Rise and Shine

by R. J. Ross

  “Ah, we’re figuring it out,” Max tells her.

  “You did give up two paychecks for us to build that hothouse for you, after all,” Mastermental says.

  “I also want to speak in court,” she says. “I can tell them exactly how precious the bonsai that almost fell are.”

  “Agreed,” Mastermental says, “but at least charge them something, otherwise they will not feel that they have bought the gift, themselves.”

  “Or put them to work,” Max agrees. “They’re good at hard labor.”

  “I can do that,” she says, smiling. “I could use a babysitter, for one.” She looks pointedly at Max.

  “For your bonsai trees?” he asks.

  “For my daughter,” she says. “I hope you’re not too busy this weekend. I have a wedding to get prepared for.”

  “Daughter? You’ve got a daughter? How old is she?” Max asks, stunned.

  “She’s five,” Kim says. “And as soon as they open it, I’ll be placing her in the elementary section of Cape High.”

  “Has she started showing her powers?” Mastermental asks. He knows about the daughter, and has even met her once or twice.

  “No, but she’s already proving to be quite the little diva,” Kim says, smiling proudly. “Her taste in clothing is excellent.”

  “I would expect nothing less,” Mastermental says.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  *Summer’s Flower Shop*

  Today is the day before the wedding. We’re going to be closed for a week and a half after this, but it’s been quiet, today, so I’m a bit startled as the bell over the door rings. I look up to see Taurus holding the door open for Liz. “Hey,” I say. “Did you come to see your bouquet?”

  “We did,” Liz says.

  “And then we’re going out to dinner,” Taurus says.

  “We’re going to pick up fast food and take it back to the girls,” Liz tells him.

  “AFTER we go out to dinner,” Taurus says. “Don’t argue, Aubrey made the reservations.”

  “Oh, that girl,” Liz complains, but she doesn’t sound very angry. “I bet we should get enough food for Skye and the girls, shouldn’t we?”

  “Probably,” he says. He has a strange look on his face, which catches me off guard. He seems to want to tell me something, and it gets more urgent as the door opens and Sandra walks in, wearing her illusion watch. “Why don’t you go look at the flowers, Liz?” he asks as she looks at Sandra.

  “Why is Sandra here?” she asks.

  “I like flowers?” Sandra offers.

  “Sunny, you can show me the bouquets,” Liz says.

  “You can go look on your own, can’t you?” Taurus says. “It’ll make it more interesting, right?”

  “I can show her—” I start out, only to have him drop a hand on my shoulder.

  “I have some questions to ask Sunny,” Taurus says. “He’ll be back there after we talk, okay, Liz?”

  The bell chimes and we all look up as Mom steps into the store. “I’m so sorry I’m late,” she says. “Liz! Sweetie, why don’t I show you the flowers? Sunny knows what they are, of course, but he didn’t pay any attention to how they’ll look with the dresses.”

  “Um, okay?” Liz says as Mom grabs her hand and tugs her to the back room.

  “Okay, good,” Taurus says, steering me towards the door, only stopping long enough to grab Sandra, as well. It says a lot about how strong he is when she’s pushed a few inches before reluctantly following along. He reaches up and silences the bell as we leave.

  “Why did I have to come for this?” she whispers after we’re outside. “You know I don’t get along with her!”

  “But you and Sunny are the ones that know stones best,” he says as we start running down the street. “I had a hell of a time getting past Marigold for this, and it only worked because she’s a romantic, so I’m going to make absolutely sure this is the perfect stone.”

  “I’m really confused, here,” I say. “But then again, I usually am, so really, why do I even bother?”

  “He hired the lady that gave birth to me to make an engagement ring,” Sandra explains. “He doesn’t even really need us, since she’s better with stones than I am.”

  “I just want some opinions,” he says as we reach an empty lot. “She should be here. We have to move quickly because I have no idea how long your mom will keep her occupied. Liz isn’t that big on flowers.”

  There, in the middle of the lot, sitting on the ground, is a tough looking woman in her thirties… or so she appears. Taurus heads straight for her, dragging us behind him. “Thank you so much for doing this, Diamond Dust,” he says. “I can’t even begin to tell you how much I appreciate it.”

