Trouble's Brewing (Stirring Up Trouble) (22 page)

“Sorry,” I said. “What news?”

I knew he was excited, but I couldn’t feel his excitement or generate any of my own.

“I heard from the Council about my multiplying charm. They want me to spend a week this summer studying in England! They started a new program to encourage more charms research. I get to go. Zoe, they want me!”

“Wow. That’s amazing. I’m happy for you.” I would be happy if I could feel anything. Finn’s doubt and the revelation about my family’s brush with insanity had left me numb.

Milo didn’t talk long. He’d probably picked up on my lack of enthusiasm. I hoped he’d forgive me, but I couldn’t do any better right now.

Mom made one of my favorite dinners, a chicken and vegetable casserole.

“Comfort food,” she said.

“Thanks, Mom.”

“Did you call Grandma?”

“Yes,” Mom said. “I called but I didn’t tell her.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t think she has any idea. I don’t want to break that kind of news over the phone.”

“How could she not know?”

“How could we not know?”

“Good point.”

When Finn and I finished on Saturday, we found my mother scowling down at the fancy invitation in her hand.

“Is that for your network Christmas party?” I asked. “I thought you liked going to those.”

Mom sighed. “Not this year. Mack’s replacement has been pretty obnoxious lately, and I’m not excited to spend four straight hours subjected to his attention.”

“That big muscly guy? I thought he was young.”

“He’s in his late twenties, but the steroids seem to have shrunk his brain and his manners.”

“When is the event?” Finn asked.

Mom looked up from the invitation with hope in her eyes. “Saturday, December nineteenth.”

“Oh dear,” Finn said. “I’m afraid I’m attending a chemistry symposium that week. I’ll be traveling back on the twentieth.”

Mom’s smile wavered. “I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

“We could find someone else to accompany you,” Finn suggested. “If that would make you more comfortable.”

“It would, but I have thought about possibilities and come up empty.”

“Perhaps you could find a way to meet more people,” I said. “Maybe there is some kind of site for that on the internet.”

“Don’t get me started, Zoe,” Mom said. “It won’t go well for you.”

I tried to gauge her breaking point by examining the grip on the invite and the set of her jaw. Yeah. I shouldn’t push her.

“I can cut my trip short,” Finn said. “If you think my attendance would be of help.”

“No, Martin,” Mom said, “I don’t want you to do that. It isn’t necessary.”

Poor Mom, I thought to myself. Her best option for a date to the party was Finn, and honestly, she would draw some unwanted attention by taking somebody that young-looking with her.

Something’s up with your dad
, Jake texted.

What do you mean?

Acting weird. Can’t talk now. Call you soon
.

Well that was not helpful. Now I couldn’t think about anything but my dad and what “acting weird” might mean.

I was starting on problem seventeen, halfway through my algebra II homework, moving at a fraction of my usual pace, distracted, when Jake finally called.

“Finally! I was going nuts. What’s going on?”

“I’m not sure about this, Zoe. I have my suspicions. I think your father may be getting ready to propose to my mother.”

My dinner came up into my throat. Oh my God! “No! You have to be wrong.”

“I hope so, but it isn’t looking good.”

“Tell me,” I said and groaned. “What’s happening?”

“He’s been spending a lot of time talking about families and about having him around. It was subtle at first, but lately he’s been more direct. He’s always trying to ‘feel me out’ about him and Mom.”

I took a deep breath. “That doesn’t sound too bad. I mean he is living there, right?”

“He’s been here for a while, but I think he let his apartment go.”

Uh oh. That was serious. Dad actually lived there with Sheree and Jake.

“There’s, um, more.”

I squeezed my eyes shut for a few seconds, hiding in the darkness, before opening them and saying, “Tell me.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes,” I snapped. “Tear off the Band-Aid already.”

“I saw your dad combing through my mother’s jewelry box.”

I blinked. “Like stealing her jewelry?”

“More like looking at her rings and trying them on his pinky to figure out what size she wears.”

“Maybe he wanted to steal them.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Maybe he’s gay,” I suggested, grasping at straws.

“I don’t think so.”

“So does a ring always mean a marriage proposal?” I asked.

“As far as I know.”

