Fort Collins

by Christian, Claudia Hall

  “Mmm,” Otis said. “Maybe it’s better to say, ‘When you give to a worthy cause, it grows exponentially.’”

  “That’s it,” Seth said in encouragement.

  “Make more sense?” Otis asked.

  “If you want to heal an entire family, cure the parents,” Otis said. “It will grow to the children.”

  “Same for sick children,” Anjelika said. “Heal the doctor, the nurses, and the most sick child. The whole hospital will feel it.”

  Anjelika and Otis nodded as if what they were saying made perfect sense. Everyone in the room looked at them in a kind of confused silence.

  “What are you talking about?” Jill asked finally.

  “I think we can help,” Seth said. He nodded to Delphie, who sat up a little straighter.

  “The Trickster taught me that I didn’t have to give away my gifts to just anyone,” Delphie said.

  Seth nodded.

  “I can see anyone’s destiny,” Delphie said. “Anyone’s.”

  “I don’t have to play for anyone who asks me,” Seth said. “My music is a gift, and I choose who gets to hear it.”

  “First step,” Otis said with a nod. “You decide who gets your gifts. Your choice. Next step, pick those who are worthy, and cause your gift to grow like compound interest.”

  “I guess I was trying to match what they said, with my own experience of the Trickster,” Abi said. “And I have to say. . .”

  She glanced at Fin, who was watching her face. She gave him a soft smile.

  “This kind of knowledge — who to use your magic with, who to pick — it’s taught in Fairy 101,” Abi said.

  “I learned to ground before using the piano,” Seth said with a nod. “It was the first lesson my mother gave me.”

  “Me, too,” Delphie said with a shrug. “It’s something that must happen if you’re going to reach out to the ether.”

  “This is really good,” Sandy said with a bright nod. “Everyone will be able to help.”

  “Mom? Otis?” Jill asked. “Delphie? Seth? Will you teach Katy what she needs to know?”

  “Of course,” Seth said at the same time Anjelika said, “Absolutely” and Otis nodded.

  “Delphie?” Jill asked.

  “Oh,” Delphie looked embarrassed. “I’m already doing that with Katy.”

  Jill looked down at Katy, who nodded.

  “You don’t give your precious brownies to just anyone!” Katy said with a grin.

  Jill smiled at Katy’s oft-repeated statement and realized that Delphie was already teaching Katy valuable lessons.

  “Will you continue?” Jill asked.

  “Of course,” Delphie said. “Seth, me, Anjelika, and Otis — we’ll do it.”

  “You can trust us, Jill,” Otis said.

  Jill nodded her thanks and turned to Sandy, Sam, and Mike. They looked at each other until Mike pointed to Sandy. She nodded.

  “We, um.” Sandy stopped talking as soon as she noticed that everyone was looking at her. She tucked a loose piece of hair behind her ear and swallowed. “We believe that the reason humans don’t have as much trouble with this Trickster is that we — humans I mean — know that love is everything.”

  Sandy cleared her throat.

  “Love is the most powerful force on this Earth,” Sandy said.

  “If Katy is able to keep loving, she’ll be able to vanquish her Trickster like that,” Mike said, snapping his fingers.

  Sam nodded. The room was silent for a moment. Tanesha started to applaud and soon everyone was clapping.

  “Brilliant!” Otis said, and everyone nodded.

  “Dad?” Jill asked. “What do you Olympians know?”

  “There is no Trickster,” Perses said. “That is the trick.”

  Every head turned to gawk at him.

  “But. . . Katy and. . .” Jill started.

  “It was one thing for me to be tortured, but when my daughter, Hecate, was tortured by the creature. . .” Perses scowled.

  Jill’s eyes flicked to Anjelika. There was not even a glimmer of jealousy on Anjelika’s face. Instead, she was listening to him intently. Jill turned back to look at her father.

  “I looked the world over for a millennium,” Perses said. “I was intent on destroying this creature that dared to torture my beautiful daughter. I followed every lead, listened to every wise man, shaman, and even the infernal Plato. I promise you, there is no Trickster.”

  Heather nodded.

  “Then, what is this thing?” Fin stood up and turned to face Perses. “I still have nightmares about my time with. . .”

  Every head moved up and down in agreement.

