Trickster Drift

by Eden Robinson

  They watched the street. Jared tugged his hand a bit and she let him go.

  “I can’t afford insurance for the Vespa right now,” Jared said.

  “I can pay that,” she said.

  “Or parking. Or gas.”

  “Done.”

  “Mom loves hogs. She’d probably die of shame if her only son rode around in public on a Tonka toy. But if I sold it, that would hurt Sophia’s feelings.”

  “We can store it in my parking garage,” Mave said.

  “Or you can use it until your car gets fixed.”

  Mave was momentarily taken aback, frowning, and then she chuckled. “I’ve never been manoeuvred into accepting a favour before. What an odd boy you are.”

  “Mom doesn’t like feeling obligated. You have to make it seem she’s doing you a favour.”

  Mave laughed.

  Jared had an idea. “You should offer to take Hank—”

  “Aunt Mave!” A little girl wearing a light-blue satin dress waved at them from the sidewalk. An older Native woman followed her, wheeling a shopping cart full of groceries.

  “Oh, you look amazing, Princess Eliza!” Mave called.

  “Did you remember my party?” the princess said.

  “Wouldn’t miss it. Do you need help setting up, Darlene?”

  “That’d be a relief,” the woman with the cart called up. “Olive was supposed to pick us up an hour ago.”

  “Kids, huh?” Mave said. “Hey, this is my nephew, Jared.”

  “Where’s your costume?” Princess demanded. “It’s a costume party. You have to wear one.”

  “Only the kids, sweetie,” Darlene said.

  “But it’s a fancy party!”

  “Do you have your keys?” Mave said.

  “Somewhere in this mess,” Darlene said. “Would you mind buzzing us in?”

  “Sure,” Mave said, popping up and heading inside.

  “So you’re Maggie’s boy, huh?” Darlene called up to him.

  “Yeah,” Jared said.

  “I haven’t seen your mother since we were greenhorns together at BC Packers. Gosh, it’s been ages. How’s she holding up?”

  “She’s good.”

  “Say hi fo—”

  “Are you coming to my party?” Princess interjected.

  The buzzer bleated.

  “Grab the door, sweetie,” Darlene said.

  “If you come,” Princess said to Jared, “you have to dress up and give me a present.”

  “This bossy cow is my granddaughter, Eliza.”

  “Oh, Kokum,” the little girl said. “It’s rude to call people names.”

  They disappeared inside.

  Mave rushed back to the balcony. “I need your help.”

  “What’s up?”

  “I forgot about Eliza’s party. I was supposed to get the cake. Damn it. Damn it. I don’t even have a gift.” She texted someone and then tore back into the apartment. Jared followed her.

  Hank knocked on the door as he came in. “What’s the emergency?”

  “Oh, Hank. Can you please find me a Frozen cake? Ideally one with Elsa on it.”

  “An ice cream cake?”

  “Frozen, the Disney movie about the ice princess that Eliza loves. The one she watches over and over. You know, the one with ‘Let It Go’ and—”

  “Got it,” Hank said.

  “I’ve got a couple of twenties here.”

  “I said I got it.”

  “Hank!”

  “Stop pushing me, damn it,” Hank said.

  “You’re a lifesaver. I owe you.”

  “Yeah, yeah.” He slammed the door behind him.

  Jared paused in front of the bunch of Mylar balloons still bobbing around in the corner. “Why don’t you give her these balloons?”

  “But those were a gift for you.”

  Jared grabbed the knot of ribbons to pull them down. “You know I’m almost eighteen, right? Balloons are great, but they aren’t really my thing.”

  “You can give her the balloons if you like. Can you help us set up?”

  “Sure.”

  “Oh, you are the sweetest, Jelly Bean.”

  “No one’s called me that since I was in diapers.”

  “Privileges of being an aunt and your elder.”

  “You’re not an elder—”

  “See? You’re sweet.”

  “And I’m not a baby. I would really appreciate if you didn’t treat me like one.”

  “Poor Jelly Belly.”

  “Wow. I didn’t think you could make it worse.”

