Fort Morgan (45 page)

“
A trickster tried to
steal Katy’s soul,” Mari said.

“
Bastard!” Otis
asked.

“
Jill is gathering
everyone she can think of to figure out a way to protect Katy and
the boys,” Mari said.

“
Is that possible?” Otis
asked.

“
Not that I know of,” Mari
said. “But. . .”

“
But?”

“
I’d like to know,” Mari
said. “For our child.”

“
Our child?” Otis
asked.

“
It’s spring in the
Queendom,” Mari said. “I guess it’s babies all around.”

Mari smiled and Otis grinned.

“
Come back to bed,” Otis
said. “We’ll celebrate.”

She did just that.

Down the Rabbit
Hole

Friday morning — 9:43 a.m.

Denver, Colorado

Not wanting to make a sound, Tanesha scowled
rather than sighing. The stylist was so freaked out by the pressure
of dressing “Miss T” for her first-ever Grammy’s award ceremony
that he was hanging on her every sound and movement. Even though
the man reeked of marijuana, she was sure a simple sigh could
easily send him to the hospital.

The problem was that Tanesha looked horrible
in everything the young man had brought. Most of the dresses were
designed for curvier women. Tanesha patted the dresses D-sized
cups. She did not have the breast mass to pull off this dress. She
grabbed a handful of fabric at the waist of the dress. Her waist
and hips were too narrow. Her butt and thighs looked enormous as
they pulled at the seams of the dress. She looked like a clown.

To make matters worse, she was alone. Sandy
was still in New York. Jill was immersed in doing research on how
to protect her children. And, even with Jill’s intervention,
Heather was simply too ill to help. As for her fairy family, Abi
was still in New York, and Fin was covering for Tanesha in class.
Her mother was caring for Jabari. Very simply, no one was available
to help Tanesha with this life milestone.

Of course, Jeraine had been all high-fives
and fist-bumps with some stylist he called “bro.” Tanesha scowled
at herself again. She needed help and fast.

“
Did you hear that Valerie
Lipson was in town?” the stylist asked.

“
Mmhm,” Tanesha
said.

“
I heard that you were
friends with her,” the stylist said.

“
From whom?” Tanesha
asked.

“
What?” The stylist’s
voice rose with panic.

“
From whom did you hear
that I was friends with Valerie Lipson?” Tanesha asked.

“
Oh, no one,” he
said.

Tanesha nodded to herself in the mirror.

“
I just figured that
you’re such a big star and she’s such a big star, and this is such
a po-dunk town,” the stylist said. “You must know each other. I’d
give my eye teeth to meet that husband of hers.”

“
Mike?” Tanesha
asked.

“
That man is gorgeous,”
the stylist said with an exaggerated sigh.

Tanesha bit her lip to keep from saying that
Mike was like an older brother to her or that Valerie would be here
right now but that she was, in Valerie’s words, “busting balls” at
the new Marlowe School.

She sighed and turned sideways. Feeling
someone looking at her, she looked up to see the stylist’s eyes
over the edge of the changing room. Her eyes caught his in the
mirror.

“
Okay,” he said, “it’s
pretty awful.”

She turned to look at him.

“
Everything I brought is
hideous,” the stylist said. “I know. I just thought you’d
be. . .”

He gestured to her chest.

“
Why didn’t you get them
done?” he asked.

“
You mean, ‘Why didn’t I
disfigure myself so that I could look like a cartoon instead of a
human female?’” Tanesha said. “Gee, I don’t know.”

“
He likes them big,” the
stylist said.

Tanesha shook her head.

“
Don’t be mad,” he
said.

“
Don’t be ridiculous,” she
said. “What are we going to do?”

“
I don’t know,” the
stylist whined. “We need a fashion fairy.”

“
Fashion fairy?” Tanesha
asked. “I don’t think Queen Fand’s queendom has a fashion fairy. In
fact, I’ve heard Abi. . .”

