Chapter 10 - Autumn of 2019

Juniper had gotten home before her father had, which almost never happened. She let herself in and began chipping away at tonight’s homework. As she opened her computer, an email awaited her. 

“Sry, I’m gonna be late” her dad had written only a few minutes ago.

”Na ur chill. Wya tho”

”huh”

”Where are you at, though?”

”Grocery store. I also stoped at Michael’s cuz I needed bobbin.”

”What’s a bobbin”

”roll of rlly thin thread. For sewing machines. I need to rehem a pair of pants.”

”Oh k have fun w that. When back?”

”Not long. Do u mind if Lexi stays for dinner"

”Ya fine. Im kinda suprised i havnt met her yet”

”Shes cool”

”I assumed. What we eating today”

”tortolini sound good?”

”ya sure”

”See u in ten” 

“K ily bye <3”

”what”

”what what”

”why less than three”

”no dad its a heart”

”ohhhh i see it now”

”lol how didn’t u see it before”

”man I don’t know”

”see ya soon”

”Bye”

Marco and Lexi drove mostly without the need for words, other than when a catchy song came on the radio. The blinkers ticked, and Lexi took a moment to stretch back in her seat. 

“Your daughter will be home, right?”

”Course. Why wouldn’t she be?”

Lexi sighed. “I guess I just don’t know how to deal with little kids.”

”Well she’s not that little.”

”What do you mean?”

“She’s turning thirteen in not too long.”

”Wait, actually?”

”Mhmm. Hold up, how old did you think she was?”

The car began to move again. “Like, four!”

”Oh. No yeah she’s older than that.”

“You could have told me that,” Lexi grumbled.

”I’m sorry,” Marco said earnestly. “I guess it just never came up.” 

The driver shrugged while still looking quite annoyed. ”Nonethless, I don’t know what to do with myself around kids.”

”Just pretend like she’s an adult. She basically acts like one, just funnier.” 

Lexi pulled up to the curb and the two of them worked together to carry the food (and one small cylinder of thread) inside. There was a girl typing away at the kitchen table. When Lexi saw her, she audibly gasped

”You look so flippin cool!” She said. 

“Oh, gosh, thanks. It’s just school uniform,” said Juniper, tugging at her double-pleated straight skirt.

”But the way that you’ve spruced it up is very clever.”

”You look so nice too.”

“I appreciate the sentiment, but I really do need to touch up on the hair dye,” said Lexi as she glanced at a mirror’s reflection of her roots, which were growing her natural blonde. 

“Nah, it looks sick and intentional.”

”You think?”

”Yuh, it’s kinda like ghost roots. Have you ever seen that?”

”I think so. You seem to know a lot about hair.”

”I want to be a hairdresser for a job one day. That or maybe a tattoo artist.”

Lexi removed her jacket and pointed to the inkwork on her arm. 

“That’s awesome,” said Juniper.

The illustration showed a long wisp of smoke twirling around some kind of ball. 

“I have a bunch of others too,” Lexi stated. She pointed to her chest. “I have a beetle there, and identical angel wings there and there,” Lexi motioned to either side of her hips. “I have a bunch of miscellaneous small ones on my legs.” There was line work depicting a cat. “I got that when my boy PB ‘n J died. That fairy, I just thought it looked badass�"pardon�"neat.”

”You can use whatever words you want. I don't care.”

“I know, but swearing around a child just feels like I’m breaking some kind of pact. Anyway,” Lexi continued, “I’ve got a heart, diamond, spade, and club over here,” pointing to her right calf. “I’ve got some stars over there,” pointing to her left ankle. “So yeah. Tattoos are fun.” 

“Don’t they hurt?”

”Generally, the meatier the body part is, the less bad it’s gonna feel. Hips and chest hurt the worst. Oh, and my ankle. Yeeouch”

“Could I show you some of my drawings?” The child asked, figuring that Lexi was an appreciator of the arts. 

”Absolutely, I would love that”

Juniper gently grasped Lexi’s wrist. She pulled her into the other room where her sketchbooks were kept. While the ladies had been talking, Marco had almost finished organizing the groceries into their proper place. The ghosts were holding a discussion on whether or not a parrot who talked could actually speak the language. Hudson voted yes, Lucien voted no, and Clive was still deciding.

”All it’s doing is repeating back the noise that got the best encouragement. It isn’t talking so much as it is mimicking.”

”But how does it know what encouragement sounds like if it doesn’t speak the language?”

”I don’t know. Do I look like a parrot expert to you?”

”This debate is stupid,” said Clive as he disappeared. The other two followed, still bickering as they went. 

”Do you play sports?” Lexi asked.

“Yes, but also no. I played volleyball until I got a concussion. I’m still recovering from it. I think I’ll have to sit the whole season out.”

”Oh I think your dad told me about that. One time he called me like “hey, just so you know, I’m at the hospital with my kid.” ”

”Huh. Does he talk about me often?”

”Sometimes.”

”Do you play sports?”

”Actually, yes. Every Sunday, my girl Whitney and I play tennis. I’m hoping to join an amateur team too.”

“That seems like fun. What’s your most recent injury?”

”I keep fracturing my wrist. I also kind of just hurt all the time, but I dunno if that counts as an injury.”

”Oh no, what happened? Are you in pain right now? Do you want an ibuprofen?”

