“Wanna watch Frozen?” Jared said.
“Shu talked to you,” Eliza said.
Jared considered lying, because she was a kid and he didn’t want to lay a heavy on her. But she heard Shu too. “She did.”
“What did she say?”
He didn’t want to lie. “She told me how she died.”
They watched the ghosts playing on the top of the building, doing their weird hopscotch thing.
“Shu can be scary,” Eliza said.
“Are you scared of her?”
Eliza nodded. “But she keeps the bad things away. When she’s not here, it’s scarier.”
“Sounds like my mom,” Jared said.
“Momma says you’re our cousin.”
“I am.”
Eliza smiled up at him. “Good.”
Olive brought home a bucket of KFC. She didn’t seem to notice that the apartment smelled like burnt marshmallows. After dinner, she picked up the sleeping Eliza and carried her home, leaving Jared with the leftovers. Dent sat in the recliner.
“I think I passed my mid-terms.”
“Told you,” Dent said. “They dumb these things down so anyone can pass.”
“Thank you for helping me,” Jared said. “If you want anything to eat, I can burn it for you.”
Dent considered him. “I’m good.”
“Are you sure? You were looking kind of faint.”
“I’m not sticking around forever. I wasn’t put on this earth to tutor your sorry ass through remedial science. Don’t get used to this.”
“I respect your intellect,” Jared said.
Dent’s eyes narrowed. “Are you being sarcastic?”
“I’m trying to think of all the ways you aren’t an ass. Positive thoughts. Be the change.”
“You want to thank me? Shut up, Oprah.”
Jared turned the TV on. He hoped Sophia wouldn’t come up to the apartment tomorrow. He’d slipped lately with the magic stuff and things were sliding down to crazy-ville.
Cold turkey, then. Full commitment to ordinary human-beingness. A Day One for magic sobriety.
He glanced at Dent, who snickered along with the canned laughter on the boob tube. He supposed he could afford a living tutor now. But Dent was a good guy, despite the crank. And it wasn’t like they were whipping up curses or dabbling in the dark arts.
He didn’t want Sophia to banish Dent or Shu. Or Huey. They didn’t do anything but hang out, really. Besides, they were here first, and he wasn’t going to be rude and boot them out. He would just have to avoid all the other things that wanted to rip him apart or use him as bait for having a dink-ish father.
Huey returned, flying in the open balcony door. He buzzed around the room and landed on Jared’s toes, smiling.
“Hey, dude,” Jared said. “Want to watch TV with us?”
“Don’t encourage it,” Dent said.
Huey hopped onto Jared’s legs and then his chest and then perched on top of Jared’s head.
“Okay,” Jared said. He didn’t get any pictures from Huey the way he had with Shu. Huey began to bounce off Jared’s head like an unruly toddler. The bouncing didn’t hurt, but it was annoying.
“You really don’t know what you’re doing, do you?” Dent said.
“Okay, Huey. Okay. You can stop now.”
Huey rolled through the air, smirking, looking pleased with himself. Jared planned on studying more, but he really was fried and went to bed. Huey followed him, disappearing into the wall to swim with the other floating heads.
Jared hesitated before switching off the light and then didn’t. He lay down, listening to the planetary mobile creak while he sensed the thing watching him from inside the wall. The hairs on his arms and neck prickled. He was glad Huey was here. The thing stayed in the wall when Huey was around. Huey landed on Jared’s toe, weightless as a feather. He was worried he wouldn’t be able to settle his thoughts, but he drifted off effortlessly, sinking quickly into a dreamless sleep.
34
Sophia texted Jared a reminder for the pickup time, and to the second, a cream limo pulled up and double-parked in front of the apartment building. The driver leapt out and jogged to the entrance. Jared had worried about Sophia and Mave meeting up, but her bedroom door was closed and her light was on, which could only mean she was in writing mode. When the driver buzzed, Jared headed down.
“Madame is waiting for you at the restaurant,” the driver said as Jared climbed into the empty back seat.