  “I still wake screaming,” Delphie said. She shivered.

  “The Trickster is the dark side of our gifts,” Heather said. “This dark side must be resolved in order for us to use our gifts for good.”

  “Are you saying Katy has some really dark side?” Jill asked. For her own comfort, she picked up Katy. Understanding her mother’s fear, Katy pressed her face into the crook of Jill’s neck. “My Katy?”

  “That makes a hell of a lot of sense,” said Seth, ignoring Jill’s fear. He put his hand on Delphie’s shoulder. “You are so powerful that you would have a depth of shadow. . .”

  “Like Jung’s shadow?” Sam said. “Celia and I went to a Jungian therapist to have our dreams analyzed. Delphie, you remember.”

  “That’s actually the first time I got a handle on the entire business,” Delphie said with a nod.

  “But Katy. . .” Jill said.

  “We need to help Katy become whole without tearing herself apart,” Perses said. “These suggestions are useful.”

  “But you’ll help?” Jill asked.

  “Of course,” Perses said.

  “I will do as I pledged,” Fin said. “Will you help our child?”

  “I will,” Perses said.

  Fin’s head went from person to person and saw that they all agreed.

  “Then we are in agreement,” Perses said. “You will help, Katherine, as I will help your children.”

  Some said “yes,” while others simply nodded.

  “Good,” Jill said. “Thank you.”

  Caught up in their own thoughts, everyone stared straight ahead. The warm companionship of the afternoon slipped away, and they were merely powerful individuals who happened to be in the same place. The gathering was clearly over. Jill thanked each person individually as they left.

  “How do you think it went?” Sandy asked as she left.

  “I know what we need to teach Katy,” Jill said.

  “Seems like something we should teach all of our kids,” Tanesha said. “Jabari could use it. Hell, I need to learn to plant my feet.”

  “She’s right,” Heather said. “Tink could really benefit from knowing this stuff.”

  The girlfriends nodded.

  “Are you back to the hospital?” Heather asked Sandy.

  “I need to find out what Sissy wants to do,” Sandy said.

  “Any ideas?” Tanesha asked.

  “She’ll stay here in New York,” Sandy said. She gave her friends a sad smile. “She’s on her way to her dreams. We are already in her rearview mirror.”

  “Not until we teach her this stuff,” Tanesha said. She held out an arm, and Sandy let Tanesha hug her.

  “Sissy will need to know it,” Heather said with a smile.

  Sandy gave them a sad smile.

  “I should go,” Sandy said. “You want to share a cab?”

  “Sure,” Jill said.

  The solemn mood stayed with them long after they’d left the apartment. The girlfriends knew that they would each have to confront their inner demons someday soon.