“No, but thank you.” Lexi shrugged. “Chronic pain. It is what it is.”

”Do you think dad is done with the pasta by now?”

”Maybe.” Lexi and Juniper both poked into the kitchen where dinner was, in fact, finished. The pair each served themselves a bowl, and continued making conversation. 

“Is anything interesting happening at school?”

”No, not really. Well, my best friend let this other girl into our group, and I don’t really like her, but Nancy does, for some reason. So I guess we’re a trio now. She just bugs me.”

”Why’s that?”

”I dunno. She’s just really average, you feel? She’s so normal and boring. She can’t carry a conversation, she can’t ever take a joke. And for some reason, she thinks we’re friends. She keeps looking out for me and stuff. It’s really annoying.”

”Have you gotten to know her very well?”

”No, because she never talks.”

”I’m not disagreeing, just playing the devil’s advocate here.”

”I know.”

”How does�"it’s Nancy, right?”

Juniper nodded.

”How does Nancy know her?”

”They met in band. The clarinet section, I think.”

”So they have something in common, but you don’t?”

”Well I just don’t know. Irene never talks to me. I think she’s afraid of me.”

”Maybe you could make the first move then. To show her that you aren’t scary.”

”I guess I could…”

All too soon, Lexi had to return home. She and Marco talked out on the front porch for a moment before she drove off. Juniper’s father then left for his daily walk. He strode out to the Starch River Bridge. It was a grand CCC era structure, built of hardy stone and mortar. Marco leaned against the cool rock as he smoked. While he was relaxing, a cloudy woman rolled by. 

“How’s your non-nicotine journey fairing?” Birdie asked.

”Recovery isn’t linear, ok?”

”I’m just teasing. What is it that’s bothering you this time?”

”I learned that I’m terrible at sewing, I forgot to buy butter from the store, and I think my daughter is a bully, or at least, being unkind to someone.”

”Hm. Being a bully?”

”Yeah well she kind of admitted to it when she was talking to my girlfriend earlier today.”

”Was she speaking to you?”

”…Well no. I was eavesdropping a little bit. But in my diffense, the house is not that big, so it's pretty hard not to hear somebody from any given space.”

”So what you’re telling me, is that you found out that she’s being unethical, by being unethical?” 

“Well it’s different.”

”Sure, but do you see what I’m saying?”

”Yeah.”

“Maybe it isn’t your space to do something about it.”

“But I feel like I need to be a responsible adult.”

”There are plenty of responsible adults that could do more than you can. Whether the other person reports it, or if the situation resolves some other way isn’t up to you.”

”I suppose. But I still feel like my trust isn’t being valued.”

”Because she isn’t telling you everything?”

”Yeah.”

“Are you telling her everything?”

”No, but-”

”Do you see my point?”

Marco sighed. “Yeah. Yeah I do.”

Birdie sat on the bridge and kicked her feet over the gushing water some yards below.. “So what will you do?”

With his face in his hands, the man murmured, “I don’t knoww.”

”There there,” Birdie leaned on his shoulder in a motherlike fashion. Her touch was cold and damp and soothing. “Did you know that crows arent migratory?” She pointed to a group of birds in the sky. “Though some murders have been tracked to follow the food, or shift from a deciduous environment to a coniferous one seasonally. Isn’t that fascinating?”

”That is really neat. Do you like crows?”

”Oh, I love them,” Birdie said in just a whisper. “They’re sleek and eerie, and more intelligent than we understand.”

The night was finally below freezing. Grass, leaves and car windows were all frosted in thin, glittering ice. Breath could hardly be told apart from smoke. Juniper was clad in pajamas when Marco passed her by. 

She glared. “You smell weird.”

”Yeah, I went down to the bridge. Technically, I think that would be west-”

”Please don’t play dumb. You know what I mean. You smell weird.”

Marco examined the floor beneath him. “I’m getting better though.”

”Evidently not.” Juniper looked betrayed. There was heavy silence. The air was thick. “You’ve been lying.”

”Well…no. I just haven’t been telling the full truth.”

”And then you lie to cover it up.”

”I’m sorry, but you haven’t been entirely truthful either.”

”What are you on about?”

”What’s the deal with Irene?” Marco immediately regretted ever having said anything.

“What about her? You aren’t a part of it, dad. That’s why I don’t bring stuff up with you. Cause you have this constant need to fix everything.” Juniper had raised her voice to a shout Ms. Stanley could probably hear. “You’re insufferable to be around, and evidently you lie. What else is false?”

”I’m going to bed. Goodnight.”

“Yeah, sure. Rest well. Crawl away from your responsibilities.”

“We can have an level-headed discussion tomorrow.”

”No. You’re not gonna get away from this.”

”I’m not trying to, I’m just saying that we’re both tired. I’m going to bed now. Goodnight.”

Before anything else could be said, Marco retreated to his room, and Juniper angrily resigned to hers. Nothing more was done that night.

Reviews

[RomaJ]

The dialogue flows smoothly.. the chapter balances everyday life with character depth.

I like the ghost scenes, it adds a lively, playful undercurrent to the human characters’ routines. But I'm going to be honest here, I was more intrigued by the whole debate about the parrot and would have happily followed the ghosts wherever they were headed just to eavesdrop haha.