part 12:
A Night of Magic
by Matthew Atanian
©1999 by Matthew Atanian
A Night of Magic
by Matthew Atanian
©1999 by Matthew Atanian
The highly anticipated Sunday had arrived, and Matt was...
Well, Matt was asleep.
Most people would probably be up and about, but Matt had always liked to sleep in on Sundays. Even this Sunday, the day of his much anticipated sort of first date with Sarah.
He’d be running around like a chicken with its head cut off later, as the time grew nearer, but now it wasn’t quite ten in the morning, and he just slept.
Meanwhile, no one was sleeping at the Porter residence. Sarah wasn’t even home, having left for work a few hours prior. She’d be home shortly after three, and until then, Kirstin and Nicole had the place to themselves. They were both in the large yet cramped central room of the apartment. The room was divided in two by a large counter. One half was used as a “living room,” and the other half served as the kitchen and dining area.
Nicole was sitting on the beat up old sofa in the living room, working out her weekly profits on her lucky abacus. She could have gotten the job done much quicker on an electronic calculator, but she found something oddly satisfying about moving the little beads around.
Kirstin was in the kitchen. She had finished cleaning the breakfast dishes a short while ago, and was currently sighing as she finished an inspection of their presently meagre food supplies.
Nicole looked up and put down the abacus. “Something wrong, sis?”
“Not really,” Kirstin responded. “I’m just at a loss at what to cook for tonight.”
“Well, sis, don’t go to any trouble. It’s just you and me, tonight.” Nicole paused. “Or is it?”
Kirstin looked up. “What do you mean?”
Nicole joined her sister in the kitchen. “Well, I know you like to keep the place clean, but you went all out yesterday. You’ve invited someone over, haven’t you?”
Kirstin nodded.
“It’s that Boy Scout, um, Aaron. Isn’t it?”
“It’s a group of the Boy Scouts, yes.” Kirstin responded.
“Aaron’s one of them, though. Come on, sis. You can tell me.” She winked at her sister. “You like him, don’t you.”
“I like all of them, they’re nice people.”
“Come off it, sis. That’s not what I meant. You like everyone. You'd be kind to a mugger as he made off with your purse. Aaron’s something more, isn’t he.” The last was not a question.
Kirstin suddenly looked down, embarrassed. “I... I suppose.”
“You wanted to cook something to knock his socks off, didn’t you?”
Kirstin nodded.
“Well,” Nicole said, “Aaron and Kirstin. He’s a nice kid, I suppose. I wonder... maybe I should go for one of them. That Matt guy seems desperate if he’s chasing Sarah. After all, she's made it clear she doesn’t want anything to do with him.”
Kirstin’s features suddenly reverted to their usual calm, controlled state. “No. He’s four years older then us! Besides, give him and Sarah some time. I think things will work out.”
“You’re up to something there, aren’t you?” Nicole laughed. “Good luck. You’ll need it with Sarah’s stubbornness, but it may do her some good. I guess I’ll settle for one of the others.”
Kirstin’s response was without malice, and was simply a statement of the truth. “None of them would last a week as your boyfriend. Your tastes are too expensive, and you’d suck their wallets dry faster then they can notice.”
Nicole laughed again. “You’re always so right about these things.” She suddenly switched tracks. “This Matty Hayes is an enigma.”
Kirstin blinked. “What?”
“Nothing, nothing. She’s a nice girl, but something doesn’t quite add up about her. She in on your plans to get Matt and Sarah together?”
“In a way,” Kirstin responded.
“Now, now, sis,” Nicole chided. “It’s not like you to keep secrets. Matty is definitely a mystery, and one I think I’ll enjoy solving. But not now. Now, we have to get you supplies for the feast you’re cooking for tonight.”
Again, Kirstin blinked. “What?”
Nicole took out her wallet, which was full of the bounty of her various enterprises. “We’re taking a trip to the grocery store.” She took another look at her wallet and added, “In fact, let’s take a trip to the mall first.”
“Nicole, thank you!”
“And just for you, sis,” Nicole continued, “I’ll charge no interest the first month, and then only five percent.”
Kirstin smiled once again as she and her sister headed for the door. “That’s very generous of you, Nicole.” And for Nicole, it was.
Matt had the house to himself, which was for the better as he got ready for his “date.” Just before getting out of the shower, he turned the water all the way over to cold.
“Aaahhh!” she yelped, taken by surprise even though she knew it was coming.
She stepped out and towelled herself off, then went to her room to get dressed.
She put on lingerie first, and as she pulled on a pair of black nylons, she was thankful that her female form had no unsightly body hair. She took the black dress from her closet and pulled it on, smoothing it out over herself.
She went into the bathroom and combed her hair a bit. It didn’t need much, being so short. She then took a tube of lipstick and put a bit on. This was the only makeup she put on, as not only did she not much see the point of cosmetics, but she also didn’t trust herself to put them on without the end result causing her to look like a circus clown.
She looked in the mirror, and began to have that funny feeling that she had gotten at the mall. She shook her head violently. Stop that, she thought, it ain’t right.
She grabbed a coat, a normal green jacket rather then her usual black trench coat, grabbed her hat, and opened the door. “Well,” she said, stepping out into the cool autumn air, “here goes nothing.”
“Nicole, phone,” Sarah said.
Nicole left her room where she’d been trying out some new financial software and took the phone from her older sister. Sarah then grabbed a coat and her purse, and headed for the door. Half way there, she stopped.
She looked over to the kitchen, at Kirstin, who was busy cooking. She then looked around the apartment, apparently noticing for the first time the extra neatness of it.
“Kirstin, what’s going on?”
Kirstin looked up from a pot. “Hmm?” she asked. “Oh! Just having a few people over.”
“Guys?” Sarah asked, one eyebrow raised suspiciously.
“Well, yeah. But they’re just friends.”
“Yeah, I trust you,” Sarah said. She smiled. “Just don’t make me regret it.”
“I won’t, I won’t. Now out with you, and have a good time with Matty.”
“You have a good time, too!” Sarah said, as she walked out.
Matty was standing patiently waiting on the sidewalk outside Russell’s, polishing off a carton of Nestlé’s Quick she’d gotten at the convenience store next door, when a crack of thunder sounded through the sky. Looks like rain, she thought. Hope she gets here soon, before my new dress gets all soaked!
