wanted to talk with you about something,” her father said by the sink.
“Oh?” Joy said as she read: Can Gordon come 2? Or is this estrogen-only?
Monica and Joy spent time with their respective boyfriends, but also had a regular Girls’ Night since, as Monica insisted, it was always important to stand by your sisters. Monica always checked if it was a co-ed party first.
Joy typed: Gordon=good times! Will see u 2 when?
“I’m glad we’ve been having a great time together this summer,” he said as he scraped the last of his Lean Cuisine into the disposal. “That camping trip to the lake will be one for the record books.”
“Mmm-hmm.” Joy nodded, still typing.
“But, you know,” he said nervously, “I also want to spend some quality time with Shelley...” As she waited for a reply, Joy imagined her father’s girlfriend—Shelley wasn’t a bad person, but it was still a bit weird, his having a life without Mom.
Xcellent! Will your boy be there 2?
Joy sighed. After five months, Monica was still attempting to meet Joy’s mysterious boyfriend. Joy couldn’t blame her, but, besides being inhuman, Ink was invisible to those without the Sight. Still, she gave her BFF points for trying. She typed back, Ummmmmmmmm, no.
“...and I made sure we’ll have more family time with Stef at the end of August,” her father said gently. Joy realized that he’d been talking the whole time and she’d tuned him out. She looked up and smiled to prove she’d been listening. Sort of.
“Sure, Dad,” Joy said. Her phone buzzed in her hand. 1 hour? Joy hit a colon, a dash and an end parenthesis. Send. “No problem.”
Her father smiled, both pleased and relieved.
“Thanks, Joy,” he said, giving her shoulders a squeeze. “I appreciate it.” She blew a kiss at him while scrolling through texts, her attention glued to the screen. He sighed. “And I really appreciate that you agreed to pay for that new data plan upgrade,” he added. “Otherwise I would have to yank that thing out of your hands right now.”
Joy hugged her phone against her chest and glared at him. “Hey!”
He laughed. “Well, at least I got your attention. Though why you need unlimited worldwide calling is beyond me...” Joy thought about her latest pics from Tuan and Antony’s trip to Belize and said nothing. It was one of the few ways she kept in touch with the Cabana Boys. It made her feel like one of them, one of the group, included—it was something she hadn’t realized she’d been missing since quitting the gymnastics team nearly two years ago, and she was more than willing to pay for it.
“Okay.” Her dad kissed the top of her forehead. “I’m headed out.”
“Poker night?” she asked.
“No, just a few rounds of darts with some guys from Doolin’s.”
Joy whistled. “Look who’s Mr. Popular!”
“It starts by getting out of the house,” he said. “You really ought to try it someday.”
Joy mock frowned and crouched over her phone. “Outside bad! Dark. Scary. Inside good! TV. Food.”
Dad rolled his eyes. “Don’t wait up.”
“Bye!” She waved over her shoulder. “Have fun!”
“Emergency number’s on the fridge in case you decide to break another window...”
Would she ever live that down? Joy turned and shouted, “Bye, Dad!”
He grinned boyishly as he shut the door.
Joy shook her head and typed a final message to Monica.
Guys r weird.
Monica’s reply came in all caps:
AMEN, SISTER!!!
* * *
With an hour to burn, Joy decided to clean her room rather than surf online. It would be tougher to tease her brother for being the family slob if her room looked messy when he got home. After filling her trash bag and emptying the hamper, Joy dusted off her dresser and wiped down the shelf that held three printed invitations to various swanky parties in Zurich, Melbourne and Moscow (care of Nikolai, on tour); a heavy glass snow globe from Glacier Bay, Alaska (from Enrique’s latest adventure); a cashmere infinity scarf (from Luiz in Paris); and an odd collection of figurines—what Ilhami called “booby dolls”—from various cultures around the world. She had eight so far, wide-hipped, big-bellied and well-endowed, lined up in a row. Ilhami thought sending them to the “Cabana Girl” was hilarious. He had even scribbled eyes on one of them in Sharpie marker, which was probably sacrilegious, but Joy got the reference: knocked up by Indelible Ink.
As if on cue, Ink zipped into her room through the space next to her nightstand.
“What are you doing?”
Joy shrugged and put down the booby doll. “I’m cleaning,” she said into the mirror, which failed to catch Ink’s reflection behind her. “I was bored.”
“I see,” he said with a smile. “You know, if you are ever bored, you can always call Inq.”
Joy neatened her ponytail. “I’m not that bored.”
He laughed. “Probably wise,” he said. He draped her pink bathrobe across the bed and picked up the sword. He inspected the weapon closely, watching the light gleam off the nicked and pitted blade. “The Bailiwick often says to be wary of wishing for an interesting life,” he said casually. “And while I have been gone, I have discovered many interesting things.”
Joy twisted her fingers in her shirt. “Such as?”
Ink’s eyes flicked to her. “I went back to the edge of the Glen where we fought,” he said. “And you were right—I do not think this was an idle threat.”
Joy crossed her arms against a sudden prickly chill. “So do you think that one of the Folk was really trying to kill me?”
“I do not know.” Ink’s boyish face grew serious. “To know that, we must bring this—” he hefted the sword “—to Graus Claude.”
Joy scraped her bare feet against the carpet. “‘We?’”
“Of course.” Ink grinned and held up her discarded clogs in his left hand. “Clearly, I can’t leave you alone for a minute.”
“Ha ha.” Joy took her lost shoes and slipped them on. “Monica and Gordon are on their way here,” she said. “To keep me company.” She almost added, I wish you could meet them. Almost. But didn’t. It was impossible, dangerous and probably stupid to expose her friends to her other life in the Twixt. And Monica and Joy’s motto had always been No Stupid.
“It will only be a moment,” Ink reminded her.
“If that,” she said, smiling. “I remember.” And took his hand.
A
