The Fire and the Veil (Veronica Barry Book 2) (28 page)

Veronica stifled a groan. She did not want her life to become the topic of teenage discussion, but from the looks of it, she’d never find a way to rein Angie in now. The best she could hope for was that Angie wouldn’t out her as a psychic. That was a headache Veronica preferred to do without.

Melanie pointed out sale signs and Veronica followed her into one store after another, but her heart wasn’t in the shopping. Between worrying about Angie gossiping about her and Lei disappearing into foster care she couldn’t muster any enthusiasm even when Melanie found a 70% off rack.

“It’s okay, Mellie, I’ve got a blouse I like already,” Veronica said at last.

Melanie knit her eyebrows as she pulled a sleeve of a dress to get a better look at it. “You sure, hon? You nervous about tonight?”

“Actually, no,” Veronica said. “I haven’t been thinking about that.” She glanced at Angie who stood a few feet away, punching keys on her phone with both thumbs. “I just really don’t want to start getting parent calls.”

Melanie let go of the sleeve. “Parent calls?”

“Yeah. As in, ‘Miss Barry, my daughter Alicia says you’re a psychic. What’s this nonsense all about?’”

“Oh,” Melanie said, glancing at Angie. “You want me to talk to her?”

Veronica shrugged. “I already asked her not to mention it. Do you think she’ll slip?”

Melanie narrowed her eyes. “My Angie? Evil mastermind? Slip? Not unless she means to, and I know she doesn’t want to hurt you, V.”

Veronica smiled. It had been a while since Melanie called Angie an evil mastermind, but true enough, Angie could be deviously clever. Maybe Melanie calling her that meant things would finally go back to normal with them. Veronica hoped so.

“It’s not just that,” she said. “I’m worried about Leinani Hekili.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. This little girl has been through so much already, and now she’s about to get swallowed up by the system.”

Melanie gave her a sympathetic smile. “That sucks. But what can you do? You’ve done everything you can. You got her away from that Paul person. He was bad news, right?”

Veronica nodded. “Yeah. I hope he didn’t have a chance to hurt her.” But she suspected he had. He’d taken her from school on Friday—he’d had her to himself for over 24 hours. Veronica rubbed her eyes. If only she could make sure Lei would be safe wherever they placed her. She should have kept the blue dog, she realized. She could have tried to watch over her, from afar, at least.

Chapter 17

Veronica opened the door as Harry barked and hopped up and down. Daniel stood in her porch light, smiling. He wore jeans and a navy sweater. He looked really, really good. Maybe nervousness had finally caught up with her, but Veronica suddenly wanted to suggest that they stay in and watch movies tonight. But she couldn’t do that.

He reached for her and slipped a hand behind her waist, pulling her close and kissing her mouth. It took her by surprise, and she relaxed into it, enjoying the feel of his lips, the smell of his skin.

“Hey,” he said as he pulled away. “You just look so nice, I had to kiss you.”

Veronica felt a smile spread on her face. How odd it was that she’d have episodes where the only logical choice seemed to be to break up with him, and then at other times he’d make her feel so good! “You look pretty good yourself,” she said.

“Ready to go?” he asked, leaning down to give Harry a pat on the head.

“Let me put him out back and then yes,” Veronica said.

She scratched Harry behind the ears before sending him to the back yard. With a quick look around the kitchen and the living room, she determined that nothing else needed her attention, and she had no excuse to delay any longer.

“Alright,” she said as she approached Daniel, who waited by the door. “Hey, how do you say hello in Korean?”

“
Anhyonghaseyo
.”

“Wow. I’m getting nervous,” Veronica admitted, stopping in front of him.

“It’ll be fine.”

“I don’t know anything about how to be polite in Korean culture.”

“They know that, and they’ll forgive you your trespasses.”

Veronica gave him a wide-eyed look. “I’d rather not trespass to begin with.”

“Fine. Don’t stick any spoons or chopsticks into the rice, don’t be picky about food, eat a bit or a lot of everything, and don’t show lack of appetite. Generally, it’s more polite to ask for seconds.”

“Oh god.”

