Poe:
I hate to ask, but do you have a few minutes to hop over to my house? They’re here early, so I’m curious if one of them has found something.
Sephy:
I have Maren and Daphne with me. If you don’t mind all of us coming by, we’ll be there in a couple minutes.
Daedalus:
Loki and I are on our way, too.
Me:
Omw.
I checked the mirror one last time, just to make sure I was absolutely ready to head out when I left Poe’s place, then walked next door. I had an hour before I had to leave toget to Tower Grove on time to meet Vada. I walked into Poe’s house, where Michael was sitting on the couch playing a video game. He had music blasting throughout the house. Right now, it was some metalcore band I wasn’t familiar with, but I was proud to know I’d rubbed off on him a little bit. I turned it down, then waved my hand in front of his face.
“Michael, hey,” I said, trying to figure out the best way to get his attention. He was so focused on the screen that I didn’t think he’d even noticed that the music volume had been turned down.
He flicked his eyes briefly up from his game and waved distractedly before refocusing on his handheld console, “Hey, Daela. What’s going on? Mom’s not here right now.”
“I know. She’s grabbing your aunts from the perimeter,” I said, a little bit of manufactured panic in my voice to get him moving.
His eyes went wide, and he shot from the couch in a rush, console forgotten. “They’re not supposed to be here yet.”
The house wasn’t dirty by any means, Poe wouldn’t allow that, but it wasn’t currently up to her standards since it was occupied by a messy preteen. “I know. We need to get this cleaned up before they get here. Come on, dude. It’s time to get up and help me. I’ll glamour what I can, but I need you to pick up anything that can be tripped over.”
Within minutes, we had the house spotless. It wasn’t of course, but it’d have to do for now. Poe would be pissed to know that Michael was playing games instead of doing his chores. It could remain our little secret for now.
While Michael was growing up quickly, he still had the tendencies of a young boy, and for the most part, Poe encouraged that. I got the privilege of being the cool aunt, though. Michael and I were pretty close, and I was one of the few people he didn’t cop an attitude with because I tried to meet himwhere he was at. While I’d never had any intention of becoming a mother, I did love kids. I just liked it when I could give them back at the end of the day.
Poe, however, was doing all of this on her own. She also needed a break occasionally. Michael and I would hang out at my place when she did, eating popcorn and watching movies Poe likely wouldn’t let him watch. That reminded me. I was going to have to introduce him toBeavis and Butthead.Poe was going to love that.
I chuckled to myself as my shadows alerted me that the sisters, along with the group chat, were at the house. Michael took a breath, and I exhaled as my shadows helped get Michael’s gaming system back in its proper place.
“They’re here. If you’re not ready to see them yet, I suggest you go and take a shower. I will let them know you weren’t here to greet them because I told them you stink,” I said playfully, and his cheeks reddened.
He blew a raspberry at me. “That’s not fair.”
I raised an eyebrow. “When was the last time you brushed your teeth, mister?”
He dipped his head, cheeks heating. “Going now.”
I was laughing as I opened the door. “Hi, everyone. Welcome. Clotho, Lachesis, so nice to see you both. It’s been a long time.” I moved out of the doorway to let them in.
Poe came barreling in, relief written on her face at the shape the house was in within just a few minutes. The sisters surveyed Poe’s immaculate mid-century modern home with confused approval. From behind their shoulders, Poe mouthed athank you,and I nodded subtly in return.
Poe offered everyone drinks, and we began settling onto the couches in the living room. I brought some chairs in from the dining room for extra seating while Poe brought in drinks and snacks. Daedalus, sitting next to Loki, was having a conversationwith Maren and Daphne. Sephy was chatting with Clotho as if they were long-lost friends. Lachesis, sitting next to me, turned and smiled.
“I see you’re going on a hot date tonight.” She waggled her eyebrows.
My cheeks reddened. “Ah, yes. I have to leave in the next—” I looked at my phone “—forty-five minutes. I’m sorry I can’t stay long.”
“That’s okay. I’m sure we’ll see more of you in the coming weeks,” Lachesis replied with a twinkle in her eye.
“Oh, so this is a longer-term stay?” I asked her.
Clotho chimed in next to her, catching on to our conversation, “Yes. We’re aware of the situation happening here and believe our efforts are best focused as a triumvirate in one location.”
