“She’s great Mrs. Wattana,” he said, voice muffled by her shoulder against his face.
She took a step back, still grasping his shoulders. The woman’s silvery-white hair was barely contained in a tousled bun. Her golden peasant dress and laugh-lined face made her look like the kind of woman you want to crawl into their lap so they could tell you everything was okay. She looked at me with a warm smile.
“Is this a new friend?” she asked.
“This is Harper. She’s new to the area.”
“Nice to meet you Harper.” She reached out and shook my hand. “You’ve found yourself the best young man to show you around.”
“Thanks.” I smiled back.
“Let me get you two a table.” She led us to a little nook in the back and handed us menus before giving Raf a loving hair tousle. Which is hard to do with a springy thatch of purple hair.
I looked down at the menu and knew I was in trouble. I’d heard of curry, but a lot of it was in what I assumed was Thai. Lot’s of Tom this and Pad that. I stared, hoping that it might begin to make sense if I read the words enough times.
Raf was watching me and I had that horrible moment where I knew the gig was up. He would now see that I was some back-country bumpkin, raised in the jungle, with no idea how the real world worked.
“You had Thai food before?” he asked.
“Not really,” I hedged.
Raf laughed at me for the second time that night. “Harper, you know it’s totally cool that you lived in the jungle, right? Much more cool that knowing how to order Thai food, which might be my only real skill.”
“No way, Raf. I saw that drawing you did. That is an amazing skill.”
Raf’s smile slammed down like a wall. “Yeah, whatever. The curries are my favorite. Let’s just get a few things and you can try them all.”
I blinked at the rapid transformation. I had almost forgotten that I found him on the roof the night before talking about killing himself. Clearly Raf had issues. Thankfully, I didn’t have any. Ha ha.
“Sorry, didn’t know your art was off limits, Raf. That sounds like a great plan but I don’t have much money.” I pulled the crumpled bills out of my pocket.
“No worries, Harper. I’ve got dinner. In exchange, I want to know more about Belize. It really does sound cool.”
“Sure, what do you want to know?”
“Well, I guess, what was it like? Some people are saying you didn’t even go to school?”
“Yeah, there was no school nearby, but an old school teacher lived in the village so he just taught the kids. We sometimes met in a little building, but mostly he came by my house, gave me some books to read. He had a stack of workbooks for math and science. But we also did projects. Experiments. Real life math problems like figuring out the size of corn fields we would need to have enough food for the village. Mr. Ek was really great.” I smiled at the memory.
I realized that Mr. Silver reminded me a lot of Mr. Ek, which was probably why I liked him so much.
Raf seemed totally interested. “So, he just let you learn whatever you wanted?”
“Um, yeah he made me do some basics, trigonometry and some other stuff I wasn’t that into. But then we mostly read and talked about whatever I was interested in. I went on a politics kick so we did lots of international relations stuff. World governments, economics. Then I was on a Russian literature phase for a bit. Read Tolstoy and the classics plus some old science fiction. Did you know 1984 and Brave New World were both based on an old Russian science fiction novel called ‘We?’” I was feeling enthusiastic.
Raf had a strange look on his face.
“What?”
“Harper, seriously, I’ve never met anyone like you.”
I wasn’t sure how to take that.
“No, don’t stop. I want to know more about Belize. Did you have a house? Where did you get food? Was it scary living in the jungle?”
“We grew our food, or traded for it. We lived in a house made out of sticks and mud with a thatch roof. We had a few small buildings. One where we slept in hammocks and kept our stuff. Then an open sided kitchen that was off to the side, in case it caught on fire. Don’t want all your stuff to burn. Plus we had a covered sitting area where we could just hang out. All around a little patio.
“It was mostly really nice. Except in the rainy season, that was fairly miserable. Everything was always wet and smelled of mold.”
“And the people? You lived with a bunch of Belizeans? What are they like?”
“We were actually in a village with mostly Maya people.”