The pale leather was butter soft under him and the bar was loaded with every type of booze imaginable. Jared picked out a bottle of sparkling water from the little fridge and sipped it as he watched the streets roll by, the rain beading on the tinted windows, giving everything a soft focus. They rode the Georgia Viaduct downtown, the city sparkling against the dark sky.
The driver dropped him off in front of a restaurant called Hawksworth. A giant picture window showed him Sophia sitting at a white table in a white-and-gold restaurant, sipping a glass of white wine. Her finger-waved hair sparkled with tiny barrettes and she wore a long grey pantsuit and thin wool throw with a silver thunderbird clasp at her throat. She raised her glass when she saw him, but didn’t get up.
“Hey,” he said when he was led to her table.
“Hello, Jared,” she said. “I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve ordered the halibut for you.”
He shrugged and sat. A waiter filled his glass with water. He unfolded the napkin and placed it on his lap. She studied him.
“Is something on my face?” Jared said.
“I’m so used to thinking of you as a child. And here you are, a man.” She leaned forward and lowered her voice. “Who’s making some very foolish choices.”
Straight to it, then. “You don’t have to step in. I’m not your problem.”
“My darling, stupid boy, you don’t escalate things with a psychopath.”
Jared glanced at the other patrons around them but not near enough to hear them.
“Mrs. Jaks died,” Jared said. “She visited, and I…I wasn’t myself when it happened. I was kind of numb after she touched me.”
“Numb?”
“It didn’t last long. But I couldn’t feel anything.”
“Was that your neighbour? The one who looked after you that summer?”
“Yes, her.”
“Ah,” Sophia said. “I was afraid you were following your mother’s path. Before she met my son, she was reckless with her power and her use of violence.”
Jared couldn’t imagine his mother being more reckless. He also felt weird talking about her with Sophia. They sat quietly until the waiter brought their appetizers, two small plates of seared scallops.
“Mrs. Jaks was a witch, you know,” Sophia said.
“She didn’t practise,” Jared said.
Sophia rolled her eyes. “Right. Your sanctimonious Mrs. Jaks pushed all your mother’s buttons, did you know that?”
“Mom mentioned it a couple of times.”
“Be choosy with your magical dance partners. Don’t invite creatures into your life if you don’t understand their motives, and certainly don’t participate in magic with them.”
“I’m not doing magic,” Jared said. “I’ve just got some protection things going.”
“You have a ‘glow’ about you that says otherwise. I’m not judging, my dear. Just remember, the supernatural realm can be treacherous.”
Jared wondered how much he could tell her. They weren’t back to their old relationship, where he shared everything with her. They were still feeling each other out and he didn’t want to break their fragile connection.
“Maggie would be here in a heartbeat if you asked her for help,” Sophia said.
Jared wasn’t so sure. Sober Jared was not her favourite flavour and Jared realized he didn’t want to put her love for him to the test. He didn’t want to know for sure that she was over him.
They ate. The scallops were fresh. The plate was full of arty sauce s
wirls and green garnishes.
“I’m leaving for Portugal tomorrow,” Sophia said. “My island man has a long-stay arrangement near Lisbon.”
“Cool,” Jared said.
“David Thompson is heading into his fourth divorce and this wife is determined to make the domestic assault charges stick.” Sophia pulled a card from her purse and pushed it across the table. “I think the best thing is if he gets put behind bars. I leave it up to you to contact her.”
Jared left the card on the table, feeling his food churning. “I dunno.”
“I can’t change what he did,” she said. “But I can offer you a pestilence of lawyers.”
“Why?” Jared said.
She sat back. “I can’t help liking you, you silly thing.”
“Mom says you’re dangerous and I should stay away from you.”
“Has she suddenly become irony-impaired?”
No denial of the danger. Just a quirk of her well-groomed eyebrow. “She doesn’t like competition,” Jared said.
Sophia laughed, a tinkling, warm sound. He felt the world was a better place then, with Sophia back in his life. He ordered a dessert he was too full to finish, and they both lingered in candlelight.
