by Tamara Blake
“We’re sorry. The number you have reached is not in service. Please check the number again to see if you have dialed in error.”
Ruby frowned. She checked the shortcut on the phone. The number was correct.
She dialed three times. Three times, she got the same Not In Service message. Almost as if Happy Housecleaners had vanished into thin air.
Or as if something—or someone—had made Happy Housecleaners disappear.
Can they do that?
Ruby’s hands shook so hard she had to put the phone down. What else were these people capable of?
Fighting an overwhelming sense of despair, she looked over at Shelley reading the back of the cereal box as she scooped more cornflakes into her mouth. They were quickly running out of options.
She picked up her phone and slowly tapped Tam’s number.
“Ruby.” Tam’s voice was cold on the other end of the line. “I thought you’d call…eventually.”
She took a deep breath. This was going to be tricky. “Hi, Tam. Hey, sorry about running out on you the other night. Family emergency.” It came out really awkward, but Tam didn’t seem bothered.
“Yeah, I remember.”
He sounded normal. A little annoyed, maybe, but not like a guy mixed up in…magic.
“That doesn’t excuse me leaving the party like that. It was very rude, and I’m sorry.” She rolled her eyes at herself. Her apology sounded so fake.
Tam didn’t buy it. “Come on, Ruby. You’re not sorry.” He hesitated a moment, and his voice softened. “But you don’t have to be. You were trying to do the right thing.”
Trying? Ruby bit her tongue. Why did he always act like he knew best? She forced a smile though. “Can I see you again? Just for a few minutes? I’d like to apologize in person.”
A short silence. Then, “Sure, Ruby, why not? Where do you want to meet? Your house?”
“How about the megamart?” she answered quickly. No way did she want Tam under her roof again. Who knew what he’d do when she confronted him. Neutral territory would be best. “I need to try to rescue the minivan from the parking lot and pick up a few groceries. How about we meet at noon? Would that be okay?”
“I can make that work. I might even have a surprise for you.”
A surprise? Ruby didn’t need any more of Tam’s surprises in her life. “Gee. Can’t…wait,” she forced through stiff lips. “See you in a couple of hours.”
She beeped off with a feeling of trepidation.
“Were you talking to Tam just now?” Shelley asked.
The hopeful expression on her sister’s face hurt a little. “Yeah.”
“I like Tam. He’s funny.”
A real barrel of laughs. “C’mon, let’s get you dressed. We’ve got a long walk ahead of us.”
Luckily the main road was only a mile away from their home and led straight to the megamart. Because of the insane traffic, Ruby made Shelley hold her hand the whole way, but Shelley was happy in her freedom from school, burbling about this bird, that rock, buying milk at the store, seeing Tam.
In the megamart’s parking lot, the family minivan sat exactly where she’d left it. It looked particularly crappy next to the sleek black Mercedes parked beside it.
“Tam!” Shelley shrieked. She yanked her hand free from Ruby’s and ran over to the slim guy leaning against the side of the car with his ankles crossed. As usual, Tam’s appearance was flawless, but he looked…normal. Not like he’d stepped out of Fairy Tales from Around the World. Where was his sweeping black cloak or his gleaming golden crown? His jeans were slung low on his hips, a snug shirt tight across his flat abs. He removed his aviator sunglasses when Ruby approached, and she felt an unwanted buzz of attraction when Tam’s dark eyes met hers.
Tam slapped Shelley a quick high-five, but he responded to Ruby’s greeting with a more cautious nod.
“Thanks for meeting us,” Ruby said, equally cautious. “I know it’s a hassle and you’ve got better things to do—”
“It’s not a problem, Ruby.”
“Mom’s sick,” Shelley said.
“So I hear,” Tam responded. “I’m really sorry about that.”
To Ruby’s surprise, he kind of sounded like he was. What sort of game are we both playing?
“We’re hoping she comes home from the hospital soon,” Ruby said.
“I hope she does too,” he answered. “What’s the story with your car? Are you going to see if it works?”
