by Regan Claire
“Well, I can clear out a couple of nights this week if you’re interested in learning a little something. I’m sure Luke wouldn’t mind teaching you a bit either, if you want. He won’t be able to teach both sides quite as well, since he’s all Neale, so you’d definitely need me to go over the Deare side of things. Is there an afternoon that works best for you?”
“Oh, you want to start this week?” I was a little surprised by that. I guess I was nervous to start and wanted to put the lessons off. Besides, it was moving a little fast. After all, I’d just “come out” not an hour before, and now we were planning lessons.
“Of course. Della, this is of the upmost importance, and it shouldn’t be put off. You, of course, can decide for yourself, but I really think this is necessary.” He handed the passing server his glass to be refilled. “Give me just one afternoon so I can explain things, and then if you decide that you’d rather learn on your own, that’s fine.”
“I didn’t mean that I didn’t want to do it. It’s just a little fast for me. It’s fine! Um, Wednesday works great for me.”
“Ok, I’ll pick you up after I get off work. Will you be at Luke’s, or at the house?”
Ellis took a sip of wine, then answered for me. “Neither honey. I’m taking Della up to Virginia Beach that day. We’ll be home by five, how does that sound?”
“Fine. Della, we’ll work out more of a schedule then. Depending on how you do, I’ll probably have you in with Cash on Sundays, since you’ll need to get used to working together. Cash, you’ll finally figure out how to work in a team properly.”
“Awesome!” Cash said, happily.
I, again, had no idea what they were talking about. I was working at the shop the next day, and told myself I’d ask Luke a bit of stuff, since Conner had clearly said that Luke knew some things.
Being curious was out of character for me. I’d shut down the part of myself that asked questions when I was still a child and it was frustrating to care so much about how little I knew.
Ellis chatted on for the rest of dinner, asking me where I wanted to shop and what I wanted to get. I didn’t really have any interest in having a shopping day, but Ellis was really looking forward to it, so I decided I could muster a little excitement for her sake.
When we got home after dinner, I went upstairs and changed out of the jeans I had been wearing for a pair of cotton shorts. I desperately needed the centering that a run would offer me. I hesitated at the closet. Should I bother with the shoe façade?
I hadn’t wanted them to know about my barefoot running, so I usually just took them off at my own house and picked them back up on the run back. But now that the whole ‘Gathering’ thing was out, I dunno, it just seemed silly to hide it. When I went downstairs to tell Cash and Ellis what I was doing, I was surprised to find Dove sitting on the couch watching t.v.
“What are you doing here?”
“Cash invited me over to play a little CoD, but Caroline called him. He’s outside trying to woo her over the phone.”
Caroline was the girl that Cash currently was trying to “get with.” I hadn’t met her, and doubted I would. This was his third “lady-friend” since I’d been living with him; apparently tourists were easy pickings for the local boys, and it was tourist season all right.
“I hope she has a little self-respect and hangs up on him really soon.” Dove laughed at my joke, then went back to watching his show, leaving me standing there awkwardly.
“Well when he’s done, will you just tell him I went for a run?” I turned to leave.
“Sure. Hey, Della. Mind if I come along? Cash is going to be forever, and I’ve already seen this episode.” He gestured to the t.v. where Stewey Griffin was pointing a lazer gun at his mother.
“Uh, no that’s fine. Just keep pace.” I had been looking forward to some alone time, but didn’t want to seem rude. He walked around the couch and followed me out the door, sitting on the stairs to put his shoes on.
“That won’t be a problem; I ran track in high school. Where are your shoes?”
“Oh, er… I run barefoot.” Of course the first person here that knows this little quirk is also not family. I readied myself for some ridicule, but all I got was a “huh” from him.
At first it was a little strange running with someone. With the exception of gym class, I’d only ever run alone. But soon I got used to the occasional elbow bump, and the pounding of my feet hitting the sandy asphalt coupled with the cool breeze running over my body made me relax enough for the run to do its magic.
