Page 76 of Love, Magic and Misfortune
“He liked those brain teasers…” Freddie said, staring into his teacup. “And birds. In second grade, we did projects on any subject we liked and he picked birds. He even folded some out of paper to show the class. I remember thinking it was cool…”
“Oh.” Simone smiled. “Origami?”
Jasper nodded, returning her grin. “Yes. My father taught me how.”
“I did origami when I was little, too,” Simone said.
“Did you, now?” René sat forward, looking past Violet beside him and over at Simone, one eyebrow raised coolly. “I would love to hear more about that.”
Simone cut her eyes away from him. “Right. Jasper, do you still like birds? Do you have a favorite feathered friend?”
Jasper placed his empty plate onto the floor just in front of his folded legs. “I do… Probably the red-crowned crane?”
“Japanese cranes?” René mused. “Iconic. I’ve seen them on nature specials.”
“Yes,” Jasper said. “That’s right. But they migrate to Korea and China, too.”
“Why that particular bird?” Simone asked.
Folding his hands in the gap between his legs, Jasper considered. “Well… they’re beautiful. Snow white with the tips of their wing feathers dipped in pitch black, and they have a bright red circle on the top of their head. When they mate, they form bonds for life. They’re territorial over their family and space, and both the male and female do the work of protecting and building the nest. The most fascinating part is that they sing and dance together—it’s their way of expressing excitement and keeping their bond strong. When one pair within the flock starts singing, the other couples flute in chorus as well. I just think it sounds like a pretty nice life, doesn’t it?”
Everyone sat quietly, the image of beautiful long-necked cranes dancing and singing practically floating before their eyes. Simone put her hand against her chest. “It does. It’s very romantic.”
“So the three of you grew up together, yes?” René asked, leaning forward and setting his empty mug against the coffee table. “What was that like? Indulge us, please.”
Violet flipped her head so that her dead gaze landed on Freddie. “Difficult.”
Freddie drew back, gaping. “Well, hold on now, wait—”
“Freddie was Mr. Popular,” Violet went on, “but he took special care in making my everyday life as miserable as possible.”
“I apologized to you for that already,” Freddie asserted. “I said I was sorry.”
René grinned. “So… not exactly the Three Musketeers, I take it?”
Violet set her empty plate on the coffee table in a huff. “Absolutely not.”
“It wasn’t all bad for you.” Freddie sat forward, his voice strained as he pointed across the room at Jasper. “Heignored everyone but you, and the two of you were inseparable—like you had your own special club that nobody else could join.”
Jasper blinked. “I-I didn’t ignore everyone—”
“You did,” Freddie insisted. “You never really talked to or played with anyone untilVioletshowed up… You didn’t even sign my cast when I broke my arm in primary school. Everyone in the class signed it but you. Even Ms. Chauncey and the principal signed it. It’s like you didn’t even care.”
The air in the room stilled, the tension thick as everyone’s eyes shifted between Freddie and Jasper. Violet swallowed, but it went down slowly, like she’d taken too big a bite of muffin and didn’t have anything to wash it down with.
Jasper reached up, scratching the back of his head and looking down at the empty plate on the floor in front of him. “I’m sorry… I didn’t realize.”
“It-It’s okay…” Freddie sat back, his hands gripping his tea cup a little too tightly, his fingers and face turning red. “We were kids, it’s stupid. I don’t know why I even brought it up. Sorry.”
“On that note…” Violet stood, hoping to alleviate the painful awkwardness. She looked up and checked the wall clock: 3:27 p.m. They needed to start wrapping things up because Jasper’s change was fast approaching. “I’m going to start cleaning the kitchen, but feel free to enjoy any last desserts and drinks.”
“The airing of uncomfortable childhood grievances aside, this was fun,” René said. “I will take care to avoid this topic going forward. I hope we can do this again, soon?”
“We’ll see.” Violet flashed a smile at René before walking out of the sitting room and into the kitchen. Once there, she heard René declare a little too loudly, “And maybe you and I can do this privately?” Which made Violet huff out a laugh and shake her head. He wasn’t giving up without a fight.
She put her hands on her hips, looking at all the picked-over food set on the counter, the pile of dishes in the sink. “Where to start?” she said to herself.
“I’ll do the dishes?”