“I’ll give it a go, but I think it’s basically dead.”
Tam laid a hand on the minivan’s dusty hood. “Why don’t you give it a try?”
“Yeah, Ruby. Try.” Shelley sat on the minivan’s back bumper and picked a pebble out of her sneaker. “It would be great if we didn’t have to walk everywhere.”
Ruby shrugged and dug her keys out of the pocket of her jeans.
The minivan fired up right away.
“Yay!” Shelley leaped off the bumper with a shout of joy. “We can drive again!”
Ruby listened to the engine purr with nary a glitch or stutter. “It’s quite the miracle.” Funny how their car broke down just as Tam wanted an excuse to come to her house—and now how it seemed to repair itself when Tam said he had a—
“Surprise.” He gave her a small, secretive smile.
The hair on the back of Ruby’s neck rose.
Tam insisted on coming with them inside the store while Ruby bought a few basics with their dwindling cash reserves. Inside, every female over the age of fifteen with a pulse and functioning eyes stared at Tam as he cruised down the aisles with them, helpfully pushing the shopping cart for Ruby like it was the most fun thing in the world. Next to the fallen angel quality of Tam’s appearance, their shabby clothes and cheap shoes made Ruby and Shelley look like the trailer trash they were, invisible to the rest of the world, easily ignored. Ruby steered them to the magazine section, where she told Shelley she could read the comic books.
While Shelley zeroed in on a baby animals comic, Ruby drew Tam out of earshot. “We need to talk,” she told him.
“Ooh. Sounds serious.” Tam plucked a men’s health magazine off the rack and riffled through the pages.
His feigned nonchalance didn’t fool Ruby one bit. “It is serious.” She kept her voice low so Shelley couldn’t hear. “What the hell is going on?”
“Going on? I thought we were shopping.”
“Stop it, Tam. You know damn well what I mean. The necklace—Violet’s necklace—it’s getting smaller. It feels like” —she swallowed against the weight of the pendant pressing against her throat— “like it’s going to strangle me.”
“That’s sort of crazy, isn’t it? Maybe it’s your imagination.”
“It’s not my imagination!” she hissed furiously. “Something weird is happening, and it has to do with you. Or Violet. Or someone else at Cottingley, I don’t know. All I do know is that since I met you, my life has spun out of control. The car breaks down. Then it fixes itself spontaneously. My mother suddenly has a tumor. She seems to get better. Then suddenly she’s rushed to the hospital. Now they’re threatening to separate me from Shelley and put us in foster care—it’s just too coincidental to be bad luck at this point.”
“Have I told you how beautiful you look today?”
Seriously?
“Don’t change the subject, Tam! For God’s sake, stop with the games and tell me the truth. Why are you trying to ruin my life?”
Tam carefully put the magazine back. Then he said: “Look, it’s not me who’s doing this to you. I tried to help you. But you ran out on me. There’s nothing I can do for you now.”
His serious, almost sad expression made her shiver. “I don’t understand. Who is doing what to me? And what do you mean there’s nothing you can do?”
“I can’t explain here in public. When you’re ready for real answers, come to Cottingley.”
“Cottingley? No offense, but that’
s the last place I want to go.”
“Why not? You seem pretty down on your trailer, right? I could tell you didn’t want me to come in.”
Ruby flushed. “All you and your buds do at Cottingley is party. You don’t go to school, or work, or even eat food as far as I can tell. It’s just sex, drugs, and messing around all day long. It’s disgusting. And it’s not real life.”
“And your so-called real life is so awesome? Cut it out, Ruby. I know you want the good life. The kind of life we have at Cottingley. I can see right through you.”
Tam’s accusation struck her silent. Because it was the truth, her heart whispered. She did want the good life: a decent home, money in the bank, security for her family, an education. The possibility of realizing her dream of becoming an actor. Maybe even a little fame and glamour once in a while. Most of all, she wanted to stop being ashamed.
And if it came with the odd wild night of partying, and the chance to experience another kiss like Tam’s…there was no harm in that, right?
