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  “Just glad it worked out,” Sissy said.

  “Me, too,” Heather said.

  “Hedone?” Sissy asked.

  Heather looked at the girl, and she was sound asleep. Heather kissed Sissy’s forehead and leaned back to sit in a chair. She hoped Sissy would never find out how it all worked. Some things were better left to the mystery and romance of life. Heather smiled. She was just glad it had worked out.

  ~~~~~~~~

  Saturday morning — 7:55 a.m.

  New York City, New York

  Seth’s apartment was a buzz of activity and happy voices. This group of people not only knew each other, they were old friends. Tanesha had taken over the espresso machine the moment she’d walked in. The screeching sound of the espresso maker created a back beat for the story telling and resulting laughter. Ava and Valerie had gone shopping, while Maresol hung out with the teenagers.

  Otis had sought Delphie out immediately. Worried that her intense grandfather would overwhelm Delphie, Jill had hovered around them long enough to learn that they played chess once a week when Otis was in town. Delphie set up a chess set, and they started a game before anyone else had settled in their seats.

  The fairies took the couch. Fin on one side and Mari on the other, with Abi in the middle. Although Jill had worried that the siblings wouldn’t get along, she soon learned that Fin and his first wife had raised Mari. They bickered like siblings, but, with Abi as referee, the love between them was obvious. Right now, they were arguing what to name the two babies — Abi’s and Mari’s. Bestat weighed in on the debate from an armchair next to the couch.

  Heather and Jill’s father, Perses, were deep in soft conversation near the back of the living area. Jill wasn’t sure what was going on, but she felt like it was better to stay out of it. Sandy was sitting in a dining-room chair while Sam Lipson rubbed her shoulders. Mike and her mother, Anjelika, were talking and laughing with Seth O’Malley at the other end of the table. Katy was taking everything in from her vantage point on Anjelika’s lap.

  Every cup was filled with coffee or wine or the ridiculously expensive Scotch Otis had brought. The first round of snacks had been eaten. They were loose and laughing.

  Jill cleared her throat and walked to the edge of the living area. Tanesha scooted from the kitchen into the living area. The people at the table turned their chairs to face Jill. Otis and Delphie put the chess game away. All eyes were on Jill. She swallowed hard.

  “As you know, I wanted to get everyone together to talk about. . .”

  And everyone spoke at once.

  ~~~~~~~~

  Saturday morning — 7:55 a.m.

  New York City, New York

  “Hi.”

  Ivan’s voice woke Sissy. She opened her eyes. Puzzled, she tried to get up but found that she couldn’t.

  “You’re tied down. I’d come to you, but I find myself unable.”

  His hand came onto the bed, where he felt around for the buttons to move the bed. As the bed lowered down, Ivan came into view. He was sitting in a wheelchair.

  “Hello,” he said.

  He gave her a bright smile, which Sissy returned. She was surprised at how delighted she was to see him. She felt her face redden, and her hand instinctively went to straighten her hair. She rolled her eyes.

  “What?” Ivan asked.

  “Oh, I look like I’ve been hit by a bus,” Sissy said. “I smell, and. . . here you are.”

  “I’m in much better condition,” Ivan said with a laugh.

  Sissy’s eyes took him in. His hair was clean but a mess. He had a few days stubble on his cheeks, and his glasses were missing. He was wearing the same stylish blue hospital gown that she was wearing. To Sissy, he looked really good.

  “You look good to me,” Sissy said and blushed.

  “You are beautiful, as always,” Ivan said.

  Sissy moved her hand, and he took it. He kissed the backs of her fingers. Rolling his wheelchair closer to the bed, he held her hand to his heart.

  “How are you?” Sissy asked.

  “I’m. . .” Ivan sighed and nodded. “Angry. I have much regret. This entire thing is my fault. If I. . .”

  “It’s not your fault,” Sissy said. “It’s just something that happened.”

  “No,” Ivan said. “You don’t understand. If I hadn’t argued with Katia, she. . .”

  “She was crazy,” Sissy said. “One way or another, she would have made trouble for you and for us.”

  Ivan shook his head.

