Nothing got past Andy. How was I going to get myself out of this one?
“The dizziness had passed already. I was fine. I wanted to check out a book, you know, to have something to do for the rest of the day.”
“Oh,” Andy sounded satisfied with my explanation. “So who’s this guy?”
“He’s new in town; a senior at our school. His family bought The Ebony Estate.”
“WHAT?!” Andy jumped off the bed.
“Calm down. He’s very down to earth.” Not.
“Is he cute?”
“He’s quite… uh… handsome,” I said nodding slowly with one brow raised.
“Oooo, someone has a crush,” Andy giggled, pointing at me.
“I do not,” I said defensively.
“Then why bring up the subject of the new, ridiculously gorgeous, rich guy in town? Hmm?”
I rolled my eyes. “He doesn’t have any friends. I thought he could hang out with us until he made some.”
“We’re doing social work now?”
“It’s called being hospitable.” I used David’s word.
“Whatever.” Andy raised her hands. “He’d just better not be a total douche.”
“That’s not nice, Andy,” I gave her a slight scornful look. “He’s really nice.”
“Fine,” Andy shrugged.
Andy left later in the afternoon leaving me with nothing to do. I kept myself entertained by listening to music on my IPod. That grew old after about half an hour. My mother was still not back from her shopping excursion, so I popped a DVD disc into my computer and nestled myself into bed. Half way into the movie, I heard the front door slam. I paused the video and jumped out of bed.
“What’d you get?” I said helping Claire with some of her bags.
“Just a few things: blouses, skirts… office clothes.”
“Can I see?” I said laying the shopping bags on her bed. I didn’t wait for her to answer. I started pulling clothes out from the bags and displaying them on the bed.
“
What
is
this
?” I was shocked. “Mom, Grandma Eva has sexier clothes than this. I’m never letting you go shopping on your own again.”
Claire had bought herself the most conservative clothing I had ever seen. She was going to look like a nun; dark colors, no contours—most of it had to go back, if I had my say in it.
“What do you mean return it, Isis? I got good deals on this stuff. It suits me just fine.”
“Well, to each their own,” I said wrinkling my nose. “By the way, long polyester skirts went out of style a few decades ago. Didn’t Cosmo teach you anything?”
“I’ll return the skirt, but I’m keeping the rest of the stuff.”
“Whatever. I’m not the one dating my boss.”
Claire gave me a rude stare.
“Fine. I’ll return it all, but you’re coming with me,” she threatened.
We gathered all the clothes and drove to the mall. We spent the late afternoon and part of the evening shopping for tasteful clothes my mom could wear. Why she didn’t have any fashion sense was beyond me. After shopping, we took in a movie and dinner at a sit down restaurant near the shopping center.
At home, we watched T.V. for about an hour. Claire fell asleep on the sofa as usual. I woke her so that she would find her way to her bed. I settled in my own bed with my journal, but couldn’t think of anything to write.
I wondered why David hadn’t called being as he had said he wouldn’t let me out of his sight. Maybe the argument with his mother had made him change his mind about studying me. Whatever the case, I was sure I’d see him on Monday at school.
I decided I should stop thinking about him before it became a habit. I put my thoughts to rest and fell sleep.
The sound of my phone ringing made me sit up on my bed. I reached for it and answered in a voice that closely resembled Elmer Fudd’s.
“Hello?” I hoarsely mumbled.
“Good morning, my lovely.” David’s voice made me smile.
“Morning,” I said, struggling to open my eyes.
“Would you like to have breakfast with me?”
“Sure. What time?” I lay back down and pulled the covers over my head.
“Now,” he said. “I’m on your front porch.”
The doorbell rang, and I heard my mother walking down the stairs to answer. “Coming!” she cried out. I could hear her over the phone too. He wasn’t lying about being at the door.
“I’m not ready,” I said, stumbling out of bed and into the bathroom to wash my face. My hair was in knots and there were pillow lines on my cheek.
“I can wait,” he said and hung up.
I heard my mother talking to him downstairs.
“Isis!” She called from the bottom of the stairs. “David is here to see you.”
“Be right down!” I yelled from my doorway.
I rushed into the closet and threw on some jeans and a shirt. I stuck the toothbrush in my mouth and pulled my hair back in a ponytail.
