Certainty (5 page)

One of them had pigtails and the other twin wore her hair in little blue plastic barrettes that matched her outfit. The one in barrettes glanced over at me but only for a moment. Her attention was all on Ren.

“Ren, open this for me!”

He knelt down and looked up at me. “This is Jenny,” he said, nodding at her. “And this is Mandi.”

“Hi,” I said.

They both said “hi” at the same time, blinking up at me.

He knelt down next to her. “Okay Jenny.  Let me help you.”

Jenny sighed and moved away, letting him sit next to her. He slid his finger under the tape and pulled it. The tape ripped away from the box and Mandi gasped and moved closer to the box.

He pulled the tape off and then went to work on the rest of the tape until finally the flaps were free. The girls dove into the box, pulling out their toys.

Jenny held up a doll triumphantly. “It’s my doll!”

Mandi scrambled around inside the box and held up  a car. “It’s my favorite car!”

Jenny demanded, “Do another box, Ren.”

“I can help, too,” I offered. Soon we were both busy prying at tape. It was easier for me because I had fingernails, so we worked out a system. I started the tape and he finished it. We got all the boxes open and watched them unearth all their captive toys .

“You’ll have to put them back in the boxes until we get your shelves up,” Ren said.

Jenny brushed her doll’s hair, answering without looking up, “We know.”

After we left them I whispered, “They are so sweet!”

He looked at me and rolled his eyes. “Sometimes. Mandy is a screamer and Jenny fake cries when she wants something.”

We made our way downstairs and I thanked him for the tour. “Now I can sleep at night instead of wondering what is inside the mysterious blue house down the street.”

“Glad I could help, although it creaks at night. It’s kind of spooky.”

A gust of wind caught us both as we stepped out of the door.

“So does mine. You’ll get used to it. Ghosts and old wood and all that.”

“You believe in ghosts?” He dropped the skateboard and shoved it toward me with his foot. I hopped on, carefully.

“Sure. Why not? It’s probably why I don’t watch horror movies. Do you?”

“Watch horror movies?” he asked.

“No…believe in ghosts?”

He paused for a moment, measuring me. “Yes.”

“Well, if you need any help chasing them away, let me know,” I teased.

He grinned. “I’m fine, thanks.”

I wobbled on the board and then pushed it along, falling off at least five times and starting over until I reached Hank’s driveway.

“Hold still,” he said, and I stood on the board. I kept my balance, my arms out and my feet seesawing back and forth. He put his hands in the curve of my back and a thrill of pleasure ran up my spine--right before it tickled horribly. I jumped off the board, laughing.

“I’m so sorry, I’m really ticklish.”

An evil smile crossed his face. “Really?”

“Yes. I mean it,” I said backing away, my hands over the place where he had touched me.

“You’re a mess. I can’t even push you home.”

I agreed but kept a few steps away from him, just in case. We stopped at my sidewalk.

“Thanks again for showing me your house,” I said.

“You’re welcome. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He rolled the skateboard under his foot, back and forth for a moment.

“See you tomorrow,” I said. I didn’t want him to go but it was getting cold.

He pushed off towards home, and I caught a glimpse of a smile.

Once inside my house, I closed the door and stood still for a second, amazed at my own luck. He was so good looking and charming and sweet, and he was two houses away. I would see him every day. It didn’t seem possible that life would go so right. I shook off the daydreamy feelings and followed the savory scent coming from the kitchen.

My dad was standinat the stove, frying some pork chops and stirring a pot of green beans with the other hand. He’s built like a football player with broad shoulders and big arms, strong and fairly manly in my opinion. His jaw jutted out as he concentrated.

“Hi, Dad.”

He looked up from the pork chops and smiled. “Hi hon. Derek said you were visiting with a boy. Anyone I know?”

Dad was always on the alert for any boy news, presumably so he could frighten them away.

“Not unless you’ve just met the new people down the street.”

“Oh, right. Your mom told me about them. They’re finally moving in. I wonder what took them so long.”

“They didn’t say,” I replied, leaning over to smell the pork chops. I gave my best imitation of a spy, “And I didn’t ask.”

“There’s no shame in being nosy.”

Derek wandered in, inhaling so hard I thought he was going to suck up the kitchen table. “Oh, please tell me dinner is ready. I can’t take it anymore.”

“When your mom gets here,” Dad answered firmly. There was never any negotiating with my dad—he was as immovable as rock.

Fortunately, we heard the car drive up and Derek started setting the table. It’s the only time he ever does any work voluntarily—when food is involved. James came in the door first, a stumble of boy, soccer ball and a sports drink.

“I’m so hungry!”

My mom followed him, her purse on her shoulder and her sunglasses on top of her head, sighing as she stepped inside. “Please feed that child. He’s driving me crazy.”

Dad put the pork chops, still sizzling, on the table. I gathered up the green beans and salted them, putting them in a dish. Ice fell into glasses and silverware was thrown next to the plates and we all sat down like starving refugees.

Mom said the prayer, much to Derek’s agony, because she doesn’t rush through it like the rest of us. After we had all filled our plates my dad asked how soccer and football were going for the boys.

“I got a goal today,” James said.

Dad gave him a fist bump. “Good job.”

“I got a touchdown last Friday,” Derek offered, his mouth full.

Mom rolled her eyes at him. “Yes, honey, we know.”

“Just keeping the memory fresh,” he said.

“You’re so needy,” I said

His mouth turned in a nasty smile and I knew I was in trouble. “At least I’m not drooling over the new guy that moved in.”