Mari was standing in her dressing room. Her
long hair was back in an intricate design that only magic could
have made possible. She wore her tiara and diamond earrings, which
matched the ones Tanesha had received in Olympia. She was dressed
in a tight, bright blue mini-skirt, pale blue stockings, and a teal
silk blouse. She wore what looked like an artic fox stole over her
shoulders.

“
You rang?” Mari
asked.

Tanesha looked at the stylist. His eyes were
wide, and his mouth flapped like a fish out of water.

“
My aunt,” Tanesha
said.

Mari curtsied to the stylist. His eyes
disappeared from the top of the changing room. The door flew open.
Tanesha and Mari looked at the stylist and then back at each
other.

“
What are you doing here?”
Tanesha asked Mari.

“
All you have to do is
wish for me,” Mari said.

“
No, really,” Tanesha
said.

“
Jabari wants to host a
tea,” Mari said. “Your mother asked if I could find
you.”

Tanesha nodded.

“
But I can help with your
dress,” Mari said. “Where are you going?”

“
Award ceremony,” Tanesha
said.

Tanesha turned to show her the dress. Mari
tugged at the fabric.

“
Not in that, you’re not,”
Mari said. Turning to the stylist, she pointed her finger
accusingly. “That’s horrible!”

“
Why are you here?”
Tanesha asked again. “Besides the tea thing?”

“
There’s a confab tomorrow
with your little friend, Jill,” Mari said. “Edie and Fin are going
to be there. Otis, too. I couldn’t allow them to soak up all the
adoration.”

“
What about the blue
fairy?” Tanesha asked. Her eyes flicked to the stylist, who was
still drooling.

“
Oh, God,” Mari said. “Fin
never should have told you about her. And anyway, she hates us.
Precious blue fairy. Baah!. Her name is Aife. Now, she’s too cool
for her own name. Have you ever seen her and Fin
together?”

Tanesha shook her head.

“
It’s ugly,” Mari said. “I
don’t think she’s going to be there. The one you call ‘Keenan,’
either.”

“
Where is he?” Tanesha
asked.

“
I’m sorry to interrupt,”
the stylist said and gulped at the hard look Mari gave him. “But,
who are you?”

“
My aunt,” Tanesha
repeated.

“
And how did
you. . .?” the stylist asked.

“
She’s a magician,”
Tanesha said at the same time Mari said, “You asked for a
fairy.”

The stylist looked from Tanesha to Mari and
then back to Tanesha.

“
Fine,” the stylist said.
“I’m a native Californian. You guys have legal weed, of which I
have had plenty. If anyone asks, I’ll just say that I had a bad
trip. So, go ahead. I’ll play along.”

“
Play along?” Mari asked.
Her voice shifted to the harsh tone Mari usually took with humans.
Tanesha groaned. “Listen, you. . .”

The stylist raised his hands as if she were
going to shoot him.

“
I was just thinking that
if you were really a fashion fairy, we could use your help,” the
stylist said.

He batted his eyes in an easy rhythm. Mari
squinted and raised her hand to turn him into something awful.

“
Don’t,” Tanesha said. She
pulled Mari’s hand down. “He’s not doubting you. We’re just stuck.
I have to go to this thing on Sunday. I’m kind of hard to fit, so
it takes a while. I was planning on going shopping tomorrow, but
Jill’s thing is tomorrow.”

Mari looked at Tanesha. She raised her hand
and flicked her fingers. Only a couple sparks flew out.

“
You are powerful, girl,”
Mari said.

“
What?” Tanesha
asked.

“
You told me not to curse
this toad, and . . .” Mari flicked her fingers again.
There were no sparks this time.

“
Maybe you simply don’t
want to,” Tanesha shrugged.

“
How likely is that?” Mari
asked. She leaned toward the stylist. “What did you
want?”

“
If you’re a fashion
fairy, what should Miss T wear to the Grammy’s?” the stylist
asked.

Mari crossed her arms. Her right finger
tapped her lip for a moment before she pointed at Tanesha. Tanesha
was dressed head to toe in bright-red satin.

“
Ew,” the stylist said.
“Makes her skin look. . . ew.”