  “Awful woman,” Sissy said. “It’s me she didn’t like. She only stabbed you so that I wouldn’y have you.”

  “No, Sissy,” Ivan said.

  “Yes,” Sissy said. “Sandy talked to her husband. He came by to offer to pay the hospital bill and support us financially until we get on our feet.”

  “He did?” Ivan asked.

  “He said that he knew that Katia hated me,” Sissy said. “She talked all the time about getting back at me. She even talked about it after the board meeting last night. I mean, I think Schmidty, Seth’s lawyer, encouraged Katia’s husband to do it, but he’s paying for everything. He says he could have stopped this and didn’t.”

  “But, how. . .?” Ivan asked. “You were a child when she was in Denver. She had this whole big life and. . .”

  “Some things just don’t make sense,” Sissy said. “Heather says. . .”

  “Heather?” Ivan asked. “The woman who was here this morning? I saw her when she was leaving.”

  “She’s one of Sandy’s friends,” Sissy said. “One of the girlfriends.”

  “Ah, the girlfriends,” Ivan said with a knowing nod. “I had the strangest dream about her.”

  “Oh?” Sissy asked.

  “I was on a swing set in this gorgeous playground,” Ivan said. “You can’t imagine how beautiful it was — better than at the royal palace.”

  Ivan glanced at Sissy, and she smiled at him.

  “You were there,” Ivan said. “Swinging. Your sister’s friend Heather was there, too.”

  “She was my babysitter when I was young,” Sissy said.

  “I remember,” Ivan said with a nod. He opened his mouth to say something and closed it.

  “What were you going to say?” Sissy asked.

  “Oh, nothing,” Ivan said.

  “I want to know,” Sissy said.

  Ivan sighed and looked at her for a moment. She nodded.

  “When I was a child, I loved the swings,” Ivan said. “It sounds ridiculous, but I used to spend many hours swinging and dreaming of my future love. She would cherish me, and I would make my whole world around her. It was very real to me on the swings, but in real life. . .”

  Ivan shrugged.

  “It sounds silly,” Ivan said. “But that time of the swings was the only time I wasn’t dancing or studying or doing chores. It was my time to dream of. . . love, life, dancing. I felt a terrible longing and loneliness. I never thought my dreams of love could possibly be real until I met you. And then you were four years old.”

  Ivan’s face flushed with emotion.

  “I almost lost you to that woman,” he said.

  “Shh,” Sissy said. “I’m here. You’re here. She didn’t take anything from us.”

  Ivan kissed her hand again.

  “I love the swings,” Sissy said.

  “Then we shall go when we are better,” Ivan said.

  Sissy smiled, and he returned her smile.

  “I am here until your sister comes back or we pass out,” Ivan said. “Would you like to watch television or play cards or. . .”

  “Can we just talk?” Sissy asked.

  “Perfect,” Ivan said. “What would you. . .?”

  “You could teach me Russian,” Sissy said. “Sandy got me one of those courses on tape.”

  Sissy held up an mp3 player. Ivan’s face lit up with delight.

  “I thought I’d practice, but you could help,” Sissy said.

  “Where shall we start
?” Ivan asked.

  “Numbers,” Sissy said. “One is. . .”

  “A-deen,” Ivan said.

  “A-deen,” Sissy said with a smile. “And two?”

  Ivan paused for a moment just to look at her.

  “What is it?” Sissy asked.

  “You are barely alive, and you give me the gift of wanting to learn my language,” Ivan said. “It is more than any woman has ever given me. Ever. And you do it from your hospital bed.”

  “I have all this time lying around!” Sissy said with a smile. “So, ‘two’?”

  Grinning at her, Ivan set about teaching her one through ten in Russian.

  Chapter Three Hundred and Sixty-two

  Getting ready

  Saturday morning — 8:11 a.m.

  Denver, Colorado

  Ivy kicked her legs against the wooden picnic table post and sighed. With her elbow on the table, she leaned her head on her hand. The workbook on the table had gone from fun and challenging to boring in the last ten minutes.

  “What’s wrong?” Edie asked.

