“Okay, but…”
“I know. He was little. I’ve never had a teen, but I remember the girls around me when I was growing up. Dramatic declarations were even more frequent. I wouldn’t take it seriously unless she repeats it when she calms down, or asks to go.”
He heaved a sigh of relief. “How do I bridge this?”
“How about let’s go on as if it didn’t happen? Why don’t you go down to the house, or catch up on your e-mail, while I fix dinner. I’ll let her know I’m cooking, and see if she comes out.”
“I promised Godiva I’d call Joey Hu,” he said. “I can do that, then go on down to the house and sweat out some of my frustration on that attic. Thank you,” he added, kissing her—a kiss of promise that saidMore to come.
She kissed him back,Ready when you are, and he left. Wendy went to Oriane’s door and called, “I’m about to start supper. If you’d like to help, I’ve some jobs for you!”
No sound.
Wendy retreated to the kitchen, and began taking out ingredients to make a lentil, spinach, and rice dish that the adults loved, and Sam picked at. She’d fix him a grilled cheese sandwich.
She’d just finished rinsing the lentils when Oriane appeared, looking around warily. Then she saw the drainer, and said, “I know this food. Lentejas—lentilles—”
“Very close to English,” Wendy said. “Lentils. I understand it’s a common dish in Mediterranean cookery?”
Oriane’s lips moved, repeating the last two words, then she said, “Yes! How you cook them?”
It was a complicated recipe, involving vinaigrette, and spinach stirred in at the last moment. Wendy had chosen it deliberately, hoping that if Oriane appeared at all, the many steps would help restore the good spirits of the previous days.
Wendy filled the silence with easy talk about Linette’s pastries in between recipe steps, until she felt Alejo through the mate bond:Joey Hu wants to bring guests over after dinner. Shall I go buy something for dessert?
It still felt odd to communicate this way. Odd, but intimate, as though Alejo whispered just behind her ear. She relished the wash of his emotions through her. It felt as if they were pressed skin to skin.
She briefly shut her eyes, and consciously formed words:No need—plenty of ice cream on hand.
That was all, but she remained sensitive to Alejo’s emotions through the rest of the afternoon, so that she found herself holding her breath when everyone assembled for dinner. When the children went off to wash their hands, Alejo explained quickly that Ben Endicott was a human, like Wendy, married to a raven shifter from the west of Ireland. Margaret Endicott came from a very long line of raven shifters, and her daughter—Oriane’s age—had inherited her mother’s shift animal. Wendy barely had time to say, “Introducing Oriane to a kid her age—what a great idea—” before the kids were back, Eve and Lily joined them, and everyone gathered around the table.
Oriane didn’t say anything, though she shot Alejo a quick glare. But when he sat down in his place, acting as if nothing had happened, the bristle went out of Oriane’s attitude, and dinner progressed as always.
When it was over, Alejo stacked the dirty dishes, and together he and Wendy loaded the dishwasher. She whispered, “Should we say anything?”
“Joey said not to. Let it be a surprise, so she doesn’t get herself worked up beforehand.”
The kitchen had been wiped down and the TV turned on for those who wanted to watch, when the doorbell rang. Eve, closest to the door, got up to answer it. “Hey, professor,” Eve exclaimed.
There was Joey Hu, along with a tall Black man and a lighter-skinned girl about Oriane’s size and age, with a round, cheerful face, and stylish beads in her cornrows.
“Hello everybody,” Joey Hu said. “I came by to say hi, and I brought along Ben and Lisi Endicott. Godiva knows Ben from the days they both served on the city council.”
Wendy hopped to her feet, and introduced Eve and Lily, then the kids, adding, “We were just about to have some ice cream sundaes. Would you like to join us?”
She served the kids first, saying, “Either sit at the kitchen table, or better, why not take your bowls outside on the terrace? The weather is perfect, and it won’t matter if there are spills.”
She held her breath as Sam trooped obediently out. Oriane hesitated. Clearly she had been taught manners, which warred with her instinct to run whenever she didn’t like a situation. Then Lisi said, “I love the color of your hair! Where did you get that shade of blue?” She picked up her bowl, and began to follow Sam.
Oriane followed Lisi, saying, “In France.”
“It’s beautiful, and you’resolucky. My mom won’t let me dye my hair until I’msixteen…”
Chattering about hair, the two girls vanished after Sam.
Letting out a quiet sigh of relief, Wendy attended to coffee and tea orders from the adults, and carried these on a tray, as Joey Hu talked easily, inviting everyone to a huge multi-school fundraiser picnic his wife Doris was chairing through her synagogue, to benefit literacy. They talked about library programs for homeless kids—upgrading all the tech—outreach programs, and success stories as Wendy kept an ear tuned toward the door. From the way Alejo occasionally glanced that way, she knew he was also on the watch.
After a time, Sam came back in with his empty bowl. Wendy got up, saying she’d fetch the coffee pot for refills. “All done, Sam?”