The limo dropped him off at his apartment. He changed into his grungy clothes and lay down to rest before his Friday night shift. He was a bit nervous about the walk. And exhausted from being on graveyard. Maybe he needed to simplify his life. Maybe he needed to focus on school and sobriety. Maybe it was Mrs. Jaks’s death. Maybe it was all the transitions. Almost getting run over and then retaliating by torching an SUV. He felt raw. He wanted to curl up under his blankets and avoid everyone. Cocoon. Hibernate. Be alone and quiet and let his brain sort itself out and not be constantly sleepy from the late nights. Shu was a help as a lookout, but Jared didn’t want to give David any more chances.
That night he gave his two weeks’ notice at the Donut Hole, and thanked the manager for the opportunity.
The manager banged his coffee mug on the counter. “Yeah, don’t bother coming back after tonight, you loser. And don’t bug me for a reference.”
“Okey-dokey.”
“You and your smart mouth.”
Jared was tempted to half-ass his shift, but finished his batches and the manager didn’t make a further scene, just paid him.
Shu popped up beside him when he stepped into the alley as the sun rose over the mountains. A picture formed in his head of the neighbourhood as if he was looking at it from above. No David. She hopped over a Dumpster, adding a twirl.
Mave’s light was still on and her door was closed. He burnt Shu some marshmallows to thank her for keeping watch. Dent popped in and Jared burned for him as well. They bounced off the balcony like hyper kids and he could hear them squealing as they started their leapfrogging game again. Neeka buzzed up.
“Really?” Jared said.
“Morning,” she said.
Neeka made them tea and came and handed him a mug. She sniffed, following her nose to his bedroom. She came back, frowning.
“Marshmallows?” Neeka said. “You fed the ghosts?”
“They were hungry.”
“When you become a Trickster, remember we want our skins back. We’re good allies. You want us on your side.”
Jared glared at her. “I’m human.”
“Magic transforms,” she said. “The more you do, the more you change.”
“That’s not even magic.”
Neeka frowned. “I’m not sure why you’re fighting your transformation. We’ve been human for two hundred years and we’d rather shit razors than spend another minute in these monkey suits.”
“It’s just a snack.”
“You’re living in a cauldron of magic. If you want to stay human, you should leave this apartment.”
Jared looked around the living room. Without him, his aunt would go back to living on frozen burritos. Besides, he didn’t really believe Neeka. It wasn’t like he was dabbling in the dark arts. He’d just fed his friends.
“Don’t say you weren’t warned,” Neeka said.
Neeka picked up his phone when it pinged, reading it as she lounged on the couch. Feeling his temper rise, Jared took a deep breath and held it. He couldn’t concentrate on his textbook anymore.
“Kota met someone,” she said. “He’s a vet with ten years.”
“I have eyes, you know. I can read my own messages.”
“Keep studying.”
“How long are you staying?”
“Until I have to pick up my nephews at Grandview and take them to aikido.”
It was such a plain answer, so soccer mom-ish, Jared was surprised.
“Family is all,” Neeka said. “Everything else is noise.”
Neeka brought him to and from his meeting and then left him at the apartment entrance. Justice popped in to pick up Mave, they both yelled bye, and they were gone. Jared took a long shower then sat on the balcony scrolling through his phone.
Kota had put heart emojis in his text, which was so out of character, Jared wondered if it was really him. His mom had posted selfies, proudly straddling the seat of a Fat Boy, one of her favourite Harley-Davidson motorcycles, grinning ear to ear in someone’s garage. Crashpad and Muriel were posting longingly about each other, heartache poems and sad-faced pictures, promises of unending devotion.
Děda stopped eating, Sarah had texted him late last night. He has a no-resuscitation order. We’re making arrangements to bring him home.
Sorry, Jared texted back. That’s awful.
He waited for a response, but Sarah went radio silent. Jared’s feelings churned in an uncomfortable mess. He sat with them, wishing he could do something.
