Page 30 of The House on Prytania
She placed the laptop on top of a gold-and-green-striped linen tablecloth on the dining table. I’d been so distracted by the streamers and glitter that I only just then finally caught sight of the centerpiece. I stifled a small scream as I remembered the last time Jolene had gotten creative with a centerpiece and how the fright had taken five years off my life.
“I told her we should warn you first, but we weren’t expecting you so soon,” Jaxson said.
“Don’t you just love it?” Jolene said.
While my heart slowed to a normal rate, I examined the disembodied, oversized Barbie doll head in the middle of the table, thegolden blond hair piled high in a mass of curls, colorful jewels, and glitter, all tucked beneath a tall crown of heavy gold filigree with a clear stone the size of a child’s fist in the center. Over her eyes, Barbie wore a glittering mask of purple satin embroidered with the wordsWELCOME TRENHOLM FAMILY!in green lettering around the top and bottom.
“You made all of this?” I swallowed down a lump in my throat.
Jolene nodded. “I wanted to re-create a Mardi Gras float in the living room, but since we’re just renting, the landlord wouldn’t have allowed me to put holes in the plaster, and I don’t think the electrical system could handle the animatronics. Which is a shame, since I already scavenged two mannequins from a dumpster...”
“A Mardi Gras float?”
“I know. I’m disappointed, too. But I did my best with what I had.”
I shook my head. “No, really. This is... perfect. I couldn’t have asked for anything more. It’s really amazing. My family will be... amazed,” I said for lack of a better word. I hugged Jolene. “You’re the best. I have no idea where you found the time to do all of this, but everything is just beautiful.”
“To give credit where credit is due,” she said, “I borrowed the crown from Carly. She was Queen of Carnival a few years back and said if I was very careful I could borrow the replica of her crown that her parents had made for her. She said it was just catching dust at her parents’ house, and when she heard that I was going to make one and Jaxson said he would help—he knows how to use a glue gun; isn’t that wonderful?—Carly said it was ridiculous when she had one already made. Isn’t that sweet?”
“That’s probably not the word I’d use, but it does make a good conversation piece.”
“It sure does,” Jaxson said, attempting not to smile.
Trying hard to ignore the Barbie head, I leaned over the laptop and hit Play on the video Jolene had pulled up on our YouTube channel. In addition to the usual intricate juggling routines with varioustools and the occasional pratfalls involving tripping, stumbling, and falling headfirst into paint buckets, the highlight of the reel was my sweet Mardi sailing effortlessly through a hula hoop held a few inches off the ground.
Jolene leaned forward and pressed a few keys on the laptop. “Look at it in slow motion and tell me that’s not cuter than a bug’s ear!”
I watched again as Mardi stretched out his fluffy front and back cankles like a capeless Superman and sailed through the circle with ease. Jolene backed it up and showed it to me three more times in slow motion so I could admire the way his soft fur floated around his head and body, his plumed tail wagging with delight at the end of his trick.
“I’ll admit that’s pretty cute. And they can continue teaching Mardi tricks as long as Mardi enjoys it and they don’t start lighting the hula hoop on fire.”
Jolene scooped up Mardi and gave him a big kiss on the top of his head. “Do you think I would allow that? We’re just about as close as sisters, Nola, but Mardi and me, well, we’re tighter than bark on a hickory tree. I think of him as my own and I wouldn’t allow any harm to come to him.” She pressed his head against her chest, covering his ears. In a low voice, she said, “I don’t want to hurt his feelings, since he thinks he’s the protector.”
She moved the cursor back to the beginning of Mardi’s trick and hit the Play button again, and this time my focus strayed to the background of the scene, to the open closet door at the top of the steps. Saliva evaporated from my mouth as I watched a dark shadow slither across the doorway. Filmy edges of viscous black ink surrounded the opaque center of the humanlike shadow. The flash of movement disappeared so quickly that I almost doubted I’d seen it at all. But my dry mouth and nausea told me I had.
Jolene reached over to close the laptop.
“Hang on. Can I see that again in slow motion?” Without waiting for a response, I adjusted the speed of the video, then pressed the Play button. This time, I focused all my attention on the closet, needingto reassure myself that it was the shadow of a tree outside or an actual person walking in the upstairs hallway. But there it was again, with the bloblike movements of an undulating inkblot. I leaned closer, a dense ache of fear pulsing in the pit of my stomach. Despite the blob’s strange consistency, the shapes of a head, arms, and legs were clearly those of a person. Or what might have once been a person. Or... something humanlike.
I straightened and closed the laptop myself. “That’s great. I can’t wait to see what they come up with next.” I reached over and scratched Mardi under the chin to hide the shaking of my hand. I wasn’t ready to share what I’d seen. Not yet. At least not before I’d had a chance to figure out what I thought I’d seen.
“Well, now that you’re here, why don’t you join us for dinner?” Jaxson said. “It was sort of last-minute, so nothing fancy, but I love Pascal’s Manale. They’re known for their barbecue shrimp, and if you’ve never tried their white chocolate bread pudding, you haven’t lived. It’s one of Carly’s favorite places, but she’s in Dallas for work, so it’ll just be us.”
My stomach had been grumbling for almost an hour, and the mention of the bread pudding had me salivating. “I would love to—” I stopped as I caught Jolene’s gaze. Even though I didn’t agree with her pining over someone who was practically engaged to someone else, I also knew that I didn’t want to be the source of her disappointment. Or subjected to her form of revenge, which included no fresh baked goods or morning coffee. She could be hateful like that.
“But unfortunately,” I continued, “I have a lot of catching up to do since I was out of the office today. Lots of prep work for another field assignment. I’ll just order a pizza or something.”
“Well, only if you’re sure—” Jolene began.
“Absolutely. You two go on and have fun. You’ve worked so hard today, and you deserve it.”
“That settles it, I guess,” Jaxson said. “We’ll bring you back some of that bread pudding. I’ll make sure it’s vegan first.” He winked.
“Don’t you dare.”
“Just give me a sec,” Jolene said, already turning to plump the pillows on the couch. “I need to quickly run the vacuum before I leave. In case I missed some of that glitter the first time.”
“It’s spotless,” I said. “If I see any loose sparkles or glitter, I promise to suck them right up.”