  At least, they would be able to do it together.

  ~~~~~~~~

  Saturday evening — 6:07 p.m.

  New York City, New York

  “It sounds pretty weird,” Sissy said to Sandy as they shared a contraband pint of butter pecan ice cream.
r />   “It was weird,” Sandy said with a nod.

  “And the final outcome was some Carl Jung stuff about the shadow?” Sissy asked.

  “Exactly,” Sandy said. She looked into the ice cream container before setting it down. “All gone. Sorry.”

  “It was delicious,” Sissy said with a smile.

  Sandy smiled.

  “I’m amazed at how well you’re doing, Sis,” Sandy said. “I really thought I’d lost you this last time.”

  “I thought I was done, too,” Sissy said. “Jill and her grandfather have saved my life.”

  “Oh? Huh,” Sandy said.

  “What?”

  “I think you saved yourself. They just helped the process along,” Sandy said.

  “Why do you say that?” Sissy asked.

  “I was reminded today that love is the most powerful force in the world,” Sandy said. She gave Sissy a soft smile. “You have Ivan now. There isn’t much you two can’t do.”

  “But. . .” Sissy sighed and lay back on the bed.

  “What’s going on?” Sandy asked.

  “They asked me to move here,” Sissy said. “I guess you know that.”

  “Ivan told me,” Sandy said.

  “What do you think?” Sissy asked.

  “It doesn’t matter what I think, Sissy,” Sandy said. “It only really matters what you think.”

  “Oh,” Sissy said. She didn’t say anything for a few minutes.

  “You love Ivan, right?” Sandy asked.

  “I think so,” Sissy said.

  Sandy grinned at her sister.

  “What?” Sissy asked.

  “You used to talk a lot more freely about loving Ivan when you were four years old,” Sandy said. “Do you remember?”

  Sissy nodded.

  “So. . .?” Sandy asked.

  “That was before I knew about. . .” Sissy lowered her voice, “. . . sex.”

  “Ah,” Sandy said. “You’re worried about sex.”

  Sissy winced, and Sandy smiled.

  “He’s so. . .”

  “Sexy,” Sandy said with a nod.

  “And has been with lots of people,” Sissy said. “And I. . . He wants me to live with him. I’ve been really sick and I don’t feel ready to. . . you know, I mean I want to, but. . . maybe not for a while. . . I mean, I just had my first grown-up kiss. Well, second, if you count that time under the mistletoe with Charlie’s friend, Carlos.”

  “Carlos,” Sandy said. “That’s right. I’d forgotten all about him.”

  “I haven’t,” Sissy said with a firm nod.

  “Is Ivan pressuring you?” Sandy asked.

  “Not at all,” Sissy said. “We agreed to go really slow. He says he doesn’t want to blow it now.”

  “That sounds good,” Sandy said.

  “I know,” Sissy said. She smiled.

  “But if you live with him?” Sandy asked.

  “I don’t know,” Sissy said. “Don’t you think I should date a little bit?”

  “Well, dating is really about trying to find the right match,” Sandy said.

  “What about random sex?” Sissy asked. “You used to really like that.”

  “I. . .” Sandy shook her head. “I had a problem of committing to someone because I’d been hurt so badly by Mom and my father.”

  “Oh,” Sissy said.

  “When I was ready, I dated to find the right person,” Sandy said. “That’s what most people do. Do you feel like you need to find the right person?”

  “No,” Sissy said. “Ivan is the right person for me.”

  “I thought you’d say that,” Sandy said.

  “So you’re okay with me, at fifteen years old, shacking up with some old guy?” Sissy asked.

  “I’m okay with you staying in New York with your beloved,” Sandy said. “If staying in the same place is too much, let’s set up for you to stay at Ms. Bestat’s home. When you’re well again, you can move into Seth’s.”

  “But. . .” Sissy’s hand moved to her heart.

  “You want to live with Ivan,” Sandy said.

  “I’d miss him,” Sissy said. “Plus, I’m going to be with him all the time anyway. Training, stretching, rehab. . . But. . .”

  “You’re not ready for sex,” Sandy said.

  “Maybe I am,” Sissy said. “I don’t know. How do you know?”

  Sandy shook her head. One of the disadvantages of having been molested as a child was that you never have the chance to choose when to start having sex.

  “Oh, Sandy, I’m sorry,” Sissy said.

  “Don’t be,” Sandy said. “I’m so happy for you.”

  “I’m happy for me, too,” Sissy smiled.

  “Aden wants to talk to Ivan,” Sandy said. “They’re supposed to talk tonight at. . .” Sandy gestured to the clock. “They’re probably talking now.”

  “They are?” Sissy looked nervous.

  Sandy looked up at Sissy’s heart rate monitor. She put her hand over Sissy’s.

  “It’s going to be all right,” Sandy said.

  “How can you say that?” Sissy’s eyes welled with tears. “Aden’s going to. . .”

  “Aden and Ivan have spent a lot of time together in the last year, actually,” Sandy said.

  “What?”

  “You forget that you’ve been living with us for more than a year,” Sandy said. “Ivan and Aden met when you moved in and he returned. They’re about the same age and get along well. Ivan goes fishing with Jacob and Aden.”

  “Oh,” Sissy said. “So it’s not really new?”

  “None of this is unexpected,” Sandy said.

