Lucky Me

by Cindy Callaghan

  After an awesome power nap, I navigated the hardwood-floored hallway, guided by the sconce candles along the sides, to the shower. I paused and took the last few steps to the bathroom in the form of hops: two, one, two, one, one, two. I figured it couldn’t hurt to do my hopscotch routine.

  I stepped into the shower and pulled the string to the water tank the way Finn had explained. The water was superhot. The soap smelled like almonds and looked hand-carved.

  I lathered all over, including my hair. It felt so good to finally shower. My stomach growled. I couldn’t wait for the feast.

  My hair wasn’t exactly thick, but the curls were taking a while to de-sud. About halfway through rinsing, the water stopped.

  I pulled the string. Nothing. I pulled again, harder. The tank was— What is the right way to explain this? It was EMPTY! But I wasn’t done! There was still soap in my hair. What was I going to do? Staying soapy wasn’t an option.

  I wrapped in a towel and looked around the room for a water source. There was a pedestal sink. I tucked my head under it and turned the faucet on. The water was ice cold. My scalp was instantly numb, and I was cold all the way down to my toes. In a minute that water was gone too, leaving my head frozen but suds-free.

  I shivered and growled, “Clare Gallagher.” When I found her the next day, I might shake her hands right off. But first I had to survive a feast and a night in a haunted castle, and I wasn’t going to hop the hopscotch pattern anymore. That clearly didn’t work.

  Ten

  I smelled something unfamiliar as I approached the top of the castle’s spiral steps. Looking out the window, I saw the rain stopping. The sun was setting, but it was light enough to see acres of farmland and a town, which didn’t seem to limit its use of electricity. And, I guessed, it had plenty of hot water.

  I shivered. The castle seemed damp, all the way through the rich red-papered walls and floorboards.

  I found Shannon, her injured foot perched on an old-looking chair, sitting with the twin tutors. Her cheeks were flushed, and she laughed at their jokes.

  I noticed something strange overhead. A beautiful ornate chandelier that hung at an uneven angle. It filled the room with a wonderful glow.

  “ ’Ello!” Gene yelled. “Sit with us, Meghan.”

  “Look at you!” Shannon called. “All cleaned and changed.” I’d braided my wet hair and put on a long dark skirt and long-sleeved button-up white shirt from the stuff provided in the community basket. I wasn’t actually sure what the ensemble looked like, because I hadn’t been able to find a mirror anywhere in the bathroom or bedroom. The outfit was clean and comfortable but far from fashionable.

  Mom, Dad, and Hope came down the stairs. They were dressed in donations too—jeans and T-shirts. Hope wore footy pajamas. They must’ve gotten the normal basket.

  The large wooden front door opened slowly, and in walked a drenched Eryn. “Why don’t you hustle and change for dinner,” Mom suggested.

  Soon Finn appeared holding a platter. On it was a big piece of some sort of meat that still had hooves attached. I tried not to look at it. Behind him trailed Piper with a basket of steaming rolls. “I got the bread!” she announced. “Hot bread coming out! Here comes the hot bread!”

  “Sit,” Finn instructed me. He gestured toward a chair with a maroon velvet cushion, a dark wooden back as tall as me, and ornately carved arms. It was next to a roaring fireplace that was big enough to stand in. It took only a few seconds for me to completely thaw out.

  Finally Mr. Leary joined us, sans the apron, and he rang a bell. At that moment Eryn reappeared in clothes that made my outfit seem cool: a denim jumper and a plaid shirt.

  I tried to stifle my laugh.

  “You have a comment?” she asked me, annoyed.

  “Nope,” I said, grinning.

  She said, “Looks like someone accidentally bunked me with Piper, but I want to be with Meg. So I moved in there—not that I had much to move. Dad, what’s the 411 on the luggage?”

  “They said they’ll call,” Dad said. “That’s all I know. They don’t know where it is.”

  “Just grand.” Eryn took a seat.

  “About the roommate switch,” I said shyly. “I was supposed to stay with Shannon.”

  “Wrong, butt—”

  She trailed off as several women seemed to materialize out of the castle’s cracks and crevices. One at a time they bowed slightly and sat in the chairs on either side of Eryn. They must’ve been the women Finn had referenced earlier.

