Bittersweet Sixteen (A Dodie Jenks Novel) (5 page)

Chapter Ten

My alarm sounded too early. Grandma and I had stayed up talking late last night so getting up before seven this morning was difficult. Plus, I didn’t really want to crawl out from beneath the warm downy comforter on the bed. The temp had dropped overnight and there was a slight chill in my room.

After a quick knock at my door, I heard Leopold’s voice calling from the other side. “Good morning, Dodie. Breakfast in fifteen minutes. Please be dressed and ready for the first round of observations.”

“Okay.” I frowned and pushed the covers away before getting up. I made the bed, fluffed the pillows and then made sure the bedroom door was locked before I went into the bathroom to shower. I didn’t want to be a minute late and have him barge into my room unannounced as I was dressing or something.

With a towel wrapped around me, I emerged from the steamy bathroom a few minutes later wondering what one wore to an observation. I opened up the double closet doors and peered inside. I felt overwhelmed by the abundance of clothes in there and knew I’d not get to wear half of them. So to play it on the safe side I pulled out a warm-up suit in peach with white piping and stuck with my kicks. In the bathroom I brushed my hair several times and then pulled it into a messy pony tail. I noticed the haphazard splotch of freckles across my cheeks and nose and recalled how Sasha York had said the right makeup could hide it. Maybe I should purchase some.

With a minute to spare, I headed downstairs. Grandma was already seated at the dining room table having her coffee and half a grapefruit.

I took the place setting beside her and removed the plate cover to discover a few bugs, insects, worms, and a couple of grasshoppers on the plate. I clamped the cover back in place. “What is this?”

“Your breakfast. I think,” Grandma said with her coffee cup halfway to her mouth.

“Oh no it isn’t. I’m not eating that.”

Leopold came out of the kitchen dressed similar as the day before, except instead of a black tie, today he wore a red one. He carried a notepad in his hand and scribbled a few notes on it. He stuck the pad inside the suit pocket and the pen behind his ear before he picked up the covered plate. “Observation complete.”

I stared after him wondering what in the heck kind of observations he would be doing on me if that was one. When he returned, he brought out a plate with an omelet and toast.

“There’s no crawly creatures fried in it are there?” I asked, hesitant to put the napkin in my lap and dig in.

“No. It’s egg, cheese, bacon, yellow pepper, onion and mushroom.”

I smiled at him. All my favorites. “Thanks. Did you make it?”

“Yes. I’ve studied with a master chef for the last year.”

“And you’re only eighteen?” Somehow I was finding this a little hard to believe. Brody was the same age, and he couldn’t even put bread in the toaster without burning it.

“I tested gifted in elementary school so I was accelerated. I graduated high school at fourteen and completed my bachelor’s in three years.”

“Impressive.” Grandma set her empty cup on the table.

“Do you care for more?” Leopold asked, reaching for the silver coffee carafe to refill her cup.

“No. I’ve had my limit for the morning.” She waved a hand over the cup to prevent him from pouring more. “Besides, you are my guest. I should be waiting on you, not the other way around.”

“But I asked to prepare the meals while I stayed here and you agreed. I live alone so cooking for others is a treat.”

A cooking warlock. Interesting.

I smeared a light coating of butter on the toast and a spoon of jelly before I cut into my omelet. I chewed slowly and noticed a taste that I wouldn’t normally associate with an omelet. “Did you put cinnamon in this?”

Leopold smiled. “Observation two complete.”

I put down my fork. “Will there be any more observations during this meal? Should I be worried?”

“That, Dodie, I cannot tell you because I need to get clear, unbiased results from my tests.”

“But what will they prove?” I asked.

“I’ll tell you that at the end of my observations. Now eat up. Your tutor should arrive in precisely sixteen minutes and twenty-one seconds to begin your studies.”

He left the dining room and I turned to Grandma. “Perhaps this wasn’t such a good idea.”

“I beg to differ. I’m finding him fascinating. And he isn’t bad to look at either.”

“Grandma!” I exclaimed not believing she’d said that out loud even though I thought the same thing. But her thinking it was totally wrong.