  She laughed and led him down the stairs to the ground floor then down the hallway to the amenities room at the back of the building, where a propped door stood open. Katy Perry warbled about last Friday night from a tinny boom box. Princess bounced around a ring of chairs. Kokum Darlene banged around the kitchen to the left of the door, hunting through the cupboards. Princess came to a thundering stop, staring at the balloons.

  “Happy birthday,” Jared said.

  Princess squealed, jumping up and down. Jared winced. He held out the knotted mass of ribbons. She snatched them. In a burst of manic speed, she circled the room with the balloons trailing behind her.

  “And this is before she’s had cake,” Kokum Darlene said, standing in the kitchen entryway.

  “Help me with the tables, Jel—Jared,” Mave said.

  They pulled the tables out of the corner and unfolded their legs, making tidy rows until the room was full. Mave gave them a scrub with disinfectant wipes. Princess settled in the middle of the room, carefully undoing the knot of ribbons and letting the freed balloons drift to the ceiling.

  “This one’s for Skylar, and this one’s for Mary-Ellen, but I’m not giving one to Riley ’cause she’s mean.”

  “Eliza,” Kokum Darlene called from the kitchen. “Be nice.”

  “But she’s mean!”

  “Fill your heart with forgiveness, Eliza.”

  Princess glowered.

  They unrolled a spool of blue plastic tablecloth over the tables and cut it to fit. Princess rummaged through the plastic bags by the door and pulled out tubes of silver, heart-shaped glitter, which she splashed over the tabletops. Jared unfolded and arranged chairs. Mave set out paper plates and plastic cups while Princess licked pieces of glitter and stuck them on her face.

  At last Mave said, “We’ve got the rest,” waving him off. “I’ll come get you when the food’s ready.”

  “Are you sure?”

  She kissed his cheek. “Thank you.”

  He flopped on the couch in Mave’s apartment. Crashpad had sent Jared pictures of the lame outfits his mom wanted him to wear to his next study group meeting on Tuesday.

  Countdown to hell, Crashpad had captioned the picture.

  Nothing from Sarah.

  Jared had meant to make amends to Sarah. He could have chosen a better time to break up with her, any time actually, than the one he had. But Sarah wanted to trip the light fantastic, join the swarm of fireflies above her head and go God knows where. Jared wanted to stay in this world. He wanted a normal, sane life where ghosts did not stick their heads through the wall and make a face when they saw you on the couch.

  “You’re not even watching TV,” Bathrobe said.

  Don’t engage, Jared told himself. Don’t encourage.

  “Other ghosts haunt this place,” Bathrobe said. “And they aren’t nice like me.”

  Jared went to the kitchen and opened the smudge drawer. But when he turned back to the living room, Bathrobe had disappeared. He lit a braid of sweetgrass anyway, waving it around the TV before leaving it to smoulder in the abalone shell, which he’d left on the TV stand. He settled back on the couch.

  His messages and texts remained Sarah-less. He put an arm over his eyes. He wouldn’t even know where to look, what part of Vancouver Island she’d disappeared from.

  He must have fallen asleep, because the next thing he knew, Mave was sitting on the couch beside him.

&
nbsp; “Eliza would really like it if you came to her party,” Mave said.

  “Who?”

  “The princess you just gave your balloons to.”

  “Oh. I’m kinda tired.”

  “There’s food.”

  He followed her down the stairs towards waves of laughter and screaming kids.

  The adults were clustered in the corners of the amenities room. The kids had formed a running gang of assorted superheroes and princesses, and seemed to be playing a game that wasn’t quite tag but involved running and bouncing the balloons tied to their wrists off each other’s heads. Kokum Darlene had an electric fryer going and was cooking bannock, as she joked with another woman. She waved Jared over and handed a bannock to him.

  “Jam’s at the other end of the food table,” she said.

  “Thanks.”

  The food table was to the left of the door. If everyone had eaten, they hadn’t made a dent in the piles. His stomach grumbled. Someone had brought deep-fried seaweed, which he hadn’t had since he was a kid. He ignored the chow mein, hamburgers, lasagna, pork chops and seal, and loaded his plate with barbecued moose sausages and coho fillets. He added potato salad and some carrot slices and then globbed some jam on his bannock.

