Binding the Shadows
Page 21
Jupe’s voice carried to the SUV as he flung the double doors open. “Gramma!”
“Oh, God,” I said. “Why are they early? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Rose didn’t warn me. She does this sometimes.”
Rose Giovanni, aka Gramma. Lon’s ex-wife’s mother. And she was with Yvonne’s sister, Adella. Lon’s in-laws. Jupe’s real family. Send me back to the racetrack. I could deal with a supernatural fight. I could not deal with interpersonal family relations. Not yet. I needed more time to prepare.
I stepped out of the car in a daze. Lon walked around to my side. “I didn’t know,” he insisted, forcing me to look at him. “Hey. Stop worrying.”
“But I’m the enemy,” I whispered. “I’m Yvonne’s replacement. I’m young. I’m a dirty stinking magician.”
He lifted my chin up. “You’ll win them over.”
“Ugh.”
“Give them time to get to know you. They’ll accept you.”
I grunted.
“If you need time to go upstairs and get cleaned up, I’ll go in first. Come down when you’re ready, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Just remember, Rose can hear through walls.”
Clairaudient. Worst knack ever. I feigned a small weeping noise.
Lon pulled me close. “We’ll figure out what’s going on with your Moonchild power. And we’ll hunt down the rat who robbed you tomorrow. Can’t do much tonight anyway.” He kissed me softly, first on the lips, then on the tip of my nose. “Mmm?”
I nodded, and we made our way to the front door.
Giddy talk and laughter rang though the house as we stepped inside the foyer. My gaze swept over the living room as Lon walked toward the commotion.
The Butler home was minimally decorated, lots of pale wood and long, low seating. White lights covered the branches of the World’s Biggest Christmas Tree. It was heavy with Jupe’s ornaments (some were made in elementary school, some were miniature plastic models of comic book characters he collected) and took up half a floor-to-ceiling window.
Sliding doors led to an expansive deck in back. I could see figures reflected in the glass there. And as Lon rounded the foyer hallway wall, I paused, scoping out the visitors before they saw me.
At first, all I saw were the twin white-bobbed heads of Mr. and Mrs. Holiday. They weren’t actually a Mr. and Mrs.—that was just what Jupe had called them since he was a kid, and the names stuck. In actuality, they were two women in their late sixties. They looked like Martha Stewart stand-ins. They treated Jupe as if he were their own grandchild, and I was pretty fond of them and their no-bullshit attitudes. Right now, they were laughing with the Giovannis as if they were all best of friends. Mrs. Holiday moved out of the way, and I caught my first glimpse of the in-laws.
Yvonne’s younger sister Adella was as I imagined: tall and willowy, with a dark mass of curls very similar to Jupe’s restrained by a wide purple scarf. Pretty in an understated way. She wore a sheath dress the color of wine, and a long string of mismatched metallic beads. Her complexion was darker than Yvonne’s, a deep cinnamon-warmed brown. Round cheeks shone under the living room lights as she laughed. Jupe was flexing his barely-there arm muscles for her. “Feel that!”
She pinched his upper arm. “Here? Or here? Tell me when you’re ready to flex.”
“I’m flexing!” He gave up and tackled her around the waist, trying to lift her off the ground. “Urgggh! Damn, Auntie. Have you gained weight?”
She reached across his back and slapped him playfully. “Let go of me, fool, and give me a proper kiss, or you’re not getting any of Gramma’s blackberry bars.”
His head shot up as he turned to look over his shoulder. “Youmadeblackberrybars?”
“Kiss. Now.” Adella pulled his face to hers and kissed him loudly on the lips, their green halos and springy curls briefly mingling.
He hugged her tight, grunting with the effort. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
A funny feeling fluttered inside my chest. And as if she sensed this, Jupe’s black lab, Foxglove, trotted around the corner and jumped up on my legs, panting in my face happily as she greeted me. I scratched her behind one floppy ear and peeped around the corner, watching Lon strolling over to his ex-mother-in-law.
“I told you not to bring a shitload of sugar in this house, Rose.”
“And I told you to stop swearing in front of my precious grandbaby, so I guess it all equals out.”
Cropped, silver-white hair fanned around Rose Giovanni’s slim face. The woman may have been in her sixties, but she was stunning. It was easy to see where Yvonne got her supermodel looks.
She wore stylish glasses and was dressed in a pale green pantsuit that matched her halo. Adella’s halo. Jupe’s halo. And even from across the room, I could see Jupe’s green eyes beneath her glasses—which were even more startling paired with her darker skin. I always assumed Jupe inherited Lon’s eyes, just a lighter shade, but now I wasn’t so sure. Lon once told me that Rose’s parents were from the Caribbean. Puzzle pieces fitted into place.
Lon dipped his head and kissed Rose on the check. She wound an arm around him and rubbed his back. “Not mad we came early, are you?”
“Are you joking?” Jupe answered for him. “It’s an awesome surprise, Gramma. Winter break starts tomorrow, so I’m all yours. And now we have three days before Christmas Eve, and there’s all kinds of junk we can do.”
