Ice (31 page)

“Happy birthday,” he said breathlessly.

I carefully took the gift from him, wondering why he seemed winded. Had he ran over here? “Thank you. Please, come in.”

Kavick entered
and I offered to take his coat while Justin told Marcus hello. Kavick and Marcus removed their coats; there was already an awkward air in the room as they exchanged serious glances. I think Marcus was surprised to see Kavick. Justin passed me Marcus’ coat to hang on the rack as he greeted Kavick.

“Hello,” he said politely, extending a hand. “You’re Kevin Skarling, right? I remember you from before.”

Kavick nodded, shaking Justin’s hand. I noticed Kavick’s hands were dirty, which was a sign that he had been a dog recently and hadn’t had a chance to wash his hands. “Yes.”

“Nice to meet you, Kevin.”

“Nice to meet you, too, Sir.”

Justin’s smile widened, nearly laughing. “You can call me Justin.”

Kavick smiled a little, feeling a bit relieved by Justin’s laid back attitude. “Nice to meet you, too, Justin,” he amended. Kavick then noticed his hand and quickly let go. “Oh, uh, I’m sorry…I was working outside today and uh…sorry, I’ll go wash my hands.”

Justin didn’t seem offended at all and said, “The bathroom’s in the hall, directly across from the living room, or you can just wash your hands at the kitchen sink in there.” Justin pointed to the kitchen sink and Kavick made a beeline for it.

“So, are y’all ready to eat, or do you want to catch up a bit first?” Justin asked, looking to everyone. “I’ve got the food done now, so you kids can dig in whenever you want.”

Kavick stood at the kitchen sink facing us, drying his hands on a kitchen towel. Marcus and Kavick were silent again, still looking unusually serious for the situation, just shrugging. I slapped my hands together, being extra chipper to help mask the weird vibe those two were creating. “Sure! Let’s dig in! Just one moment, though,” I said, walking back over to the coffee table to grab my laptop. “I hope it’s okay that one of my other friends join us via the
Internet.”

Justin looked a little puzzled, like he didn’t quite understand how that was possible, but didn’t appear to have a problem with it. “Sure.”

I sat my laptop on the table beside me and I saw that Justin had prepared not only some catfish, but sandwiches and a cake. He sat the cake down in the center of the table and placed a candle shaped like the number eighteen on it. He started singing me “Happy Birthday,” Marcus and Kavick only mumbling along. Justin was by far the loudest, making Big John howl from on the couch in the living room.

“…Happy birthday to youuu.”

“Arooo!”

“Can it!” he yelled into the living room, ending the song with a scolding to Big John that made Marcus and Kavick even more uncomfortable.

Big John dropped his head pitifully until it was resting on the back of the couch, watching us in the kitchen with sad, longing eyes.

“Tha-that was nice. Thank you,” I said, forcing a smile.

Uncle Justin then quickly lit the candle and told me to make a wish. I closed my eyes for a second, not really intending to wish anything, but I couldn’t help but think that I wanted the hunters to leave the Wolf-People alone and Kavick not marry Anana. When I blew it out, Justin clapped. Marcus and Kavick joined in a couple seconds late. Kavick was making himself smile for me, though. Marcus, however, wasn’t as talented at acting, but I think he was trying to since he wasn’t giving me twenty questions why Kavick was here.

“What d’ya wish?” Justin asked as he pulled the melting red candle out of the cake.

“Uh,” I said, quickly grasping for an excuse. I couldn’t help but glance at Kavick. He caught my gaze for a second and I wondered if he knew somehow. “World peace.”

Everyone broke out into laughter, Uncle Justin laughing the hardest, I think. “Of course, that’s what everyone wants,” he said after a few laughs. “Darn, Christine, you could be Miss
America.”

“Aw, yeah,” Marcus said loudly in agreement, suddenly and returning to his old self. “She would definitely win.”

“You just want to see her in a bikini.”
Charlotte had finally signed on.

Everyone’s eyes widened at that statement, but I think Kavick looked the most uncomfortable, sitting next to my laptop. He just stared at his sandwich. Marcus’ face looked a little pink and Uncle Justin pretended like he hadn’t heard it, taking the candle to the trash can.

“Uh, hey, Charlotte. What a hello,” I chuckled awkwardly.