I flung the toothbrush onto my nightstand and tried to stretch out the pillow creases from my face. I doubt that it worked.
David was seated on the sofa with my mother with a glass of water in his hand.
“Hi,” I said trying to hide the creases on my cheek with my fist.
“Good morning,” David said looking at me rather unusually. “Did I wake you?”
“No… no… nope. I was already awake,” I lied.
“I think there’s something wrong with your shirt, honey.” My mother held her hand over her mouth.
I looked down to inspect it. I had put it on inside out and backwards. The tag was sticking out from the front of my neck. David didn’t laugh but I knew he was dying inside. I could see his eyes tear up from holding the laughter in. My face of course was flushed.
“I’m going to go get ready. I’ll be down in fifteen minutes, okay?”
I raced up the stairs and flew into the shower. I slicked my hair back in a ponytail and applied my makeup as fast as I could. I decided I didn’t look too shabby to have gotten ready in such a short amount of time.
“Ready,” I said, joining my mother and David in the living room. I wondered how much and how long Claire had interrogated him. Probably the full fifteen to twenty minutes it took me to get ready.
“Would you like to join us for breakfast?” David asked my mom.
“No thank you, David. I’ve already had breakfast,” she said, opening the door for us.
David opened the car door for me then took his seat behind the wheel.
“My mother has extended an invitation for tea this afternoon. Would you care to attend?”
“I’d love to.” The corners of my mouth raised in a content fashion.
We had breakfast at a coffee shop in town. My mom used to work there when I was a kid as a waitress. The owner, Mr. Rodriguez, always requested a dessert on the house for me, and he always made it a point to asked me about Claire. He had been a great boss to my mother when putting herself through night school.
“Who’s your new friend?” Mr. Rodriguez queried, noticing the unfamiliar face.
“This is David Chios. He and his family just moved into town,” I said, setting my napkin next to my plate. “David, Mr. Rodriguez used to be my mom’s boss.”
“A pleasure, sir.” David extended his hand.
“You folks the ones that bought the preserve?” Apparently, the rumor had already spread.
“Yes, sir. We closed on the property just a few days ago.”
“Well, I’ll be damned.” Mr. Rodriguez threw a dishtowel over his shoulder. “Them folk swore they’d never sell out,” he paused, to tug on his chin. “Well, I best get back to the kitchen. You kids enjoy!”
“Thanks, Mr. Rodriguez,” I said waving with my fork.
“You articulate Spanish very well,” David complimented me.
“Yes, I should hope so,” I said laughing.
“I don’t find the humor. Am I missing something?” He was puzzled.
“David, I speak Spanish. I’m Hispanic. In case you haven’t noticed eighty-five percent of the population here is Hispanic.”
He looked around the restaurant and nodded.
“I pay no thought to things such as race, color, creed or social standing. Everyone is equal. Do you really think Deus intended this ridiculous segregation of mankind?” he voiced his bothered opinion.
“I didn’t mean anything by it.” I was surprised by his reaction and thought he was reading too much into it.
“It saddens me to hear you categorize and degrade yourselves into groups, as if you were the base level in the food chain. You are not animals, yet you separate yourselves in the same manner.”
“You’re right,” I agreed, remembering an article I had read about an atrocious murder committed by a group of racist teenagers. “We segregate ourselves all the time, and it sometimes causes terrible outcomes. I’ll try not to do it anymore.”
David smiled and ran his finger along my hand. “That would be lovely.”
After breakfast, David dropped me off at home. Teatime was at three o’clock sharp, and he promised to be back for me by half past two. He said Nyx was expecting me and that I must have impressed her in order for her to invite me for tea. I wondered what delicacy she would prepare for the afternoon.
Claire was doing laundry when I got home. I joined her in tidying up the house, before I told her I was invited for tea at the Chios’ house. Nearing the time David was supposed to pick me up, I freshened up and changed into my favorite spring dress. For this occasion, I wouldn’t be under dressed.
“His mother must be quite a lady,” Claire said, folding towels. “He seems like a very respectful young boy; good manners are taught at home.” She handed me a pile of clothes to put away. “I like him.”
“He’s okay,” I said modestly.
“Are you kidding? He’s more than okay, isn’t he?” She nudged me.
“Stop trying to trick me into saying I like him, because I don’t.”