Later that Saturday, Jared defrosted two packages of ground moose meat. He cleared the kitchen counters and started a double batch of sugar cookies. He made three German chocolate cakes with egg replacer so Justice could guiltlessly eat them. He took all the tomatoes from the fridge and made a simple spaghetti sauce, letting it simmer on the stove. He carefully washed and dried two heads of romaine lettuce. He boiled some coconut icing for the chocolate cake. Late that afternoon, he sent out a text inviting a few people over.
Eliza and Olive showed up first. Eliza helped him roll out the dough and they baked until the counters were full of cooling cookies. He made a large bowl of frosting and split it into smaller bowls, filling several decorating bags with different-coloured icing. Eliza decorated the cookies with faces and suns, hearts and stars. She sandwiched cookies together with icing, adding layers of frosting and rolling them in coloured sugar and sprinkles. Her mouth became smeared with layers of icing and the cookies started disappearing. Mave and Justice walked in as Jared layered the cakes into a tower. Justice ate a slice the second she learned it was egg-free and Mave joined her.
Mrs. Jaks loved sugar cookies. She loved boiled coconut icing. She loved moose meat. She loved spaghetti. She loved home-cooked meals, made slowly and carefully. She loved dumplings. She loved sockeye. She loved watching her husband, Petr, working the garden. She loved hymns. She loved a clean countertop and a crisp shirt.
The Starr brothers showed up as Jared finished frying the moose meatballs. Olive ripped up the romaine and made a Caesar salad. Pat asked if he could bring Barbie and her gang. Jared said the more, the merrier. They helped him tip the vat of spaghetti into the sink and carefully drain it. He put aside some for Justice, with plain tomato sauce. The brothers helped him pour the rest into a large metal bowl, poured the meatballs and sauce on top, and shredded Parmesan into a small bowl.
“Help yourselves,” Jared said.
Barbie and her family rolled in, and then Hank. Barbie wrestled her kids away from the cookies until they all promised to eat at least one meatball. They sprawled through the apartment. Hank and Barbie sat in the corner, heads close together as they talked quietly. Her husband and kids finished eating and grabbed handfuls of cookies from the counter. Eliza crawled into Olive’s lap. Jared made tea. Olive smil
ed at him when he handed her a cup. Kota texted him that he wouldn’t be showing, but thanks for the invite. It was nice that someone in the family remembered he existed, he added.
Jared could see why Mrs. Jaks cooked so much. He felt calmer. Or, at least, too tired to worry and overthink. The Starr brothers led the kids in a game of Monopoly, and they all argued over who was the biggest cheater.
He wondered how Mr. Jaks and Sarah were doing. He hoped Kota was okay. Roll with it or get rolled, as his mom liked to say. He had classes. He had a place to stay. He had this moment, when the apartment was full, everyone had eaten, and their laughter was probably driving the old lady downstairs completely bananas. Mave and Justice started the dishes, playing music and dancing around the kitchen.
After everyone was gone, Mave holed up in her room writing, and Jared flipped through his notecards. Restless, he got up and wandered around the apartment. It looked like he was going to have another long, sleepless night, he thought, wishing he could turn off his brain. As he went to sit on his bed, Huey flew through the open window and circled above him, landing on his toe again.
“Hey,” Jared said.
The red flying head nodded hello back.
“Do you like spaghetti?” Jared said.
Huey yawned, and then closed his eyes. Jared felt sleep pulling him down, felt every muscle in his body relax.
35
Shu woke him up early Monday morning, vibrating. She tugged his hand to sit him up and he went to throw on his shorts. He unplugged his phone, automatically tucking it in his back pocket. As he walked past the living room, Jared could hear someone banging. When he unlocked the apartment door and looked down the hall, some dude was pounding on Olive’s door. He was tall, hefty and clean-cut, wearing dark jeans and a butter-yellow shirt. He had a fade, neat and groomed to the side. The guy banged and banged, loud. Annoyingly loud. He supposed this was Olive’s ex, Aiden. Shu popped into existence in front of Jared, staring at him hard, confirming that yes, this was the ex, wanting him to hold her hand, wanting Aiden cursed and vomiting out his guts.
Trickster Drift Page 27
