“And this council, or whatever, decides?”
“Yeah.”
Marvin sat in his chair again and took small sips of wine until he drained the glass. No deadhead could ignore an order from Jason. If it indeed was an order, she had to go, he understood that. The thing she didn’t need to do was keep trying to save the world, but he knew her well enough to not argue about it. It would be wasting his breath, he understood that, too. He rose from his chair to get a refill and stopped at the door. “When?”
“A week from tonight,” Jenna responded in a soft tone, and Marvin went inside leaving her to sit, wondering why she felt so guilty for trying to do something good. When he didn’t return, she went in to find him sitting on the bed, shoulders slumped, elbows propped on his knees and chin in his hands. She sat on the bed next to him. “Marv, I’m sorry.”
“Are you?”
“Come on, don’t be like that.”
“Like what? I can’t worry about you, now?”
She laid a hand on his thigh. “I’ll be fine. You’ll see.”
“If you’d seen what I have, you wouldn’t be so confident. If he changes his mind, you’ll wish …”
Jenna didn’t know if she could tell him she had seen it. Being allowed to tell him wasn’t the question. She knew it wouldn’t get her into trouble, especially since he had firsthand experience. But the visage hadn’t affected her in the same way and she worried that might shatter his self-image. She slipped her arm around him and pulled him down to the bed.
Marvin snuggled into her and pulled her arm tighter around his torso. He needed the comfort of familiarity. “I suppose this means no wedding.”
She picked up on his playful tone and replied in a quiet voice. “Will you forget about the stupid wedding.”
“Oh, you’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
Jenna smiled and nudged the small of his back. “Why don’t you go step in front of a bus.”
Marvin tugged on her arm. “Go fall down a flight of stairs.”
-29-
In the intervening days, the five women gathered in various places to discuss and plan. They ceased using one of the hotel suites because Marvin kept breaking in to express one worry or another, and when Davy interrupted to inquire about some detail for the wedding, Jenna snapped, “I don’t care. Go ask Marvin, whatever he decides is fine.”
“I’ll take that as a definite yes,” Marvin hollered from their living room. But when Davy came to him with the question, Marvin wasn’t smiling. “Why are you even bothering with all of this?” He poked a thumb in the direction of the circle of women out on the balcony. “If they can’t convince this council to agree, they may not even be allowed to come back.”
“They’ll be back,” Davy responded with the wave of his hand. “Have some faith, Marvin.”
“Dude, this is turning out to be some shindig,” Tommy said. “And what I’d like to know is how you’re going to manage to get everything out to the middle of the Caribbean Ocean.”
“I’ve got elves.” Davy grinned. “No, seriously, you know as well as I do, Tommy, some of the living are quite capable of sensing those of us on this plane, even hearing and talking with us. Word has spread and people all over the world — alive and dead, by the by — are already working on this to make it happen.”
The statement caught Mike’s attention. He turned off the television and asked, “How are they hiding the expenses?”
Davy responded with a sly smile. “It’s amazing how little attention billionaires pay to the balances of their offshore accounts, or the exact whereabouts of the ships they don’t even know they own, or their yachts and planes when they aren’t using them.”
During the planning and training to appear before the Council, whenever Nancy needed to leave to complete her duties as Keeper, the other girls spread out across the city to practice entering various women to control their movements and then step back to observe the effects; the importance of unawareness tantamount to success. If the living remembered, it could lead to problems.
Three days into their practice, Connie faced a different situation. This time it was the real thing, and it happened to be a man who needed help. Taking over the victim’s body tested her strength and resolve. Though he didn’t fight back against his attacker, anger so overwhelmed his thought patterns, she found it difficult to wrest control. When she returned to her friends, her face was haggard and drawn. “I think we need to expand our practice to include men.”
At the end of each day, they met the guys in the deli.
“We’ll need to leave tomorrow,” Nancy announced between bites of her sandwich, and the mood suddenly turned sullen.
“I still think we should go with you,” Marvin said.
“We’ve already had this discussion. You’ll stay here and wait.”
Though Nancy’s inflection left no room for argument, Marvin needed to try. “But —”
Jenna scowled. “No. No buts, Marv. Nancy knows what she’s talking about. Having you guys along might anger the members of the council. What if they thought we were trying to pull something over on them?”
“Yeah, like that could happen.” Marvin paused, a French fry in mid-air on the way to his mouth. “We couldn’t hide ourselves from Jason, how could we possibly hide our presence from a whole council of people like him.”
Colleen, who sat to Marvin’s left, laid a hand on his arm. “Listen to Jenna, dear. If our girl says it’s better for you to stay behind, then we need to trust her.”
“I just think it — I’d feel better if I could be there, that’s all.”
“Now, now, you’ll do fine.” Colleen gave his arm a few gentle pats of assurance. “We’ll help you to keep your mind off things to make the time pass more quickly, won’t we Patrick.”
Patrick nodded agreement as Jenna called over to the table next to theirs. “And Tommy can take him to some movies to kill time, can’t you?”