“Like the ancient Mayans that built the temples? I thought they mysteriously vanished or something?” Raf’s grey eyes were wide open.
“No way. There are millions of Maya people still there. Maya, not Mayan, that’s what you call the language.”
“Wow, that is totally cool. So what are Maya people like?”
I let out a snort, “They’re people Raf. Just like everyone. Some are nice, some mean, happy, grumpy, funny, bitter and, you know, people.”
He blushed and I felt bad.
“I guess that was a silly question. I think of people like that as, you know, cooler than us. Do they,” he paused, looking for the right word, “do they still sacrifice animals and stuff?”
Time for a real laugh, “No way. Everyone in San Pedro was Catholic, there was a little church in my village and everything.”
“Oh, I thought they were, um, you know…like ancient people.”
“Well, there were still things that aren’t typically Catholic. After we planted our fields every year, an H’man, what they call a shaman, would come out and do a blessing, with flowers and corn meal and burning incense. He would thank the four corners of the world and stuff, so that was more traditional Maya than Catholic.”
“Wow, totally cool.”
Mrs. Wattana came back with a small man in tow. “Boon wanted to come say hi.”
Next to Mrs. Wattana, her husband looked wan and frail, though he shared the same warm smile. “Rafael, we’ve missed seeing you!” Raf got up and gave him a hug.
“Mr. Wattana, this is Harper. Harper, Mr. Wattana.” Raf introduced me.
Boon Wattana bowed. “A pleasure. You are always welcome here, Harper Dae.”
“Did you kids decide what you want?” Mrs. Wattana asked.
Raf ordered and wanted to talk more about Belize. “So, weren’t there wild animals? Wasn’t it dangerous?”
“Well, a little I guess, though no more than here.”
“So no jaguars or anything?”
“Oh sure, I’ve seen jaguars. But they aren’t going to attack you unless you’re a threat. So you just make sure you aren’t a threat. There were also aggressive, poisonous snakes, and killer pigs.” I paused, looking for a good story to impress Raf. “We also had an attack turkey terrorize our village for a while.”
He laughed, genuinely interested. “Attack turkey?”
“Hell yeah, don’t laugh. The turkeys there have razor sharp spurs, like little stiletto blades. They are beautiful, blue and green feathers like a cross between a turkey and a peacock. One of those lovely things decided that our village was in her territory. You’d have to check outside before leaving your house, make sure she wasn’t stalking nearby. The damn turkey once chased me all the way from our house to the center of the village. It was embarrassing.” I began to suspect that running from a turkey was perhaps not the best story I could have told.
But Raf really seemed to be hanging on every word. “Harper, I’m going to tell you this again, your experiences make you a million times more interesting than the rest of the people here. I mean, lots of kids spend summers in Paris or on some expensive safari, but you’re like Indiana Jones meets Lara Croft or something.”
I laughed nervously and was glad when Mrs. Wattana arrived with a tray piled high with food.
The smell triggered a full stomach grumble and I realized that, with all the suspension and such, I hadn’t
had any lunch. Raf patiently explained each of the dishes as I tentatively tried them. Turned out that Thai food is delicious, sweet and spicy and full of new flavors. For the rest of the meal we laughed and talked. I wondered at the possibility that, just maybe, I had a friend. A tiny part of my heart hoped he might be even more. Alright, it was a huge chunk of my heart that hoped for more.
After we finished, Raf tried to pay but Mrs. Wattana wouldn’t take any money from him. With a round of goodbye hugs, we set off into the dark night.
“I’ll walk you home.”
I didn’t argue. Yet again I hadn’t called mom and she would be freaking out. I was hoping she wouldn’t kill me in front of Raf.
We walked in silence and I enjoyed the winter air. The only seasons in Belize were rainy and dry. Though I was chilled to the bone, the sky was incredibly clear. Light pollution obscured the full extent of the stars, but the night sky was a midnight blue shade I’d never seen before. The crescent moon peaking over the tall elms looked like a Christmas card, like the impending holiday season was a real thing infusing the air with cheer.