Just then, a car pulled up to her. The window rolled down and Sarah popped her head out.
“Hi, Matty. Ready to go?”
Matty smiled. “Sure!”
“Well, then, hop in!”
Matty walked around to the passenger side and got in. Sarah looked her over and said, “You look great! Wish you’d told me you were dressing up, I’d have worn something a bit nicer, myself.”
Matty looked at Sarah, in jeans and a button down, red plaid flannel. “Nonsense. You look twice as nice as I do.”
“You lie, but thanks anyways. So, where we headed?”
“I was hoping you’d have some ideas.”
“Well... you have dinner yet?”
Matty thought, then answered, “No, I haven’t. I think I have a place in mind, if it’s okay with you. Best restaurant in the area.”
“Sounds good to me!”
As Kirstin was finishing setting the table, the doorbell rang. She went over to the door and opened it, revealing Aaron. “Oh, hi,” she said.
“Um, hi. Can I, uh... come in?”
“Sure. Sure.” She stepped out of the way and Aaron entered. His eyes, in their pitiful effort to look upon anything but Kirstin, noticed the table and the food sitting in the kitchen.
“What’s this?” he asked. “I know you said on the phone not to eat because you were cooking a little something, but...”
“Oh, I guess I went a little overboard. I just wanted to cook something nice for you.” She looked away from Aaron briefly, and when she looked back she added, “All of you.”
“Ah, of course,” Aaron responded, having missed Kirstin’s hesitation.
“So, what, is this whole party going to be out on the porch?” someone said. Aaron and Kirstin turned to see Mike, Gelinas, and Kenny, newly arrived. It was Bill who had spoken.
The two of them got out of the new arrivals’ way, and Mike peaked his head in and said, “Hey, something smells like pasta!”
“I made some Chicken Parmesan,” Kirstin said. “I hope you all like it.”
Kenny looked up from his book briefly and smiled.
“I hope everyone else gets here soon, before it gets cold,” Kirstin added.
“Where are your sisters?” Bill asked.
“Nicole went out for a walk, she should be back momentarily. Sarah already left for her night out with Matty.”
Everyone stepped inside. Kirstin got everyone sodas, and then went into the kitchen to make a few last minute preparations. Mike, Bill, and Aaron took out their decks and likewise made last minute preparations. Aaron was especially taking care to go over the deck he had made for Kirstin.
Kenny kept his head in his book, Everything Normal People Never Wanted to Know About Nuclear Physics, but You Weren’t Afraid to Ask.
The door opened, and Mike, Aaron, and Bill suddenly became acutely aware that it was raining outside. Nicole stepped in, and said to her sister, “I know this sounds cliché, but it followed me home, can I keep it?”
A white haired cat with a messy cap of black hair atop it’s head followed Nicole in and meowed in greeting.
“It can’t be!” Mike said.
“Its got'a be!” Aaron said.
“Meow,” said the cat.
“Be right back,” Nicole said. She grabbed a towel, went into her room, and closed the door, but not before the cat could follow.
Matt Swett suddenly appeared in the doorway, holding a pile of wet clothes. “Look what I found,” he said. “Doesn’t this look like something Hughes would wear? Where is Hughes, anyway?”
Mistress of the quick change, Nicole’s door opened. Mike, Aaron, and Bill tackled Swett, hiding the clothes as quickly as possible. Nicole had changed into dry clothes and was eyeing the boys with curious suspicion.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“Um, nothing,” they all answered. They all regained their composure as quickly as possible.
Mike, Aaron, and Bill simultaneously had the same thought. If she finds out about Hughes, he’s a dead man. Luckily, even though Kirstin knew about the curses, she had either not yet made the connection or had come to the same conclusion as the boys.
The cat, meanwhile, was purring as he rubbed Nicole’s bear ankle.
Nicole laughed. “Oh, let’s keep him!”
Sarah, holding a coat over her head to keep the rain off, blinked as she looked at their destination.
“This is the best restaurant in the area?” Sarah asked, somewhat sceptically.
She and Matty stood outside a small little box of a building, painted white, with a sign on the front saying, “White Hut.” The sign also said, “Est. 1935,” and it looked like it had gone relatively unchanged for much of that time.
“Don’t worry, this is one of my favourite restaurants,” Matty assured her.
Indeed, White Hut seemed like it was packed. A few people were actually standing as they ate. Fortunately, two people finished eating just as Matty and Sarah entered, and the men who were standing as they ate made no motion towards the now vacant chairs.
She smell of frying meat and onions permeated the air, as three busy employees scuttled about the kitchen area. A cooler with soda and other beverages was on the back wall, and a table for the standing customers was between the cooler and the counter. There was a light sprinkling of wood chips on the floor around the counter, which was presumably to prevent people from slipping.
Sarah sat, somewhat uncertainly. “Where’s the menu?” she asked, turning to Matty.
“There isn’t one.”
“Well... what do I order?”
“’Burgers or dogs,” Matty answered simply. “Personally, I don’t do hot dogs, so I get cheeseburgers.”
“Well, I guess I’ll just get whatever you get,” Sarah said.
“Okay,” Matty said. She placed an order for four cheeseburgers with only ketchup, and then went to the counter and got four chocolate milks.
“Here you go,” Matty said, handing two of the milks to Sarah.
After dinner they had played their first game, and Kirstin had not done too badly. Of course, she had played her first game with Aaron’s guidance.
The big surprise was that Kenny had won the game. He had not only won, he had really kicked butt.
“Are you sure you’ve never played before?” Gelinas asked once again.
Kenny sheepishly nodded. “I didn’t even own any cards,” he quietly said, the most he’d said all evening beyond what was necessary for game play, “before Miss Kirstin invited us all over.”
“So how did you do so well?” Aaron asked.
Kenny simply held up the instruction book.
“The rulebook,” Mike said with a twisted smile, “is not to be understood by normal humans.”
“It’s not fair,” Gelinas said.
Nicole was sitting on the couch from where she had observed the game. She stroked the cat sitting in her lap as she said, “Well played, Kenny.”
