Eliza's Shadow (8 page)

“I’ll have the salmon. Have you seen Jane?” I
asked searching the room, surprised that she wasn’t helping Frank prep dishes.

“She’s back in the office. I’ll put a plate
together for you, just come by when you’re ready.” He said.

I wandered back to the office, a small bright room
tucked all the way at the back of the kitchen. Jane sat behind the computer at
her desk decked in her chef’s outfit typing furiously on the keyboard.

“Hey you.” I said taking a seat in the plush chair
opposite her desk.

Jane glanced up to look at me quickly before
continuing the rapid pounding on the keyboard.

“Hey babe. I was just about to start worrying
about you. How was your day?” She asked glancing briefly again at me beyond the
computer screen.

“Pretty good.” I said slowly.

Jane was about the most trustworthy, open-minded
adult a girl could ever hope to have as a confidant. Yet, I hesitated
confessing my bizarre news not only because it made me sound crazy and she
might think I’d finally cracked but more importantly, I worried that telling
her could inadvertently place her in harm’s way. If I was in danger, maybe the
less she knew about my situation, the better. Besides, I had the feeling that
Jane was no match for the kind of danger I might attract.

“What are you typing?” I asked quickly, changing
the subject.

“A reporter from Boston wants to do a piece on
Viva. She sent me a list of questions to answer and I have to submit them by
tomorrow. Thought I better get them done before it gets too busy out there.”
She said sounding leery.

I considered sharing with her just how busy it was
out in the dining room already but held my tongue.

“While you finish up I’ll go eat, ok? We can chat
when you’re done.” I suggested.

She looked up again, over the computer screen. Her
shoulders slumped and she smiled gratefully.

“Thanks babe, I’m sorry I didn’t get this finished
before you got here. I’ll be done in a minute.” She said apologetically.

“No problem, take your time.” I said.

On the contrary, I was relieved that she was
distracted and barely noticed how late I had showed up at the restaurant. I
could use the few moments alone to craft an explanation of my new relationship
with Ren, one omitting the magic stuff. I slipped out of the office and headed
back into the kitchen. Frank had prepared dinner for me. I carried my plate
over to a little table against a wall of the kitchen where Jane and I ate.

I had polished off more than half the salmon by
the time Jane emerged looking drained from her office. She strolled over to the
coffee maker and poured herself a cup before joining me.

“What a wear out. That reporter sent me about
twenty questions. There’s no way she’ll fit all that into her article. Of
course, she probably didn’t know what she’d get back from me. Oh well, it’ll be
interesting to see what she prints.” Jane said with a shrug.

“Enough about me. How are you? Everything go ok
today?” She asked.

This was difficult. My instincts were always to
pour out my soul to Jane but today that was impossible. This would be the first
time I practiced censorship with her.

“Uh yeah. Everything was fine. I was a little late
getting here because I went over to Bishop’s with Ren.” I tried to sound casual
in hopes of avoiding a barrage of follow-up questions.

Jane raised an eyebrow and a sly smile slid across
her face as she took a sip of her coffee. “Really? Do tell.” She said impishly.

I rolled my eyes as a warning to her that I wasn’t
interested in having a detailed discussion on the topic.

“Ren’s a cool guy and we’re becoming friends.
That’s all.” I stated firmly.

Jane leaned back in her seat, looking
disappointed.

“Don’t get all defensive Eliza. I was just asking.
You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to. I just thought you might
want to talk about it.” She said sounding hurt by my reaction.

My chest tightened with regret but I was also
relieved to have sidestepped any further explanation of my relationship with
Ren, at least for the time being.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to be defensive. What I
should have said is, thanks for asking.” I replied apologetically.

Jane cocked her head and gave me a tired smile
before sliding her chair back.

“Well, I suppose I better get to work here, before
the kitchen blows up.” She said peeking at Frank out of the corner of her eye
who was frantically stirring, flipping and prepping an assortment of foods.

