“You’ve taken it?” my mother asked.
I nodded. “A couple times. Once I went with Trish on a lark while in college. Another time I went through it with a date.”
“Is it scary?” Jordan asked.
“I screamed a couple times.”
“What’s so scary about it,” my mother asked.
“It’s just got a couple unexpected scares. You know, disorienting in parts because it’s dark or lights are flashing, or someone grabs your arm while you’re going down a hallway.”
“It sounds silly,” she sniffed.
“It’s only ten or fifteen minutes, but it’s kind of fun to try once or twice.”
“I want to try it,” Jordan said.
“We can do that some night,” I agreed.
He smiled and returned to his decorating work.
“So,” I stood by my mother. “Is this just a smoke break. Or is this an escape?”
“What do you think? You probably don’t think the family visit is so bad,” she huffed.
“It’s been pretty low key today, so I’m happy about that.” I paused, then said more quietly, “There has been an odd development: Dad popped up, warning of dark magic.”
“Really?” She turned her head to see if Jordan was listening. “Is it safe to bring up ghosts in front of Jordan?” she whispered.
“I don’t see why not, since you apparently told him that we’re witches. I’m a bit surprised you spilled those beans.”
“Well, I wanted to know about his talent for arranging things. He’s so instinctive and automatic, it got me wondering.”
“Me, too, but here’s a tidbit for your magical theories: He can see ghosts.”
My mother’s eyebrows shot up. “You’re shitting me.”
“Not in the least. He saw Dad’s ghost.”
“He probably sensed him,” my mother insisted.
“No. He saw Dad. He described him. He shook his hand and got a bit of finger freeze as a result.”
“Well, my day just got more interesting. Now what about this dark magic warning?”
I told her what my father had brought up earlier.
“No more detail than that?” my mother pressed.
I shook my head. “He seems to be just sensing rumblings.”
“It figures,” she sighed.
“What figures?”
“Your father. Being so vague. Oh, sure, if he was doing his accounting or keeping some log of his inane statistics on gas mileage or water usage, he’d go into hair-splitting detail, but on this…”
“He’s trying to help. He’s just sensing a disturbance in the Force, and was letting me know about it. I’m sure if he finds out more, he’ll return.”
My mother rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed that he’d deigned to visit.
“What’s more annoying? Dad floating around now and then,” I started, “or quality time with Plenty and Aunt Lindy?”
“Well, when you put it that way…”
“I thought so.”
“Plus,” my mother added, “I think he’d be easier to exorcise than that duo.”
20
IT WAS THURSDAY and time for another Autumn Daze.
Every week, starting after Labor Day and ending the week before Thanksgiving, downtown businesses extended their hours and got a bit festive. Bars and restaurants had food and drink specials. Parts of Portage Street, where my shop was, would be blocked to vehicles, a band would play, and a few child-friendly activities would be planned.
Vanessa and I were reading in the paper about the evening’s happenings while Plenty sat nearby. New to the schedule was a haunted hunting labyrinth.
One of the planners thought it would be entertaining for tweens and older to navigate a maze made of stacked hay bales that would be populated with zombie deer. Participants could try to bag and tag some bad bucks, using silly string and sponges soaked in paint.
“Get ready for fun and come ready to play dirty,” the spokeswoman for Autumn Daze was quoted as saying.
“I can’t believe they’re going to do that,” Vanessa said, shaking her head. “That’s not right for tweens.”
“Maybe not, depending how freaky they get,” I nodded, “but the teens and college kids will love it. To be honest I think I’d get a charge of trying to nab an undead deer.”
Vanessa laughed. “Especially after a couple shots of the hard stuff. Or a couple hits of it. Maybe we should call Scott and see if he has some edibles,” she said.
“Who’s Scott?” Plenty finally showed some interest in something besides filing her nails. She lounged behind the counter with her long legs hoisted up by the cash register.
“Scott is Poppy’s ex,” Vanessa explained.