Aaron and Mike exchanged glances for the millionth time that evening, and then looked over once again at the cat in Nicole’s lap. They had to do something.
“Kirstin,” Mike said, “I hate to impose, but could I have a cup of tea? A nice, hot cup?” He looked over at the cat. “It’s too bad Hughes isn’t here, he loves tea.”
The cat lifted its head off of Nicole’s leg and stopped it’s purring suddenly. It gave Mike a nasty look.
“No imposition at all,” Kirstin said.
Mike looked over at a window. “Hmm, looks like the rain stopped.” Kirstin handed him his tea. “Thank you... think I’ll go get a bit of fresh air.”
As Mike opened the back door and went out onto the porch, he discretely grabbed a towel and brought it with him. Just before he closed the door behind himself, the cat leapt from Nicole’s lap and followed.
Hughes wrapped the towel around his waste as Mike put the teacup down on the porch railing.
“Bill, what are you doing?” Mike asked.
“I think she likes me,” Hughes responded.
“She thinks you’re a cat,” Mike pointed out.
“She doesn’t have to know,” Hughes responded.
“She’ll kill you if she finds out,” Mike said. “And it’s not right! I’m going to have to tell her.”
“You tell her, you’re dead, too. After all, you could have said something earlier.”
Eerp, Mike thought, stalemate. “Hughes,” Mike said, deciding to try a different track. “You can’t stay here all the time. Your parents would notice you’re missing.”
“Oh, contraire,” Hughes responded. “I live in Palmer.”
“What’s that have to do with anything?”
“Things are different in what you so lovingly call ‘hicktown.’ I could go missing for days, and my Dad and Stepmom would never notice.”
“What about...”
“School? Palmer schools are just as weird. I usually do better when I’m not there, anyways. One time I was absent, and got an A on a test.”
He’s got this planned out to a tee, Mike thought. Once in a while, a neuron would misfire in Hughes’s brain, and he’d actually think of something intelligent. Why did this have to be one of those times?
“Fine, you win,” Mike reluctantly said. “But if she discovers you, I deny I know anything.”
“Fare enough, Mike,” Hughes said as he started towards a rather large puddle. “Don’t worry, she’ll never suspect a thing!”
That’s what I’m worried about, Mike thought.
Sarah finished off her second cheeseburger as Matty polished off a third one she’d ordered. “I have to admit,” Sarah said to him, “this place is good.”
“This place is locally famous,” Matty responded. “I’m surprised you haven’t heard about it. I’ve even heard from reliable sources of Kennedys eating here. Of course, that was long ago.”
“Well, my sisters and I haven’t lived in the area long, you see,” Sarah responded as Matty paid the bill.
“Ah, well,” Matty said, opening the door for Sarah, “welcome to the area, I suppose.”
“Thanks.”
Sarah stopped half way to the car and looked up at the sky. Matty found her eyes tracing the path of Sarah’s long, slender neck as she said, “Looks like the sky’s clearing up.”
Matty coughed, and looked up as well. “Yeah,” she said. “The stars are starting to come through.”
“The stars are pretty, aren’t they?” Sarah asked.
Despite the rhetorical nature of the question, Matty gazed up as well, and responded, “Yeah, they are.”
Hughes was purring contentedly in Nicole’s lap as she scratched behind his ears. Mike and Aaron looked at Hughes with contempt filled looks on their faces, and Kenny gave Hughes a concerned look.
Swett broke the silence. “How about another game? I think I’m getting the hang of it.” He, too, had never played before tonight.
"What the hell?” Mike responded.
Kenny nodded that he, too, was in.
Aaron turned to Kirstin. “How about you?”
“Actually, would you care to join me on the porch for a while?” Kirstin asked.
Aaron’s heart leapt out of his ribcage and did a disturbing little dance on the kitchen counter. Well, at least, that’s how Aaron felt. “Um, I suppose,” he said.
After they were out the door, Nicole stopped scratching the cat’s ears and regarded him momentarily. “I think I’ll name him Neko-chan,” she said.
“That sounds Japanese,” Mike said.
“How do you know?” Nicole responded.
“Matt watches a lot of those Japanese cartoons,” Gelinas responded.
“Don’t let him hear you call them cartoons,” Mike warned. “It’s Anime.”
“Whatever,” Gelinas shrugged.
Kenny suddenly switched into that more confident demeanour he had when he imparted information. “Neko meaning cat, and chan being a suffix one gives to denote affection, such as affection for small children.” He then resumed his normal slumped, shy posture.
“How does he change like that?” Swett wondered.
“Anyways,” Mike asked, “why that name?”
“Your grandmother was Japanese?” Matty responded. She and Sarah were sitting upon a blanket, gazing up at the stars. They had driven around until they had found a large field somewhere, a bit away from the lights of the city.
“Yup. And she raised me and my sisters by herself.”
Matty looked over at Sarah and for the first time noticed a slight smoothness around her eyes.
“I sort of see it, I suppose,” she said. “But it’s odd to see someone with an Asian background who has red hair.”
“Oh, only grandma was Asian. Her husband was Irish, and my father’s parents, one of them was Irish and the other was English.”
Matty dipped her plastic spoon into the tub of Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia they had picked up. A moment later, she asked Sarah, “What happened to your parents?”
Sarah was quiet for a while. She dipped her spoon into the ice cream, but then held the spoon close to her mouth without drawing it closer. She remained quiet for a moment, before saying, “They died a few months after Kirstin and Nicole were born. They were hit by a drunk driver coming home from a New Year Eve party.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry,” Matty said, feeling guilty for having asked.
“No, that’s okay,” Sarah responded. She finely brought the spoon into her mouth. “Somehow, it feels good talking to you. After grandma died last year and my sisters and I moved here, I never bothered to make any new friends. I was too busy taking care of my sisters. I’m glad I met you, Matty. You’re a true friend.”
“Thanks,” Matty responded.
“Hey, Matty?” Sarah asked as she looked into the heavens above.
“Yeah?”
“What’s with that Matt? Why’s he after me so much?”
I didn’t think two attempts at a hello could be considered “after you so much,” Matty thought. She wisely refrained from voicing that thought, however, and merely replied, “Maybe he sees in you what I do, that you’re a kind, caring, and intelligent person. Maybe you’re the kind of person he wants to spend his life with.”