Thankfully there were no other observations and when I finished eating I cleared the table of the dishes, taking them out to the kitchen. Leopold stood in front of the stove stirring a large, boiling copper pot. There was a pungent smell that filled the room and I wanted to get out of there as fast as I could. I did not want to have to eat or drink whatever he was cooking.

I rinsed the dishes and loaded them into the dishwasher before leaving him to his task, not even bothering to ask him about it. I figured if it was part of an observation he’d let me know.

My tutor looked like a spinster schoolmarm from the fifties. She wore a pink and white houndstooth skirt and blazer with a white blouse that had a lace collar and stubby-heeled gray pumps. Her hair was tatted and piled on her head. And she wore glasses that hung on a chain around her neck. Her name was Ms. Pritz.

She’d be working with me on English, American history, and geometry for three hours a day in the mornings. While Leopold said he’d be handling chemistry with lab time in the afternoon. I also had to have some form of physical activity three times a week. And my Spanish would be continued via an interactive program over the internet.

It was during my afternoon walk that I ventured into the woods again. I walked and walked, winding my way through the path I’d taken on Saturday and finally I came to the wooden fence. I climbed up on the bottom slat giving myself a few extra inches of height, but I did not see Anson outside of the house on the hill. I looked at my watch and saw it was only half past two. He wouldn’t be home for at least another hour.

“What are you doing, Dodie?” Leopold asked, coming up behind me. He’d changed out of his suit and was wearing navy blue jogging pants and a matching zip up jacket. His sneakers were pristine white and screamed fresh out of the box.

“Looking around.” I climbed back down. “The Parkers live next door.”

“Do you know them?”

“No, not really. I met their son briefly on Sunday. I was going to say hi if he was out.”

He reached out his hand. “I think you’ve been out long enough today. It’s getting colder and we don’t want you taking a chill.”

Taking a chill?
Who talked like that these days?

I followed him back to Grandma’s house and I went upstairs to study in my room. I had my Spanish lesson to complete, three chapters of
The Natural
to read for discussion tomorrow plus I still needed to email Callie and Lisa and explain why I had disappeared. And that wasn’t going to be easy. I mean, how do you tell people something like this without them thinking you are insane and carting you off to the nut house? So the truth wasn’t an option, but I didn’t want to lie either.

I started the email several times, but each version seemed lame and convoluted to me so I decided to keep it simple and not go into too many details.

Dear Callie and Lisa,

Sorry I didn’t get to say goodbye, but I had to leave town to come live with my Grandma for a while. It’s only temporary. I can be reached by email or my cell easy enough so we can still keep in touch.

Dodie

I hit the send button. Within seconds I had a reply from Callie which was also carbon copied to Lisa.

Dodie,

WTF? Your Grandma? The same one you suddenly went to visit last weekend? More details please.

Callie

I sighed. I should have known being vague wouldn’t work with them. So I hit reply all and began to type.

Callie,

Yeah, the same one. She’s really great. You’d like her if you got to meet her. I’ve got a tutor while I’m here so I won’t get behind in school so don’t think I’m getting out of Chemistry class that easy. And if you thought the books we have been assigned in English have been bad, you should see the one I was assigned today. It’s about baseball.

TML,

Dodie

I hit send and closed my laptop before Lisa could email me back with more questions. I opened up my chemistry text and read over the chapter for tomorrow’s class.

It was about six when Grandma stopped by my room to check on me. “Is everything okay, sweetie?”

“Sure. Just studying. When’s dinner?”

“In about half an hour. How did your session with the tutor go today?” She came into the room and closed the door.

“Not bad.” I got up from my desk so she could have the chair and went to sit on the edge of the bed. “Chemistry class was interesting. I never imagined Leopold could turn your kitchen into a lab so easily. We worked with a few natural elements. Then I went for a walk, but he came and found me.”

“Yes. He mentioned to me how you were trying to see the boy next door. For some reason Leopold is opposed to you having contact with others during the observation period. He asked me to talk to you about it.”

“Did he give a reason?”

“Not really.” Grandma shrugged. “He only said he felt it was best if you were not distracted. He wants you focused so he has a better chance of breaking the curse.”

“I barely know Anson. I was only going to say hello and let him know I was back. Is Leopold going to ask me not to have contact with my friends through email also? Or my parents?”