“You are so much in denial, it’s not even funny… it’s hilarious,” Claire laughed.
“Whatever, Mother.” I rolled my eyes.
“Listen,” she said holding up her index finger.
I heard a car engine’s low rumble. I peeked through the blinds in the living room. I saw David’s black Maserati in the driveway. He stepped out of the vehicle dressed in a white, long-sleeve shirt with the sleeves rolled up and jeans.
David rang the door at precisely 2:30 P.M.
“That’s what you call punctual,” I said to my mother holding up my phone so she could note the time. “See you later, Mom.”
“Not too late, honey. It’s a school night.”
“I know,” I said letting myself out.
“Hi.” My mouth formed a crooked grin as I looked into David’s eyes.
David kissed both my cheeks. “You look exquisite.”
“Thanks,” I said shyly.
We didn’t exchange many words on the way to his house. He gave me a quick synopsis of his afternoon and I told him I had done some chores.
As we turned the curve to the forested path on the estate, David’s face dropped. I noticed another vehicle in the driveway beside Nyx’s new Ferrari. A black Land Rover was parked next to Nyx’s car.
“I can’t believe they would do this!” David slammed the steering wheel bending it in from the right side.
I gasped at his sudden violent outburst.
“My apologies. I didn’t mean to startle you,” he said, trying to straighten the steering wheel with his bare hands.
“What’s wrong?” I asked wide-eyed as I watched him mold the thick alloy of the steering wheel.
His upper lip quivered as he spoke with clenched teeth, “I’m being placed under surveillance.”
Chapter 4
David placed his head on the steering wheel and breathed deeply. I would swear I heard him growl.
“Hey…” I reached over and touched his shoulder. “Calm down okay? It can’t be that bad.”
“Isis…” he placed his hand over mine, “I…” His face was full of angst.
“You what?” I wondered.
He shook and his head unwilling to answer.
“What do you mean by ‘being put under surveillance’?”
For an instant, I saw anger on his face. His mouth formed a straight line as he tried to regain his composure.
“Forgive me, but I can’t explain this to you. It’s a personal family matter.” He peered at the estate for a few seconds then turned to view me.
“It seems my twin brothers will be joining us for tea.” He kissed my hand and let it slide gently out of his. “We’d best not keep them waiting.”
I wished he wouldn’t have done that. Nyx was right about their charm. I didn’t have the nerve to tell him he shouldn’t do those types of things anymore—even if he thought it was innocent flirting. The truth is, I liked it. I liked it a little too much, and that worried me.
We exited the car and approached the patio. David sighed deeply, before opening the wooden front door.
“After you.” He gracefully swayed his hand.
He closed the door behind us and led me to the backyard where Nyx and her sons were sitting under a white pavilion surrounded by palm trees and vivid green plants. A peacock displayed its elegant feathers by a fountain. The sight of it was picturesque and breathtaking.
As we walked to the pavilion, Nyx met us half way and kissed either side of my face as usual. The brothers stood from their chairs and waited for us to join them.
“It’s a pleasure, Isis. My name is Eryx. We’ve heard many wonderful things about you. “The brunette with green eyes took me by the shoulders and did the double-kiss, meet and greet they were accustomed to.
“It’s nice to meet you too,” I reciprocated.
The other brother took a few steps toward me and inspected me from head to toe. I felt like a strange creature as he scrutinized me.
“So this is she… the young enchantress?” The blonde, green-eyed boy asked in a cocky tone.
“Galen!” Nyx frowned. “You
will
mind the Golden Rule.”
Galen didn’t acknowledge his mother’s warning. “I can see why any man would fall to their knees before her. You were right, Mother; she does wear the skin of a goddess.” He took my hand and lightly touched his lips to my knuckles. “Enchanted to meet you. I am Galen.”
David glared at Galen with a tight jaw. “Have you not yet learned to keep your inadequate ad-libs to yourself, brother?”
“Ah, little brother!” Galen put an arm around David. “And how are you doing these days?” A distasteful and sarcastic tone accompanied his words.
David pushed away his brother’s arm while he glowered at his mother. Nyx looked away from David, taking no importance in David’s fit.
“Let us take our tea in the dining room, shall we?” Nyx proposed. “I’ve prepared some tea biscuits and pastries. I’m sure you’ll enjoy them, Isis.”