“Well, it’s the truth,” she said with an impish grin on the screen. Her hair was longer than I remembered and part of it was pulled into a small bun on her head. It was strange seeing her again after so long. She looked a little older, less orange (must not have spray tanned), but still the same. I wondered if I looked older.

“Hey, I’ve already seen her in a bikini,” Marcus called over the table to my laptop.

I widened my eyes at him. “Marcus!” I hissed.

Kavick suddenly found his catfish very interesting. Now he was poking it with his fork.

“It’s the truth,”
Charlotte said again.

I turned my wide-eyed stare on her. “Stop pointing out the truth
then! Other people are in the room, you know.”

I motioned for Marcus and Kavick to move closer. They scooted their chairs nearer to mine and Justin took his seat at the other end of the table, where I would usually sit. Big John was at his feet, waiting for food, so Justin preoccupied himself with telling Big John he wasn’t getting any.

I wrapped my arms around each of them and moved them close enough to get in the shot. Marcus smiled at Charlotte and Kavick waved timidly. Before I could introduce him, Charlotte’s face lit up. “Ooh! Who’s the hottie on your left?”

Kavick’s hand dropped i
nstantly. His peppy attitude he had donned for Charlotte was completely nonexistent. Marcus looked past me and gaped at Kavick. I was suddenly wondering why on earth I had been so scared of inviting Marcus and Kavick; I should have been scared of inviting Charlotte.

“Uh, that’s Kevin,” I said, suddenly feeling very uncomfortable.

She batted her eyes and said in a seductive voice, “Hey, Kevin. I’m
Charlotte.”

Now I was scolding
Charlotte again. “Charlotte!” I hissed. “Are you seriously hitting on my friend…on my
birthday
?!”

“So?” she said clueless
ly.

I glanced over at Kavick. Despite Molly saying Kavick had been a bit popular with the girls in high school, he looked like he wasn’t used to fli
rting. His face was red and he looked nearly as stunned as Marcus.

“So, Kevin,” she said, resuming her seductive tone. “How do you feel about long distance relationships?”

He laughed nervously and said, “Uh, I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“
Charlotte, lay off!”

“Oh wait, is this the wonderful guy you said you met?”

I froze for a moment, suddenly remembering when Kavick had chatted with Charlotte, pretending that he was me. He gave me a wide-eyed glance before slowly inching away from the laptop and returning to his food. Marcus’s mouth was still hanging open, but now he was looking at me.

“If you have a thing for him, just say so and I’ll leave him alone.”

I glanced at Marcus who was still staring at me, waiting for an answer. “Charlotte, I gotta let you go. It’s time to eat cake. Talk to ya later.”

“Oh, okay!” she said quickly. “Happy birthday!”

“Thanks,” I said before closing the window and shutting my laptop. I made a point to avoid looking at Marcus now. I looked across the table at Uncle Justin; he wasn’t even eating anymore. He was just staring at all three of us like he had just seen a bomb go off. A second later, he shot up from his seat and said cheerfully, “So who wants cake?”

Nobody answered, but he started putting slices of cake on everyone’s plates beside their uneaten food.

“I’m, uh, just going to go put my laptop away,” I said as I scooted away from the table. “Excuse me.”

Justin gave me a sympathetic look as I passed him. I walked briskly to my room, but once I sat my laptop down on my desk I cursed myself, my life, and my luck. While I was pulling at my hair I happened to glance toward my window and saw a familiar black wolf staring at me with amber eyes. He quickly took a step back when he realized I had spotted him, like he was debating on whether or not he should run away. I was not in the mood to deal with Tartok. I marched over to the window, pointing my finger at him threateningly.

“Oh, so you’re spying on me now? What a way to pay me back for helping you save your brother’s life! Were you planning on lecturing me some more about how I shouldn’t spend time with my best friend, or were you planning on crashing my birthday? Well, too late! It’s already been crashed! Guess you should have gotten here sooner!” By this time I was at my window, glaring down the wolf. He quickly walked backwards from the window before darting off out of sight.

I stood there stunned
as I had a sudden realization: had I actually just scared Tartok Skarling, Mr. Intimidation himself?

“Where is he?”

I turned around at the sound of Kavick’s voice. He was quickly walking towards me. “I heard you talking, but I don’t think they did. I’m so sorry about my brother. I didn’t think about him following me here. I’m sorry about what happened back there. I never thought…!”