“Oh, absolutely. Dude, how long has it been since we took in a good flick? It’s gotta be more than a month already.” Tommy’s expression turned thoughtful for a moment. “Summer blockbuster season is really just heating up.” His smile returned. “But I’m sure we can find a string of fun stuff.”
“I don’t want to talk about it, anymore. It’s too depressing.” Marvin dropped his sandwich and pushed away from the table, walked through the nearest wall to the outside and sat on the curb.
Jenna let loose an exasperated sigh and slammed her glass to the table. “Dammit.”
When she moved to go after Marvin, Tommy stopped her. “No, I’ll go.” He walked through the wall, sat, and slung an arm around Marvin’s slumped shoulders. “Dude, they’re gonna be fine, you’ll see.”
Marvin gave him a wan smile. “I wish I had your level of confidence, hippie.”
-30-
Marvin slept soundly that night thanks to the almost-full bottle of wine Jenna had enticed him to drink. She had surreptitiously nursed a single glass to make him think she drank the same amount, and to make sure she wouldn’t fall asleep.
Long before sunrise, Jenna pressed her body down through the mattress to slip out from under the arm and leg Marvin had flung over her, and dressed without a sound.
In the living room of the suite, she pulled the ever-present hotel stationary and pen from the drawer of the desk and wrote:
She was going to write that it would all be fine but she didn’t know for sure, no one did. It was entirely possible any member of this round table committee could stop them. All one needed to do was engulf them and swallow them up, sentencing them to an eternity of pain and darkness. A sudden violent shiver wracked her body and brought to mind the old childhood adage that someone had just walked over her grave. Realizing she actually had a grave to walk over made her shiver again.
She laid the note on the counter next to the coffee pot where he would see it as soon as he wandered out. Then she left to gather her cohorts.
By the time Marvin found the note and s
logged his way down the empty hallway to Mike and Tommy’s suite at the opposite end of the building, Jenna and the girls were half way to Saulte Ste. Marie.
-31-
“I’m sorry, Brody. But, it’s probably a good thing they snuck out,” Mike said, sipping on his coffee.
“I know.” Marvin’s pout didn’t change. “But that doesn’t mean I have to like it.”
“No, dude, but you’ll have to accept it.” Tommy plopped onto the couch with his steaming mug. “Now, we just need to occupy ourselves until they get back. So, how’s about we go hit the diner for breakfast, then we jump a bus to see a few movies, like Jenna suggested.”
“How long do you think it will last?”
“Mmm … Most movies these days seem to run well over two hours.”
“That’s not what I meant, ya schmuck, and you know it.”
“Sorry, Marvin.” Tommy rolled a finger at his temple. “The cobwebs haven’t dissipated, yet.”
“Look, Brody, there’s no way we can anticipate it,” Mike said, shrugging. “It could take a few days, it could be a few weeks. I mean, look how long it took them to convince Jason to put the issue to the full council.”
“Mike, go snag a paper from the lobby, would you? So we can see what’s playing?”
“It’s over on the dining table already. Brody, grab it, could you?”
Marvin stood motionless at the window, just as he did when Jenna still walked among the living. He had gazed out at the city skyline as if he could see through the intervening buildings, right into the condo, and watch over her every move. Now, he stared off in a northwest direction. He knew the island. It was the same one in the middle of Lake Superior Tommy and Mike had used more than a year ago to goad him out of his afterlife fantasy of killing Jenna. Though now it appeared the joke was on them all; as long as the North American Council of Keepers stood in residence, it really was where all the bad guys were kept.
“Brody!”
“What?”
“The paper?” Mike snapped his fingers.
“Yeah, yeah. Sheesh, give a guy a chance, would you?” Marvin grabbed the paper and held it out. “Who gets it?”
Tommy took it, went right to the listings, and a big smile spread across his face. “Now that will be a howl. That’s it. Rave South 16.”
Mike rolled his eyes. “I’m afraid to ask. What moldy musical are they showing now?”
Tommy’s shoulders slumped, his lower lip protruded, and he feigned a hurt tone. “Mike, you cut me to the quick, man. I told you I was a sucker for a musical when you moved in.”
“And I forgave you and stayed anyway. Imagine that.” Mike winked.
“No, they snagged Haunted 3D.” Tommy rattled the paper for effect.
“Seriously?” Marvin sighed. “You want to go see some ghost movie? Living it isn’t good enough?”
“Living it.” Tommy chuckled. “Man, that’s funny. Come on, just think of the fun we’ll have. Dude, it’ll be a real scream for us. In fact, I’ll bet you dinner tonight the place will be full.”
“What the hell, it’s as good a way as any to pass the time.”
“The first showing is at ten-forty-five. What time you got, Mike?”
“It’s not quite eight-thirty.”
Tommy looked up at the ceiling to do a quick calculation. “With the bus stops along the way, it’ll take about forty minutes to get there. Cool, if we hurry, we have time for a leisurely breakfast.”
“You mean time to mess with Tina,” Mike corrected.
“Nah, she’s no fun anymore.” Tommy folded the paper and stood. “Shall we?”
“I hope to God you two plan on getting dressed first.” Marvin gestured in the direction of a bedroom.
“Speaking of not any fun…” Mike flipped a bird at Marvin before following Tommy.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Marv laughed. “Whatever.”