  “You should,” she says. “I don’t remember opening a wedding ring shop.” She keeps sneaking peeks at Sandra, and I wonder if she realizes who she is. I don’t know if she’s seen the illusion Sandra’s wearing before, or not. “I brought two. If neither of them works for you, I’m going to sell them to the shop.” She pulls two crystal boxes out of her pocket, holding them out to him. Sandra’s eyes glue to the boxes, and I can’t help but look curiously, as well. “Why the kids?” Diamond Dust asks.

  “The only earth type supers I know,” Taurus says, taking one of the boxes and opening it. The diamond is cut to resemble a lightning bolt, and the shank—

  “Platinum?” Sandra says, surprised. “And a yellow diamond, huh?”

  “What would you use to make a ring for Firefly?” Diamond Dust asks, a bit roughly.

  “Hadn’t thought of it,” Sandra admits. “It’s a pretty color.”

  “I found it a while back,” Diamond Dust says with a little smile. “It was part of my collection.” She looks at me. “What about you, kid? You look like Technico… Lady Rose’s kid?”

  “Um, yeah,” I say, holding out a belated hand. “Sunny Rosenthorn… er, Masters, I mean. It’s beautiful. Aunt Liz would love it. Is that just the engagement ring?”

  “It’s both,” she says, pulling it apart. A thinner band separates and I see that there are tiny yellow diamonds covering the front half. “This would be the engagement ring. It’s simpler than the one I made Lady Rose, but if Firefly is going to wear it to work, she’ll need to be able to turn it so the diamond doesn’t hit.”

  “I love it, but what’s the other one?” Taurus asks, taking the other box and opening it.

  “A less… specific design,” she says. “It’s more traditional. Platinum, again, but faint pink diamond in a heart shaped cut. That’s the one I figured would sell best in the store. Not many women go for lightning designs.”

  “It’s pretty,” Taurus says.

  “Good quality, too,” Sandra says.

  “I want it,” I hear myself say, only to shake my head. “I… I mean, I like it. It’s not like I need a wedding ring, yet, or anything…”

  “He’s got the fever?” Diamond Dust asks Sandra.

  “Not that I ever noticed,” she says, looking at me curiously. “I’ve heard he’s an earth and plant elementalist, but never seen him do that much with earth.”

  “Wouldn’t anyone like a diamond?” I say, defensively.

  “I think the lightning ring,” Taurus says. “What do you two think?”

  “Lightning,” Sandra says.

  “Definitely the lightning,” I agree. “She’s not much for hearts. It’d also be a stroke to her ego, and we all know how that goes.”

  “Then the lightning one it is. How much do I owe you?” he asks Diamond Dust.

  “I’ll send you a bill,” she says. “Good luck.”

  “I’m hoping that all this wedding stuff is getting to her,” he admits. “I have no idea whether she’ll say yes, or not, but…”

  “Are you doing it tonight?” I ask.

  “It’s best to get it over with, don’t you think?” he says, pulling out his phone. “Now she’s asking where I am, so… wish me luck?”

  “Good luck,” we all say. I stop, holding up a hand. “Wai
t, give me a second,” I say as I dig through my pockets. Finally I pull out a seed, poking a hole in the ground and planting it. In seconds, a sunflower sprouts up, blooming quickly. “This is an Elf Sunflower,” I explain, since it’s so short. “I think she’d like it better than roses, probably?” I don’t know, but Liz and sunflowers seem to go together in my mind. I pull out a pair of scissors, cutting the flower down and handing it to him.

  “Thanks,” he says, taking it and running off.

  “Are we just going to stand here awkwardly, or are we going to spy on them?” Diamond Dust asks after he’s out of sight.

  “I’m supposed to be working right now…” I say, hesitating, “but… they’ll understand!” I finish, following after Taurus with a grin. I hope she doesn’t turn him down. I mean, Aunt Liz can be difficult, you know? It took them months of Emily and Aubrey “helping” them go on dates before Liz actually admitted they were a couple! Oh, I should tell Trent, right? She’s pretty much his aunt, too. And then I bet Aunt Skye would want to—oh, no, that’s a bad, bad, BAD idea. We absolutely have to keep Skye from finding out—

  “YOU!” Almost as if summoned by my thoughts, Skye and her girls appear overhead. Skye is pointing at Sandra’s mom. “What are you doing in this branch, huh?”