“Come to Cottingley,” Tam said. “I’ll tell you everything you want to know—if you think you can handle it.”
Ruby studied his face, slate-black eyes giving nothing away. Did she have a choice? “Okay, Shelley and I will meet you there—”
“No. Not Shelley. Only you.”
Was he serious? “But I can’t leave her alone. She’s just a kid.”
“And what, you want to bring her to Cottingley? So she can join in the fun?” He gave Shelley a cursory glance as she sat cross-legged on the floor in front of the magazine rack, devouring Bumper Animal Baby. “You said they were taking her away. It’ll probably be better for her if they do. She shouldn’t get involved in any of this.”
His callousness shocked her. “But she’s my sister!”
“Exactly.”
“What the hell is wrong with you? I’m not leaving my family!”
“You can’t bring them to Cottingley. It’s not safe. And I need you there, Ruby.” There was a sudden pleading in his voice. “You’re the best thing that’s happened to me since…”
“Since Selena?”
He nodded. “Since Selena.”
“And what happened to her?”
Tam shook his head. “I’m going back to Cottingley, Ruby. If you change your mind, you know where to find me.”
Ruby watched helplessly as he began walking away…taking all the answers with him.
“Bye, Tam!” Shelley called from where she sat on the floor.
But he never looked back.
Chapter Eleven
Ruby drove out of the megamart parking lot in a daze, trying to process their conversation. What did Tam mean that there was nothing he could do? And what the hell was he thinking to suggest that Ruby dump her family?
Something about Tam wasn’t right. No one with any feelings would suggest that Ruby just dump her mom and little sister. Didn’t he have family that he cared about? Maybe he was a sociopath. Everyone at Cottingley seemed messed up in one way or another.
Ruby chewed the inside of her lip while she negotiated the traffic. She needed to get a grip, but seeing Tam again had upset her equilibrium. The worst part about the encounter was that it was all for nothing—she was no closer to answers about how to get rid of the necklace. It thrummed against the skin of her throat, a constant reminder that one false move and it would choke the life out of her.
Shelley didn’t seem to notice her preoccupation on the drive home. Ruby had allowed her to buy the baby animals comic as a thank you for behaving so well at the store. Shelley chattered on about the cute baby koalas while Ruby listened with half an ear, pulling into the Sea Oats Mobile Home Park.
“…and did you know baby koalas are called joeys and live in their mama’s pouch?”
“That’s super-interesting, Shells.” Maybe later tonight she could call Tam again and try to reason with him. There had to be a way to get some answers out of him without going back to the Cottingley nuthouse—
“Who’s that in our front yard?”
“Huh?”
A red and white U-Haul was parked on the curb in front of their trailer. The front door was propped open, and two large men were carrying their sofa down the front steps, while a third tossed their dinette chairs into the back of the truck.
“No…Oh no, no, no, no!” Ruby threw the minivan into park and leaped out. “What the hell is going on?” she yelled. “What are you doing with our stuff?”
“Eviction procedure, ma’am,” came the gruff answer. “We’ve got an order to clear out the premises at 427 Sea Oats Lane.”
“But that’s impossible! We’ve been given no notice.”
The guy, a muscled hulk with a thick neck, just shrugged and handed her an official-looking document while the other two went back inside. “Not my problem, lady. I’ve got a writ from the courts and a schedule to keep.”
Bewildered, Ruby scanned the document. The red ‘NOTICE TO QUIT THE PREMISES’ letters blurred in her vision.
“It’ll be easier for all of us if you don’t cause a scene,” he said. “But we can handle it if you do.”
The other two men had come out of their trailer carrying the dinette table between them. They regarded her with the stony expressions of guys who had been through their share of ugly eviction scenarios.
“Ruby?” Shelley had gotten out of the minivan. Her face screwed up, and her eyes filled with tears. “Why are they taking our things away?”
“I…”
What was she supposed to say?
Shelley started to cry.
The big guy cleared his throat. “Look, I’ll let you and the kid grab some of your stuff, okay? Just be quick about it.”