Thinking Haunted 3D wouldn’t be Colleen’s cup of tea, they only stopped to invite Davy and Dennis on the way out of the hotel. Moving through the door, Mike called out, “Hey, Davy, you here?”
“Just a sec.” He emerged from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. “You need something, honey?”
“We’re heading over to Epstein’s for breakfast and then to see a movie. You two care to join us?”
“Oh, we’ve got a hundred things to attend to. Arrangements like this have to be made well in advance, you know. But it was sweet of you to ask.”
Mike turned to leave but curiosity made him stop and ask, “Are you sure you’re going to be able to pull this off? I don’t mean to insult you or anything, but —”
“Oh, please.” Davy waved off the slight. “Don’t you worry. Honey, I’ll relinquish my crown if this wedding doesn’t come off as promised.”
“Even at this grand scale?”
“Even at this grand scale.”
“How can you be sure the cruise line won’t interrupt everything?”
Davy laughed. “A woman I dressed for her funeral used to be a travel agent. She hacked their website, booked the yacht, and redlined the island for every schooner for two weeks. It’s called Sandy Cay, by the way. Now, stop worrying about the wedding. Go. Enjoy your movie and let us do our work.” Davy pushed Mike back through the door.
With a running time of one-hundred and forty-three minutes, the movie lasted longer than any of them had expected. Combined with the commercials and previews, the packed house of deadheads didn’t filter out through the walls of the theater until almost 2:00 P.M.
“Holy mother of Mary, that was a long film.” Marvin stretched to pop his back, and yawned. “Foreign, with captioning, no less. What was that, ten hours?”
“Dudes, if Jason had seen this, he’d be pissed at whoever is supposed to be policing India, let me tell you. And I wouldn’t blame him a bit. What a crappy plot. That piano teacher turned out to be one mean, nasty, creepy dude. First he rapes his student, then after she kills him, he haunts the crap out of her until she commits suicide?”
“But that’s exactly the kind of thing the girls are trying to prevent — rape and abuse — without the whole convoluted shenanigans of time travel plot twist that prevented the events in the movie, of course. I mean, what the hell was that all about?” Mike asked, trailing behind.
“That’s what ruined the whole movie for me. Did you hear all the groans of disbelief in there? Sorry, dudes, I honestly thought we’d get more laughs out of it.”
“So, now what?” Marv asked.
“Hey, whatever tickles your nuggets, Brody. This is all about keeping you happy, remember?” Mike poked him in the back.
“Yeah, well, what would tickle my nuggets would be following the girls to Michpicoten, and I’d be willing to bet that’s not about to happen.”
“We could pop in and watch The Hangover II,” Tommy offered, reading the mini-marquees over the doors to each screening room. “Or, the new Pirates of the Caribbean. The first three were really good and you can’t beat Johnny Depp. If you ask me, the guy is one of the most underappreciated actors of his time.”
“Nobody asked, hippie.”
“Et tu, Marvin? I swear, you two cut me to the quick and sever my un-beating heart.” Tommy’s voice feigned injury. He stood poised at the door to the Pirates movie. “Anyway, the best part about this one is it’s got even more dead people — and Captain Jack Sparrow is a total hoot. He’s the funniest dead guy to come along since I can’t remember when.”
-32-
Jason waited with nervous anticipation for the remainder of the thirteen members of the North American Council of Keepers to arrive and take their seats on the ground above the circle of stones that had been buried for centuries. With so much happening, weariness hung on him like the dark grey cloak that weighted down his slumping shoulders. He tried to breathe in a sense of calm from the fresh scent of the earth and send it in a wafting breeze over the group, like a healing balm. Though there were other meeting places like it scattered across the
world, he’d chosen this meeting ground, the small meadow of Michipicoten Island in Lake Superior, because of the stillness it offered. Wildflowers with their bright white and pale yellow petals dotted the vale. Great green boughs hung as a canopy and swayed, allowing moonlight to flicker over the grass.
He looked up when stragglers from the farthest end of the continent rushed in and took their places at the edge of the wooded glen. “As the oldest of our kind, it fell on me to issue this summons.” His deep cavernous voice rose above the rustle of the leaves. “It’s been thousands of years since we’ve needed to convene and I may not have met every one of you. Let me take the time right now to thank you, not only for the response to my call, but for what you do. Without all of us, the world would be a very dark place.” Pausing to adjust the cowl of his cloak provided the moment he needed to decide exactly how to begin. “This will be a discussion of protocol and circumstance. Conclusions tonight will be relayed to the World Council. I will need their approval before moving forward.”
The woman seated in a line directly across the circle from Jason stood. “You look worn, Jason. Are you still capable?”
A male voice called out from her right. “Is that a challenge, Antonia?”
“No, not at all. I’m voicing concern. We all know — or at least should know — that there have been members far younger than Jason who have become too weary to continue.”
Jason raised his hand for silence. “Antonia is … observant. It’s why a young protégé has been assigned to assist me. It’s due to her that we meet.”
Another voice carried across the glade. “Has she done something wrong?”
[Jenna's] Gang of Deadheads Page 15