“I don’t think he will go that far, but you let me know if he should.”

“Okay. I noticed you disappeared shortly after my tutor arrived. Where’d you go?”

“My studio.”

“You have a studio?”

Grandma nodded. “I like to dabble with paint.”

“Cool. What’s your medium?”

“Acrylic for the most part, but I do use oils occasionally. It depends on what I’m working on.”

“Can I see sometime?”

“Sure. What about you? Do you have a hobby?”

I shook my head. “I like music and reading, but I’m not artistic. I don’t dance, sing, write, or play an instrument.”

“I’m sure you have a hidden talent you have yet to discover. Everyone is given a talent or two to share with others. The secret is discovering what that is.”

I sighed. “Well, I hope I find out what it is before it’s too late because time is against me.”

Grandma stood. “I think we should go down to dinner and then afterward why don’t you and I take a drive into town? There’s a cupcake shop that just opened today. And they’re running a late night special, buy two get two.”

“I’d love to, but what if Leopold objects. That might be too much excitement and too much sugar for me to experience in one day. It could ruin his observations.”

Grandma smiled. “Then we’ll take him with us.”

Chapter Eleven

Leopold didn’t object to Grandma and me going to the cupcake shop and he hadn’t wanted to come along either. He said he had preparations for our chemistry lesson to fine tune for the next day and urged us to go have fun. So we did.

I woke the next morning with a big red zit on the tip of my nose. I screamed when I saw it because I rarely got zits.

“Dodie, what’s wrong?” Grandma asked, knocking at my door before coming inside.

“This!” I pointed to my affliction. “What am I going to do? I can’t go downstairs looking like a freak.”

“I’m sure Leopold has had his share of pimples in his day. He won’t find it unusual. All teenagers get them.”

“B-b-but you don’t understand. I don’t want him seeing me with this thing on my face. He…he’s so perfect and I…I’m so plain Jane. I’ll have to wear a bag over my head or move out of state if I have to go downstairs and face him.”

Grandma stared at me without cracking a smile or saying a word for a few seconds and then snapped her fingers. “Take your shower and when you get out put a band aid over it.”

A band aid? Really?

I made a face.

“You’re still going downstairs for your lessons today and you’ll have to face him sooner or later today. Either cover up the zit or let him see it. Take your pick.”

Since I didn’t wear makeup, I didn’t own concealer. Hadn’t Callie and Lisa raved about it being a miracle stick? Which reminded me, I had meant to ask Grandma about going into town to buy some makeup to hide my freckles. Why hadn’t I thought of that last night when we went to get the cupcakes?

“Don’t just stand there gawking. Get in the shower. Your breakfast will be cold.”

I showered and resorted to a pair of my favorite worn jeans and a long sleeve knit t-shirt that I had brought from home. I blew my hair dry, braided a portion that I pulled back from both sides and left the rest hanging around my shoulders to draw attention away from my nose with the circular band aid on it. I prayed Leopold wouldn’t notice and if he did he would have the decency not to ask me about it.

Grandma was waiting at the dining room table drinking coffee and reading the morning paper when I joined her. A tall glass of milk in a frosty mug sat at my empty place setting. The doorway to the kitchen swung open and Leopold appeared carrying a large tray that held three plates of waffles and a platter of bacon with eggs over medium. He set a plate in front of each of us and placed the platter in the middle of the table. He disappeared back into the kitchen and returned with the coffee carafe and syrup.

Neither Grandma nor I moved a muscle until he sat down since it was obvious he was joining us today for the meal.

“Will there be any observations during breakfast?” I asked.

“No, but there will be later on; however I can’t tell you when.” He smiled and I decided he was enjoying keeping me on pins and needles. I wasn’t sure if I was annoyed by it or if I was okay with it. I still found myself almost swooning whenever he looked at me with those penetrating green eyes. And having him sitting directly across the table from me was absolute torture, especially with the zit on my face.

I reached for the syrup and he did as well, our fingers touched and a strange current raced through my body. I jerked my hand away and he pulled his back. We stared at one another for a few seconds, neither moving, until Grandma snagged the syrup herself.