Sarah had been taking another spoonful of ice cream, and nearly choked. “I don’t think so! I’ve barely said five words to him, and they’ve all been telling him off. He’s just got his testosterone in a rampage, I think.”
“Why don’t you just give him a chance?” Matty asked.
Sarah sighed. “Remember that answering machine message?” Sarah asked.
“The one that caused you to rip the machine from the wall?”
Sarah laughed at herself. “That’s the one! Well, before you there was one other person I tried getting close to since moving here. Rodney. Everything was fine, at first, and I cared for him. And I thought he cared for me. But then I called his house one time, and a woman answered. I asked for Rodney and she said he was in the shower. Later Rodney tried to tell me that it was his sister, but I know for a fact that he’s only got a little brother.”
“Ouch.”
“And then he had the nerve to tell me that it was all my fault! That he had to seek his... his pleasure he called it! His pleasure from someone else because I was always spending too much time with my ‘dumb sisters’ and not with him!”
“If you pardon my saying so, what an asshole.”
“Oh, please feel free to say so.”
“What an asshole.”
“Yeah. Well, I don’t ever want some dumb guy trying to come between me and my sisters like that. They’re all I have...
“Aside from you, Matty. I’m glad you’re my friend.”
“Yeah,” Matty said. She did an ironic little laugh. “Friends...”
Kirstin closed the door behind herself as she led Aaron out to the porch. There was a small bench, and Aaron sat on it. Kirstin sat besides him.
She looked into his eyes.
“Aaron?” she asked.
Aaron swallowed hard. “Y... yes, Kirstin?”
“Aaron... the cat. It’s Hughes, isn’t it?”
Aaron face-faulted, and backed as far away as he could without falling off of the bench. “How did... how did you know?”
“What, do you think I’m super-oblivious or something? First your friend Matt Swett comes in with Bill’s clothes, then this cat arrives with Nicole, and then Mike makes those thinly veiled threats with the hot tea and the cat follows him outside. I’m not stupid, you know.”
“I’m sorry... I never meant to imply...”
“I know, I know... still, why don’t you or Mike say something?”
“Hughes told Mike that if Nicole found out she’d kill us along with him for not telling her sooner.”
“She probably would. I guess it was wise after all not to say something. Still, something must be done, and in a way that gets as few people as possible killed.”
Aaron relaxed somewhat, and moved away from the edge of the bench. He didn’t notice before it was too late, however, that since it was a small bench this brought him right next to Kirstin.
“Something will have to be done,” Kirstin said, “but not right now. It’s turned into a lovely evening, hasn’t it?”
She leaned back slightly to look into the stars, causing her head to lean against Aaron’s shoulder.
Aaron’s heart did its disturbing little jig in the lawn behind her apartment, this time. While her attention was drawn by the heavens, he tried to bring his arm up around her shoulder.
He was on his forty-second attempt. This time, his hand was mere millimetres from her shoulder when...
...when the back door swung open and Swett stuck his head out. “You guys coming in sometime tonight?”
Kirstin jumped slightly, startled, bringing her shoulder into contact with Aaron’s hand. His hand didn’t stay there long, as he jumped ten feet into the air, raised his hands above his head, and shouted, “I didn’t do nothing!”
“Oh, sorry for interrupting, guys,” Swett said with a snicker. He darted back inside.
Aaron had landed in a standing position and had his hands thrust firmly into his pockets.
Kirstin looked at him, and blushed briefly. “Oh, my,” she said. “I suppose we’d better get back inside.”
Sarah arrived home not long after the Boy Scouts had left. Well, most of the Boy Scouts...
“Where’d the cat come from?” Sarah asked Nicole.
Nicole scratched behind Neko-chan’s ears. She thought he seemed to like that. “I found him out in the rain. He looked so pathetic all soaked, and he followed me home. Can we keep him, please?”
“I don’t know if it’s a good idea,” Kirstin said. “Our grocery budget’s a little tight as it is, we can’t really afford to get cat food and cat litter...”
Nicole leaned close to her twin and angrily muttered, “After I loaned you that money today, too?” But she realized her sister was right, even if she didn’t realize Kirstin had other reasons for her not to keep the cat.
“Well,” Nicole said for Sarah to hear, “we all know that I make more then enough on my side ventures to cover the expense of a little ol’ cat. I’ll pay all of the costs for keeping him.”
Sarah shrugged. “Well, if you are willing to take care of him, I guess it’s okay.”
“Well, now that that’s settled, I’m off to bed,” Nicole said. “Come on, Neko-chan!”
The cat bound to its feet, meowed contentedly, and followed.
“Nicole!”
Nicole stopped, and turned to her twin. The cat stopped and turned, also. “Hmm?” Nicole said.
“Um... never mind,” Kirsten mumbled.
“Whatever,” Nicole responded as she disappeared into her room. After the cat had followed, she closed the door.
Kirstin sighed, and started cleaning up in the kitchen.
“So how was your little party?” Sarah asked her.
“Pretty good,” Kirstin responded.
Sarah sat on the couch and began removing her shoes. “That’s nice.”
“And how about you? You have a good time?”
“Yeah, yeah I did,” Sarah responded. “Matty Hayes is a good friend.”
Matt Atanian was lying in his bed. He recalled another night when he was lying in bed like this contemplating Sarah Porter. Kirstin and Aaron had told him that he should peruse her. He told them he would try.
But as he thought about it now, he had been trying for their reasons. Sure, he found her physically attractive, but he didn’t really know her well enough to feel anything else for her.
But now, now he (or rather she) had spent some time with her, had gotten to know her.
Now he found that he really did care about her.
He had been trying for their reasons. Now he’d be trying for his reasons.
Well, Matt was asleep.
Most people would probably be up and about, but Matt had always liked to sleep in on Sundays. Even this Sunday, the day of his much anticipated sort of first date with Sarah.
He’d be running around like a chicken with its head cut off later, as the time grew nearer, but now it wasn’t quite ten in the morning, and he just slept.