“What’s your plan for the rest of the evening? Are
you going straight home?” She asked casually despite the fact that the corners
of her eyes creased with worry.

Jane had a delicate way of influencing me. She
allowed me to make my own decisions but managed to be subtly persuasive.
Evidently tonight, she was hoping I would be safely tucked away at home all
evening while she worked.

“Yeah, I have a lot of homework to do, so I’m
going straight home. See you later.” I said, taking the hint.

A look of relief washed across Jane’s face. She
stooped to plant a quick peck on my cheek before crossing the room to join
Frank to get an update on how the evening operations were going.

I pushed through the swinging door that separated
the kitchen from the dining room and dodged the wait staff as I weaseled my way
toward the front door. Once out on the street, I noticed how dark it had become
while I was inside. I wrapped my arms tightly around my chest, warding off the
chill that had already begun seeping through my light jacket, then set off
briskly down the street. Alone for the first time since I’d met Ren on the
beach, my mind reeled with the reality of the evening’s events.

* * *

The lock slid back freeing the door and I tumbled across
the threshold. I whirled into the warm darkness of the living room quickly
slamming the door behind me and sliding the bolt back into place. During the
walk home my imagination had taken a furious turn conjuring up a fleet of
enemies at my heels. As I flitted about the room flicking on lights, I began to
feel silly for frightening myself.

Once the room was cheerfully aglow with every
light present, I flopped onto the couch. I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples
absorbing the hushed sounds of the kitchen appliances humming and forced air
rushing through the pipes.

Cora’s face hovered in my mind’s eye. Why had the
task of protecting me been left to her? What other secrets did she keep?

Then a creeping feeling came over me as I thought
of my mother. Could she have been like me too? What happened to her that night,
back in Moco?

Seeing as it was unlikely I would ever find
answers to my questions, I decided to put aside the mysteries of my past for
the time being to focus on my present situation, which judging from Ren’s level
of concern, was not very good. It seemed that however well-intentioned Cora’s
spell had been years ago it left me in a bit of a predicament. Yet, I knew so
little about what the past six years of shrouding had cost me that it was difficult
to determine how worried I should be.

One thing was certain, I was exhausted and Ren
would be meeting me in the morning. I glanced at my school bag, hastily tossed
unopened by the door. The one truth I’d given Jane was that I did in fact have
a lot of homework to do. But as the weight of the day pressed my shoulders
deeper into the cushions, I decided to call it a day. Something told me I would
need all my strength for the next.

7

The patter of artificial
raindrops streaming from the speakers of my clock softly pulled me from the
veil of sleepiness. Unlike the day before, I felt groggy and disoriented,
unwilling to face the day ahead. Through the fog in my mind, my agreement to
meet Ren came back to me along with the urgent reminder that today would be one
unlike any I’d had before. Today, I would begin to learn what it meant to be a
witch
.

My hand flew across the bed and slammed the alarm
button. A jolt of excitement shot through my limbs. I rolled out of bed and
sped energetically through my morning routine.

“’Morning babe!” Jane shouted from the kitchen as
I scampered between the bathroom and my bedroom.

As I rumbled through a pile of unfolded clean
clothes in a laundry basket on the floor, it occurred to me that I hadn’t given
Ren any instructions as to what time to pick me up. Just as I was hoping that I
would manage to make it out to the street before he arrived, avoiding an
introduction to Jane, the bell rang.

I scrambled wildly around my room throwing on
clothes and retrieving necessary items for the day as I heard Jane make a
surprised remark.

“Hey Jane, that’s… it’s for me!” I shouted.

As I slid out of my room, Jane removed the bolt
and the door swung open.

“Hi, I’m Ren. You must be Jane.” Ren said, his
face decorated with a gleaming smile as he shook the hand of my startled aunt.

“Well, good morning Ren. It’s very nice to meet
you.” She said coolly, guarding her surprise.

By that point, I stood looking pink and flustered
behind Jane. “Hey Ren. We’re gonna walk to school together.” I hastily
explained.