Daniel grinned at her and opened the door.

~~~

Daniel’s aunt Eun Hee and uncle Jung-Hwa lived in a medium-sized house off of M Street not very far from Veronica’s own neighborhood. Veronica’s heart thumped as they opened the door. Daniel mounted the steps and Eun Hee and Jung-Hwa came out together to greet Veronica with smiles. Daniel gave them quick head bows, saying “
Anhyonghaseyo
.”

Veronica mimicked him awkwardly, “
Anhyonghaseyo
.”

“Oh! Listen, Eun Hee,” said Jung-Hwa. “She speaks Korean.” He beamed at Veronica and Eun Hee nodded with a wide smile.

“Very nice,” she said.

The two of them led the way inside.

Veronica had met Jung-Hwa when Daniel asked him over to check on his fish, and he had not changed: a short, stocky man with gray hair in a comb-over, wearing khaki slacks and a blue button-down shirt. His wife stood perhaps an inch or two taller than him. She wore her near-black hair in a short bob and dressed in maroon pants and a cream-colored polo.

“How is work, Danny?” Jung-Hwa asked as he ushered them into the living room. A large TV dominated it, with a sectional couch upholstered in red and white stripes.

“Fine, Samchon Jung-Hwa,” Daniel said.

“Catching lots of bad guys?” Jung-Hwa asked.

“Every day,” Daniel said. “How is the store?”

“We just got a shipment of new corals. You should come by.”

Daniel raised his eyebrows. “I’ll come tomorrow,” he said. Jung-Hwa gave a nod and then excused himself.

A young woman appeared from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a towel. She had a Betty Page hairstyle and she wore bright red lipstick and a retro house dress of white polka dots on a red background.

“Veronica, this is my cousin, Sunny,” Daniel said.

Sunny shook Veronica’s hand with a smile. Veronica liked the look of her immediately—not just her style, which was made her think of the old movies she loved, but the warmth in her gaze.

“Hey Daniel oppa,” Sunny said to Daniel, giving him a quick hug. “Haven’t seen you in like, three months.”

Daniel nodded. “Yeah, I’ve got to make it over here more often.”

Sunny arched an eyebrow and Daniel grinned—some secret understanding passed between them.

“Is Jae here?” Daniel asked. Veronica remembered that Jae was his other cousin, Sunny’s brother.

“Not yet,” Sunny said.

“Did you bring a boyfriend?” Daniel asked.

“Dude, no. I’m not going to start dating someone just because you asked me to.”

Veronica smirked. “Did he tell you to bring someone so I wouldn’t feel awkward?” Her own boldness surprised her, but Sunny made her feel comfortable somehow.

“Ronnie, you have no reason to feel awkward,” Daniel said.

“Danny, please,” Sunny said. She grinned at Veronica. “The answer is yes he did, and I told him he was nuts to bring you on game night, with all of us here, like a pack of hyenas. But Danny never listens to me.”

“Does everyone in your family call you Danny?” Veronica asked him.

“Everyone but my mom. She calls me Dan-Dan.”

“Nice,” Veronica said, smirking some more.

Daniel rolled his eyes. “Yeah, it’s not my favorite.”

“Maybe if you keep calling me Ronnie I’ll start calling you Dan-Dan.”

Daniel arched his eyebrows. “If you’re sure you want me associating you with my mother…”

“Ew,” Sunny said.

“Sunny, come here,” Eun Hee called from the kitchen.

“She’s making
kimchi
and
dwenjang jjigae
,” Sunny said as she went. “Your mom is bringing KFC.”

“Figures,” Daniel said. He turned to Veronica. “So far so good, right?”

Veronica watched Sunny’s back disappear into the kitchen. “I like her.”

“I knew you would. You guys should talk movies. You’ll be at it for hours.”

Veronica smiled.

The sound of a car brought Jung-Hwa from wherever he had gone to the front door. He swung it open as a couple near his age mounted the steps. The man had a full head of hair, and was taller than Jung-Hwa, but Veronica saw the family resemblance in the shape of their faces. It also struck her how much the woman looked like Daniel. She had the same diamond-shaped face and graceful eyebrows. She must be his mother. She wore a smart tweed suit and her hair in a French twist.

“
Anhyonghaseyo,
Omma,
anhyonghaseyo,
Appa,” Daniel said, stepping towards them as he grabbed Veronica’s hand. Her heart, which had settled down when she met Sunny, began racing again. She stuck out her hand.

Daniel’s father shifted the tub of fried chicken he carried so he could shake her hand. Daniel’s mother took her hand next, shaking it in a firm grip. Jung-Hwa said a quick burst of Korean to his brother and took the tub of chicken.

“Please,” Jung-Hwa continued in English, “come in. Please make yourselves comfortable.” He gestured to the four of them to sit on the couch.

