The Equinox (2 page)

Although he’s in front of me, I notice his
expression softening—though I may be imagining it.

“I’m fine. I’ll show you the kitchen
before I have to start my shift.” He walks away and I hurry to catch up.

He’s silent the entire way to the
kitchen, but he’s nice enough to open the wooden swinging doors for me to walk
through. I take this opportunity to offer him my friendliest smile, hoping that
maybe we’re turning a corner and he will ease up on me. He barely grazes my
eyes before looking forward into the kitchen—no such luck.

“Hey Mikey,” Johnny calls out to the stout
chef with grease stains smeared over his white shirt. I can’t help but notice
that Johnny greets him with a fake Jersey accent. I’m confused. His expression
appears playful. Johnny doesn’t seem like someone who makes jokes—but
maybe he just doesn’t make jokes with me.

Mikey stands behind the counter with a
grin on his face and two knives raised in greeting. “Johnny,” he calls back in
the same accent and I realize it’s a thing that they have together.

“Who’s the pretty lady?” Mikey calls out
now, his eyes returning to whatever he’s cutting.

I blush as Johnny points a lazy finger in
my direction. “This is Kat, Summer’s granddaughter. She’s going to work here.”

“It’s an audition actually.” As soon as I
say the words I regret them. Johnny’s eyes jerk to mine and his playfulness is
gone.

“What’s it with you correcting everyone?”
His eyes reveal his annoyance.

I intake air slowly through my nose, bite
my tongue, and I sink back to listen to his instructions. “We put the tickets for
the orders here.” He points to a circular device on the edge of the metal
workstation. “They’ll set the food up on the edge when it’s ready, and then you
take the completed order to your table.”

As Johnny walks around the kitchen,
naming everything and telling me what it does, I reconsider my decision to work
here. It’s not like me to give up, but why would I choose to work somewhere
with someone who seems to hate me for no apparent reason? This was his
territory first and whatever his problem is doesn’t seem to be getting better. Surely
there’s another job available on the island.

He walks me to the back corner of the
kitchen to show me where the refreshments and silverware are kept. I stop him
there. “Thank you for the tour, Johnny. I don’t think I’m going to take the
audition though.”

He blinks, obviously puzzled by my sudden
decision. I feel an inkling of joy at making him momentarily speechless but it
doesn’t last.

“Why are you telling me this? You need to
tell Roy.” He leads me to the opposite side of the room where two doors read OFFICE
and BREAK ROOM.

The door to the break room swings open
and Trisha stands there with a bright smile. I beam back at her in recognition,
happy to see a friendly face. “Kat! What are you doing back here?”

Trisha’s long and bouncy blonde hair sits
high on her head in a ponytail, her blue eyes twinkling back at me. “I was
applying for a job but—” I look back at Johnny. “I don’t think it’s the
right place for me.”

Trisha frowns. “No! I need you here.
There aren’t any other girls my age here.”

I can feel an agitated Johnny shuffling
his feet next to me, most likely irritated at our brief detour from my exit.

“Roy will hire you,” Trisha tries to
convince me. “We’re desperate for help.”

Johnny brushes past me abruptly and all
of my tiny arm hairs rise in full salute. “I’ve got to clock in for my shift. I’ll
see you on Monday.” He doesn’t spend a second more with me before escaping
through the break room door.

Trisha scrunches her face in response to
his rude exit, then grins. “I’m so happy you’ll be working here with me.
Between Roy and Johnny I was going mad surrounded by so much testosterone.”

“No kidding. Are they like that all the
time?”

Trisha shrugs. “Yes, but Johnny keeps to
himself mostly. Too bad.” She winks at me as if she might have a thing for him.
“And Roy is really an old teddy bear once you get to know him. You’ll see.”

I smile at her, thankful for her encouraging
words. Her eyes widen as if a brilliant idea just popped into her head. “What are you up to tomorrow? We
should hang by the pool. I’m determined to enjoy as much summer as I possibly
can before it’s over.”

The offer is an unsuspecting and welcome
surprise. “That sounds perfect,” I say with a smile, secretly wondering if Alec
will be at his lifeguard post again. I hope so.

Her eyes light up as she springs onto her
tiptoes. I can’t help but laugh. “Oh good. I can give you all of the Apollo
Beach High inside gossip.”

High
School.
The thought sends my insides through a grinder. My brief stint of High School
didn’t work out so well. I have ignored all thoughts of it purposefully, but
looking at Trisha now gives me a glimmer of hope.

“Excuse me.” Johnny steps past us and as
he does I take in his scent; a mixture of warmed skin, salt, and seaweed.

Trisha tugs on my arm. “Some days he’s
moodier than others,” she whispers to me as she pulls me forward. We giggle
lightly, and I swear I see Johnny’s back muscles tighten through his shirt, but
he pushes through the double doors and into the restaurant.

* *
*

I exit the Island Grille after a wave to
Trisha who stands behind the hostess booth. My bike is still posted up on the
side of the rail near the restaurant. Too impatient to unlock it, I get down
close, so that no one can see me use my magic, and free the lock. I swiftly
wrap it up and stuff it in the small backpack behind the seat, then pedal off
to Summer Estates where my guardians await my arrival.