We started walking to the house. It was a short distance across the back lawn. I took a few glances at the twin brothers who looked nothing alike. Their only common trait was that they looked like adolescent gladiators with that muscular physique: huge biceps, wide neck, narrow waist and broad shoulders.
“I did some research on your house,” I started a conversation with Nyx to break the brothers’ tension. “I found out it was built in 1937 by some early settlers.”
“Yes it was. What else did you learn?” Nyx was curious.
“There wasn’t much information on it. The house and preserve sit on eighty-two acres of land,” I said, entering the dining room. “There’s an abundance of birds and butterflies on the preserve that only…” I trailed off.
My jaw dropped as I saw the immense trays of pastries, cookies and, tea sandwiches she had laid out. It was way too much food for five people.
“Well, that also sums the extent of my knowledge on the property,” Nyx smiled. “The mystery of its history only adds to the fascination, is what I think.”
“Are you expecting more company?” I gawked at the silver platters of bountiful goodies.
“Oh, no, dear. It will just be us today.” She poured tea into a cup and handed it to me.
David showed me to my seat and took his place beside me. Eryx aided his mother with her chair and waited for Galen to select his place first.
Galen took the seat directly in front of David and stared at the both of us with his arms crossed over his chest. He shook his head as if in disagreement with the sitting arrangement. He reached for a teapot and topped his plate with cucumber sandwiches. Eryx did the same.
“Tell us about this school we will be attending, Dahveed,” Galen’s perfect teeth were slightly visible under his sly grin.
“You are not enrolling in preparatory and, please, do not call me Dahveed,” David muttered.
Galen lifted a side of his upper lip. “We
will
enroll and Dahveed is your given name… so grin and bare it, my brother.”
David pointed his index finger directly at Galen. “You have no right to interfere in…” David stopped in mid sentence, when Nyx intervened.
“That is quite enough from the both of you,” Nyx snapped. “Out of respect for our guest, hold your tongues, or I shall hold them for you.”
David and Galen held sour faces. David didn’t eat any of the food on his plate. It seemed this family had underlying problems I wasn’t aware of. I felt uneasy being the third wheel, so to speak. Eryx smiled at me, attempting to ease my discomfort, and took a sip of his tea. Nyx’s face, however, reflected worry.
“Pay them no attention, Isis. You’ll get used to it sooner or later,” Eryx said, reaching across to his mother and kissing her hand. “The food is decadent, Mother. You amaze me with your culinary skills every time.”
“Thank you.” Nyx forced a smile, still upset over the other two brothers’ quarrelling.
I nibbled on a cookie and remained silent as I observed Galen watching David and me. He was starting to get on my nerves. What was his problem? No wonder David had gotten so upset in the car. I could imagine how Galen must make David’s life miserable. With a brother like that, who the heck needed enemies?
As my peripheral vision allowed, I noticed the twins’ plates quickly empty. They piled their plates twice more in the time I took to eat three canapés. Then, they dug into the pastries. I had never seen anyone eat so swiftly, and yet, with so much grace. Their indulgence did not end there. They consumed at least a dozen cookies each. I tried not to stare, but it was hard to ignore how the food continually disappeared from their trays. The twins were the epitome of gluttony.
David handed me a slice of bread with some cheese and pink stuff on it. “Try this.”
“It’s very good.” I nodded. “What is it?”
“Paté and aged gouda cheese. Would you like some more?”
“No thank you.” I raised my hand. “I’m full.” Surprisingly, goose liver didn’t taste terrible.
“My mother made everything you see here.” Eryx sounded proud.
“It’s true,” David added. “She is a master of the culinary arts.”
I patted my lip with my napkin. “Everything was delicious, Mrs. Chios. Thank you so much for inviting me.”
“I prefer that you call me Nyx, dear.”
“Nyx,” I approved, with a nod.
A marvelous view of the lake was visible from the large bay windows in the study. Nyx, David, and I admired the antique furniture in the room while Galen and Eryx spoke silently by the fireplace. Galen stood cross-armed listening intently to Eryx. He nodded in accord as Eryx spoke.
“Isis,” Eryx called my name. “Would you say Galen and I would pass as eighteen year-olds?”
I observed them both before I answered. “I suppose you would. How old are you two?”