Helplessly, she blinked back her own tears. “Thanks. C’mon, Shelley.”
They hurried inside the semi-bare trailer, where the light fixtures had been pulled out from the walls and only a couple of sticks of their ramshackle furniture were left. Quickly they threw what they could into Mom’s beat-up suitcases—some clothes, a framed photo of Dad and Mom on their wedding day, Mom’s tiny box of costume jewelry, and a couple of Shelley’s favorite toys, including the fairy tale book. They loaded the pitifully small amount in the back of the minivan while the repo men took a smoke break, then got in.
“Where are we going to live now, Ruby?” Shelley’s voice caught on a sob.
From her rearview mirror, Ruby gazed at the dilapidated trailer they once called home. A couple of the neighbors had come out to watch the proceedings while the repo men ground out their cigarettes and got back to work.
“I don’t know,” she answered truthfully.
Traffic thickened with early commuters as she drove east on the freeway almost without thought. Certainly without a plan. What was she going to do now? She couldn’t call her mother in the hospital to tell her this devastating news, not while Mom was so sick. Besides, what could she do about the situation except worry and compromise her fragile health even further?
Next to her, Shelley shuddered with suppressed tears. The milk they’d picked up at the megamart sat forgotten on the floorboard, reminding Ruby they’d had nothing to eat since breakfast.
Could they sleep in the car tonight? They did that once before when they finally escaped Scott’s psycho jealousy, and it was the scariest night of their lives. Ruby and Mom took turns to watch for cops and carjackers while Shelley dozed fitfully in a huddle between them. No way was she putting her sister through that again.
“Where are we going?” Shelley asked when Ruby took the next exit.
“I’m taking you to the Garcias’,” Ruby answered.
Shelley brightened. “Rosario’s house? Like a sleepover?”
More like a last-ditch effort to stave off complete homelessness. “Something like that,” she said.
The humiliation of turning up unannounced on the Garcias’ doorstep burned deeply, but embarrassment was a small price to pay to see Shelley
safe. To Ruby’s utter relief, Rosario’s parents totally sympathized when Ruby explained the situation. “That’s awful!” Mrs. Garcia exclaimed. “What is this world coming to when nice people are put out on the streets? Of course Shelley can stay with us, pobrecita.”
“Thanks, Mrs. Garcia. I…” Ruby swallowed hard. “I didn’t know where to go.”
“You’ll stay too? Shelley can sleep with Rosario, but our couch is very comfortable. I sleep there when Hector snores.”
Ruby forced a laugh at the feeble joke. “Thanks, but I’ll be all right. I have a place I can crash.”
“You sure?” Mrs. Garcia regarded her dubiously.
No, she wanted to say. “I’m sure,” she answered with more confidence that she felt.
“Ruby, I don’t want you to go,” Shelley said, her bottom lip wobbling.
Ruby brushed the hair back from Shelley’s forehead and realized her little sister was almost as high as her shoulder now. When did Shelley get to be so tall? “I’m going to stay with Tam, squirt.”
And force him to tell me for once and for all what the hell is going on.
“Tam? Oh, that’s alright then.” The worry on Shelley’s face cleared instantly, making Ruby feel nauseous.
“Who’s this Tam?” Mrs. Garcia asked sharply.
“A…friend.”
“He’s really nice,” Shelley put in. “He likes Ruby a lot. I can tell.”
Ruby dredged up a smile. “I’ll be alright, honest.”
Mrs. Garcia still regarded Ruby doubtfully. To avoid more questions she couldn’t answer, Ruby drew Shelley a little away from Mrs. Garcia and crouched down. “I’ll be back as soon as I can, then we’ll go see Mom. Be strong for me, okay? I know this is hard.”
“I will.” But then Shelley threw her arms around Ruby and clung.
After a moment, Ruby gently pulled away and resolutely headed to the minivan, tears prickling, hoping against hope she was doing the right thing, praying that everything would turn out okay in the end—
Behind her, she heard Shelley yell: “Ruby! I left my book in the car! My fairy tale book!”