“And what’s this with the edibles,” Plenty asked.
“Scott is known for being a fan of smoking weed,” I explained.
“Is he hot?”
“He’s a good-looking guy,” I said. I remembered a time not so long ago when Ivy – the ghost of Roger’s younger sister – took a pretty strong interest in Scott.
“Is he rich?”
“Not rich enough for you,” Vanessa said.
“But he has money?” Plenty looked more interested and hopeful.
“He’s not rich,” I said, “and he has a serious girlfriend.”
“Oh,” was all Plenty had to say to that. “So, about this Autumn Daze. Is it well-attended?”
“Pretty well,” I said.
Plenty pulled out her phone and snapped a few selfies. “Oh, that’s a good one,” she muttered, mostly to herself. “I’ll share that on Instagram.”
“Acceptable?” I asked. “Do you want me to pose next to you so my fat face makes you look thinner?”
Plenty rolled her eyes at me.
“I didn’t say your face is fat,” Plenty argued. “I said your face looked fat.”
“Your face isn’t fat,” Vanessa said. “It’s more oval or round, but it’s not fat. You only have one chin, after all.”
“I didn’t say it was fat. The flash just flattens out Poppy’s features. It’s kinder to me because I have high cheekbones. It’s probably kinder to you, too, Vanessa, because you have a heart-shaped face.”
“That must be why everybody loves me,” Vanessa quipped.
“What?” Plenty asked, looking up from her phone.
“It’s just a joke. Heart-shaped face. Hearts. Love. Everybody loves Vanessa,” I explained.
“I wouldn’t say I love her, but she’s nice enough.”
Vanessa and I exchanged looks.
“Save the wit for another day, Van,” I said.
“So, back to this Autumn Daze,” Plenty started. “Do a lot of cute guys show up?”
“A few, but we tend to see more female customers.”
“That’s too bad. This town is kind of boring, isn’t it? Last night I went to Murphy’s and I saw a couple cute college guys, but you know they’re broke. And all these other guys I saw, they lack style. This whole place is too casual, just boots, sneakers and sweatshirts everywhere you look.” She screwed up her face in disgust.
“And Detroit isn’t?” I asked.
“Well, you see that around Detroit, too, but you will see these rich guys with gelled hair and lots of cologne driving expensive cars. You might run into a doctor there, or a guy in home construction, or maybe someone with a boating business.”
“We have one or two of those types here,” Vanessa said, more to herself than to Plenty.
“Yeah, one or two,” Plenty sniffed.
“You could always go to the Canadian side,” I offered. “They have something like five times the population.”
“I don’t have that enhanced passport,” Plenty said.
“Then I guess you can’t go to the Canadian side,” Vanessa said. “Too bad, there are some wealthy Italians over there. Some guys own a lot of rental properties, and then there’s Robert, that guy we met one night, who has that in-ground pool. I bet he has a lot of rich friends.�
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Plenty perked up and gave Vanessa a hopeful look, then directed her gaze at me. “Can we invite him over here?”
I knew who she was referring to. Robert was a friend of ours, and it wasn’t his pool, but his boyfriend’s. Vanessa knew exactly what she was doing. By leaving out a couple key details, she could torment Plenty a little bit.
“I don’t have his number, unfortunately,” Vanessa lied.
Plenty looked at me. “What about you, Poppy?”
I shook my head. “I haven’t seen Robert in a couple months. He has a couple spots he tends to hang out at across the river, but since you can’t cross over…”
“Maybe I could just go with my license,” Plenty said. “It’s more casual around here, after all. They might let me through.” Hope glittered in her eyes as she looked between Vanessa and me.
“At one time, yes,” I said, “but these days they’re pretty strict about having the right paperwork when you cross the border, even over here. Oh, well, maybe some other time.”
Plenty looked saddened at the news. “I guess I’d better get myself an enhanced passport.”
“I guess so,” Vanessa said. She could barely contain her amusement at causing Plenty a bit of frustration.