I couldn’t think of a single movie or television show where a ring from a man meant anything else. “This is a nightmare! We’ll be—”

“Stepbrother and stepsister.”

“Brother and sister!” I said.

“Not really though. Just steps.”

“Does it really matter?” I demanded. “For all practical purposes we’ll be siblings. Siblings who are dating each other.”

“Zoe, it’s not that bad.”

“And it means that this is going to last a lot longer than I thought. We’ve already put up with this for months, but now we’re looking at years.”

“Marriage is supposed to mean forever.”

“You aren’t helping, Jake.”

“Maybe he’s just toying with the idea of proposing. He probably isn’t planning to ask her any time soon.”

“He proposed to my mother after six weeks.”

“Yikes. I didn’t realize they got married that fast.”

“They didn’t. She said ‘no’ the first four times.”

“Oh,” he said, hope creeping into his voice. “Maybe she’ll say no. I didn’t think about that.”

“Maybe we should give her some reasons to say no.”

“I don’t think so, Zoe. I’m not going to mess with my mother’s life like that. If she wants John, then I’m not going to interfere.”

Goody two shoes. The truth was that I didn’t want Sheree getting hurt either. “You’re right. Besides, I need to focus on my mom.”

“Is she still mad about the website?”

“No, but that’s not the problem. She isn’t using the website, and she isn’t even trying to meet anybody.” I had checked her browser history to see if she’d ever looked into those four guys. “If Dad’s getting married, I want her to at least have a date. I don’t want her alone and lonely when she finds out about this.”

“You tried. She doesn’t want to date.”

She didn’t. It was so annoying. I had to change her situation before Dad proposed. She needed a date to that party anyway. Why not give it another shot? I had options that Jake didn’t know about. I had potions, and I could handle the repercussions if it meant helping my mother. “Maybe she does want to date. Maybe she just doesn’t want to admit it.”

“I don’t know, sis,” he said.

“Not funny!”

“Yeah,” Jake said. “I realized that as soon as I said it.”

“Don’t ever say that again.”

“I won’t.”

“Promise.”

“I promise I will never call you my sister again.”

“Unless you never want to kiss me again.”

“I promise.” I could hear the grin in his voice as he said, “I definitely want to kiss you again.”

A warmth started in my chest and rose to my lips, chasing away the cold that had consumed me for the last two days. “Good.”

I couldn’t sleep. Instead, I kept picturing my dad, down on one knee, proposing to Sheree. I saw my mother trying to pretend it didn’t bother her. I thought of the years of family photographs with me, Dad, Sheree, and Jake. Dating Jake while my dad dated his mother was a bit odd. Dating Jake when he was my stepbrother was way into the creepy-weird zone. I didn’t want my love-life anywhere near that zone.

If I couldn’t help my mother find someone special in the conventional way, I would have to search for other options. I knew the punishment for interfering in Dad and Sheree’s relationship would be hefty. And Jake didn’t want me to. I wouldn’t have minded zapping Dad and Sheree with a little magic potion to make them forget this whole dating thing. If I were going to do that, I should have done it months ago. I could try bargaining for a time travel spell, but I didn’t want to risk changing the way things had worked out with me and Jake.

What if Jake and I didn’t get together? I wouldn’t have had the dance, the days at school when he held my hand, the kisses that made my heart pitter-patter just thinking about them.

So instead of brewing a potion to keep Dad and Sheree apart, I needed to concentrate on brewing one to help my mother. I knew she’d find a good guy to date if she had a chance to meet some people. If she wasn’t going to make an effort to find those people, then they were going to have to find her.

I got up Sunday morning and hit the research hard. I had to find something to help my mother. I didn’t want a love potion because I didn’t want to attract any particular man. I wanted something that would give my mother some options.

Three hours later, I had a plan. I could brew a potion, and since Jake planned to go out of town, I’d have five days to recover.

I dialed Milo. “Can you talk?”

“Sure,” he said. “What’s up?”

“Dad might be proposing and Mom won’t cooperate, and she needs a date! I have to do something, so I’m thinking about a pheromone potion.”

“Wow,” Milo said. “A lot is going on. Why do you think he’s proposing?”