“I’ve never seen anyone do that before,” Dover said easily beside me, not even remotely winded.
“What, running without shoes?”
“No, Gather with your feet when you’re running.”
I tripped, and barely kept myself from falling flat on my face.
“Oh, oh. Ouch,” I stuttered, having no idea what to say, what to reveal. And I really had no idea that my feet were Gathering. Dove stopped and helped me back up. I had fallen down to one knee like I was going to propose or something. I’d stubbed my toe pretty bad too.
He led me over to a conveniently located bench; we had made it oceanside and there were benches scattered around.
“This is why normal people wear shoes,” I said while gesturing to the blood leaking from my toe. I held it on my opposite knee to get a look at it, which only made me bleed on myself.
“Here, let me.” And before I could reject his offer, he’d grabbed my foot (making me swivel on the bench to face him so my leg wouldn’t be contorted) and started pressing a handkerchief to my toe, the warmth of his hand spreading in my foot. I can’t even describe how glad I was that I had shaved my legs that morning, since my foot was resting in his lap.
“Dover, seriously I can do that. My feet are all dirty.”
“No, it’s fine. I mean, they’re filthy, but I’m cool with it. Just relax for a moment and tell me how you gather through your feet. Earth, right? I can’t tell which element you’re doing, only that you’re doing it.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. And do you always keep handkerchiefs in your pocket?” I asked, nodding at the hanky in question.
“Lucky for you that I do. Come on, Cash and I have been friends since birth. I know all about the family gifts, in fact…”
“I figured that out. What I mean is, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I just figured out about the Gathering thing a couple weeks ago, and just now told Cash and Uncle Connor today about it. And nobody’s really saying anything else until my lessons start, which is on Wednesday! How can you tell when I’m doing it, and what do you mean by ‘Earth’? Like, are there different things to Gather?” I was hoping he could answer some of my questions so I wouldn’t have to suffer until Wednesday.
“Ok, so I can tell because my family also has gifts. They’re different from yours, but that’s why me and Cash have always gotten along so well, you know?” he said while adding more pressure to my toe.
“What kind of gifts?”
“Well, my mom’s mom was a Medicine Woman in a local tribe, and my dad’s family have some healing abilities. We don’t work with the elements really. Well, I can work with Nature. You know, hear it and stuff. That’s why I can tell when you Gather, I can kinda feel it going inside you. And I can sorta see it inside you or something,” he explained, though I still only half understood.
“Tell me about the element thing.”
“Well, I’m not the best…”
“I don’t care, just tell me what you know,” I demanded.
“From what Cash has told me, you guys can Gather from the four elements; Fire, Wind, Water, and Earth.” I opened my mouth to ask a question, but was stopped. “No, don’t interrupt. I know its sounds cliché. So, you can use that elemental power to do things. Like, Cash is big on taking a little energy from his lighter, then using it as a sparkler with his finger. Um, that’s just fun though. Oh, he can use the water to make his waves better when surfing
. He never has a problem paddling out. It’s cheating in my opinion. Let’s see, with the air he can make little tornados, or lift up a girl’s skirt. I’m sure there are better things he can do, but those are just things I’ve seen. I’m just a healer, I only work on living things.
“So, you can like heal people?” I said disbelievingly, causing him to laugh. “It’s not funny!”
“Yes, it is. After knowing the types of things you can do, and hearing about some of the things Cash can do, you think healing sounds outrageous, and that’s funny. Here, fixed your toe.” And he raised his hanky up and shoved the bloody thing back in his pocket.
At first I thought he’d just stopped the bleeding, then I looked a little closer.
“Oh my God! It’s healed! Holy crap.” I faced forward on the bench now, and leaned down with my elbows on my knees and my head resting in my hands.
“What’s wrong Della? Does it still hurt?”