My cousin returned to filing her nails.
She popped open the compact she’d gotten from Mom and looked closely at her complexion. She didn’t look too pleased with what she saw.
“Do you have a mirror around here?”
I went to the top drawer and pulled out a small hand mirror. She peered at her image for a moment and set it down. She then picked up her new compact and grimaced at what she saw there. She shut it and picked up my hand mirror to fuss with her makeup.
“You don’t like that new compact?” I asked.
“Oh, it’s okay,” Plenty said. “The mirror is just a bit distorted. I need to use your bathroom.”
When she left, we spotted her compact on the counter. I picked it up and opened it. I looked at my reflection and called Vanessa over.
“Check yourself out in here,” I instructed.
She did. “Did she say the reflection was distorted? Mine looks fine. It’s like any old mirror,” Vanessa said.
“Same for me,” I replied.
“It’s probably just not big enough for her ego,” Vanessa snarked.
We heard the bathroom door open and shut so I set the compact back to where it was, and Vanessa returned to fussing with a display. We were putting out extra stock for Autumn Daze since I kept Blue’s Boutique open late on those nights and offered quick palm and card readings.
The three of us made idle small talk for a little while, but I quickly grew tired of Plenty’s attempts to meddle.
“I can’t believe you won’t let me do your makeup,” Plenty pressed. “Poppy, I could contour your cheeks so your face looks thinner and more sculpted.”
“Thanks, but I’m not interested,” I replied.
“What about your nose? I could shade it to make it look more streamlined.”
“I may not have the world’s tiniest nose, but I can breathe just fine with it and it doesn’t scare away children and small animals. I’m good,” I snapped.
“What would you change about me, Plenty?” Vanessa challenged.
Okay, now I was interested. I liked it when Vanessa got feisty.
Plenty looked at the clock I had over the side door. “Um, I need to get ready for tonight,” she said as she raced out and headed toward Mom and Tom’s place.
“How much time does she need?” Vanessa asked, when Plenty was out of earshot.
“I guess as many hours between now and the start of Autumn Daze.”
Vanessa sprang up and did a runway-worthy walk as she strutted my store’s floor before launching into an imitation of Plenty. “Oh, I’m going to show off my big-city wardrobe and my long blonde hair and my bony little ass and impress them there small-town yokels.” She made a “duh” face and rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms over her chest.
“Tell me how you really feel,” I laughed.
21
AUTUMN DAZE STARTED with brisk business. I offered a few quick readings as Vanessa and Jordan handled customers. Mom and Tom opted not to open Thingamajigs for the night, instead going out to dinner with Aunt Lindy, and promising to stop in afterwards.
I’d emerged from behind my reading station after telling a middle-aged woman that she should take more risks – like singing karaoke, where I saw she had a good chance at meeting someone because she had a beautiful voice that would intoxicate one listener in particular – and was drinking some cocoa to refuel while waiting for more patrons to stream in.
Freddie, one of the managers of the Haunted Hideaway, made his way into my shop. He’d long had a crush on Vanessa and from time to time he’d flirt with her and try and see if her relationship with Ethan was still on steady ground.
I introduced the pink-cheeked redhead to Jordan just as Plenty made her way in. He looked her up and down, clearly enjoying seeing my cousin in a white sweater that ended a couple inches above her navel, and the long legs that extended beyond the hem of her short denim skirt.
“Well, hello there!” he said, as he happily clasped her hand. “How are you enjoying your visit to the Sault?”
Freddie was clearly one of the tribe of men who preferred blondes.
“It’s going okay,” Plenty said. She clearly was bored. “This is a smaller town than I’m used to.”
“You run the Haunted Hideaway?” Jordan asked.
“Yup,” Freddie said. “You should come by sometime.”
“Oh, a haunted house?” Plenty asked, her interest picking up.
Freddie nodded. “Would you like to check it out? I’ll let you go through for free.”