“Oh, God,” I said. “Why are they early? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Rose didn’t warn me. She does this sometimes.”
Rose Giovanni, aka Gramma. Lon’s ex-wife’s mother. And she was with Yvonne’s sister, Adella. Lon’s in-laws. Jupe’s real family. Send me back to the racetrack. I could deal with a supernatural fight. I could not deal with interpersonal family relations. Not yet. I needed more time to prepare.
I stepped out of the car in a daze. Lon walked around to my side. “I didn’t know,” he insisted, forcing me to look at him. “Hey. Stop worrying.”
“But I’m the enemy,” I whispered. “I’m Yvonne’s replacement. I’m young. I’m a dirty stinking magician.”
He lifted my chin up. “You’ll win them over.”
“Ugh.”
“Give them time to get to know you. They’ll accept you.”
I grunted.
“If you need time to go upstairs and get cleaned up, I’ll go in first. Come down when you’re ready, okay?”
“Okay.”
“Just remember, Rose can hear through walls.”
Clairaudient. Worst knack ever. I feigned a small weeping noise.
Lon pulled me close. “We’ll figure out what’s going on with your Moonchild power. And we’ll hunt down the rat who robbed you tomorrow. Can’t do much tonight anyway.” He kissed me softly, first on the lips, then on the tip of my nose. “Mmm?”
I nodded, and we made our way to the front door.
Giddy talk and laughter rang though the house as we stepped inside the foyer. My gaze swept over the living room as Lon walked toward the commotion.
The Butler home was minimally decorated, lots of pale wood and long, low seating. White lights covered the branches of the World’s Biggest Christmas Tree. It was heavy with Jupe’s ornaments (some were made in elementary school, some were miniature plastic models of comic book characters he collected) and took up half a floor-to-ceiling window.
Sliding doors led to an expansive deck in back. I could see figures reflected in the glass there. And as Lon rounded the foyer hallway wall, I paused, scoping out the visitors before they saw me.
At first, all I saw were the twin white-bobbed heads of Mr. and Mrs. Holiday. They weren’t actually a Mr. and Mrs.—that was just what Jupe had called them since he was a kid, and the names stuck. In actuality, they were two women in their late sixties. They looked like Martha Stewart stand-ins. They treated Jupe as if he were their own grandchild, and I was pretty fond of them and their no-bullshit attitudes. Right now, they were laughing with the Giovannis as if they were all best of friends. Mrs. Holiday moved out of the way, and I caught my first glimpse of the in-laws.
Yvonne’s younger sister Adella was as I imagined: tall and willowy, with a dark mass of curls very similar to Jupe’s restrained by a wide purple scarf. Pretty in an understated way. She wore a sheath dress the color of wine, and a long string of mismatched metallic beads. Her complexion was darker than Yvonne’s, a deep cinnamon-warmed brown. Round cheeks shone under the living room lights as she laughed. Jupe was flexing his barely-there arm muscles for her. “Feel that!”
She pinched his upper arm. “Here? Or here? Tell me when you’re ready to flex.”
“I’m flexing!” He gave up and tackled her around the waist, trying to lift her off the ground. “Urgggh! Damn, Auntie. Have you gained weight?”
She reached across his back and slapped him playfully. “Let go of me, fool, and give me a proper kiss, or you’re not getting any of Gramma’s blackberry bars.”
His head shot up as he turned to look over his shoulder. “Youmadeblackberrybars?”
“Kiss. Now.” Adella pulled his face to hers and kissed him loudly on the lips, their green halos and springy curls briefly mingling.
He hugged her tight, grunting with the effort. “I’m so glad you’re here.”
A funny feeling fluttered inside my chest. And as if she sensed this, Jupe’s black lab, Foxglove, trotted around the corner and jumped up on my legs, panting in my face happily as she greeted me. I scratched her behind one floppy ear and peeped around the corner, watching Lon strolling over to his ex-mother-in-law.
“I told you not to bring a shitload of sugar in this house, Rose.”
“And I told you to stop swearing in front of my precious grandbaby, so I guess it all equals out.”
Cropped, silver-white hair fanned around Rose Giovanni’s slim face. The woman may have been in her sixties, but she was stunning. It was easy to see where Yvonne got her supermodel looks.
She wore stylish glasses and was dressed in a pale green pantsuit that matched her halo. Adella’s halo. Jupe’s halo. And even from across the room, I could see Jupe’s green eyes beneath her glasses—which were even more startling paired with her darker skin. I always assumed Jupe inherited Lon’s eyes, just a lighter shade, but now I wasn’t so sure. Lon once told me that Rose’s parents were from the Caribbean. Puzzle pieces fitted into place.
Lon dipped his head and kissed Rose on the check. She wound an arm around him and rubbed his back. “Not mad we came early, are you?”
“Are you joking?” Jupe answered for him. “It’s an awesome surprise, Gramma. Winter break starts tomorrow, so I’m all yours. And now we have three days before Christmas Eve, and there’s all kinds of junk we can do.”