“I’m living in a fantasy novel, that’s what’s wrong!” Dover looked at me. Just sat there and looked at me for a few moments. Then he started laughing. Laughing so hard that tears started streaming from his eyes while he held his sides together. I didn’t understand what was funny though, and smiled meekly at the non-existent joke, wondering if he was having a mental break, or if I were just missing something.
“Della. Oh man. You’re acting like this is a bad thing, like you just saw me turn someone inside out. It isn’t bad; it’s awesome. I can heal things. You can control the freaking elements. We’re incredible. We’re some of the coolest people ever, like superheroes without the spandex.”
I thought about it for a minute. He was right. This was awesome -- really incredibly strange and unbelievable, but still awesome.
“So we’re like X-Men then?” I asked hopefully.
“Kind of, sure.” He chuckled.
“Does Cash really make girls’ skirts blow up?”
“Ha, yes he does, usually dresses,” he said with a funny little smile on his face.
“Boys are pigs!” I huffed out, thoroughly disgusted with the lot of them.
“Hey! I don’t do it, why am I a pig?
“Because you look!” I threw my hands up and shot him an exasperated look.
“Well yeah. Can’t ignore a nice view like that, no way.” He stood, then held his hand out to help me up. I didn’t really need the help standing up from a park bench, I wasn’t eighty, but I took his hand anyway then jokingly pushed him a little for the comment.
“See? Pig.” We started walking in the direction back to my uncle’s house.
“If I didn’t look, then those poor girls would suffer in embarrassment for nothing. I’m just appreciating the natural beauty. Would you avert your eyes from the pyramids just because they were built by slaves? Same thing.”
“No, no it’s not the same thing. I hear the first sign of being a pig is denial.” He had me laughing, though.
“So, what else do you know about it? My family powers, or whatever?” I asked after we walked in silence for a couple of minutes.
“Well, you can only draw from one type of element at a time, and I think you have to use it before you Gather from some other type. I think that Cash has mentioned divining from the elements, but I have no idea how or even if he can.”
“Divining? Is that like seeing the future?”
“Yeah, I think. It’s way outside my realm of knowledge. Let’s see, oh I’ve seen him Gather then get really strong before. He did it in an arm-wrestling match, the cheater. I don’t really know what that’s about either. It’s not like he shares everything with me.”
Since we had been walking back in a direct route, it didn’t take us long to get back to the house. I went directly upstairs to take a shower while Dove went back to the living room to play CoD with Cash, who had only just gotten off the phone.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
September 20th,
Dear Journal,
Lessons with the Neale boys are going well. L and T are both very talented in Tempering, as all Neales are. I’m hoping that Anise was able to see the importance of that skill, even though it is one that comes with more difficulty for the Deare family. Our Bending abilities are unequaled, and Anise is doing quite well with them. I’m afraid that T Neale has a crush on my daughter, something of which she and his own brother are completely unaware. L seemed calmer than he has in recent months. My meeting with my Native acquaintance went well. He, too, has been hearing troubling rumors about our future. He seemed surprised by my belief in a possible connection between my family and his, but said that he would look into it and get back to me.
I woke up really excited the next day, excited that the house was almost finished, excited that I would see Luke later and could possibly get him to answer some more of my questions, and just plain old thrilled to be young and alive. I know, it’s cheesy. But I was just happy to exist. It’s a good way to feel.
After getting dressed and brushing my teeth, I grabbed Cash’s grey bike and made my way to Luke’s store to start my shift. He always had cheese danishes waiting for me on my morning shifts, so I didn’t worry about eating before I left the house.
I used my key to let myself in through the front door. I could have gone around back, but the bike racks are up front and I didn’t feel like walking around the building. Luke was in the back putting away the most recent delivery, only noticing me enough to smile my way as I grabbed one of the tan aprons out of his office and clocked in on the ancient computer he’d invested in. I turned on the lights, brewed a carafe of the complimentary coffee and stocked up the foam cups, while thinking about how to steer the conversation with Luke the way I wanted it to go.