Meanwhile, no one was sleeping at the Porter residence. Sarah wasn’t even home, having left for work a few hours prior. She’d be home shortly after three, and until then, Kirstin and Nicole had the place to themselves. They were both in the large yet cramped central room of the apartment. The room was divided in two by a large counter. One half was used as a “living room,” and the other half served as the kitchen and dining area.
Nicole was sitting on the beat up old sofa in the living room, working out her weekly profits on her lucky abacus. She could have gotten the job done much quicker on an electronic calculator, but she found something oddly satisfying about moving the little beads around.
Kirstin was in the kitchen. She had finished cleaning the breakfast dishes a short while ago, and was currently sighing as she finished an inspection of their presently meagre food supplies.
Nicole looked up and put down the abacus. “Something wrong, sis?”
“Not really,” Kirstin responded. “I’m just at a loss at what to cook for tonight.”
“Well, sis, don’t go to any trouble. It’s just you and me, tonight.” Nicole paused. “Or is it?”
Kirstin looked up. “What do you mean?”
Nicole joined her sister in the kitchen. “Well, I know you like to keep the place clean, but you went all out yesterday. You’ve invited someone over, haven’t you?”
Kirstin nodded.
“It’s that Boy Scout, um, Aaron. Isn’t it?”
“It’s a group of the Boy Scouts, yes.” Kirstin responded.
“Aaron’s one of them, though. Come on, sis. You can tell me.” She winked at her sister. “You like him, don’t you.”
“I like all of them, they’re nice people.”
“Come off it, sis. That’s not what I meant. You like everyone. You'd be kind to a mugger as he made off with your purse. Aaron’s something more, isn’t he.” The last was not a question.
Kirstin suddenly looked down, embarrassed. “I... I suppose.”
“You wanted to cook something to knock his socks off, didn’t you?”
Kirstin nodded.
“Well,” Nicole said, “Aaron and Kirstin. He’s a nice kid, I suppose. I wonder... maybe I should go for one of them. That Matt guy seems desperate if he’s chasing Sarah. After all, she's made it clear she doesn’t want anything to do with him.”
Kirstin’s features suddenly reverted to their usual calm, controlled state. “No. He’s four years older then us! Besides, give him and Sarah some time. I think things will work out.”
“You’re up to something there, aren’t you?” Nicole laughed. “Good luck. You’ll need it with Sarah’s stubbornness, but it may do her some good. I guess I’ll settle for one of the others.”
Kirstin’s response was without malice, and was simply a statement of the truth. “None of them would last a week as your boyfriend. Your tastes are too expensive, and you’d suck their wallets dry faster then they can notice.”
Nicole laughed again. “You’re always so right about these things.” She suddenly switched tracks. “This Matty Hayes is an enigma.”
Kirstin blinked. “What?”
“Nothing, nothing. She’s a nice girl, but something doesn’t quite add up about her. She in on your plans to get Matt and Sarah together?”
“In a way,” Kirstin responded.
“Now, now, sis,” Nicole chided. “It’s not like you to keep secrets. Matty is definitely a mystery, and one I think I’ll enjoy solving. But not now. Now, we have to get you supplies for the feast you’re cooking for tonight.”
Again, Kirstin blinked. “What?”
Nicole took out her wallet, which was full of the bounty of her various enterprises. “We’re taking a trip to the grocery store.” She took another look at her wallet and added, “In fact, let’s take a trip to the mall first.”
“Nicole, thank you!”
“And just for you, sis,” Nicole continued, “I’ll charge no interest the first month, and then only five percent.”
Kirstin smiled once again as she and her sister headed for the door. “That’s very generous of you, Nicole.” And for Nicole, it was.
Matt had the house to himself, which was for the better as he got ready for his “date.” Just before getting out of the shower, he turned the water all the way over to cold.
“Aaahhh!” she yelped, taken by surprise even though she knew it was coming.
She stepped out and towelled herself off, then went to her room to get dressed.
She put on lingerie first, and as she pulled on a pair of black nylons, she was thankful that her female form had no unsightly body hair. She took the black dress from her closet and pulled it on, smoothing it out over herself.
She went into the bathroom and combed her hair a bit. It didn’t need much, being so short. She then took a tube of lipstick and put a bit on. This was the only makeup she put on, as not only did she not much see the point of cosmetics, but she also didn’t trust herself to put them on without the end result causing her to look like a circus clown.
She looked in the mirror, and began to have that funny feeling that she had gotten at the mall. She shook her head violently. Stop that, she thought, it ain’t right.
She grabbed a coat, a normal green jacket rather then her usual black trench coat, grabbed her hat, and opened the door. “Well,” she said, stepping out into the cool autumn air, “here goes nothing.”
“Nicole, phone,” Sarah said.
Nicole left her room where she’d been trying out some new financial software and took the phone from her older sister. Sarah then grabbed a coat and her purse, and headed for the door. Half way there, she stopped.
She looked over to the kitchen, at Kirstin, who was busy cooking. She then looked around the apartment, apparently noticing for the first time the extra neatness of it.
“Kirstin, what’s going on?”
Kirstin looked up from a pot. “Hmm?” she asked. “Oh! Just having a few people over.”
“Guys?” Sarah asked, one eyebrow raised suspiciously.
“Well, yeah. But they’re just friends.”
“Yeah, I trust you,” Sarah said. She smiled. “Just don’t make me regret it.”
“I won’t, I won’t. Now out with you, and have a good time with Matty.”
“You have a good time, too!” Sarah said, as she walked out.
Matty was standing patiently waiting on the sidewalk outside Russell’s, polishing off a carton of Nestlé’s Quick she’d gotten at the convenience store next door, when a crack of thunder sounded through the sky. Looks like rain, she thought. Hope she gets here soon, before my new dress gets all soaked!
Just then, a car pulled up to her. The window rolled down and Sarah popped her head out.
“Hi, Matty. Ready to go?”
Matty smiled. “Sure!”
“Well, then, hop in!”
Matty walked around to the passenger side and got in. Sarah looked her over and said, “You look great! Wish you’d told me you were dressing up, I’d have worn something a bit nicer, myself.”
Matty looked at Sarah, in jeans and a button down, red plaid flannel. “Nonsense. You look twice as nice as I do.”
“You lie, but thanks anyways. So, where we headed?”
“I was hoping you’d have some ideas.”