“We are a year and several months older than David,” Galen answered in place of Eryx.
“That would make you around nineteen?” I wasn’t sure.
“More or less.” Nyx crossed her leg sitting in an antique white and gold armchair.
“I beg to differ.” David pursed his lips. “They are closer to twenty and too old for preparatory.”
“David,” Nyx began, “Your brothers are here to join us as a family. Can we please learn to live in peace? It would mean so much to your father and me.”
David rotated his neck to glimpse back and forth between the twins. “Gemini, I trust you will keep clear of my business?” David’s question sounded more like a threat than a petition.
I knew Gemini meant “twins” because we had studied mythology in school and my zodiac sign happened to be Gemini also. I assumed David must have been addressing the both of them.
The twins glanced at each other and at their mother without response.
“Mother?” David pressed Nyx over the twins’ reluctance to answer.
Nyx nodded her head. “Please stop jumping to conclusions. They will not involve themselves in your… dealings. I trust that you have the sense to maintain yourself free of difficulties?”
“Of course.” The corners of David’s mouth rose in a satisfied gesture.
“Ugh!” Galen threw his hands up and scoffed, but said nothing more—that was a first.
From what I could gather, Galen and Eryx would not be monitoring David’s every move. What I didn’t understand was what everyone was so upset over? I drew one conclusion, and that was that David had told his mother something very delicate for them to be so concerned.
After that discussion, Galen and David settled down. They joked and acted like normal siblings without the tension that had filled the room minutes earlier. Galen was excited about attending high school. He claimed it had been far too long since they were able to enter “the social pattern of adolescence”.
“Our high school campus is probably tiny in comparison to your former school in Greece. Don’t expect any of the extravagances you’re most likely used to.” I tried to make them aware of the simplicity of our fine town.
Galen laughed, “We’ve not matriculated in any school since the early 1800’s.”
“But what about your transcripts? You need them to enroll in school.”
“Ah,” Eryx grinned. “Dear girl, everyone has a price, and money—thank the gods—is a bad habit to break for some. All our documentation is in rightful order.”
“What made you think they came from Greece?” David poised his elbow on the fireplace mantel.
“Your conversation with my mother. You said you had just moved here from Greece. I assumed that meant all of you.”
Nyx explained, “We do travel to Greece often, inclusive we have a house, but we aren’t permanently installed there.” She adjusted the gold hairpiece in her lustrous black hair. “We live in Caelum.”
“Where is Caelum?” I asked.
“Caelum is the realm of eternal life—land of the gods. It is otherwise known as the heavens by your kind. We are not subject to live there all the time but do make it a point to return for gatherings of the Plenum or other affairs.”
“The Plenum?” I was lost.
“The plenum is the legislative group made up of the council and other deities. The deities that do not serve on the council are the audience and petitioners on behalf of the people. Thus we are all considered the Plenum.”
“So it’s a democracy?” I was surprised to learn.
“Yes, much like a democracy.” Nyx ran her hand down my ponytail. “My dear girl, I don’t understand what you’re still doing in preparatory school.”
It was a quarter past six when David and I arrived at my house. The porch light was already on. I knew Claire would be preparing dinner. Having eaten only three hours earlier, I wasn’t hungry. I hoped Claire didn’t mind me skipping dinner tonight.
“I had a really good time.” I observed David’s thick black eyelashes. They made the indigo blue color of his iris more prominent.
“Aside from the drama with my family, you still enjoyed yourself?”
“It was… interesting, but nice.” I bobbed my head.
The itch to know more about his family was still there.
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Anything.” He silenced the roar of the engine.
“Well, I was wondering,” I started, “you know how you and your mother have these… these… gifts?” I found no other way that best described their abilities.
“Right?” David waited for me to go on.
“Are your brothers also gifted?”
“I was wondering when you were going to ask me about them.” The corners of his mouth pulled up. I could tell he liked that I took interest in his family.
“Where to begin?” He lay his head back on the seat. “My brothers are unique. They co-exist, and, when I say ‘co-exist’, I mean one cannot live without the other—literally. To be quite frank, they are inseparable. They are the best of friends. They were great warriors at one time. Even in their early teen years they showed prowess and valiancy in battle. They were born with the gifts of healing and inherited a fair amount of my mother’s empathy.”