When we got to my door, I unlocked it but then paused before pulling it open. “Thanks Raf. This was the most fun I’ve had since I left Belize.” I smiled and stood, trying not to look too expectant. I really, really wanted him to kiss me.
He shuffled from foot to foot, looking straight up at the sky. We stood like that for a painful minute then he finally looked back down. “Thanks for not ratting me out today.”
“What? Of course. Why would I have done that?”
“Well, didn’t you wonder if I’d trashed the library? I was there at school last night.”
My mouth fell open. That honestly hadn’t occurred to me at all. “Did you?” I asked bluntly.
“No, of course not. But thanks for not suspecting me.” He smiled, stood there.
No kiss appeared incoming. I contemplated kissing him. The only thing that stopped me was the way we’d just met. If he was thinking about killing himself, he probably didn’t need a new girlfriend.
“Want to come up and prevent my mom from killing me?”
“Heh,” he let out a laugh, “when you put it that way, then of course I’d love to.”
Reluctantly, I pulled open the door. The sound must have alerted her because my mom appeared at the top of the stairs. Fluffy pink robe wrapped around her. Gaunt face pulled into a frantic grimace. None of her vivacious beauty in evidence. “Harper Luciana Dae! Where on earth have you been?”
Then she noticed Raf who was trying to smile though we were both involuntarily withering under her furious glare.
“Mom, this is Rafael. He’s a new friend…” my voice squeaked. I was really going to have to work on that.
“Rafael,” she repeated.
Her face paled. I thought she was going to faint out cold and tumble down the stairs. Raf must have thought so as well because he pushed past me, arms out to catch her. She recoiled from his hands as though he held hot pokers.
She took a full step back and he screeched to a stop midway up the stairs.
A long, awkward silence stretched out. Mom stared at Raf like he was dripping the black ichor of death. Raf looked around, trying not to make eye contact with the ghastly pale, fuzzy pink robe wearing woman looking at him like he was evil incarnate. I flushed well beyond mortification and right into ‘please shoot me’ red.
Finally I managed to say, “Thanks for walking me home, Raf.”
Saying his name gave him an out and he grunted something that sounded like, “No problem,”as he ran past me out the door.
I stood at the bottom of the stairs trying to calm down before confronting my mom. She was worried and, yeah, I hadn’t called, but she had just embarrassed me in front of sweet, sexy, Raf. Ideally my future boyfriend but, if nothing else, at least my friend.
About to say something full of snark, I looked up at her. She was suddenly taller, wider. Her entire presence grew and radiated pure power, as though she could shatter the universe merely by throwing her arms wide and shouting a command. Then, she spoke. I swear the words spread out into the air and flowed toward me like ripples in a pond. “Come inside. Now,” said demon mom.
I didn’t even give a millisecond of thought to refusing.
Birthday Present
Once inside, she seemed to return to normal mom. Which was good, because demon mom was really, really scary.
She slammed the door and I jumped. “Mom?”
She sat down hard in the crusty lazy-boy and put her face down into her hands.
“Mom?” I asked again.
When she looked up at me she seemed defeated. The exact opposite of the growling woman who had just ordered me inside. “Harper, you just have no idea how much danger you’re in. Please don’t do this to me again. I can’t deal with the fear that you’re gone forever.”
I felt like a small fleck of crap on an an elephant’s ass. No, even elephant poop had more dignity than I did in that moment. I hadn’t even thought to call her. To be honest, I really expected her to be mad not terrified, but it was fear I saw on her face now.
“Mom I’m really sorry.” I went and knelt next to her, taking her hands into mine. They were like ice. Her lips looked blue. “Mom, you need a blanket. Hang on.”
I ran, grabbed the patchy quilt off the bed and put it gently over her.
“Mom, I’m sorry. I didn’t think…” I just hadn’t thought about her at all.