Mari snapped her fingers, and Tanesha was
wearing a 1980s cocktail dress in bright blue. The stylist grunted.
Mari snapped her fingers, and Tanesha’s dress changed again. They
went through twenty different dresses before Mari shook her
head.

“
Your skin is dark,” Mari
said.

“
And?” Tanesha
asked.

“
And it has your mother’s
shine,” Mari looked at the stylist and nodded. “It’s tough,
but. . .”

Mari snapped her fingers, and Tanesha was
dressed in a floor-length white dress. The dress was made out of a
material that was form fitting and sheer enough to show details
without being pornographic. The long sleeves were tight on her fit
arms and widened at the wrist. The boat-cut collar showed the top
of Tanesha’s strong shoulders while skimming the edges of Tanesha’s
breasts, revealing the top of her nipple. Tanesha turned sideways.
Her legs looked strong and her rear looked sexy in this dress. But
one thing had to go.

“
Too low,” Tanesha
said.

Mari snapped her fingers, and the fabric
grew a half inch. Tanesha gave her a hard look, and Mari added
another half inch. Tanesha nodded.

“
So plain,” the stylist
whined.

Mari snapped her fingers, and Tanesha was
wearing her tiara, diamond earrings, a diamond necklace, with a
triple band of matched diamonds around each wrist.

“
Too sparkly,” Tanesha
said.

Mari snapped her fingers, and the dress had
white fur cuffs.

“
I don’t
want. . .” Tanesha said.

“
Relax,” Mari said. “It’s
not animal fur. Fairies cannot harm the creatures of this earth.
That is law. It’s fairy faux fur. This is, too.”

She gestured to the stole around her
neck.

“
I look like something out
of
White Christmas
,” Tanesha said.

“
Hmm. . .” Mari
said and tapped her lip.

“
Just make it less
sparkly,” the stylist said.

“
Too many diamonds?” Mari
asked. “Is that even possible?”

Tanesha nodded. With a snap of Mari’s
finger, the fur was gone. A single strand of fresh white pearls
with a knuckle-sized diamond in the center appeared around her
neck. She was wearing her tiara and matching earrings.

“
I like it!” the stylist
said.

Mari gave him a slight smile and snapped her
fingers. A thin band of fresh white pearls alternating with matched
diamonds appeared in a low-slung belt around Tanesha’s waist.
Tanesha’s hands went to the belt. Mari looked at Tanesha, and she
nodded. Mari smiled.

“
You’ll have fun,” Mari
said.

“
I hope so. . .”
Tanesha started to say. Mari snapped her fingers, and Tanesha was
wearing her jeans, T-shirt, and sweater. The next thing Tanesha
knew, she was standing in her mother’s dining room with
Mari.

“
Why look, Jabari!” Yvonne
said as she looked down the stairwell. “Our guests have
arrived!”

Mari winked at Tanesha. Jabari ran down the
steps, and Tanesha picked him up. She grinned her thanks to Mari,
who winked at Tanesha.

“
We’re having our tea
party in here,” Yvonne said and gestured to the kitchen.

Akeem came in the back door, and they
followed Yvonne into the kitchen.

~~~~~~~~

Friday afternoon — 2:53 p.m.

New York City, New York

Ivan ran through the hospital. Sissy was
leaving New York this afternoon, and he’d been held up in a Ballet
Foundation board meeting. He stood at the elevator for a moment.
All eight cars were on a higher floor. Spinning in place, he ran to
the stairwell. He took the stairs two at a time and was on the
fourth floor in no time. He spun around the corner and slid into
Sissy’s room.

Sissy was sitting in a wheelchair, talking
to someone on his right. Her hair was loose on her shoulders and
she was wearing a lovely blouse, skirt and tights. When she saw
him, her entire face brightened.

“
Ivan!” she said in a soft
voice.

He couldn’t take his eyes off her. He smiled
at Sissy. Feeling movement, he glanced to see that Delphie and
Sandy were sitting on the hospital bed, surrounded by Sissy’s
things. The women were smiling at Ivan. He blushed at their
eyes.

“
I’m sorry I was late,”
Ivan said. “I had this meeting, and. . .”

He glanced back at Sissy.