  Finn explained, “This is Mrs. Buck.” Mrs. Buck stood out because she was wearing a cape, not dissimilar to the cloak Frank-O wore during his show. But hers was black. I wondered if she’d gotten it from a donation basket. “She and her friends are on a silent retreat.” I finally got the joke about interesting conversation.

  “Why?” I asked.

  “They believe it brings them inner peace. Every year at this time they pledge to be silent for ten days. They break their silence at the Spring Fling.”

  I nodded like it totally made sense, but what I was really thinking was, HUH? Seriously?

  Piper said, “That’s weird,” and put the bread basket down. Then she put her hands firmly on her hips and said to Eryn, “I wanted to room with Meghan. You had no right to switch rooms without a family meeting. No right at all—”

  “I’m in!” Eryn announced.

  “What?” Dad asked, confused.

  “I’m signing up for silent meditation.” She looked at her watch. “Starting now.”

  “You can’t do that,” Piper said. “Mom, can she? Can she just decide she’s joining a silent meditation without a family meeting? And—”

  This time Mr. Leary interrupted her, as politely as he could. “How about if we all sit down, whether we’re silent or not. Dinner is getting cold.”

  Everyone did as he asked. I sat on one side of Finn; Mrs. Buck sat on his other side. I actually thought it was a great idea for Eryn to be silent. I might not be called any names for a few days, and I thought maybe Piper should join in too.

  Finn passed the bread, and Owen filled the glasses with water.

  While everyone was preoccupied with filling their plates, Finn lifted a Coke from under his chair and poured himself half. He looked at me and raised his eyebrows. I nodded, and he took my glass under the table and filled it.

  How did he know I loved Coke? “Thanks.” It wasn’t cold, but it was still good.

  Soon my plate was full (I pushed the mystery meat to the side), and lively chatter (except for Eryn and the silent ladies) began. While the ladies weren’t speaking, there was a lot of charade-type communications, and giggles covered with hands or napkins.

  It was a truly wonderful feast. I liked everything about it (except the meat) and everyone around the table (except for Eryn). And I liked the table, the castle, the fire, the candlelight.

  “Guess what?” Shannon announced. “Owen and Gene have agreed to show me some historic landmarks.”

  “How are they going to get you around like that?” I asked.

  “They’ve already thought of everything,” she said.

  This surprised me, because they looked like they thought of nothing more than food. They piled butter on rolls and stabbed their forks full of the meat and potatoes.

  Shannon said, “Owen and Gene have a special car where I can keep my leg extended. I’m going to write an extra-credit paper for school!”

  “Nerd,” Eryn said.

  “Silent,” Dad reminded her.

  She made an act of zipping her lips.

  “Can I go?” Piper asked. “I like history. I like extra credit. I can write a paper too. Just like Shannon.”

  Finn eyed Tweedledee and Tweedledum at Shannon’s mention of the vehicle. I caught the awkward gaze. “What? Is it a cow-drawn hay wagon?” I was totally kidding and expected them to laugh, but maybe they actually had cow-drawn hay wagons, because no one seemed to think it was funny.

  “Not exactly,” Finn sai
d.

  “It’s a fine automobile,” Owen said through a mouthful of food.

  Gene repeated, “Fine automobile.” He emptied his glass. “With plenty of room to lie down in the backseat!” He laughed with a snort.

  Shannon narrowed her eyes at them. “What are you two up to?”

  The large men were too busy laughing to hear her.

  Finn said to Shannon, “It’s our hearse. They’re planning to take you in our hearse.”

  “What’s a hearse?” Piper asked.

  Gene shrugged. “It was a donation!”

  My face froze. I wouldn’t be caught dead riding around in the back of a hearse, but Shannon thought it sounded like fun.

  “A few pillows, and I’ll be traveling like a queen,” she said.

  Piper asked again, “What’s a HEARSE?”

  “A dead queen!” Gene yelled.

  And we all laughed, even the ladies on their silent retreat. Then we all laughed at them because they were laughing, and soon my stomach was hurting and my eyes were watering.