She licked her dry lips and looked at me with eyes shining with tears. I sort of wished she would yell at me because then I might not have felt like the absolute worst human being alive. Anger would have made me nice and righteous, but she was so scared and that just made me feel like a terrible daughter.
“Harper, you just don’t understand.”
“Then tell me mom. If there is really someone after us, I need to know.”
She nodded in the faint lamp light. A curl of hair fell across her face making her look much younger. “I can see it’s time.”
Despite the guilt pulling on every atom of my being, I felt a flash of excitement. Of course I had always wondered. Why did we run to Belize? Why did dad leave us? Why did we come to the most noxious place in the known universe, Great Fall, Virginia? I’d pestered her a lot when I was young, but eventually just gave up.
“Your birthday isn’t for a few days, but consider this your birthday present from me. The truth.”
I didn’t say anything, afraid she might change her mind.
She took a long breath in and rubbed her hands over her face as though working up to something.
“Some of what I say is going to sound crazy, Harper.”
I laughed. “Mom, I’m pretty used to you sounding crazy.”
I meant it as a joke but mom winced. Way to go, Harper.
“I am sorry about that, little Wren. I hate the thought that my own daughter wonders if I’ve lost my mind.”
“Most of the time I don’t…I mean, I don’t mom. I mean, there are…”
“Just let me talk.” She put her hands over mine. They still felt chilled but at least her face didn’t look blue any more.
“To be honest I don’t know much, but I know the basics. And I know enough to be genuinely afraid of the people after me.
“When I was young, only a few years older than you are, I started running with a bad crowd. We’d just moved to Washington D.C. Lois and Frank dragged me here when I was sixteen.“ Mom looked at me, “Sounds familiar, right?”
She always referred to her adoptive parents by their first names. Lois and Frank died before I was born, but they’d raised mom since she was seven or eight. I knew better than to ask about the years before that.
Mom continued, “The group I met were all slightly older than me. They were children of the rich and powerful, politicians, CEOs, white house staffers. Kids of privilege. Oh, they seemed so smart and worldly.” She looked wistful, enough to make her look like a young woman for just a moment. “We would me
et in these little bohemian salons to drink way too much wine while discussing Sarte and Camus. They started bringing me out with them every night to their underground bars hidden among the alleyways of D.C. It all felt very European, sophisticated. They had endless money. Everything I didn’t have.
“They also made me feel needed. After I spent a few months with them, they confided in me that they did much more than just drink and talk philosophy.”
Mom let out a sharp laugh. “It seems crazy saying it out loud, but they were the world’s most prolific antiquities thieves. I mean, I’d never even heard of such a thing, but they were using their money and connections to quietly steal some of the most famous artifacts from the most famous museums.”
“They stole from museums?” I asked.
“That’s right.”
“And you went along with it?” I was genuinely shocked. Mom was one of the most ethically stringent people I’d ever met. She always did the right thing, no matter the cost. It was annoying as hell.
“I know it’s hard to believe, but I wanted to be part of everything they did. I was so stupid. Or young I guess. Plus it never really felt like stealing, it was all so civilized.” She whirled a curl around her finger, a nervous habit I rarely saw.
I put my hand over hers, stopping her.
She continued, “When I graduated high school, I went to art school for a little while.”
“What?” I’d never seen mom show any interest in art, let alone art school.
“Yeah, I’m quite good.” A glimmer of pride shone through her discomfort. “But what I had a real talent for was reproductions. At the time I thought it was a coincidence, but looking back I see they befriended me in the first place because of my talent. They needed a forger. Someone who could produce perfect likenesses of things they stole. I would forge the object then we would fly on a private jet to some European city. One of them would bribe a guard. We would sneak in, replace the object with the forgery, then sneak away. No alarms were ever raised. It was…thrilling.”
Mom looked so chagrinned I squeezed her hand in support.
Jade Moon (Celestial War Book 1) Page 5