“Well... you have dinner yet?”
Matty thought, then answered, “No, I haven’t. I think I have a place in mind, if it’s okay with you. Best restaurant in the area.”
“Sounds good to me!”
As Kirstin was finishing setting the table, the doorbell rang. She went over to the door and opened it, revealing Aaron. “Oh, hi,” she said.
“Um, hi. Can I, uh... come in?”
“Sure. Sure.” She stepped out of the way and Aaron entered. His eyes, in their pitiful effort to look upon anything but Kirstin, noticed the table and the food sitting in the kitchen.
“What’s this?” he asked. “I know you said on the phone not to eat because you were cooking a little something, but...”
“Oh, I guess I went a little overboard. I just wanted to cook something nice for you.” She looked away from Aaron briefly, and when she looked back she added, “All of you.”
“Ah, of course,” Aaron responded, having missed Kirstin’s hesitation.
“So, what, is this whole party going to be out on the porch?” someone said. Aaron and Kirstin turned to see Mike, Gelinas, and Kenny, newly arrived. It was Bill who had spoken.
The two of them got out of the new arrivals’ way, and Mike peaked his head in and said, “Hey, something smells like pasta!”
“I made some Chicken Parmesan,” Kirstin said. “I hope you all like it.”
Kenny looked up from his book briefly and smiled.
“I hope everyone else gets here soon, before it gets cold,” Kirstin added.
“Where are your sisters?” Bill asked.
“Nicole went out for a walk, she should be back momentarily. Sarah already left for her night out with Matty.”
Everyone stepped inside. Kirstin got everyone sodas, and then went into the kitchen to make a few last minute preparations. Mike, Bill, and Aaron took out their decks and likewise made last minute preparations. Aaron was especially taking care to go over the deck he had made for Kirstin.
Kenny kept his head in his book, Everything Normal People Never Wanted to Know About Nuclear Physics, but You Weren’t Afraid to Ask.
The door opened, and Mike, Aaron, and Bill suddenly became acutely aware that it was raining outside. Nicole stepped in, and said to her sister, “I know this sounds cliché, but it followed me home, can I keep it?”
A white haired cat with a messy cap of black hair atop it’s head followed Nicole in and meowed in greeting.
“It can’t be!” Mike said.
“Its got'a be!” Aaron said.
“Meow,” said the cat.
“Be right back,” Nicole said. She grabbed a towel, went into her room, and closed the door, but not before the cat could follow.
Matt Swett suddenly appeared in the doorway, holding a pile of wet clothes. “Look what I found,” he said. “Doesn’t this look like something Hughes would wear? Where is Hughes, anyway?”
Mistress of the quick change, Nicole’s door opened. Mike, Aaron, and Bill tackled Swett, hiding the clothes as quickly as possible. Nicole had changed into dry clothes and was eyeing the boys with curious suspicion.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“Um, nothing,” they all answered. They all regained their composure as quickly as possible.
Mike, Aaron, and Bill simultaneously had the same thought. If she finds out about Hughes, he’s a dead man. Luckily, even though Kirstin knew about the curses, she had either not yet made the connection or had come to the same conclusion as the boys.
The cat, meanwhile, was purring as he rubbed Nicole’s bear ankle.
Nicole laughed. “Oh, let’s keep him!”
Sarah, holding a coat over her head to keep the rain off, blinked as she looked at their destination.
“This is the best restaurant in the area?” Sarah asked, somewhat sceptically.
She and Matty stood outside a small little box of a building, painted white, with a sign on the front saying, “White Hut.” The sign also said, “Est. 1935,” and it looked like it had gone relatively unchanged for much of that time.
“Don’t worry, this is one of my favourite restaurants,” Matty assured her.
Indeed, White Hut seemed like it was packed. A few people were actually standing as they ate. Fortunately, two people finished eating just as Matty and Sarah entered, and the men who were standing as they ate made no motion towards the now vacant chairs.
She smell of frying meat and onions permeated the air, as three busy employees scuttled about the kitchen area. A cooler with soda and other beverages was on the back wall, and a table for the standing customers was between the cooler and the counter. There was a light sprinkling of wood chips on the floor around the counter, which was presumably to prevent people from slipping.
Sarah sat, somewhat uncertainly. “Where’s the menu?” she asked, turning to Matty.
“There isn’t one.”
“Well... what do I order?”
“’Burgers or dogs,” Matty answered simply. “Personally, I don’t do hot dogs, so I get cheeseburgers.”
“Well, I guess I’ll just get whatever you get,” Sarah said.
“Okay,” Matty said. She placed an order for four cheeseburgers with only ketchup, and then went to the counter and got four chocolate milks.
“Here you go,” Matty said, handing two of the milks to Sarah.
After dinner they had played their first game, and Kirstin had not done too badly. Of course, she had played her first game with Aaron’s guidance.
The big surprise was that Kenny had won the game. He had not only won, he had really kicked butt.
“Are you sure you’ve never played before?” Gelinas asked once again.
Kenny sheepishly nodded. “I didn’t even own any cards,” he quietly said, the most he’d said all evening beyond what was necessary for game play, “before Miss Kirstin invited us all over.”
“So how did you do so well?” Aaron asked.
Kenny simply held up the instruction book.
“The rulebook,” Mike said with a twisted smile, “is not to be understood by normal humans.”
“It’s not fair,” Gelinas said.
Nicole was sitting on the couch from where she had observed the game. She stroked the cat sitting in her lap as she said, “Well played, Kenny.”
Aaron and Mike exchanged glances for the millionth time that evening, and then looked over once again at the cat in Nicole’s lap. They had to do something.
“Kirstin,” Mike said, “I hate to impose, but could I have a cup of tea? A nice, hot cup?” He looked over at the cat. “It’s too bad Hughes isn’t here, he loves tea.”
The cat lifted its head off of Nicole’s leg and stopped it’s purring suddenly. It gave Mike a nasty look.
“No imposition at all,” Kirstin said.
Mike looked over at a window. “Hmm, looks like the rain stopped.” Kirstin handed him his tea. “Thank you... think I’ll go get a bit of fresh air.”
As Mike opened the back door and went out onto the porch, he discretely grabbed a towel and brought it with him. Just before he closed the door behind himself, the cat leapt from Nicole’s lap and followed.