  “Nothing to do with you,” Diamond Dust says, glaring at her. “We’re busy, Skystep, so if you don’t mind…”

  “I do mind! You had better not be here to ruin the wedding!”

  “Why would I ruin the wedding? I’m the one that made the ring!”

  “You’re devious! You—wait, what?” Skye asks, blankly.

  “She makes jewelry, Aunt Skye,” I say as they drop to the ground. “Dad had her make the ring for Mom, and Taurus had her make the…” I stop, but it’s too late. Skye is looking at me with a gigantic smile of expectation on her face.

  “The what, Sunny?” she prompts.

  “The… um… would you look at the time?” I ask, pointing at my watch. “I’m working right now, so I should really be getting back—”

  “The WHAT, Sunny? Did he get a ring? A shiny ring? An… ENGAGEMENT RING?” Skye asks, getting more excited with each question, to the point where she’s squealing at the end. “HE’S GOING TO PROPOSE!!” she shouts, jumping into the air. “We have to see this!” she declares with a dramatic pose.

  “Fine, we’re going to follow,” Diamond Dust says before I can come up with a way to stop this from snowballing. “But you have to be absolutely silent, got it? We can’t let them know we’re spying.”

  “Got it!” Skye says. “Come on, girls, we’re going undercover!”

  “Oh no, not on your life,” Doris says. “I remember the last time we went undercover.”

  “I didn’t bring our business dresses!” Ariel complains. “We could go shopping?”

  “We don’t have time to go shopping,” Sandra says, rolling her eyes. “We just need to make sure they don’t notice us, right? We can listen from outside, or something. But if we stick around here for any longer, we’ll never find them!”

  “Oh, I can find them!” Skye says. “I just need to do the Traditional Dance of FINDING!” She poses at the end of that sentence, looking at us when we don’t react. “You’re supposed to clap,” she stage whispers from the corner of her mouth.

  I clap, “Yay, Aunt Skye!” I encourage her. Everyone else in the group gives me a look. “What? If she wants to be clapped for, I’m going to clap.”

  “At least ONE person understands how amazing I am,” Skye says, snootily. She starts to do the Funky Chicken dance a second later, and I see Doris groan, Ariel join in, and the two rock mimic females look away discreetly. Sandra’s shoulders are shaking with suppressed laughter. Skye finishes with a flourish, which is really hard to do after the Funky Chicken, pointing in the same direction that Taurus had just went. “They’re THAT WAY!” she declares.

  “Yay, Aunt Skye!” I repeat, since it seems the appropriate place to say it. “Now can we go?”

  “Onward, ho!” Skye agrees, I think, and starts off. We fall in behind her, and I glance at my watch, wondering if I should call Mom or Dad and tell them what I’m doing. I don’t want to get into worse trouble. If I do, I’ll be in my thirties before I can go to the jungle with Pan and Adanna. But I still really want to see what happens! I didn’t see Dad propose to Mom, and I sort of regret that now. I mean, it all worked out, sure, but this time it might not. I’m not sure how school will be if Taurus has a broken heart.

  I run into Sandra’s back, not realizing she had stopped, and it actually stops me. “What’s up?” I ask her.

  “We’ve got MORE company,” she says. I look up, seeing Reaper standing there in a brilliantly colored Zoot suit. He’s smoking a cigar, which seems to be about to fall until he pulls it from his mouth. There’s a small bag dangling from his fingers. It looks like he’d been out shopping. He folds it over and sticks it into his inside coat pocket.

  “Looks to be an interesting night,” he says, his eyes on Diamond Dust, whose eyes are glued to where he’d just put the bag. I can’t really blame her. I’m pretty sure it’s a very expensive jewel. “What’s the hubbub?”

  “We’re going to see Taurus propose to Liz!” Skye tells him cheerfully. “We want to see if she says yes.”

  “They’re going out to dinner,” I explain.

  “Then what are we waiting for?” Reaper asks. “Ladies, how about we go on a date?” He holds out his arms and Ariel grabs one while Skye grabs the other, grinning from ear to ear. “Sandra, sweetheart, are you coming?”