  “But you’ll tell me what they said?” Sissy asked.

  “I will,” Sandy said. “Do you want to watch a movie? I have Seth’s phone, so we can watch anything.”

  “Will you stay with me?” Sissy asked.

  “Of course,” Sandy said.

  Sandy laced her fingers through Sissy’s. She held up Seth’s phone. They picked a romantic comedy to watch. Before long, Sissy was sound asleep. Sandy let go of Sissy’s hand and turned the phone off.

  “I don’t want to lose you, Sandy,” Sissy whispered. Tears squeezed out of Sissy’s guarded eyes. “If I live here and get better and dance and. . . I’ll never see you. You’ll be way back in my past and not my future, and I can’t stand that.”

  “You can’t lose me,” Sandy said. “I’ll always be here for you — past, present, and future. Becoming who you are, growing up, doesn’t change that, Sis.”

  “You are my home, Sandy,” Sissy said.

  “I will always be your home,” Sandy said. She kissed Sissy’s cheek. “Would you like to watch or sleep?”

  Sissy didn’t answer because she was asleep. Sandy smiled and settled in to watch the movie.

  Chapter Three Hundred and Sixty-four

  Caught

  Saturday evening — 7:47 p.m.

  New York City, New York

  Nash looked up at the numbers above the hospital elevator’s door. He had been given the responsibility of coming to the hospital to pick up her father and Sandy. Nash winced. No matter how much he loved Sandy, he never managed to think of her as his mother. It wasn’t that Sandy wasn’t his mother. She was truly the only mother he’d ever known. And she was really good at mothering.

  Noelle told him he was a moron. “Sandy loves us,” Noelle always said. “She is our real mother.”

  Truth be told, Nash knew he was an idiot about this.

  He just felt like he didn’t deserve a mother like Sandy. The elevator reached the floor Ivan was staying on, and he got off. He went down the hallway and asked at the nurses’ station for Ivan. Nash liked Ivan. Nash had spent a lot of time with Ivan when he was hanging out with his father. He just wasn’t sure how he felt about Ivan dating Sissy. Then again, Nash didn’t think Sissy should date anyone.

  He smiled at himself. He felt very protective over Sissy and Noelle. They were family.

  “But not Sandy?” an irritati
ng voice in his head asked.

  Nash gave a quick shake of his head to clear the voice. Standing in front of Ivan’s door, he heard his father laugh. Ivan and Aden had become fast friends in the last year. Nash scowled. If his father wasn’t going to take this Sissy thing seriously, he would definitely make sure Ivan explained himself.

  Nash pushed open the door. From where he stood, the door blocked his view of the bed and his father. In front of him sat a woman with steel blue eyes. Her long black hair was in a tight bun at the back of her head. She wore a dark blue turtleneck and jeans with a white doctor’s coat over it. The doctor’s white coat she was wearing was stuffed full of pens and what looked like pieces of paper. Her lower pocket held a stethoscope. At the moment he opened the door, she was laughing at something that was happening near the bed.

  Nash stopped moving. He had never seen a more beautiful sight. He felt as if all time stood still. The air seemed clearer and his sight sharper. He stopped in the doorway. Since turning thirteen, he felt things in places in his body that he’d never felt before. This woman brought his entire being to attention. He didn’t want to even blink.

  Feeling his eyes, the woman turned to look at him. Pink appeared on her cheekbones, and her jaw slackened. She looked like she had been hit by the same shock wave that had gone through him. Ivan said something in Russian and her eyes flicked to where she’d been looking before. She couldn’t seem to tear her eyes away from Nash.

  And Nash couldn’t make himself go anywhere. He stared at the woman, and she stared at him.

  “Who is it?” Ivan asked in English.

  Nash felt more than saw his father walk to the door. The door moved from Nash’s extended hand, and his father appeared.

  “Nash?” Aden asked.

  Aden looked at Nash and then at the woman. He stepped in front of Nash for a moment, and the spell was broken. Nash went to move, but Aden held him in place. His father’s eyes flicked to Nash’s belt in a way Nash had seen him do with Charlie. Nash adjusted himself. When Aden stepped away, the woman’s face was bright red. From his hospital bed, Ivan was laughing at her. They were speaking to each other in fast Russian.

  Nash felt like an idiot. What was he doing gawking at this woman? She was an adult! A doctor! The diamonds in her ears and her watch told him she was rich, too! He never felt more stupid or more like a little kid. Seeing Nash’s shame, Aden put his arm over his shoulder. In the last month or so, Nash had sprouted up so that his head was almost at Aden’s shoulders. The Irish bakers had said it was their loving care after getting beaten up. But Aden was tall, so Nash was likely to be tall, too.