Once settled, Daniel said, “Veronica teaches French at Eleanor Roosevelt High.”

“French? Beautiful language,” his mother said, settling herself and smoothing her skirt.

Veronica gave her a nervous smile. She realized that Daniel hadn’t introduced his parents by name. Should she just call them Mr. and Mrs. Seong? And how then would she differentiate from his uncle and aunt? Could she politely avoid ever using their names?

“High school students,” Daniel’s father said. He clicked his tongue.

“Yeah, they can be tough,” Veronica agreed.

“Danny was a monster,” his father said, giving his son a grimace.

Veronica raised her eyebrows and looked at Daniel. He narrowed his eyes and shook his head, mouthing “lies.”

“It’s true,” his father said, catching this. “Did he ever tell you about the car?”

“Oh no, Appa. Please,” Daniel said, his eyes widening.

“Danny stole a car,” his father said, peering at Veronica.

“I did not steal a car!”

“To be fair, it was his father’s car,” Daniel’s mother said. She crossed her legs at the ankles and leaned back against the couch, looking elegant and distant. Veronica admired her but her sense of intimidation did not abate.

“Danny wanted to borrow the car,” his father said, leaning with his elbows on his knees. “I was restoring it.”

“It was such a cherry,” Daniel said. “A 1972 Monte Carlo. Gulf green. Hedmann long tube headers—it sounded amazing. How could you expect a sixteen-year-old to resist that kind of temptation?”

“And there was a girl,” his mother added.

“Her boyfriend had a Trans Am. I had to show her what a real car looked like,” Daniel said, putting his palms out in a pleading gesture aimed more at his father than Veronica. “I did ask before I took it.”

“You asked and I said no,” his father scoffed. “So the next day when I go out to put a new vintage set of rims on it, what do I find? No car in my garage.”

“My mistake was doing it on a day you didn’t have to work,” Daniel said.

Veronica leaned in a bit, taken with the story. “So what did you do?” she asked Daniel’s father.

“I went to my neighbor. He drove me to the school.”

Daniel groaned and closed his eyes.

“I found my car in the student lot—can you imagine parking my beautiful car in a student lot?” his father said. “He is only alive today because I got there before some stupid kid dinged it.”

“It would have been fine…” Daniel muttered.

“And I had a second set of keys. So I drove it and parked at a friend’s house. My friend drove me back to the school so we could watch Danny when he went out to the lot.”

Veronica gasped. “You must have panicked,” she said to Daniel.

He groaned and nodded.

His father laughed. “You should have seen him! I think he turned four shades of green!”

“I was this close to puking my guts out,” Daniel agreed. “I thought it was stolen! I thought I’d have to tell my father his car got stolen out of the school parking lot! Oh, that was a bad day.”

“My friend drove me home. I let Danny walk.”

Veronica laughed a little and glanced at Daniel, who shot her a mock scowl.

“Boy, was he relieved when I told him what really happened,” his father said.

“I bet,” Veronica said.

Jung-Hwa entered from the kitchen. “Turn on the TV,” he said to no one in particular. “The game is on in five minutes.”

“Is Jae coming tonight?” Daniel asked him. “I need someone else around so I don’t take so much heat.”

“He should be here already, but you know Jae,” Jung-Hwa said.

Sure enough, after a few moments, which were mostly occupied by Jung-Hwa, Daniel and Daniel’s father struggling to program the DVR to record the game, the front door opened and a man about Daniel’s age entered, followed by a woman with long blonde hair.

“Jae, this is Veronica,” Daniel introduced them. “And Veronica, this is his girlfriend, Olivia.” Veronica shook hands with everyone, and began to relax as Jae and Olivia engaged Daniel’s parents in conversation. “See?” Daniel whispered to her. “Told you it would be fine.”

~~~

Later that evening, as the others watched the game, Daniel and Veronica helped clear the coffee table of dishes.

“I wanted to tell you,” Daniel said. “I have some news.”

“Is it Leinani?” Veronica asked, turning to meet his eyes as she leaned over the dishwasher.

“What?”

“Leinani Hekili. Lola’s sister? I saw that the cops picked her up with Paul Carver. I’ve been worried about her.”

“Oh, yeah. I did call about that, but at this point it’s pretty much out of my hands, and the arson people are pissed I stepped on their investigation with having Paul arrested anyway, so I don’t know how much I can do.”

Veronica groaned and placed a plate in the washer. “I just want that poor little girl to finally be safe.”