Hughes wrapped the towel around his waste as Mike put the teacup down on the porch railing.
“Bill, what are you doing?” Mike asked.
“I think she likes me,” Hughes responded.
“She thinks you’re a cat,” Mike pointed out.
“She doesn’t have to know,” Hughes responded.
“She’ll kill you if she finds out,” Mike said. “And it’s not right! I’m going to have to tell her.”
“You tell her, you’re dead, too. After all, you could have said something earlier.”
Eerp, Mike thought, stalemate. “Hughes,” Mike said, deciding to try a different track. “You can’t stay here all the time. Your parents would notice you’re missing.”
“Oh, contraire,” Hughes responded. “I live in Palmer.”
“What’s that have to do with anything?”
“Things are different in what you so lovingly call ‘hicktown.’ I could go missing for days, and my Dad and Stepmom would never notice.”
“What about...”
“School? Palmer schools are just as weird. I usually do better when I’m not there, anyways. One time I was absent, and got an A on a test.”
He’s got this planned out to a tee, Mike thought. Once in a while, a neuron would misfire in Hughes’s brain, and he’d actually think of something intelligent. Why did this have to be one of those times?
“Fine, you win,” Mike reluctantly said. “But if she discovers you, I deny I know anything.”
“Fare enough, Mike,” Hughes said as he started towards a rather large puddle. “Don’t worry, she’ll never suspect a thing!”
That’s what I’m worried about, Mike thought.
Sarah finished off her second cheeseburger as Matty polished off a third one she’d ordered. “I have to admit,” Sarah said to him, “this place is good.”
“This place is locally famous,” Matty responded. “I’m surprised you haven’t heard about it. I’ve even heard from reliable sources of Kennedys eating here. Of course, that was long ago.”
“Well, my sisters and I haven’t lived in the area long, you see,” Sarah responded as Matty paid the bill.
“Ah, well,” Matty said, opening the door for Sarah, “welcome to the area, I suppose.”
“Thanks.”
Sarah stopped half way to the car and looked up at the sky. Matty found her eyes tracing the path of Sarah’s long, slender neck as she said, “Looks like the sky’s clearing up.”
Matty coughed, and looked up as well. “Yeah,” she said. “The stars are starting to come through.”
“The stars are pretty, aren’t they?” Sarah asked.
Despite the rhetorical nature of the question, Matty gazed up as well, and responded, “Yeah, they are.”
Hughes was purring contentedly in Nicole’s lap as she scratched behind his ears. Mike and Aaron looked at Hughes with contempt filled looks on their faces, and Kenny gave Hughes a concerned look.
Swett broke the silence. “How about another game? I think I’m getting the hang of it.” He, too, had never played before tonight.
"What the hell?” Mike responded.
Kenny nodded that he, too, was in.
Aaron turned to Kirstin. “How about you?”
“Actually, would you care to join me on the porch for a while?” Kirstin asked.
Aaron’s heart leapt out of his ribcage and did a disturbing little dance on the kitchen counter. Well, at least, that’s how Aaron felt. “Um, I suppose,” he said.
After they were out the door, Nicole stopped scratching the cat’s ears and regarded him momentarily. “I think I’ll name him Neko-chan,” she said.
“That sounds Japanese,” Mike said.
“How do you know?” Nicole responded.
“Matt watches a lot of those Japanese cartoons,” Gelinas responded.
“Don’t let him hear you call them cartoons,” Mike warned. “It’s Anime.”
“Whatever,” Gelinas shrugged.
Kenny suddenly switched into that more confident demeanour he had when he imparted information. “Neko meaning cat, and chan being a suffix one gives to denote affection, such as affection for small children.” He then resumed his normal slumped, shy posture.
“How does he change like that?” Swett wondered.
“Anyways,” Mike asked, “why that name?”
“Your grandmother was Japanese?” Matty responded. She and Sarah were sitting upon a blanket, gazing up at the stars. They had driven around until they had found a large field somewhere, a bit away from the lights of the city.
“Yup. And she raised me and my sisters by herself.”
Matty looked over at Sarah and for the first time noticed a slight smoothness around her eyes.
“I sort of see it, I suppose,” she said. “But it’s odd to see someone with an Asian background who has red hair.”
“Oh, only grandma was Asian. Her husband was Irish, and my father’s parents, one of them was Irish and the other was English.”
Matty dipped her plastic spoon into the tub of Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia they had picked up. A moment later, she asked Sarah, “What happened to your parents?”
Sarah was quiet for a while. She dipped her spoon into the ice cream, but then held the spoon close to her mouth without drawing it closer. She remained quiet for a moment, before saying, “They died a few months after Kirstin and Nicole were born. They were hit by a drunk driver coming home from a New Year Eve party.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry,” Matty said, feeling guilty for having asked.
“No, that’s okay,” Sarah responded. She finely brought the spoon into her mouth. “Somehow, it feels good talking to you. After grandma died last year and my sisters and I moved here, I never bothered to make any new friends. I was too busy taking care of my sisters. I’m glad I met you, Matty. You’re a true friend.”
“Thanks,” Matty responded.
“Hey, Matty?” Sarah asked as she looked into the heavens above.
“Yeah?”
“What’s with that Matt? Why’s he after me so much?”
I didn’t think two attempts at a hello could be considered “after you so much,” Matty thought. She wisely refrained from voicing that thought, however, and merely replied, “Maybe he sees in you what I do, that you’re a kind, caring, and intelligent person. Maybe you’re the kind of person he wants to spend his life with.”
Sarah had been taking another spoonful of ice cream, and nearly choked. “I don’t think so! I’ve barely said five words to him, and they’ve all been telling him off. He’s just got his testosterone in a rampage, I think.”
“Why don’t you just give him a chance?” Matty asked.
Sarah sighed. “Remember that answering machine message?” Sarah asked.
“The one that caused you to rip the machine from the wall?”
Sarah laughed at herself. “That’s the one! Well, before you there was one other person I tried getting close to since moving here. Rodney. Everything was fine, at first, and I cared for him. And I thought he cared for me. But then I called his house one time, and a woman answered. I asked for Rodney and she said he was in the shower. Later Rodney tried to tell me that it was his sister, but I know for a fact that he’s only got a little brother.”
