Little Red Gem (15 page)

I snapped the helmet’s
buckle under my chin. “I’m totally embracing it.”

“
Really? I never would
have guessed. You hardly come into the shop. You stay up in your
room doing goodness knows what.”

“
It’s called
life.”

At last, Teri released me
from her scrutiny and I pedaled furiously toward the west end of
Main Street. Walking from the bike rack into the store, I froze
when I spotted my mother – my real mother – stepping out of a black
BMW. Her face was greyer than the concrete sidewalk. Her eyes
lacked their usual shine. Aside from the moments when my mom had
sat in her room reminiscing about my father and hating him at the
same time, she was the happiest person I knew. Now, she looked like
a melted wax version of herself. Stranger still was my mom’s
presence on this side of town. She wasn’t exactly fond of the
organic supermarket, complaining that the prices were too
high.

I slowed down to a crawl,
unsure why I should avoid her when I ached to be held in her
arms.

Her head shifted as if
she’d sensed something. Was my mom the only person with the power
to recognize the real me?

“
Audrey? Audrey, it is
you.”

Mom rushed over and
wrapped her arms around me. Tears threatened to burst from me and I
managed to hold them back by digging my fingernails into the palms
of my hand.

Mom stroked my hair. “If
you need anything, anything at all, you just ask me. You’re not
just Ruby’s half-sister, you’re like a second daughter to
me.”

Mom released me and over
her shoulder I spied my dad sliding out of the car. So this
explained my mom’s presence. My dad was the type to pay a few
hundred bucks more for groceries simply because he could. But what
was he doing in Providence? Shouldn’t he have flown back to Japan
by now? Or was he staying for his art exhibition which was still a
few weeks away?

Dad ran toward me and
swept me up in his arms. “Audrey. Thank god I still have you. I
don’t ever want to let you out of my sight.”

“
What are you doing here?”
I muttered into his chest.

Dad released me and took
my mother’s hand in his. “Mrs. Parker and I have rekindled our
love. Isn’t this fantastic news?”

Maybe not to
Mishi.

As if reading my mind,
Dad’s Hollywood smile faltered. “Mishi. Well, Mishi got a transfer
to Alaska and you know I don’t like the cold. Paint takes forever
to dry.”

“
So, what are you up to
this afternoon, Audrey?” my mom asked, deftly changing the
subject.

Guilt warmed my cheeks –
no doubt from my inbuilt I’m-lying-to-my-mom radar – but I was also
taken aback that my own mother, the woman who’d supposedly suffered
thirty hours of labor to bring me into this world and then suffered
another seventeen years of my willfulness, didn’t recognize
me.

“
Um. Getting stuff for a
school project,” I said.

Dad stood there with an
expectant look on his face. He could stand there all day for all I
cared. As much as I missed him, he’d lost his right to receive the
finer details of my daily comings and goings a long time ago.
Although the truth was it had been Mom and me for so long that I
didn’t know how to talk or act around him.

“
This seems like an ideal
time for a family get-together,” he announced. “Come around for
dinner tonight.”

I panicked. “Can’t
tonight.”

Maybe not any night. Teri
seemed convinced I was Audrey, but I didn’t know how long I could
fool my mom or even that I wanted to. Usually she saw right through
every one of my cover ups. Like when I’d accidentally dropped her
perfume decanter and tried to seal the crack with clear nail
varnish. And the time I’d ‘borrowed’ her cashmere sweater and
spilled mustard sauce on the cuff and dropped it off at the dry
cleaners; Mom had gone to the store to pick up a pile of other
clothes and the dry cleaner had inadvertently gotten me into deep
trouble by including her sweater in the pile.

I even had trouble
convincing her I wasn’t hungry when I felt fat. The woman knew my
every little secret. And what she didn’t know, she usually had a
knack of finding out.

Dad placed his arm around
Mom’s waist and pulled her to his side. “How about tomorrow? Mrs.
Parker will cook her magnificent lasagna.” He turned to Mom. “Do
you still make it with extra cheese?”

Mom giggled. Her happiness
was obvious. But not lasting. Her eyes glazed over and I got the
sense she was conflicted between emotions – should she be happy
she’d found love again, or should losing her only daughter cement
her heart to any future elation?

“
Dinner will give us a
chance to talk. I’ve a lot of catching up to do with my baby girl,”
Dad said to me.

I groaned inwardly,
knowing I’d have no choice but to play the dutiful daughter to the
grieving father. Provided it didn’t interfere with me giving Leo
his love potion, I’d oblige his whims. So I promised to come for
dinner and headed into the store.

Where I’d find cinnamon
sticks was a mystery to me. By scent alone was I familiar with the
spice and only when it was sprinkled on donuts. I reached into my
pocket to grab my phone to use the inbuilt internet to see what
they looked like when I noticed the screen was blank. The battery
was flat. Again. This was ridiculous. I’d have to do something
about getting Audrey a decent phone as payback for locking her in
another realm.

By the time I tracked down
a store person to ask what cinnamon sticks looked like I stumbled
down an aisle filled with baskets of fresh herbs and packets of
dried spices. At least the baskets and packets were labeled. I
grabbed the first packet of cinnamon sticks I found, paid for them,
and pedaled home.

By now, Teri had closed
the shop and the rest of the items were laid out on the dining room
table upstairs.

“
Did you know Dad and
Ruby’s mom are back together?” I blurted, suddenly angry with my
parents for sneaking around behind my back. I guess I was looking
for an ally in Teri.

Teri smiled wistfully.
“Tragedy has a way of bringing people together. They must need each
other to get through this terrible time.”

What did anyone know about
‘this terrible time’? I was dead, my parents were back together,
Leo was slipping out of my grasp with every passing minute, and the
freaking wrapping around the cinnamon sticks wouldn’t pull
apart.