  “Jared!”

  He turned and looked down at a young woman in denim shorts and a Transformers tank top holding a toddler on her hip. She had her long hair in braids, tied off with pink elastics that matched her sneakers. “Hi,” he said.

  She reached up and squished his cheeks together. “Oh my gosh. Jelly Bean! What a big boy you are! Do you remember me? I used to babysit you.”

  “Sorry, I don’t,” Jared said.

  “I’m Barbie,” the woman said. “This is my baby, Rayray. My husband, Doug, is out for a smoke. I’ll introduce you when he comes in.” She put her hand on his jaw. “Oh, I love this squishy face. Don’t you just love this squishy face?”

  “Ow.”

  “Barbie founded the Urban Heiltsuk Traditional Dance Group,” Mave said.

  “We practise right here in the amenities room every Sunday,” Barbie said. “Except for days like today when it’s booked.”

  “Okay,” Jared said.

  They waited as if expecting him to volunteer or something. As the silence went on, he hunched his shoulders. He looked around.

  Princess tugged at his shirt. “Kokum says I have to say thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  “Do you want to be the monster?”

  “Um.”

  “He’s eating, Eliza-cakes,” Mave said.

  “Bye!” she said, lifting her hem and racing after the other kids.

  “Let’s find a table,” Mave said.

  They headed to one by the door to the deck. Jared wouldn’t have approached it by himself. Three Native guys, early twenties maybe, already sat there. One guy had a neck tattoo of a bear in stylized black-and-red Native formlines. The other two looked enough alike that they could be twins.

  “Hi, boys,” Mave said.

  “Hi, Aunt Mave,” they chorused.

  “This is Jared.”

  “Hey,” Jared said.

  “These two rascals are the Starr brothers, Patrick and Robert.”

  “They’re my brothers,” Barbie said. “And they’re staying with me. We’re just up the street if you get lonesome and need some company.”

  “And this is Dakota,” Mave said, “who’s bunking in with Hank.”

  “Just Kota,” the guy with the neck tattoo said.

  “Aw, don’t be like that,” Robert said. “We like your stripper name.”

  “Shut up, Sponge,” Kota said.

  The Starr brothers snickered, and Kota hucked pieces of his bannock at them.

  “I’m going for some fresh air,” Kota said, pushing away from the table and getting up.

  “Can I bum a smoke off you?” Sponge said.

  “Go to hell,” Kota said.

  “Aw, did I hurt your widdle feelings?”

  “Quit being a cheap fuck and buy your own smokes.”

  The Starr brothers exchanged glances and got up to check out the desserts. Mavis and Barbie sat, and Jared took the seat beside them, tuning out as they started talking about people from Bella Bella whom he didn’t know. Jared didn’t realize he was snarfing his food until he noticed his aunt and Barbie staring at him.

  “It’s good,” Jared said.

  “There’s lots,” Mave said. “Have all you want.”

  Jared cleared his plate and went back for seconds. A girl peeked at him from behind one of the couches. She’d bucked the princess trend and was full zombie, with an impressive makeup job on her cheek that showed yellowed bone, and a threadbare grey costume that floated when she moved. She held a wooden whistle to her lips and played random notes.

  “Walking Dead fan?” Jared said.

  She tooted and then hid behind the couch again.

  “Me too,” he said.

  “Can you see her?” Princess said, coming up behind them.

  “What?”

  “Her name is Shu,” Princess said.

  “It’s a good zombie costume,” Jared said.

  “I’m like Princess Elsa,” Princess said.

  “Yeah?”

  “Are you one of— Hey!” Princess suddenly shouted. “Those are my presents! Mine! Get away!”

  She ran off to confront the kid carrying off presents and Zombie Shu followed her. He loaded up on fried seaweed and more coho and walked back to the table, avoiding the kids flying around. As he sat down again, he saw Hank come in with the cake and be immediately swarmed by the kids. Kokum Darlene kissed him and took the box. Hank paused when he saw Jared, and then came and sat beside Mave.

  “Hey, Jelly Bean,” Mave said. “Hank is driving Kota to a youth meeting on Kingsway. Are you up for it?”