“Uh huh.” Jane said with an entirely too amused
smile.

“It was nice to meet you, Jane. I hope to see you
again soon.” Ren said politely before venturing down the stairs.

Once Ren’s back was turned I scurried out the door
behind him and gave Jane one last embarrassed glance.

“Cute.” Jane whispered.

I shot her a tight lipped smile and pulled the
door behind me.

I slowly hopped down the steps behind Ren, giving
myself a few moments to gather my wits. As we rounded the landing, he shot me
his own amused grin over his shoulder.

“So I take it you haven’t figured out what to tell
Jane about me yet?” He asked.

I groaned but held my tongue until we broke free
of the building and were safely outside and out of earshot.

“Well, it’s not as if I’ve had a whole lot of time
to think this all through. I can’t tell her the truth. Right now, I’m just
trying to keep my story simple. We just met and I think we’re going to be…
friends.” I said awkwardly.

“I’d like to think so.” He said hopefully.

“What are we doing this morning? You’re really
early you know. We don’t need to be at school for an hour.” I muttered hastily
tugging my jacket over my shoulders.

Ren’s grin widened and his eyes sparked.

“There’s a place I’d like to take you. It’s on the
way.” He said gesturing across the street.

“Where
exactly
is it?” I asked suspiciously trailing
after Ren as he walked across Main Street.

Ren maintained a swift pace leading me down Main.
“We’re going down to the water.” He said.

I quickened my pace to match his and followed him
with more confidence once I discovered our direction. We made our way back to
the stairwell. The creaking wooden steps were slippery with morning dew and Ren
clasped my forearm. Once we reached the trail along the water, he began to lead
me away from the path we had used the night before.

“We’re going to the old marina, it’s calmer
there.” He offered.

To call it a marina was misleading, as the old
marina was nothing of the sort. In fact, it was really just a protected cove
nestled into the shoreline with a few ramshackle docks. These days it was
primarily used for swimming. Of course, once the weather cooled it was usually
vacant.

  When we reached the old marina, Ren headed
for one of the rickety old docks. The planks spread wide, warped by time and
weather. Barnacles coated the poles.

I stood on the rocky shore eyeing Ren dubiously as
he boldly strutted down the worn dock. I didn’t even consider setting foot on
the structure until he turned and motioned for me to join him.

“Come on, Eliza, the view is much better out
here.” He urged.

“Yeah but do you think it’s safe? I’m not in the
mood for a swim.” I shouted after him.

“Safe enough.” He shrugged.

Silently scolding myself for taking the risk, I
gingerly stepped onto the dock and plodded after Ren toward the end. By the
time I reached him, he was comfortably sitting on the edge swinging his legs,
the tips of his toes missing the water by a few inches. I lowered myself onto
the edge of the dock and joined him. Having never spent much time at the old
marina, I was surprised by how calm the water was inside the cove. Yet, from
our vantage point on the dock, we could clearly see the white tips of the waves
lapping the shore beyond it.

Ren inhaled the sea air deeply. “Peaceful, isn’t
it?” He asked.

I scanned the open water and began to relax. The
ocean had that effect on me. I watched a pair of seagulls swoop and dive riding
the breeze and nodded smiling in response.

“It really is.” I replied.

“They’re saying that we’ve scared away the school
of fish they were hunting. They’re not very happy with us.” Ren said with a
chuckle.

I quickly scanned the beach around us puzzled.
“They?” I asked confused.

“The gulls.” He said pointing to the sky above us.

I smirked at him doubtfully. “Are you joking?”

“All things in nature have a voice, it’s just a
matter of learning how to hear them. Understanding animals is a skill I’ve
spent a
lot
of time developing.” He said earnestly.

I shook my head in bewilderment. “Talking to
animals, really? What’s next?” I asked.

Ren burst into laughter. “Quite a bit actually.”
He said before the grin faded. He looked at me pensively for a minute as if
considering his next move.