“So, Connor called me last night. Told me about y’alls dinner conversation,” Luke said behind me, just oozing “casual old guy”; he was sitting next to the counter in his favorite floral beach chair, whittling. Yes, whittling. That thing I’d only ever seen in movies, usually by the grandfather-type on the front porch in some ridiculously small town.
“Jeez Luke! You’re like eight feet tall. How do you manage to sneak up on me?” I yelped at the giant.
“Well, you seemed a bit lost in your own thoughts.”
“Sure it wasn’t magic?” I earned a very rumbly chuckle at that.
“Well, you’re taking this news a bit better than I expected.”
“Oh, because I didn’t storm and pout? No, I started suspecting something was a little different a few weeks back. I didn’t tell Cash or Connor this, but there were some journals in the safety deposit box; I’ve been reading a little bit in one of them each night. So, I think that helped a bit.” I didn’t bother telling him the intense fear I’d had of being a complete nut-cake. Let him think I was a champ at believing the impossible. Or at least keep him from thinking I was emotionally unstable.
“Really? Whose diary?” He paused his whittling to ask.
“A woman named Llewellyn. She was my great-grandmother, right?”
“Certainly was. A little strict if you ask me, of course Anise was a little bit of a free spirit so can’t say that I blame her. Llewellyn was really adept at Reading; no one has been able to match her since, though Anise was all right at it.”
“What does that mean? Reading? Is it divination, like in Harry Potter? Did she read tea leaves and stuff?” Please, don’t laugh at me. It was the only reference I could think of, the only time I’d ever heard the term.
Luke shook his head, doing his little chuckle again.
“No, you don’t read tea leaves. I’ll tell you what I know, but first why don’t you go unlock those doors and help Mr. Clure find what he needs.” He shooed me towards the front door where the customer waited.
Mr. Clure was a widower who came by a couple of times a week. He always wanted me to help him pick out “his goodies”, usually only about fifteen dollars’ worth of merchandise, varying from candy to fish tackle, which Luke told me he gave away, piece by piece, on his walk home to anyone he saw on the way. Whe
n he finally left twenty minutes later, he had his reusable bag filled with a green kite, two cartons of lemonade, and a handful of blow-pops.
Luke was still sitting in his chair, carving God knows what, and making a decent sized mess on the floor that I would eventually have to sweep up. Because there wasn’t anyone else in the store, I hopped onto the counter next to him, making sure not to bump into the coffee maker, and looked down at him while swinging my legs like a child.
“So, no tea leaves,” I prompted.
“No tea leaves. How much do you know about your powers? You know that it’s all elemental, right?”
“Yeah, I made Dove spill what he knew last night.”
“He’s a good kid. Knew his grandma. Anyway, Reading isn’t really the best term, because you don’t always see it. It depends on what element you use. But that isn’t something that the Neale side of the family really does too well,” he said.
“Ok. So what can you tell me about?” I asked.
“Well, the Neale side focuses a little more on the physical. We’ll start at the beginning; do you know how to Gather already?”
“Yes, that’s what prompted yesterday’s convo at the restaurant. Are we going to do this here, now?” I looked around the store to make sure a customer hadn’t sneaked by.
“Great, and yes. Tuesday mornings aren’t really our busy time so we might as well be productive. Unless you want to organize the stock room?” I did not want to organize the stock room, so I shut my mouth. “That’s what I thought. Go grab that fan by the register.”
“Why?”
“Because I said so, that’s why.”
I hopped off the counter and grabbed the small fan, and started bending over to plug it in for him when he stopped me.
“No, don’t worry about the plug. This is just the easiest way to tell if you’re Gathering Air properly. The fan should start rotating a bit. Go ahead, give it a try.”
I closed my eyes and made myself relax, let that tingly sensation take over and tried to focus on the air around me. When I felt like it was working I opened my eyes and looked at the fan, amazed at how quickly it was spinning around.