“Why don’t you and Jordan go?” I offered. “Jordan, you’re due for your break, and it only takes something like fifteen minutes. You were curious about it the other day.”
Jordan looked torn. He wasn’t as annoyed by Plenty as Vanessa and I were, but I could tell he wasn’t exactly bubbling over with affection for her either.
“I was kind of hoping to go through with you and Vanessa, too,” he said.
“We can do that, just not tonight,” I said.
“Come on, Jordan, let’s go. You’ll let us both in for free,” Plenty asked, batting her eyelashes at Freddie.
He blushed a bit and then smiled bashfully at her. “Sure. Come on. I’ll let you two cut the line, too.”
Plenty bounced up and down and squealed with delight. “Let’s go! I can’t wait! Wait, let me get a selfie of us.”
Once they were gone, Vanessa gave me a look.
“What?”
“That was generous of her to include Freddie in a photo.”
“I just hope his face isn’t too fat for her,” I said. “He’s still young and has a baby face.”
“Unlike Jordan. You noticed she took a lot of pictures of him.”
“Well, he is pretty and he does have those high cheekbones. And even though we know he’s gay, he doesn’t look like someone who is stereotypically flaming.” I sighed. “I would have had a major crush on him in high school. My sixteen-year-old self would love to be in that haunted tour with him. I would have been grabbing onto him left and right.”
“He is nice to look at,” Vanessa agreed. “I hope he comes in wearing tight jeans one day. I bet that would be a pretty sight.”
I chuckled, and a thought came to me, which made me laugh harder.
“What?”
“I was just imagining what you might be like in a male strip club.”
Vanessa looked up and pondered for a moment. “The next time the Thunder from Down Under or one of those revues comes to town, let’s go.”
“Only if we can bring along my mom and Jordan,” I said.
“Now that would be funny. Trish, too. I bet she’d be a blast liquored up and eyeing the strippers.”
“She and my mom both.”
Vaness
a went to the door and looked east toward the Haunted Hideaway. She turned to me. “I bet Plenty hates it. She’ll say it’s too small-town or something.”
“Probably,” I agreed. “But it’ll get her out of our hair for a little while, and Jordan can see it. It’s not some mega haunted house from hell, but it’s got a few good scares.”
“I think the only thing that would scare your cousin is if she found out she left the house without her makeup and a mirror.”
A few moments after Plenty and Jordan left, a young man and woman came into the shop. The duo was holding hands and looked giddy. He was tall, well above six feet, boyishly cute with dark blond hair and hazel eyes, and she had a spray of freckles across her nose and auburn hair braided down her back.
Vanessa greeted them with a warm smile. “Are you two on your honeymoon?” she asked.
The girl nodded. “Pete and I just got married this morning at the courthouse. It was kind of impulsive, and we’re staying in town for a couple nights to enjoy being newlyweds.”
“Well, congratulations,” I said. “Have you two been together long?”
“Just over two years,” Pete said.
“Yes, congratulations,” Vanessa chimed in. “And where did you meet? Was it here in town?”
Pete opened his mouth to answer, but Stacie held her fingertips to his lips and looked between Vanessa and me. “Who does the readings?”
“I do,” I said, as I raised a hand.
“Can you see those kinds of things in a reading? Like, where we met?” She wanted to be convinced before handing over her money. I had to respect that.
“I can see many things when I read palms,” I said. “I think you two met in the summer, at an art festival, correct?”
Both bride and groom looked at one another, amazed. “We did,” Stacie agreed. “How did you know that?”
I shrugged. “I can’t explain it. I just catch glimpses or impressions sometimes.”
“What else can you tell us,” Pete asked.
I motioned them to follow me behind the curtain. “Let’s see what your hands reveal.”
They sat across the table as I lit a candle and had them join hands and extend their free ones out to me. I dabbed a bit of oil on their palms and clasped their hands in mine.
Plenty of Trouble Page 14