  “A meeting?”

  “An AA meeting.”

  “You know about…my meetings.”

  “I’m going to round up Kota,” Hank said. He got up and left.

  Once Hank was safely out of earshot, Jared said, “I’d rather find my own meetings.”

  “Hank’s not going to the meeting, he’s just driving you there. He thought it was a good idea if someone showed you around.”

  Jared did not believe Hank thought that. “I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

  “Just give him a chance.”

  “Mave…”

  “Please.”

  Jared stuffed a few more mouthfuls of food in as Hank and Kota made their way back to them, saying their goodbyes.

  “Are you coming?” Hank said.

  “Sure,” Jared said.

  “My car’s out front.”

  Kota flipped up his hoodie when they went outside, even though it was still hot. Kota took shotgun, bent down to get in, and then suddenly stopped and turned to the building.

  “Are those my smokes?” Kota yelled.

  Jared turned to see what Kota was mad about. One floor up, the Starr brothers were puffing on the balcony beside Mave’s.

  “Keep out of his stuff or find another place to Xbox,” Hank called.

  “Yes, Daddy,” the brothers chorused.

  “You owe me two fucking packs, Sponge,” Kota said.

  “Pat fucking smoked some too,” Sponge said.

  “Language,” Hank said.

  “Yes, Daddy,” the brothers chorused again.

  “I’m going to murder them,” Kota said.

  “Do it quietly and clean up after yourself,” Hank said.

  Hank’s car had an obsessive neatness. The upholstery was vacuumed spotless. The plastic was spit-polished shiny. The carpet was protected with dirt-free all-weather mats. Kleenex boxes were tucked into each door holder and each tissue that poked out of the boxes was exactly the same length.

  “Seat belt,” Hank said, looking at Jared in the rear-view mirror.

  “He won’t move until you put it on,” Kota said.

  Jared pulled his seat belt down
.

  They drove in silence. Hank held the wheel like the car was going to run off the road if he let go of the ten o’clock position. Kota stared out the passenger window.

  The sun tilted towards the horizon. The traffic had become even more snarled. At last they pulled up to a church and Hank shut off the engine. Jared was used to being the youngest person at any given meeting, but some of the people going in didn’t look like they’d hit puberty yet.

  “It’s a closed meeting,” Kota said.

  Hank shrugged. “I’ll wait.”

  “Don’t.”

  “I’ll pick you up after,” Hank said.

  “I’ll grab a cab.”

  “What about the kid?”

  “I’m not a kid,” Jared said.

  Kota hit the dashboard. “Fucking show me some trust, man. And if you ‘language’ me again, I’m going to shove your fucking face through the fucking windshield.”

  “I’m hearing that Kota needs some space,” Jared said.

  They both turned to give him beady eyes.

  “Thanks for the ride,” Jared said, and quickly exited the Honda.

  “Jared, wait for Kota!” Hank yelled as Jared shut the door.

  “What, so you’re hiring guards now?” Kota said.

  “He’s Mave’s Jelly Bean, dumb-ass. If he gets hurt on our watch, we’ll never hear the end of it. Make sure he doesn’t get in trouble, and don’t make him cry.”

  “You’re leaving me to wipe his fucking ass? Nice.”

  “Uh, guys?” Jared said. “The car isn’t soundproof.”

  As Hank drove off, Kota cupped his cigarette to light it and sucked in deep.

  Jared crossed his arms and then uncrossed them, trying not to seem confrontational. “You don’t have to babysit me because Hank says so.”

  “It’s annoying as fuck, right?” Kota aimed his smoke upwards, watching it drift up. “I don’t know about you, but I’m walking back.”

  “I’m heading in.”

  “Hold up for a second. I need a nic fix and if anything happens to you I’ll have Hank and your aunt on my ass.”

  “It’s a meeting, not a crack den.”

  “Sucks to be you.”

  “I’m almost eighteen. I can take care of myself.”

  “Almost eighteen.” Kota snorted.

  Jared tried to think of words that described the level of frustration he felt, but his brain decided it wanted to watch the traffic. Kota sucked his cigarette down to the filter in three deep inhales.