I finally cut off his rambling and said, “I know. He’s gone now. And I know you never meant for this to happen.”

His eyebrows turned up helplessly and he rubbed his face. “God, Christine! I’m so sorry! I ruined your birthday and…!”

“No,” I said, cutting him off again. “Let’s go back in there before they thi
nk we’re doing something we shouldn’t be.”

He nodded quickly, but seemed surprised by my words. His face turned a little red again. “Oh…you’re right. I never thought of…after what you’re friend said back there…”

I took his arm and lead him out of the room since he seemed to be too flustered to get moving. I let go of his arm so that we could walk casually and separately into the kitchen. Kavick and I took our seats at the table and everyone ate their food in silence. Once I had finished eating (I was last to eat all of my food, the boys put theirs away in half the time it took me), Justin announced it was time for me to open my gifts, so we all filed into the living room automatically. Big John remained in the kitchen though, running his nose along the floor for any crumbs.

Marcus and Kavick looked like soulless drones as we took our seats on the couch, Marcus sitting on the far left, Kavick on the right, and I sat down in the middle. There was plenty of space between me and the two; there was no chance of me touching either as I leaned forward to grab my presents. I grabbed Justin’s first since he was the only one that seemed to be happy. I couldn’t help but look awkwardly at Marcus and Kavick. Kavic
k was staring into space, looking a bit guilt-ridden and Marcus’ jaw looked a little stressed. I looked back down at the white gift bag on my lap that was shedding glitter on my jeans and the couch. I reached down into the white tissue paper and pulled out a gray, furry Laplander hat.

“Oh my
gosh! Thank you, Uncle Justin!” I said excitedly. It was perfect for those cold windy days when my hood would fly off of my head.

He smiled, taking a seat in the rocking chair he had moved to the other corner of the room so he could watch me. “I figured it would come in handy.”

“It’s exactly what I need! Thank you so much!” I got up from my seat and gave him a quick hug.

“I’m glad you like it,” he said, smiling so big his eyes were squinting.

I quickly sat back down on the couch and picked up Marcus’, since it was next in line. I slowly ripped the blue and rainbow polka dotted paper to reveal a large brown coffee mug filled with candy. Inside was the candy he, Charlotte, and I used to buy from the vending machines after school. There were sour worms, Reese’s Pieces, liquorish of different flavors, and jelly beans. He finally looked at me and mumbled, “I didn’t know what to put them in.”

“It’s great. I love the cup.” I felt a smile creep up on my face. “I’m surprised you remembered
...”

He finally looked me in the eyes and said, “How could I forget?”

I timidly reached toward him for a hug, wondering if he would deny me. He didn’t, and we hugged normally. It felt like things were less strained between us.

I then reached for Kavick’s lumpy newspaper gift. Kavick watched me, looking a bit awkward.
“I’m sorry, it looks like crap.”

“No, no!” I said quickly. “I like it.”

Marcus snickered, but tried to hide it by clearing his throat.

Kavick gave me a look like he questioned my sanity. “It’s okay to agree with me. Really. I should have had someone at the shop wrap it.”

“No, really. I mean it. I like it because I can tell that you wrapped it.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t have any wrapping paper…”

I smiled at him, looking directly into his eyes so he would know I was sincere. “Don’t worry about it.”

I carefully ripped into it, and after tearing through several layers, I found a little wooden box in the center of the lumpy mound of newspapers. I lifted the small box up like an egg from a nest, carefully examining it. There were no designs engraved in it, it was perfectly smooth. I opened the box and saw a beautiful iridescent stone amidst the folds of a black leather cord. I carefully lifted the cord up out of the box until the stone was dangling in the air in front of me. I was breathless and at a complete loss for words. The stone was small, not any larger than my thumbnail, smooth and white with colorful shimmers. It reminded me of the snow and of the
Aurora I had watched with him so many times.

“It’s beautiful,” I finally said, still awestruck by it. Perhaps nobody else found such a tiny stone so amazing, most would think it plain even, I guess, but I thought it was the most beautiful piece of jewelry I had ever seen. I knew that every time I saw it I would be mesmerized by it and think of the time I’ve spent with Kavick under the Northern Lights in the snow.

