“I brought brownies, as promised,” Violet said, holding the Tupperware up so Eli could see it. He clasped his hands in front of him and nodded sagely.
“We appreciate it. Please, come with me.”
Violet and I looked at each other, both trying to hold back our laughter as Eli led us through the house and toward the living room.
“Is it me, or is he dressed like he’s going to a funeral?” I whispered to Violet.
“You’re right,” she said. She pressed her lips together, but I was pretty sure I heard a chuckle come out regardless. “I think we might both be wrong in our guesses.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure,” I said. “Jaxon seems like the kind of guy who would throw a funeral because of a bad hair day.”
“You’re not wrong.”
Eli finally led us into the living room, where Jaxon and Sabrina were sitting on the couch. They both stood up as we walked in, which confirmed my suspicions about Eli’s clothes. They were both dressed head-to-toe in formal black clothes, and Sabrina even had a hat on with some black lace falling in front of her face like a veil.
“I’m almost scared to ask what’s going on,” Violet said.
“It is a sad day,” Jaxon said as if that cleared anything up.
“We can see that,” I said. “I’m sorry that we aren’t dressed appropriately. If I’d known, I would have worn all black like you.”
Jaxon started to wave his hand in the air like he was brushing away my worries, but then he held the hand up to his face and pretended to choke back a sob. I had to give it to him—he knew how to commit to a bit. I was just glad that I knew him well enough to see the difference between him being genuinely sad and just pretending. In this case, the main sign of it was that they were all acting like this. They wouldn’t have put this whole skit together if he was upset.
“What’s going on, Jaxon?” Violet said. She stepped forward and put the container of brownies on the coffee table. I didn’tmiss how Jaxon zeroed in on them and grinned briefly before pretending to be sad again.
“We just got some devastating news,” Jaxon said. He shook his head. “Soul-crushing, really.”
“Really?” Violet asked.
“Yes,” Jaxon said. “We…” He looked away, once again acting choked up.
“You’ll have to forgive him,” Sabrina said somberly. She wrapped an arm around his shoulders and patted gently. “It’s been a hard day.”
“Of course,” Violet said.
“We just got the news that Skippy?—”
“Skippy?” Violet asked.
“Our imaginary fish,” Sabrina immediately supplied.
“Oh—wait, what?” For a second there, Violet sounded like she was completely willing to accept that an imaginary fish was a normal thing for someone to have—let alone for two people to share—so I was glad that she then sounded as confused as I felt. Why on earth would two eighteen-year-olds have that?
“He was a dear and beloved pet, Violet,” Jaxon said. “Please don’t make this harder than it already is.”
“Make what harder?” Violet asked. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m afraid Skippy passed away this morning,” Sabrina said. “At the tender age of fifteen.”
“You’ve had an imaginary fish since you were three?” I asked.
“Why do I sense judgment in your tone, Miss McKinnon?” Jaxon asked. He placed a hand to his chest. “I thought you, of all people, would understand.”
“What does that even mean?” I’d never even had a pet, not even an imaginary one.
“Let us all eat a brownie now in honor of our pet,” Sabrina said. “May he live forever in our hearts.”
“If he’s imaginary, couldn’t you just imagine him back to life?” I asked. Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say though. Jaxon gasped in horror, Sabrina shook her head and murmured“Dios mio”under her breath, while Eli looked up to the sky with his arms sticking out halfway, like he was asking God what was wrong with me.
