in his hand.
“Hey, Dad,” Sam said.
“Sam! Come take some of this inside.” He gestured at a platter of piping-hot burgers and hot dogs, then smiled at Lina, lines fanning out of corners of his warm blue eyes. His hair was still almost all black, with some gray at the temples. “Lina, right? Nice to meet you. I’m Steve. And before you try any Mr. Roberts stuff, I want you to know Mr. Roberts is what people called my father.”
“Great. Steve. Nice to meet you.”
“I’ll be in soon. Careful to stand downwind or you’ll end up smelling like smoke.”
“I don’t mind.” She smiled.
“We’re here to borrow the grill for a moment, Dad,” Sam said.
“Oh?”
“I’m doing a curse,” Lina said.
Steve laughed. “Lemme guess. Molly?”
“Yup.”
“That girl.” He shook his head, his massive shoulders shrugging. “Hold on a sec.” He moved the patties so she would have some space to shove the paper through to the red coals glowing underneath. “All right, go ahead.”
“What’s the offering?” Lina asked as she watched the paper catch fire.
“Here.” Sam pinched a bit of meat off an already cooked patty and tossed it over the small fire that was rapidly dying.
“Thanks.”
“Now take the stuff inside before it gets cold,” Steve said. “I’m almost done here. I’ll be along in a minute.”
Sam picked up the platter, and Lina followed him in.
“Do you feel better now?” Sam asked.
She considered. She’d thought the whole curse thing silly, but she actually did feel freer somehow, as though the specters of Jared and Crystal had been expunged from her mind as the toilet paper had turned to ashes. “You know…I do. Thank you. And I have to thank Molly too.”
“Cool.” Sam smiled. “So…you hungry?”
“I’m famished!” Now that she no longer felt awful and dejected, her appetite was coming back with a vengeance.
“Then let’s eat.”
Chapter Five
Sam watched Lina. The darkness in her eyes wasn’t as pronounced as before, and she smiled more easily, her posture more relaxed.
Although he was annoyed with his sister for telling Lina about the silly ritual—Molly had made it sound so much odder than it really was—he was glad Lina seemed to be doing better.
As he finished his first burger, he fle
xed and un-flexed his right hand, the one that had held Lina’s earlier. He could swear he’d felt a shock of electricity between them…although maybe he’d hallucinated it. She’d pulled her hand back, and why would she have done that if she’d felt something?
The worst thing was, he hadn’t wanted to let go. Horrible, since he knew what she was going through, and the last thing she needed was him making a move on her. He felt even more atrocious knowing that he’d spent time in the kitchen with his mom asking her to not make any assumptions about him and Lina—or God forbid, insinuate they should start dating, since that wasn’t happening.
Mom had understood. “Goodness. Of course I won’t, not in this kind of situation. That poor child.” She’d shaken her head. “No wonder Wayne gave her a pass. Nobody in this town ever had a reason that compelling. You be nice to her too, and I’ll make sure she gets some decent food into her.”
And acting on his attraction to Lina at the moment would not be being nice.
“Another burger?” his mother asked sweetly.
“Yes, please,” he answered.
“How about you, dear?”
Lina shook her head. “I already had one plus a hot dog. I think I’m good, thanks.”
“Better eat up,” Molly said between bites. “Otherwise there won’t be any second helpings left. Sam”—she tilted her chin in his direction—“is a total pig, and if you’re too slow…”
“Molly,” Patty said, “please. She’s a guest.”
Lina smiled. “It’s all right, Patty. I don’t mind.”
“I do. I raised her to be more polite.”
Steve served himself another heaping mound of potato salad. “So, Lina. Where you from?”
“New York. My family’s from there.”
“What part of New York?” Molly asked.
“Manhattan. Actually…my sister was engaged to Sam.”
“Oh.” Patty raised her eyebrows. “So you’re a Vogel.”
Sam cringed at his mom’s slightly shocked and judgmental tone. As someone who loved her hometown, she’d taken it as a personal insult that Jolie had called Silver Springs “that little backward town of no importance.” He’d explained to his mother Jolie hadn’t meant to insult her. To someone who’d been born and raised in Manhattan, any other place seemed like Hicksville. But Patty wouldn’t hear of it.
An awkward smile on Lina’s face said, Why, yes, is that a problem?
Thankfully, his mother’s manners prevailed. “It was too bad the way Jolie and Sam broke up.”
“I heard.”
“So you were born and raised in Manhattan too, huh?” Molly asked, her voice overly friendly, which Sam recognized as a valiant attempt to lessen the tension.
“Yes.”
“Did you go to Harvard too?”
The smile on Lina’s face turned pained. “No. I went to the University of Michigan.”
“That’s a great school,” Steve said. “What’d you study? Law? Economics?”
Lina flushed. “Um—”
Sam waved his arm over the table. “Hey, come on. This is a social dinner. If you’re that curious, just ask for a résumé later.”
“I was just making conversation, trying to get to know her,” Molly said.
“I don’t mind,” Lina interjected.
“Well, I do.” Sam minded. A lot. She’d looked so forlorn when she’d spoken of her failures—not going to Harvard or studying law like her family. She’d just started to feel better about the whole fiasco with her unfaithful groom. His family didn’t need to put a damper on her mood by asking about her background as though she were a witness they were cross-examining to find a good pressure point.
Patty stared at Sam like he’d developed breasts. Steve merely grunted, and Molly blinked a few times, her gaze darting between Patty and Sam.