“
By the way, my phone
battery keeps dying,” I said. “I wanted to call you from the store
to ask what cinnamon sticks look like. What’s the chance of getting
a new phone?”

Teri widened her eyes.
“It’s brand new. Guess I’ll have to take it back. And they’ll say
it’s our fault the phone broke and they’ll fight tooth and nail not
to honor the warranty. In the meantime you can have
mine.”

She handed me her archaic
flip-top phone that didn’t have a touch screen or Wi-Fi, and my
disappointment was epic. “Don’t you need it? I can go to the mall
after school tomorrow. Save you the hassle of fighting the store
manager.”

“
This or
nothing.”

“
Thanks, I suppose. Now,
can we do this?”

Teri laughed and adjusted
the items on the table. I swear she must have been born with
obsessive compulsive disorder; she was always straightening things
that were in no apparent need of straightening.

“
Ah, young love,” she said
smiling. “I keep forgetting how much of a hurry teenagers are when
it comes to love. Now, before we do anything you need to prepare.
I’ve already run the bath, scented with rose petals as per the
spell book.”

I didn’t have time for a
bath. I needed to cast this spell before every schoolgirl’s
attempts to woo Leo succeeded. “Can we skip this part?”

She steered me toward the
bathroom. “No. Before performing any magic you need to be ready,
which means your mind needs to be calm so you can focus. Bathing
washes away bad energy. Now, soak.”

Teri left me alone to
undress, and I was grateful for the privacy. The idea of standing
naked and vulnerable in front of her sent goose bumps everywhere,
plus maybe she’d notice something odd – like Audrey’s tiny fists
pummeling madly against my chest to be let out – and my game would
be up.

I slid into the bath and
couldn’t help but admit that the candlelight was charming and the
aromatic perfume of rose petals was delicious.

I was surprised when Teri
knocked on the door. I’d fallen asleep. The missing hours rushed at
me. I didn’t know about cleansed, but I felt super relaxed.
Dressing in the light cotton pants and top Teri had folded over the
chair for me, I only had to shake Audrey’s short hair like a dog
and it was practically dry. I walked barefoot into the dining room
to find Teri seated at the table fiddling with the items. I noticed
she’d kicked the rug away to expose the wooden floorboards
underneath. There was a ring of rose petals wide enough for a
person to sit inside.

She handed me a length of
white cord. “Take this and make it into a circle around the rose
petals.”

I did as instructed. “Now
what?”

“
Take the items off the
dining table and bring them with you into the circle.”

“
Can’t you bring them
here?”

“
No.” She tilted her head
to the side. “I’m having second thoughts. I shouldn’t let you do
this. You’re too young.”

I shrugged. “I’d do it
anyway. Only I’d probably get the spell wrong so at least this way
you’ll be here in case I unleash demons or something.”

“
There will be no demon
unleashing. Now, light a green candle in each
direction.”

Over my shoulder I shot
her a blank look. She pointed a finger in each of the four
directions. “East. West. North. South.”

“
Yeah, I know.”

Teri closed her eyes and
stretched her arms high over her head. “You do this to invoke the
four winds. Now start in the East.”

Teri nodded – her eyes
still closed – toward the kitchen window.

“
East. Got it.”

“
Repeat the following
words four times. ‘Hail to thee East Wind. I call for love and make
this offering of light to you’.”

“
Hail to thee East Wing. I
call for love and make this offering of light to you.” I was used
to memorizing lyrics and my pride swelled that I didn’t need much
prompting from Teri. I repeated the chant verbatim three more
times, each time gazing at the other cardinal directions. Finished,
I rested my gaze at Teri. “What now?”

Teri opened her eyes and
moved over the counter to consult the magic book. “Put the burner
in the centre of the circle and place the charcoal inside. Light
the charcoal. Then light the pink candle. Do the golden light
breathing exercise until you feel full of energy.”

“
The golden light
breathing exercise?” I cried out, exasperated. “
When
are we going to make the love
potion?”

“
I’ve told you already,
this is a love
spell
. There is no such thing as a love
potion
.”

“
It’d be easier if there
was,” I mumbled. In a clear voice, I said, “Okay, so what is the
golden light breathing exercise?”

Teri threw her hands into
the air. “I can’t believe you’re my daughter. ‘What is the golden
light breathing exercise?’ I only practice it in the living room
while you’re watching TV ten times a day. Stand with your feet hip
distance apart. Rest your hands on your stomach and take a few deep
breaths. Breathe slowly, not too deeply, and with
concentration.”

Beneath the brimming
anxiety that had squeezed at me since I’d died lay a bigger pool of
anxiety, yet underneath her calming tutelage my insides became
jelly-like and I relaxed.

“
Breathe in through your
nose and visualize drawing golden light into yourself. Hold the
breath and imagine your heart opening. Breathe out through your
mouth, letting the golden light circulate around your
body.”

I understood now why
Audrey wasn’t into magic. So much effort, and there was no
guarantee this spell would work.

“
Keep breathing this way
until you are energized and wide awake.”

Wide awake? After the
delicious bath I’d had, it’d have been easier falling into a
slumber the likes of which evil queens in fairy tales were fond of
casting upon fair maidens.

“
Rest your hands on your
heart for a few moments, letting your breathing gradually return to
normal.”

The heart that beat inside
my chest wasn’t mine. I ignored the shame.

“
There,” said Teri. “Feel
energized?”

“
I could run a marathon,”
I lied. The effort had drained every bit of juice I had at a time
when I could least afford to lose it.

“
Good. Now, you are
calling for new beginnings, so face east.” Teri pointed to the
kitchen window. “Put seven rose petals to one side, after which you
rub a little bit of rose oil into the rest.”