“It’s an Opal,” he explained. “I got it from the O’Connell’s shop. It made me think of the Magic Place.”

I had to take my eyes off the stone since he used the term I had tagged the spot with. He had a bit of a grin on his face, and I couldn’t help but grin back.

“It makes me think of it, too,” I said. “Thank you.”

I started fiddling with the clasp, but he took it from my hands, offering to help me. I turned in my seat and gathered my hair as he put it around my neck. I looked at Marcus who was directly in front of me. It looked like he was trying to stare past me and at Kavick. His jaw looked a little tight again and his mouth was in a careful, straight line. A second later, it was on, and Kavick moved my hair back behind my shoulders. Marcus looked away like the contact bothered him.

I shifted back into my previous position and suddenly Kavick was much closer than before. He smiled widely at me, and I smiled back a bit nervously. I quickly looked back down at the wooden box in my hands and closed it a bit awkwardly. “Thank you.”

I
then looked and said, “Thank you, everyone. I like all of  my gifts so much. Thank you for being here and making it a special day.”

Kavick and Justin smiled at me. Marcus just nodded, looking a bit out of place still.

“That means a lot to me,” Justin said, the only one seeming truly at ease. “That makes me happier than anything else in the world.”

I was surprised how comfortable Uncle Justin had become with expressing himself in recent weeks. I think something good actually came out of me being caught the night I had helped rescue Kavick from the Factory. It helped him realize just how much I love living with him and that I’m never going to leave him for Aunt Suzanne. Ever since that night, Justin hadn’t sounded so uncertain when he would call my name after he’d come home. He used to sound like he wasn’t sure if I was home or not, like he thought I might have run away. Now he knew I would always
be there in my room, doing my homework. He would call out,
“Hey, I’m home!”
Or
“What do ya want for dinner?”

I couldn’t help but jump up from my seat again and give him another hug. The disaster from earlier was quickly being erased from my memory and my birthday no longer felt like it had been a disaster.

I sat back down on the couch and said, “So, what do you guys want to do now?”

Justin got up
from his seat and said, “I’ll take care of the dishes.”

I jerked my head up at him as he passed. “Oh, no, I can do them…”

“What did I say about not doing any work? You have fun with your friends.”

I looked awkwardly from side to side at them. Kavick was sitting as stiff as a board, fiddling with a loose thread on the sleeve of his sweater, and Marcus was staring down at the coffee table again with his mouth in a careful line.
I really didn’t want to leave those two alone when they were acting so strange.

“So…” I said nervously in a little voice. “You guys want to watch some TV…or something?” My voice faded out by the end of my s
entence, so I cleared my throat.

“Actually, I have to go,” Marcus said, standing from his seat.

I looked up at him, feeling confused and hurt, because I knew it was a lie. He had told me at school a couple days before he got Saturday off at the diner for my birthday, which is why Justin and I had scheduled it for the afternoon. “Oh…where to?”

I saw Kavick’s eyes shift up toward Marcus. I wondered if he could sense Marcus was lying, too.

“I’m trying to save for a car,” he said, finally making eye contact with me again. “So, if I can get any extra hours in, it would really help. Sorry to rush off like this.”

I stood up then and said, “I understand. Thanks for coming, and thanks again for the gift.”

He waved a hand. “Don’t mention it.” We then hugged again, but it was so brief I wondered if we even touched. He then looked at the mug on the coffee table that held the candy and glanced at Kavick. “Now when you visit me at the diner we can have coffee while you wait for your Uncle to pick you up.”

Even though his tone was polite enough, it was clearly a jab at Kavick. I felt my jaw drop
a little, but he just smiled and headed for the door. I followed him, glancing at Kavick on the way. He was slouched over on the edge of his seat, elbows on his knees and his hands tightly clasped together. The mood in the room had gone from awkward to extremely tense in just a second’s time. I told Marcus Justin could drive him to the diner, but he insisted on walking for some reason. Justin came rushing out of the kitchen and talked Marcus into letting him take him. Marcus thanked him and they were out the door a second later.

After I shut the door, I walked back over to Kavick. I took the center seat next to him again and said in a nervous voice, “I’m sorry about Marcus. You were right. He was upset because it was you…and he’s still upset about it.”

“You don’t need to apologize for him,” Kavick muttered, looking down at his hands. His knuckles were white. His hands look like one big fist.