  “WHAT’S A HEARSE?” Piper asked, really loudly this time. Mom leaned in and whispered to Piper. “Ewwwww! I don’t think I’ll go with you.”

  I spread some white cream on my bread and bit into it. Maybe my face said, Yuck. This wasn’t butter.

  “It’s goat cheese,” Finn whispered. “Do you like it?”

  It had taken me by surprise the first time, so I tried it again. Nope, still yuck. “Yes,” I said.

  Finn took the bread from me. “You’re a bad liar,” he said, and he ate it.

  There was a lull in conversation, but only for a few beats before Piper took the opportunity to tell everyone, “Did you know Meghan is cursed?”

  Eleven

  Curse-hearse. . . . It rhymes!” Gene said.

  The ladies giggled at his silliness.

  “What’s this about a curse?” Mr. Leary asked.

  “Well, it’s not a big deal, really,” I said. “It’s just a little dilemma caused by a chain letter.”

  Piper said, “Can you believe she e-mailed the three letters instead of regular stamp-and-envelope mailing them?”

  There were gasps from the ladies, Owen, and Gene, who all, apparently, knew this was a no-no.

  “I know, right?” Piper asked. “Who does that? I’ll tell you who—Meghan McGlinchey. And as we know, that’s cheating, so her bad luck began Friday—in a big way.”

  “I don’t think they need to know the details,” I said to Piper. “She’s making it sound much worse than it actually is.”

  “Are you kidding me? It was like a colossal fail.” She stuck her arms out to the side like a cheerleader forming the letter F. “Listen to this. Her socks.” She told them about my socks. I sank into my chair as everyone listened and laughed. “And her speech.” Piper told the microphone story. More laughter. “If you think that was bad, listen to what happened at the magic show.” As everyone listened to the horror story that was my life a few days ago, I slumped as low in the chair as I could get without going under the table.

  Piper finished, “And that put her in the meanest teacher’s office for the rest of the day, with enough demerits to give her a day’s detention.”

  “It’s under control,” Shannon said reassuringly. “All Meghan has to do is find the other links of the letter and shake their hands. Then the curse will be lifted.”

  “How does that help?” Dad gave Hope a few peas, which she grabbed in her fist and smooshed into her mouth.

  “They say that if I find the links and get them all to forgive me for e-mailing the letters, and double-shake on it, then the curse will be lifted,” I explained. “It’s the only way. I have to do it. Look at Shannon’s leg. This can’t keep happening, or I’ll have to live all alone like a hermit.”

  “That’s my girl,” Dad said proudly. “Always with a plan.”

  Finn said, “So, you’re pretty superstitious.”

  “I’ve always been,” I said. “I remember my dad told me a story about a potato farmer who went out on Friday the thirteenth, joking about tales of the day’s bad luck. He never made it to the pub and was never seen again. His wife died of a broken heart. Since they had no children, their land was given to the county and used as a dump.”

  “It’s called Logan’s dump,” Mr. Leary added. He turned to my dad and added, “I think we heard that story here.”

  I said, “I’ve always been kind of weird about superstition and luck.”

  Finn slapped the table. “Then you need to find the links.”

  “You believe in chain letters?” I asked him.

  Before Finn could answer, Owen said, “If you believe you’re going to have bad luck, then you probably will.”

  “Amen,” said Gene.

  “I’m planning to talk to Aunt Clare tomorrow at the Spring Fling,” I said. “She’ll double hand-shake me, I’ll find out who sent her the letter, and then I’ll go find them.” I had this all figured out. “Like you said, Dad, I’m a girl with a plan.”

  Dad’s fork was halfway in his mouth when he pulled it out. “Aunt Clare? My sister’s name is Colleen.”

  COLLEEN?

  “And, I’m sorry to disappoint you,” Owen said, “but the Spring Fling isn’t tomorrow.”

  “Friday,” Gene confirmed.

  FRIDAY!

  “I can’t wait until Friday!” I cried.

  Dad said, “Tomorrow Mr. Leary and I are going to visit old friends—guys who used to live here at Ballymore with us. We’re spending the night up north. Then we have reservations for a wonderful boat ride on Tuesday. I’ll take you to look for Clare on Wednesday. We can call your aunt Colleen and see if she knows her.”