I smiled sweetly and blinked my lashes. “He has twin sisters. Very pretty.”

That caught him off guard long enough for me to enjoy the moment before James said with disgust, “They’re like, kindergartners.”

Derek laughed, choking on his pork chop. He was probably thrilled that he could tease me about Ren. I wasn’t too alarmed. It was only a matter of time before he met some girl who made him into an easy target, if I cared enough to tease him back. But I might be more kind about it than he was. Maybe.

I called Katie about going to Ren’s house. She was of the opinion that he liked me, or he wouldn’t have come to see me. I wasn’t so sure. Kyle flirted with me all the time but I knew that was only for fun. Ren might be the same way.  Besides, I was the only girl he knew so far. And I still didn’t know if he had a girlfriend and I wasn’t going to ask. Katie said she would ask for me.

Mom reminded us all that it was getting late so I went upstairs.

I put on a t-shirt and some pajama pants and turned out the light. Lying under the covers, I thought about Ren, how sweet he was to his little sisters and nice to everyone else. In the darkness I closed my eyes, thinking that I should get to sleep, but then I slid off my bed and knelt down to say my prayers. I thought about Ren, but I didn’t mention him. It didn’t matter. I’m pretty sure He knew.

CHAPTER FIVE

Ren

             
Dad and I shoved the bookshelf against the wall. We could hear the girls giggling down the hall in the bathroom as they brushed their teeth before bed. The girls' bedroom looked cozy in the lamp light, their toys arranged  in baskets and bins around the room and their pink comforters pulled back and waiting for them.

             
I reached for the first box of books and opened it with the boxcutter. Dad held out his hand and I gave the cutter to him. We tried not to have more than one boxcutter out at a time so we didn't accidentally leave any lying around for the girls to get to. Watching out for them had become second nature to me. I was ten years old when they were born, so I kind of feel like I helped to raise them.

             
My sisters'
Yurei
had appeared to me the moment they were born, even before I saw them as babies. Jenny would be in college studying biochemical engineering. Jenny was in college for art and had no idea what she wanted to do. They were both pretty, and they had a strong bond with each other that I instantly envied. I still did, even though they were only five years old. Watching them grow up had made me wish I had a twin, a constant best friend. It made my peculiar loneliness even harder.

             
I picked up a handful of books and began stacking them on the shelf. I couldn't tell MacKenzie about her brother. Derek would suffer some kind of brain injury that would change him. He wouldn't be playing football much longer, I didn't think. I didn't know exactly when the event, whatever it was, would happen, but I felt like it was soon. She was so happy right now, and so unaware. Well, because she was supposed to be. I rearranged the books by size, my fingers lingering on the spines of the thick, childish books. Should I warn her? I knew I couldn't. I didn't even know what would happen, just that Derek would be different. His speech would be slower and he would have trouble finding words. I wasn't sure if he would be able to finish school. His
Yurei
had a strange innocence for a man his age.

             
My future wife's brother would be brain damaged. I shoved the books in a little harder than I meant to and Dad looked over at me. I ignored him and grabbed the next stack. I didn't want a future wife! I didn't want to get sucked into her life, but it was happening. Why was I so drawn to her? Would I have been attracted to her without having seen her
Yurei
? I would never know.

             
“One more box,” my dad said, giving me a small smile. He still wore his button-down shirt from work, the crisp, starched sleeves rolled up. He wasn't a big man; I was already taller. He had the Tanaka features, the high arched brows and the thin lips. At the moment his eyes were worried.

             
He seemed to know that I always had something else on my mind.

             
“That didn't take long,” I said, apologetic. I hated when they worried about me. There wasn't anything they could do to help.

             
“How is school?” he asked, his eyes searching my face. He had a strong analytical streak, which he sometimes used on me. Most people found his intelligence intimidating. They should. He had a way of picking apart problems and deciphering deception. His job was to turn around failing companies, and he did it by reading people and dissecting information. I knew I was a mystery to him, though. Mostly because what made me different was too far out of his experience. He couldn't even begin to know what made me tick.

             
“Good,” I answered truthfully. “The teachers are good and everyone is nice.”

             
“Make any friends?” He wasn't shy about digging into my life.

             
“Sure.”

             
He raised an eyebrow at me. “Who?”

             
Realizing he wouldn't be satisfied unless I threw something out there, I told him about Noah and a few others. I mentioned that I'd met the girl next door and she was in my Spanish class.

             
“They seem like a good family,” my dad said, more to himself than to me.

             
“Yeah, they're nice,” I agreed, putting the last book on the shelf.

             
He started breaking down the boxes. “I'm glad it seems to be working out,” he said, referring to the move, I guess.

             
“Yeah, but let's not do it again for awhile,” I said, half-serious.

             
He nodded ruefully. “I'll try.”

             
Back in my bedroom my cell phone said I had a new text message. I checked it. It was Noah. He was going to ask Katie to Homecoming and wanted to know if I wanted to go to with anyone. Ha. Yes and no. I thought about everyone in the group.  Noriko, Crystal and of course, MacKenzie. Crystal had already told us about BJ, the first guy in a long string of mistakes she would make, but I couldn't do anything about that. I could ask Noriko, but I knew that would hurt MacKenzie's feelings. She was already crushing on me, and as much as I fantasized about keeping my distance I didn't want to make her feel bad. It wasn't her fault she was in my destiny. Why not just go as a group? That would solve everything. I texted my idea to Noah and he said that would be a good  idea, although he still planned to take Katie.