Charlotte is in my room when I get back to
the house—in my closet, to be more precise. She’s flipping through my
clothes, examining one item at a time.

“I’m not snooping,” she says before swiveling
around. A giant smile is plastered on her face.

I take a seat on the ottoman that sits in
the middle of my bedroom-sized closet. I still haven’t managed to fill it up
yet, but I hope I never do.

“Then what are you doing? Don’t tell me
Rose wants you to take me shopping again.”

Rose is overly generous with her money,
and the discomfort of being on the receiving end of that generosity lingers
with me. I don’t suspect that feeling will go away anytime soon.

Charlotte’s eyes twinkle. “Well no. Not
exactly. I’m going to make you something—something fit for a very special
occasion.”

“You’re going to sew something?” The
puzzled look on my face must be funny because Charlotte laughs.

“Come with me and I’ll show you.” She
pulls a few items off the rack; a knee length emerald green dress, a sparkly
silver polka dotted chiffon scarf, and gray wedges. I can’t remember having
worn any of these items.

I follow Charlotte down the hall to the
other corner of the house, to a room I’ve never entered before. She introduces
it as her craft room.

My eyes take in everything around the
room in awe. I never knew that Charlotte had a thing for arts and crafts. There
are fabrics of all colors and sizes hung up on rolling rods that are bolted
into the wall. There are clear plastic bins of pins and needles. I see chalk
labeled containers with the words “scissors,” “buttons,” “magazines,” and
“pens.” There are fabric boards with drawings all over the wall. Charlotte is
talented.

With a step further into the room I
notice a naked black mannequin against the opposite wall and that’s where
Charlotte goes next.

I watch in fascination as she drapes the
green silk of my dress over the mannequin’s head. She turns to assess me. “I
just need to get your measurements.” She taps her finger to her lip a few
times, in full concentration. “Spin.” She gestures to me and makes a circling
motion with her hands.

I do as she asks without hesitation.

“Good.” She smiles and turns back to the
dress. With a single hand motion the dress begins to transform before my eyes.

It’s like I’m watching a fantastic
symphony come to life with Charlotte as conductor and the fabric playing the
role of her orchestra. The green fabric tugs together at the waist and with a
snip of the flying scissors the top of the dress forms a heart-shaped cut. Another
piece of chiffon fabric overlays the dress and again, the flying scissors begin
to cut through the fabric, creating perfect vertical ruffles every few inches,
starting from the top of the waistline down to the bottom, slightly hanging
over the silk fabric beneath it. It’s already beautiful.

I watch the expressions on Charlotte’s
face as her magic crescendos beautifully with an energy I’m privileged to witness. Magic really
does become her. She lights up as she cuts the scarf into long pieces which
then, one-by-one, get stitched to the chest of the dress in diagonal patterns.
Shiny embellishments follow.

With a fluid lift of her hand, the dress elevates
up and off the mannequin before landing into Charlotte’s arms. She smiles at me
with big hopeful eyes as she holds her masterpiece close to her body. “Do you
like it?”

My eyes are still wide, but I manage to
nod. I’m still surprised by what our magic can do. It’s refreshing to see
someone using their powers so freely too—it’s inspiring. Rose is the
complete opposite. She refuses to use her magic unless absolutely necessary.

“What is this for?” I ask Charlotte as
she lays the dress in my arms.

“For the Enchanters and Friends event
this evening.” Charlotte looks at me like I should know what she’s talking
about. “Rose didn’t tell you?”

I shake my head, confused and now eagerly
curious. “We’re going to an Enchanters event? Will there be others? Like us?”

Charlotte’s face gives away too much.
She’s frustrated that I haven’t been told something. I know that her silence means
that she’s trying to find her words before she speaks out of turn. Charlotte is
the level-headed one of the bunch.

“We meet once a month—as a community,
and every so often we invite others…”

Charlotte’s voice trails off as Rose walks
into the room. I can smell her lavender perfume before she reaches the top of
the stairs.

“There will be Solstice descendants from
our community and some neighboring communities as well.” I turn to look at Rose
as she speaks. I see that she’s already dressed in a blue sequined gown of her
own. “Everyone is curious about the Equinox and the threat that’s been placed
on our town. Our friends want to help.”

As nice as this sounds, I tense up at the
mention of the Equinox. We still haven’t discussed the threat of what they can
do and now we’re having a community meeting about it?

“Our friends?”

Rose looks at Charlotte and then back at
me. “You’ll meet them tonight.”

My emotions get the better of me as I
stamp my foot and steam at Rose. “Another secret? Give it up already, Rose.
When will you learn that your secrets will only harm me?”

I watch her flinch as my words obviously
send a message to her but she’s as stubborn as they come and won’t give in.

“I’m doing my best, Katrina.” Her stern
voice makes me feel like I’m five years old. “Look,” she says. “I can’t possibly
prepare you for everything. You’ll meet everyone tonight and you will learn on
your own, just as everyone else does.”

Rose turns and walks out and I realize
something. I pivot to face Charlotte. “Did Rose just walk up the stairs?”

“Just because I don’t
like
the stairs, doesn’t mean I can’t
walk
up
them,” she calls from a
distance.