  Edie was wearing what Jill called her “twin sandwich” with one twin on her front and the other on her back. The twins were sound asleep. Maggie was sleeping in the front compartment of a double stroller. Mack was running with the dogs in the Castle backyard. James Kelly gave the boy the string end of a kite, and Mack ran around the backyard, trying to make it fly.

  “I wish. . .” Ivy shrugged.

  “What is it, sweet pea?” Edie asked.

  Ivy looked up at the fairy. Edie looked like she hadn’t slept in a week. Her usually tidy braid was frayed, and small, fly-away hairs had escaped. Edie’s shirt had spots of spit-up from the boy,s and her makeup was smudged. Ivy shook her head and looked down.

  “It’s hard to be left behind,” Edie said.

  “I just. . .” Ivy looked up at the sky before looking at Edie again. “Why didn’t I get to go?”

  “You have a reading class all afternoon today and tomorrow,” Edie said.

  “Oh, yeah, reading,” Ivy said with an exaggerated roll of her eyes. “Like that matters over Sissy’s life!”

  “Sissy is going to be fine,” Edie said.

  “Why did the other kids get to go, and I have to stay here with the babies?” Ivy’s voice rose with indignation. She glanced at Edie. She’d expected Edie to look more tired, but Edie just grinned.

  “Why indeed!” Edie said.

  “You don’t know?” Ivy asked.

  “I know that you have a reading seminar,” Edie said.

  “Oh,” Ivy said. “Why do I have to go?”

  Her voice had such a whining pitch that Edie had to grin. Ivy saw Edie’s grin and smiled herself.

  “I guess that’s pretty whiney,” Ivy said.

  “What’s happening on Monday?” Edie asked. When Ivy didn’t respond, Edie added, “Anything important?”

  Ivy shook her head.

  “Could it be that those who love you wanted you to stay home and practice your reading, so that you are safe and rested for Monday?” Edie asked.

  Ivy looked down at her hand.

  “Maybe?” Edie asked.

  “Maybe,” Ivy said grudgingly. “But. . .”

  “I know,” Edie said, cutting Ivy off. “That doesn’t make up for being left behind.”

  “Like a baby,” Ivy nodded. “With the babies.”

  “Indeed,” Edie said.

  “I wish. . .” Ivy looked up at Edie and stopped talking.

  “What do you wish?” Edie asked.

  “I wish I were a fairy,” Ivy said. “Then I could do my reading class and be in New York. I’d get to be a good reader and be with everyone.”

  “Being a fairy’s not all it’s cracked up to be,” Edie said.

  “You’re immortal!” Ivy said.

  “We have a very long life,” Edie said. “That is true.”

  “That’s awesome!” Ivy said.

  “I had to learn to read, just like you,” Edie said. “But I had to learn to read in Latin, Greek, and a bunch of languages you wouldn’t recognize now.”

  “Oh.”

  “We were at war for almost three thousand years,” Edie said.

  “But you didn’t die!” Ivy said.

  “War is war,” Edie said. “It was awful, just horrible.”

  Ivy gave her an unconvinced look.

  “We can have children only every thousand years or so,” Edie said. “My younger sister is Mari, and my mom is just now going to have another daughter.”

  “I heard it was a son,” Ivy said.

  “From whom?” Edie asked.

  “I don’t know,” Ivy said. “Charlie, probably.”

  “They never tell me anything,” Edie said.

  Edie scowled so hard that the twins work up. The twin facing her put his hand on her face, and she smiled. He nodded. He grinned to his twin before dropping off to sleep again.

  “Don’t quote me,” Ivy said.

  Edie cleared her head with a vigorous shake.

  “Well, you can see being a fairy isn’t all it’s cracked up to be,” Edie said.

  “Hmm,” Ivy said.

  James cheered, and they looked up to see the little kite take flight. Edie cheered, and Mack screamed with laughter. Ivy looked up. Ivy couldn’t help but smile at the little boy’s glee. Ivy clapped.

  “Oh, good — you’re clapping,” a woman’s voice came from the side of the house.

  Terrified of someone else trying to kill her, Ivy ducked under the picnic table. Edie jumped up and put her arms around Ivy.

  “I’m so sorry,” the woman said. “I was. . . oh, gosh — is everything ruined?”

  “We’re just a little nervous,” James said.

