discovers us on her own.”
Which wasn’t an answer at all, except that it spoke to some undercurrent that I always sensed around the fairies, but never understood. It was a mystery they played up, some secret with dark edges that I could never see into.
“I don’t get it,” I said. “Why don’t you just show yourself to her and save all the skulking around?”
Tommery shrugged. “We could. It’s just not as ... interesting.”
“Interesting.”
“Exactly. And trust me, her slowly becoming aware of us over time will leave a much more lasting impression.”
“I just want her to know you’re real. That I wasn’t making it up.”
“She will. But if it’s not done right, she’ll forget, and then you’ll be right back where you started.” He cocked his head, giving me a considering look. “The only problem is, doing it this way takes some time. But you can be patient, can’t you?”
I laughed without humor.
“What’s time to me?” I said. “I’m dead.”
Tommery sighed and gave me a slow, sad nod.
“There’s that,” he said.
His voice was soft. If I tried, I could pretend I heard genuine regret in it. I just had to forget the cruel tricks he was capable of, like the year after I died when they gave half the school food poisoning on the last day of classes.
That little incident had the fairies laughing for days.
I didn’t realize how much I’d missed Maxine until she finally got back and showed up at my front door on the first Saturday in August. No, that’s not true. I’d missed her terribly and knew it the whole time she was gone. I’d just tried not to think about it. Maybe I was her first best friend, but she was mine, too. Not having her around to talk to every day was like having a big black hole in the middle of my life, and the postcards she’d sent couldn’t come close to filling it, though I had appreciated them.
I let her talk about the trip. Her dad had rented a condo in Fort Lauderdale, close to the beach, so while he went off to do his meetings and work during the day, Maxine got to turn into a beach bunny. She was, like, totally brown when she got back. It made me feel like I’d spent the month in a basement, but then I don’t tan well anyway.
The important thing was she’d had a great time, and I was glad for her. Nobody had the preconception that she was this loser from Redding High, so they saw her the way I did: cute and smart and funny. She made some friends; she had boys trying to pick her up. Life was good for her. But I noticed she didn’t talk much about the time she’d spent with her dad.
“So,” I said, “are you still thinking of living with your dad for your final year?”
He lived up in the ’burbs, when he wasn’t away on business, but Maxine had assured me that she’d bus in to Redding.
“I don’t know,” she said. “I ... it was a little weird. My dad’s great about not talking about why they got divorced, even though we all know the reason, and he doesn’t dis Mom, either.”
“So what was the problem?”
She shrugged. “I guess just the way he’d look at what I was wearing. He didn’t say anything about how sucky my clothes were—not directly—but I could tell he was worried about me getting to be too much like my mother. ‘It’s okay to be a kid,’ he’d tell me. ‘Everything doesn’t have to be so serious.’ ”
“But you brought your cool clothes, too, right?”
“Some, but mostly what my mom’s bought for me. I mean, she’d think it was weird if she looked in my closet and it looked like I hadn’t taken anything. And we both know she’d look in my closet—if only to make sure the skirts were still hung separate from the dresses.”
I had to smile. It was sadly true.
“The stuff we got at the thrift stores I wore mostly when I was on my own, at the beach. When my dad was home ... I don’t know. I felt like I’d be betraying Mom if I wore stuff she hadn’t picked out for me. Is
Which wasn’t an answer at all, except that it spoke to some undercurrent that I always sensed around the fairies, but never understood. It was a mystery they played up, some secret with dark edges that I could never see into.
“I don’t get it,” I said. “Why don’t you just show yourself to her and save all the skulking around?”
Tommery shrugged. “We could. It’s just not as ... interesting.”
“Interesting.”
“Exactly. And trust me, her slowly becoming aware of us over time will leave a much more lasting impression.”
“I just want her to know you’re real. That I wasn’t making it up.”
“She will. But if it’s not done right, she’ll forget, and then you’ll be right back where you started.” He cocked his head, giving me a considering look. “The only problem is, doing it this way takes some time. But you can be patient, can’t you?”
I laughed without humor.
“What’s time to me?” I said. “I’m dead.”
Tommery sighed and gave me a slow, sad nod.
“There’s that,” he said.
His voice was soft. If I tried, I could pretend I heard genuine regret in it. I just had to forget the cruel tricks he was capable of, like the year after I died when they gave half the school food poisoning on the last day of classes.
That little incident had the fairies laughing for days.
I didn’t realize how much I’d missed Maxine until she finally got back and showed up at my front door on the first Saturday in August. No, that’s not true. I’d missed her terribly and knew it the whole time she was gone. I’d just tried not to think about it. Maybe I was her first best friend, but she was mine, too. Not having her around to talk to every day was like having a big black hole in the middle of my life, and the postcards she’d sent couldn’t come close to filling it, though I had appreciated them.
I let her talk about the trip. Her dad had rented a condo in Fort Lauderdale, close to the beach, so while he went off to do his meetings and work during the day, Maxine got to turn into a beach bunny. She was, like, totally brown when she got back. It made me feel like I’d spent the month in a basement, but then I don’t tan well anyway.
The important thing was she’d had a great time, and I was glad for her. Nobody had the preconception that she was this loser from Redding High, so they saw her the way I did: cute and smart and funny. She made some friends; she had boys trying to pick her up. Life was good for her. But I noticed she didn’t talk much about the time she’d spent with her dad.
“So,” I said, “are you still thinking of living with your dad for your final year?”
He lived up in the ’burbs, when he wasn’t away on business, but Maxine had assured me that she’d bus in to Redding.
“I don’t know,” she said. “I ... it was a little weird. My dad’s great about not talking about why they got divorced, even though we all know the reason, and he doesn’t dis Mom, either.”
“So what was the problem?”
She shrugged. “I guess just the way he’d look at what I was wearing. He didn’t say anything about how sucky my clothes were—not directly—but I could tell he was worried about me getting to be too much like my mother. ‘It’s okay to be a kid,’ he’d tell me. ‘Everything doesn’t have to be so serious.’ ”
“But you brought your cool clothes, too, right?”
“Some, but mostly what my mom’s bought for me. I mean, she’d think it was weird if she looked in my closet and it looked like I hadn’t taken anything. And we both know she’d look in my closet—if only to make sure the skirts were still hung separate from the dresses.”
I had to smile. It was sadly true.
“The stuff we got at the thrift stores I wore mostly when I was on my own, at the beach. When my dad was home ... I don’t know. I felt like I’d be betraying Mom if I wore stuff she hadn’t picked out for me. Is
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