“Anybody want more potato salad?” Steve said. “Else I’m taking the last bit.”
“Go ahead. I’ll bring out some more.” Patty got up.
“Thanks, hon,” Steve said.
“Let me help.” Sam stood up and went to the kitchen with his mother.
She reached inside the fridge and pulled out a huge Tupperware full of the white stuff. Steve loved it, so she usually made a big batch whenever they were having barbecue.
“Mom, you don’t have to look at her like she’s Jolie,” Sam said, keeping his voice low.
“You heard her. Hand me the serving spoon from the drawer in front of you.”
He pulled it out and gave it to his mom. “She only said she was from Manhattan. Not everyone from there thinks small towns are terrible.”
“But she’s from that same family. I never got a good feel from Jolie’s parents either.”
“They’re just image-conscious.” Overly so, in Sam’s opinion, but he kept that to himself. “Just part of business in a place like Manhattan. Dad’s practice is the only one here in town, but in New York there are thousands of law firms. It’s cutthroat. That’s all.”
“If that’s all there is, why didn’t you let me know she’s Jolie’s sister?”
“Because…I knew it would upset you and might make you biased against her from the beginning.”
She pursed her lips and refused to respond. That was what his mother did when she knew she’d lost an argument.
“Besides, Lina’s not even a lawyer, and she’s going through something that no woman should. Come on, Mom.”
Patty put large scoops of potato salad in a serving bowl, then sighed. “You’re right. I just…hate any reminder of that awful girl. She took you for granted, always thinking she’s better than you just because she was from Manhattan.” She snorted. “You graduated summa cum laude, while she only magna.”
He almost laughed at her sneering derision. His mother was never one to brag about his academic achievements—said it would give him a big head—but when it came to defending him, she would use whatever weapon she had.
“Mom, I don’t care. Jolie’s in the rearview mirror, and you shouldn’t let her affect how you see Lina. Always judge people on their own merits, nothing more… Isn’t that what you told me?”
She sighed again. “There are times I wish I weren’t so sensible.”
He wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “It’s why I love and respect you.”
She planted a light peck on his cheek. “All right.”
When they returned to the dining room, Steve, Molly and Lina were engaged in a lively discussion about baseball. Of course, the first two were rooting for the Rockies, while Lina was for the Mets.
Steve immediately took the potato salad—all of it—since he knew nobody else would want more anyway.
“I don’t know how you can pick only one team,” Molly was saying. “How about the Yankees? Don’t they deserve some love too?”
“They get plenty of love, just not from me.”
“Oooh.” Molly glanced at Sam. “You know my brother’s a Yankees fan, right?”
Lina’s gaze swung to his. “You are?”
“Not really. I only cheered for the Yankees once or twice while in Manhattan.” Mainly because Jolie loved the team.
“As long as you don’t root for them in front of me, we’re all good.” Lina smiled sweetly.
“I won’t,” he said, even though he knew the promise was moot. Lina wouldn’t be in Silver Springs long enough for that.
And for some reason, the fact constricted his chest.
Chapter Six
“I don’t think your mom likes me that much,” Lina said. They were walking back to Sam’s house after putting away most of an excellent blueberry pie. It was a little after nine thirty, and the stars shone in the night sky like Christmas lights someone had forgotten. She’d never seen them this clearly. Maybe Mother Nature came closer to you the farther you got away from big cities full of skyscrapers.
“What makes you say that?” Sam asked.
“Come on. You sensed it too, which is why you went to the kitchen with her, right?”
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He was quiet for so long she thought he wouldn’t answer. Then he suddenly said, “Jolie said something once, and it hurt her feelings. But that doesn’t mean she’s upset with you. I think she was just a bit startled to realize you’re Jolie’s sister.”
“Because I didn’t go to Harvard?” Lina recalled the look on Patty’s face. It was obvious she’d thought everyone in Lina’s family had gone to Harvard. Well, everyone else had…she’d been the first to break the tradition.
“No. Because you’re…very down to earth.” He smiled.
Still skeptical, Lina nodded anyway, since that seemed to be the right thing to do. Sam was probably too nice to say anything less than kind.
“When I brought Jolie here, it was with the idea of asking her to move here with me. But I don’t think she knew just how small Silver Springs is. She couldn’t really adjust…said she needed to be in New York.”
That sounded just like Jolie. To her, Manhattan was the center of the universe. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. It was a long time ago.”
He smiled, but there was something a bit sad about it. Maybe Jolie had been crueler than he let on. She was great at tearing down those she deemed to be not on her side, and asking her to move to a town as small as this might’ve upset her more than he’d anticipated.
They reached Sam’s house in no time. When he hit the lights as he closed the door behind them, Lina shook her head at the empty beer bottles they’d left before going to his parents’. Sam reached for them at the same time she did, and their hands brushed.
The same electric jolt shot through her, and she pulled back without thinking, her fingertips tingling. Heat suffused her cheeks, and she kept her head down so Sam wouldn’t see her reaction.
Did this mean the spark she’d felt at his parents’ house hadn’t been a fluke? She wasn’t sure what to make of it. She’d never experienced this with Jared, ever. Or any of the men she’d ever dated. They’d always been pleasant, and she’d assumed the sizzling chemistry Crystal liked to talk about was exactly that—just talk.
“I think I’ll call it a night.” Her voice came out breathy. Goodness, she never sounded like that, ever.