  “I’m coming,” she says, joining the group. “Sunny, you coming? We’ll at least get fed, this way!”

  “I’m coming!” I say.

  “You don’t happen to be interested in my daughter, are you, boy?” Reaper asks, shooting me a chilling look.

  “No, sir! I’ve got a girlfriend. But I do think her real form is amazing,” I say. “I’m a plant elementalist, but I’m earth, as well, so we’ve—”

  “Sunny?” Sandra says, “Just shut up.”

  “Shutting up,” I say, quickly.

  “He’s just a friend, Pop,” she tells Reaper, sounding irritated. “And I’m never going to get a boyfriend, so it’s really not something to get all ‘Grim Reaper’ about, anyway. Also, I want to see the thing you just put in your pocket.”

  “In good time, but there’s nothing wrong with you, darlin’,” he says. “Any boy would be lucky to have such a beautiful girl.”

  She snorts, and then she grunts. “Why’d you poke me?” she demands of Diamond Dust.

  “You just need to look for more powerful capes,” Diamond Dust says.

  “I think she should come down to the South and be one of us!” Skye says. “She’d be the perfect Deadly Darlin’!”

  “Hmmm,” Reaper says. “I’ll agree to that.”

  “Century called up once, mentioning how they could always use more Nemeses,” Sandra says. “That actually doesn’t sound too bad.”

  “YES!” Ariel says. “Come be a Nemeses! That would be SO MUCH FUN!”

  “There they are!” Skye says, only for Doris to clap a hand over her mouth and go, “SHHHH!”

  It’s too late. Taurus, who has the best hearing on the heroes’ side, looks up, his eyes widening, and waves a hidden hand at us, trying to get us to leave.

  “This is going to be interesting,” Reaper says, grinning around his cigar. He doesn’t look interested in leaving, whatsoever, now does he?

  “What?” Liz asks.

  “What what?” Taurus says, trying to play it cool.

  “I saw that look. We’ve been working together long enough that I KNOW that look. What’s happened?”

  “Nothing’s happened!” he says. “Look, we should go in. If we’re late, we might lose our table—” He groans as she turns and looks straight at our group.

  “Nothing? It looks like a heck of a lot of nothing, to me,” she says.

  “Hi, Liz!” Skye says. “Reaper’s t
aking us out for free food!”

  “Along with Sunny, Sandra, and… some stranger?”

  “She’s Diamond Dust,” I say. A look of surprise crosses Liz’s face, before her eyes narrow slightly.

  “Ohh… kay,” she says. “Well, don’t let us stop you.” She tugs Taurus into the building, and I can practically see Skye’s confusion.

  “Huh,” Skye says. “Maybe she doesn’t like you!” She looks over at Diamond Dust, pointedly. “I don’t think I like you, either.”

  “Well, then, since we have permission, shall we, ladies?” Reaper asks, leading us into the restaurant. Every single norm in the room goes still. A tray falls to the ground, shattering. The poor server that had been holding it starts to stutter, starting to clean it up, only to cut himself.

  “How can we help you?” the Maitre D’ asks.

  “A table, if you would be so kind,” Reaper says, “Something in a corner.”

  “I, um, yes, of course, how many?”

  “Seven, I think?” Reaper says, glancing at our group.

  “Yes, of course, allow me to get a table prepared. Please, make yourselves comfortable,” he says, motioning to the benches to wait on. Reaper heads for them, and I hear a few people let out sighs of relief.

  “Do you get this reaction wherever you go?” Skye asks him with a laugh.

  “Who said it was me getting the reaction?” he asks, giving her a grin.

  “I can’t believe I actually dated him,” Diamond Dust laments. “Also, this is a non-smoking area, Reaper. Put the stogie out.”

  “Nag, nag, nag,” Reaper says, putting the cigar out into his palm. “And this is no stogie, I smoke only the very best Cuban cigars.”

  “Then you really shouldn’t have stubbed it out like that,” she says, rolling her eyes.

  He just stares at her.

  ***

  “What are they doing here?” Liz whispers, peeking over at the waiting area. Her bouquet of sunflowers is sitting on the table next to her plate. She likes them, but she’s too distracted at the moment to comment. “I really doubt that group got together on purpose.”