I quickly brought him up to date on my father and on my mother’s dateless party situation. “You do see how badly she’ll take it if Dad gets married and she’s all alone.”

“Poor Annie,” Milo said.

“Exactly. You do understand. So what do you think? A pheromone potion should work, right?”

“I guess, but Zoe, are you sure you’re ready for the punishment? After the frogs and the love potion, I’m not sure the Council is going to put up with another problem. What if they send you to Greenland? What if they take your powers?”

“I’ll think about it some more, Milo. I promise. I’m not taking this lightly. I want to get my plan together, and then I’ll decide whether or not to use it.”

“Sounds like a terrible idea.”

“But the pheromones should work, right?”

“Pheromones like in insects?”

“And animals and reptiles. They are chemical messages that evoke a response in others. I’ll brew one for my mother that will attract men. They’ll start noticing her and maybe asking her out.”

“Will it target every man in the room? What if they are married?”

“Good point. I’ll make sure it’s weak enough that men can choose to resist.”

“Can you do that? Can you brew it to exactly the right strength?”

I had no idea. “Sure I can.”

“I can always tell when you’re lying.”

“Probably I can.”

“Do you have a pheromone potion?”

“I found one for rats, and I think I can adapt it.”

“Why would anybody want to attract rats?”

“I know! Actually, it was rather clever. They would spray the potion on one rat and take it out of the city. The others would follow, and the city would be rat-free.”

“Then they used it to lead rats to their death.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

“And you think using it on your mother is a good idea?”

“The potion should work for what I need.”

“Your mother is not going to like this.”

“Maybe I’ll go live with my father.”

Milo laughed. “Right. You would never do that, and even if you wanted to, Annie and John aren’t going to let you live in a house with your boyfriend.”

“Don’t you feel the slightest bit sorry for me, Milo? My life is completely nuts.”

Milo admitted, “Your life is not exactly normal, is it?”

“When are you going to Darlene’s again?”

With a snort, he said, “Changing the subject?”

“Not exactly. I need a strand of hair from a man. I don’t want to use anybody Mom knows because it might impact the potion.”

“Can’t you snag some from a teacher or somebody there?”

“I thought it would be pretty easy if you are going to Darlene’s. You could grab a piece out of her dad’s comb or from his pillow.”

“I don’t know, Zoe,” he said.

“Please?”

“I’ll come up with a reason to stop by,” he said. “It won’t be for a day or two though.”

“No problem. Drop it in the mail when you get it.”

“You’re making me an accomplice.”

“Thanks, Milo.”

Now for another hurdle. I had to tell Anya the bad news about the weekend before Christmas. I wasn’t going to let her horn in on my first Christmas with Jake.

I wanted to text her so she couldn’t yell at me or try to get me to change my mind. I didn’t want to hear her whine, or threaten, or blackmail me. I couldn’t dodge her for the next ten days though, so I had to do the right thing. I had to quit being a coward and stand up to my demanding friend. I had to call her on the phone and deliver the bad news.

I went into my room and dialed her number.

“Awesome Anya here,” she said.

That was a new one. “Hey,” I said. “I need to tell you something.” I had to get this out as fast as possible before I got distracted.

“O-kay,” she said. “What gives?”

“You can’t stay with me next weekend. I’m sorry because I know you were counting on it, but you can’t now. Things have changed. You’ll have to find someone else to stay with.”

“What? What? Zoe! What are you talking about?”

“You’ll find somewhere to stay, Anya. I’m sure you will. There are tons of people for you to call.”

“Zoe! You can’t just let me down. Why? What’s going on? Are you okay?”

“I’m sorry! I just found out. Apparently Jake and Sheree have to go out of town on Sunday, and me and Dad are celebrating Christmas with them on Saturday night.”

“Is that all? Don’t be silly, Zoe. I can still stay with you. I don’t mind hanging out with Jake. My party is in the afternoon. I won’t miss it.”

“No, Anya. You don’t understand. You can’t come. You aren’t invited because it’s a family thing.”

Anya snorted. “Don’t be ridiculous, Zoe. You aren’t actually crazy enough to think you and Jake and Sheree and your freak father are a family now!”