  Ivy heard James pick up Mack and the boy giggle. She felt James move toward them.

  “James Kelly,” he said.

  “It’s all right, love,” Edie whispered. She kissed Ivy’s cheek and whispered, “This is why you didn’t go to New York.”

  Ivy froze.

  “Come on,” Edie said. “We’ll take a look together.”

  With her hands on Ivy’s shoulders, Edie forced Ivy to look to see who had arrived.

  “Auntie Gracie!” Ivy exclaimed. She jumped up to hug her aunt. “What are you doing here?”

  “I promised I would be here when you testify,” Grace said. “Delphie suggested I come a bit early so we could spend some time together. Is that okay, Ivy?”

  “That’s more than okay!” Ivy said. She looked at Edie. “You kept a secret from me.”

  “I did,” Edie said with a smile. In that instant, Edie’s braid straightened, as did her clothing. The exhausted look on her face evaporated.

  “You tricked me!” Ivy said with pure delight.

  “I did,” Edie said.

  Ivy clapped and laughed.

  “Her bag is packed and. . .” Edie said.

  She turned toward the door to show where the bag was.

  “I’ll get it,” James said. He set Mack down and jogged to the kitchen with Mack on his heels.

  “Are we going somewhere?” Ivy asked.

  “Sam Lipson is letting me borrow their cabin,” Grace said. “I thought it would be nice to get some fresh air and rest before the drama of next week. Does that work?”

  Ivy answered her with a broad grin.

  “What about my reading class?” Ivy asked.

  “Fairy,” Edie pointed to herself.

  “You mean there isn’t a reading class?” Ivy looked both delighted and surprised.

  “Not this weekend,” Edie said.

  Ivy clapped the tips of her hands together in a kind of mocking applause. Laughing, Edie curtsied.

  “Is the cabin. . .” Ivy scowled. “Safe?”

  “I checked it out myself,” James said. “You’ll be safe and have a wonderful time. The only risky time is getting there, and you have an escort.”

  James pointed toward the side of the house. Colin Hargreaves waved to them.
r />   “They have a cabin nearby,” James said. “His family is waiting in the car. He’s going to take you up and bring you back.”

  “Hi, Mr. Colin,” Ivy said.

  Ivy looked happier than she had since Delphie had left for New York. Ivy hugged Edie. Leaving Maggie in the stroller, Edie walked Ivy to Colin’s SUV. James swung Mack onto his back and followed them. They helped Ivy and Gracie get in the SUV and waved them on their way.

  “Well?” James asked.

  He leaned over and kissed Edie. She smiled at him.

  “Let’s go home,” Edie said. “We have the whole weekend to ourselves, and. . .”

  “As you wish,” James said.

  He leaned over to kiss her again. When he leaned back, he was standing in the open field that served as her backyard on the Isle of Man. Her goats bleated in hello. Mack squirmed his way to the ground and began chasing after the goats. Scooter, Sarah, and Buster, the Castle dogs, ran around the little boy. Maggie and the stroller were sitting on the deck next to the back door.

  “It’s nice to be home,” James said. “Come on, Mack!”

  The little boy led the dogs into the house. James grabbed the stroller. They made it inside just as it started to rain.

  “It is nice to be home,” Edie said.

  ~~~~~~~~

  Saturday morning — 10:30 a.m.

  New York City, New York

  They had argued for about an hour before Jill decided to split them up into groups. The outcome of the groups was disappointing. No one believed there was anything Jill could do to protect Katy from the Trickster. In fact, the overall opinion was that Katy needed the opportunity to defend her soul.

  “This is why my mother wanted to keep Katy,” Mari said, summing up what the fairies thought.

  Jill scowled at her. She sent a dark look to the rest of the room and went into the kitchen. Sandy, Tanesha, and Heather sheepishly followed.

  “I know you’re frustrated. . .” Sandy whispered.

  “The trial starts on Monday!” Jill said. “If I don’t find out today. . .”

  Jill glared at Sandy, who grinned at Jill’s gloom.

  “If you ask me. . .” Heather said.

  When Jill scowled at her, Heather immediately shut up. She shrugged as if she didn’t care.