“Ouch.”
“And then he had the nerve to tell me that it was all my fault! That he had to seek his... his pleasure he called it! His pleasure from someone else because I was always spending too much time with my ‘dumb sisters’ and not with him!”
“If you pardon my saying so, what an asshole.”
“Oh, please feel free to say so.”
“What an asshole.”
“Yeah. Well, I don’t ever want some dumb guy trying to come between me and my sisters like that. They’re all I have...
“Aside from you, Matty. I’m glad you’re my friend.”
“Yeah,” Matty said. She did an ironic little laugh. “Friends...”
Kirstin closed the door behind herself as she led Aaron out to the porch. There was a small bench, and Aaron sat on it. Kirstin sat besides him.
She looked into his eyes.
“Aaron?” she asked.
Aaron swallowed hard. “Y... yes, Kirstin?”
“Aaron... the cat. It’s Hughes, isn’t it?”
Aaron face-faulted, and backed as far away as he could without falling off of the bench. “How did... how did you know?”
“What, do you think I’m super-oblivious or something? First your friend Matt Swett comes in with Bill’s clothes, then this cat arrives with Nicole, and then Mike makes those thinly veiled threats with the hot tea and the cat follows him outside. I’m not stupid, you know.”
“I’m sorry... I never meant to imply...”
“I know, I know... still, why don’t you or Mike say something?”
“Hughes told Mike that if Nicole found out she’d kill us along with him for not telling her sooner.”
“She probably would. I guess it was wise after all not to say something. Still, something must be done, and in a way that gets as few people as possible killed.”
Aaron relaxed somewhat, and moved away from the edge of the bench. He didn’t notice before it was too late, however, that since it was a small bench this brought him right next to Kirstin.
“Something will have to be done,” Kirstin said, “but not right now. It’s turned into a lovely evening, hasn’t it?”
She leaned back slightly to look into the stars, causing her head to lean against Aaron’s shoulder.
Aaron’s heart did its disturbing little jig in the lawn behind her apartment, this time. While her attention was drawn by the heavens, he tried to bring his arm up around her shoulder.
He was on his forty-second attempt. This time, his hand was mere millimetres from her shoulder when...
...when the back door swung open and Swett stuck his head out. “You guys coming in sometime tonight?”
Kirstin jumped slightly, startled, bringing her shoulder into contact with Aaron’s hand. His hand didn’t stay there long, as he jumped ten feet into the air, raised his hands above his head, and shouted, “I didn’t do nothing!”
“Oh, sorry for interrupting, guys,” Swett said with a snicker. He darted back inside.
Aaron had landed in a standing position and had his hands thrust firmly into his pockets.
Kirstin looked at him, and blushed briefly. “Oh, my,” she said. “I suppose we’d better get back inside.”
Sarah arrived home not long after the Boy Scouts had left. Well, most of the Boy Scouts...
“Where’d the cat come from?” Sarah asked Nicole.
Nicole scratched behind Neko-chan’s ears. She thought he seemed to like that. “I found him out in the rain. He looked so pathetic all soaked, and he followed me home. Can we keep him, please?”
“I don’t know if it’s a good idea,” Kirstin said. “Our grocery budget’s a little tight as it is, we can’t really afford to get cat food and cat litter...”
Nicole leaned close to her twin and angrily muttered, “After I loaned you that money today, too?” But she realized her sister was right, even if she didn’t realize Kirstin had other reasons for her not to keep the cat.
“Well,” Nicole said for Sarah to hear, “we all know that I make more then enough on my side ventures to cover the expense of a little ol’ cat. I’ll pay all of the costs for keeping him.”
Sarah shrugged. “Well, if you are willing to take care of him, I guess it’s okay.”
“Well, now that that’s settled, I’m off to bed,” Nicole said. “Come on, Neko-chan!”
The cat bound to its feet, meowed contentedly, and followed.
“Nicole!”
Nicole stopped, and turned to her twin. The cat stopped and turned, also. “Hmm?” Nicole said.
“Um... never mind,” Kirsten mumbled.
“Whatever,” Nicole responded as she disappeared into her room. After the cat had followed, she closed the door.
Kirstin sighed, and started cleaning up in the kitchen.
“So how was your little party?” Sarah asked her.
“Pretty good,” Kirstin responded.
Sarah sat on the couch and began removing her shoes. “That’s nice.”
“And how about you? You have a good time?”
“Yeah, yeah I did,” Sarah responded. “Matty Hayes is a good friend.”
Matt Atanian was lying in his bed. He recalled another night when he was lying in bed like this contemplating Sarah Porter. Kirstin and Aaron had told him that he should peruse her. He told them he would try.
But as he thought about it now, he had been trying for their reasons. Sure, he found her physically attractive, but he didn’t really know her well enough to feel anything else for her.
But now, now he (or rather she) had spent some time with her, had gotten to know her.
Now he found that he really did care about her.
He had been trying for their reasons. Now he’d be trying for his reasons.
Disclaimer:
As always, the Jusenkyo curses are used without permission from Ranma ½.
And as usual, the use of the Boy Scouts in this story was without the consent of the Boy Scouts of America. If they found out about these stories, they’d turn me into a girl without a Jusenkyo curse!
Many (but not all) members of Troop 192 are based on real persons. Some of these persons are exaggerated for humorous effect.
White Hut is a real restaurant, and in fact one of my favorites. If anyone of you fine people out there are ever in the area, it’s on Memorial Drive in West Springfield. And the Kenedy story is true. I’m not sure which Kenedy, I doubt it was John F. or Robert, although it could have been…
And as usual, the use of the Boy Scouts in this story was without the consent of the Boy Scouts of America. If they found out about these stories, they’d turn me into a girl without a Jusenkyo curse!
Many (but not all) members of Troop 192 are based on real persons. Some of these persons are exaggerated for humorous effect.
White Hut is a real restaurant, and in fact one of my favorites. If anyone of you fine people out there are ever in the area, it’s on Memorial Drive in West Springfield. And the Kenedy story is true. I’m not sure which Kenedy, I doubt it was John F. or Robert, although it could have been…