  “Or I could take her,” Finn said. “It will be an adventure.”

  “Excellent idea,” Gene or Owen said—I wasn’t sure which one.

  I whispered to Finn, “Really? You would want to do this?”

  Finn said, “Are you kidding me? Do you know how boring it is around here? If Shannon takes Owen and Gene, I’ll have no one to talk to.” He looked at the mute ladies, then at Piper. “I’m sure she’s a very nice girl, but I don’t know if I can handle a week of that.”

  I nodded. “I totally understand.”

  “Sound good, Da?” Finn asked.

  Mr. Leary said, “It’s not up to me.” He looked at Mom and Dad and said, “I promise you that Finn is very responsible.”

  Owen said to Gene, “Finn’s more mature than YOU!” He folded a hunk of meat in a slice of bread, added goat cheese, and wiggled it into his mouth.

  Mom said, “That’s a kind offer, Finn. But I don’t think it’s a good idea for the two of you to go around Ireland without an adult. Maybe Owen or Gene can take you and the other can go with Shannon to work on her extra-credit project?”

  The twin tutors dropped their bread and looked at her like she had just suggested they visit the depths of Hades.

  Finn clarified. “They like to be together, like a pair of socks.”

  Apparently they liked being compared to socks because they touched their glasses together and then clinked with everyone else, including me with my Coke.

  Dad said, “I agree with your mom. I’m sure Finn is responsible. Why don’t you explore the town of Ballymore for two days. There’s plenty of stuff to do right here. We’ll do the boat ride, and then I’ll take you out all day Wednesday. And in the meantime I’ll call Colleen. Piper and Eryn can come too. We’ll do some sightseeing.”

  “Dad, please, no,” I said.

  “Since Eryn’s vow of silence, she hasn’t called anyone names,” he said, trying to convince me.

  “OMG! Can I kiss the Blarney Stone? I love kissing rocks more than life itself,” Piper exclaimed. “Although, I do wonder about the germs. Do you think they sanitize the boulder after each kiss? I hope so. If not, I’m gonna call it the Blah-ney Stone.”

  Dad said to me, “And I’ll talk to her about her chattering.”

  It was settled. Dad would
take me, Finn, Eryn, and Piper on Wednesday. Mom would stay behind with Hope. Shannon would hang with Owen and Gene. Until then we could walk into Ballymore Village and check things out.

  It looked like things were finally looking up. Until my “luck” struck . . . again.

  Twelve

  It started out small.

  A crumb of plaster fell into my meat and spinach.

  Then bigger crumbs of plaster fell onto Finn’s and Mr. Leary’s plates.

  Mrs. Buck looked up, alarmed, and shouted, “Look out!” Before anyone could move, the crystal chandelier crashed onto the heavy antique wood table with a huge crash. Everything was crushed under its weight.

  I think my heart literally stopped beating.

  “Is everyone okay?” Mr. Leary asked.

  Everyone nodded, except Gene, who wept.

  “Are you hurt?” Mr. Leary asked him.

  “No,” he cried. “I’m still hungry.”

  “Well,” Mr. Leary said. “That’s why we have dessert. I’m just glad no one is hurt.”

  I wasn’t close to glad. “It’s the curse,” I said. “I’m so sorry. I brought a curse into your castle. We have to leave. Dad, I am totally serious, we all have to leave now.”

  “I’m not exactly mobile,” Shannon pointed out.

  “Then we’ll sleep outside or in the car. Or at least I will,” I said.

  Piper said, “I’m not leaving. Have you looked around? This is a castle, for Pete’s sake! I’m not cursed. I don’t see why I should have to leave if I don’t want to.”

  “Wait just a minute,” said Mr. Leary. “I have an idea. Why don’t we ask everyone if they want you and your curse to sleep outside? If that’s what they want, you go. If not, you stay. Okay?” He looked over the chandelier around the table at everyone to see nods and one raised hand from Owen.

  Owen said, “I have a question. Would she go outside before or after dessert?”

  “Does it matter?” Finn asked.

  “Why, yes. I believe it does. What’s for dessert?”

  “Bread pudding.”