When she finished she handed it to me. I used it and offered it to Leopold.

“Thanks,” he muttered.

I reached for the platter of bacon and took two pieces and an egg before I passed it to Grandma. With my plate full I began to eat and ignored him for the remainder of the meal. I didn’t even join in the conversation he and Grandma were having.

“That was absolutely perfection,” I said, pushing my chair back and clearing my dishes. “Does anyone need anything from the kitchen?”

“No dear, but thank you,” Grandma answered.

Leopold reached for the coffee carafe and poured more into his cup. “You might refill this while you’re out there.”

“Sure.” I rearranged my dishes so I could take the carafe with me. I noticed the copper pot was on the stove again and steam was rising from it. What was he cooking? That pungent smell from yesterday was back so I hurried to rinse my used dishes and put them in the dishwasher before I refilled the carafe.

“Here you go.” I set the coffee on the table. “I’m going to go grab my books before Ms. Pritz arrives.”

I was halfway up the stairs when the doorbell rang. I turned and ran back to answer it, thinking my tutor was early.

“Anson!” I said softly, stepping out on the porch and closing the door behind me instantly wishing I had a hoodie on as a gust of wind blew, leaves dancing across the porch. “What are you doing here?”

“I was going to ask you the same thing. I thought you left Sunday.” He shifted his weight and let his backpack slide to the porch floor.

“I did, but I came back Tuesday evening.” I crossed my arms trying to stay warm. “I took a walk yesterday and ended up at the fence, but you were still in school I guess. I didn’t see you.”

He nodded. “How long will you be staying this time?”

“Not sure.”

“Well, it’s good to see you again.” He stooped down and unzipped his backpack. “This was delivered to our house by mistake. Can you give it to Cherie?”

I took the large envelope he pulled out. “Sure. No problem.”

“Great.” He zipped his bag and put it back on his shoulder. “I gotta go or I’ll miss my bus.”

He stared at my face with a puzzled look.

“What is it?” I asked.

“Why you got that band aid on your nose?”

I touched it having temporarily forgotten it was there. “It’s nothing.”

“Is that why you’re back? D-do you have an illness? D-did they do a biopsy?”

His question surprised me. Why would he think that unless he’d had experience with someone close going through something similar?

“No. Nothing like that. I’m covering up a zit, hoping it will go away.”

“Oh.” He grinned and backed up a step. “I’ll catch you later then.”

“Yeah.”

I opened the door and went back into the house, bumping into Leopold, teetering off balance. He reached out and took hold of my shoulders to steady me.

“Who was that?” he asked.

“The boy next door.”

He narrowed his gaze, dropping his hands. “What did he want?”

“To deliver a piece of mail that was put in the wrong mailbox.” I held the envelope up so he’d see it.

“Why didn’t he just put it in the mailbox instead of bringing it to the door?”

I shrugged. “I guess because it’s the neighborly thing to do. But if you want to know why he did it then perhaps you should ask him yourself.”

“You don’t have to get defensive.”

“And you don’t have to get all up in my business. Or dictate who I can or can’t speak to.” I walked away and found Grandma in her studio at the back of her house. She sat on a wooden stool with an easel in front of her and held a slender paint brush in her hand.

“Dodie, what is it? Your cheeks are all flushed.”

“This came for you.”

“Are you upset? Did you and Leopold have words?”

I nodded, sure she must have heard us. Voices in the house tended to carry easily.

“Don’t let him get to you.”

“But he is so overbearing.”

“He’s concerned about doing a good job here. He knows how important this is to all of us and if he should mess up then the consequences can be dire. He doesn’t want to let you down.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “How do you know this?”

“Because he told me at breakfast after you went into the kitchen.” She dipped the tip of the paintbrush into a color and added it to the canvas. “Despite his powers, this is the biggest attempt at correcting a wrong that he has ever tried to do. And he feels pressured.”

I made a face. Why should a powerful warlock feel pressured? Unless he wasn’t as powerful as he and Professor Simons claimed. Was that why Ambrielle had warned us to avoid trying to break the curse?

The doorbell chimed again. “I bet that’s Ms. Pritz. I better go.”

“See you later, dear,” Grandma called.