Magic & Memory

by Larsen, A. L.

  “A fat check, for one thing,” Joey said. “Bryn looks for any excuse to give us money, and this was enough for all of us to live on for a year. He’s like, our not-so-anonymous benefactor. But there was something else, too.”

  Joey tried to hold his voice steady as he said, “Bryn hired a private investigator to check on my family. That envelope contained a report telling me what all of them are doing now. There were some current photos, too. Somehow Bryn knew how much I needed that, needed to know they’re all ok.”

  “Wow. That’s an amazing gift,” Lu said.

  Joey smiled, his green eyes even brighter than usual as he held back tears. “Yeah, it really is. And speaking of gifts,” he said, changing the subject away from himself before he really did start crying, “we didn’t have a chance to go shopping or anything, but there are still a couple presents for you, Lu. Look on the tree.”

  Lu searched amid the branches and found Joey’s gift first. It was a little paper rectangle with dashed lines around the borders that said: To: Luna Rae Harper. This coupon is good for as many martial arts lessons as it takes to make you a real badass. From the world-famous dojo master Joe Lazlo Adams. Beside the words he’d drawn a little stick figure with a ponytail in a flying karate kick.

  She raised an eyebrow at Joey and started to say something, but he interrupted her, saying, “Yes, I know: Lazlo. Don’t start, Luna Rae.” He winked at her, and she crossed the room to him and kissed his cheek.

  Then she returned to the tree and found Alastair’s gift. It was a long, curling strand of paper, on which was written in a beautiful, old-fashioned script: This note entitles Lu Harper to a night of perfect normality with Alastair Davies. Activities to include dinner and a movie. Activities not included are being chased by anything, being attacked by anything, or generally winding up in mortal danger.

  The past few days had actually already been perfectly normal and tranquil, all of them resting and recuperating in the little cabin in the woods. But the thought of going on a real date with Alastair sent a thrill through Lu, and she turned to him with a big smile.

  “There’s one more gift from me as well,” Alastair told her. “Keep looking.”

  He watched her expectantly as she circled the tree. Suddenly she gasped and carefully lifted something off one of the branches. “Wow, it’s beautiful!” she exclaimed, and held up an antique pendant on a silver chain. The flat round opal was almost an inch across, and its setting was comprised of delicate silver branches intertwined across and around it. It was like looking at a luminous full moon through a canopy of trees.

  Alastair came up behind Lu and fastened it around her neck as he said, “I don’t know anything about it, and neither did Joey. I found it wrapped in cloth among my belongings with the clasp broken, but I fixed it. It seemed perfect for you, so I wanted you to have it.” She turned to face him, and he gathered her in his arms and kissed her gently.

  When they finally broke apart she said, “It’s amazing. I’m never taking it off.” She ran her fingers over the pendant, and looked from one boy to the other as she said, “Thank you both for all these wonderful gifts. I wish I had something to give you in return.”

  “You already gave us a home,” Joey told her with a sweet smile. “What more could we possibly need?”

  Later that day, as she and Alastair were curled in front of the fireplace and a whistling Joey attempted to bake gingerbread in the kitchen (for the smell, not the taste, he’d explained), Lu took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and smiled. The last thing she’d expected, as recently as two weeks ago, was happiness this Christmas, and finding some now felt like an incredible gift.

  Things were far from perfect. Lu still missed her aunt terribly. She always would. Part of her even missed Ted, despite herself. And she knew that from this point forward, nothing was going to be easy. It was wonderful having Alastair and Joey in her life, but she understood all that came with them: that they would be forever hunting. And forever hunted. There would be little peace, little rest. Plenty of danger.

  In fact, everything was going to come crashing down in less than forty-eight hours. Though she didn’t know it then.

  But today, right now, Lu felt incredibly grateful for this perfect moment.