it isn’t fair that her sneezing gives her away every year, so we’re trying to be accommodating. Not that it will make any difference—she can’t hold an aura longer than fifteen minutes at a time anymore, poor dear. The change hit her hard. So we’ll do the oil lamps surrounded by origami figures from nature—you’ll find the paper in your father’s study, only don’t use the orange. The orange is hideous when it’s backlit by the flames, and besides, it’s too Halloweeny—”
“Mother, slow down. I don’t do origami.”
“Of course you do, dear. You made me lovely origami gifts when you were a child—remember the swan? Or was that a goose? The neck was kind of in between, but whatever it was, it was gorgeous and I loved it, such a shame the dog ate it. Anyway, you made them all the time when your brothers were out playing football. It’s why I thought of using origami instead of flowers. We could go with silk flowers, of course, but that would be tacky, don’t you think? If you use flowers, they should be real flowers, not fake flowers, though I suppose, when you think about it, fake flowers are somehow symbolic of us, aren’t they? Wait—no, not really. I mean we are realistic fakes, not fakey fakes—”
Damn . “Mom—Mother! I’ve, um, forgotten how.”
“Don’t worry. I bought a book. Just follow the directions—it’ll all come back to you.”
Not likely. I’d never made an origami figure in my life. I could only hope the directions were clear and my fingers were more dexterous as James than they were as myself.
“Ciel? Is that you?” my aunt’s voice piped in from the kitchen.
“Of course not, Mo. It’s James. Why would Ciel be here?” Mom called back, then ran to answer the phone.
Auntie Mo made an entrance, emerald eyes flashing and auburn hair gleaming. She was named for Maureen O’Hara, and her resemblance to the actress—when the actress was in her prime, of course—was uncanny. I suspect she may fudge a little.
“Why indeed would Ciel be here?” She pierced me with a look. I swallowed hard.
Family rumor had it that Auntie Mo was visited by occasional flashes of the Sight. Billy has tried to reassure me that Mo herself was the one to start the rumors, but I’m not sure they don’t contain a grain of truth.
At last she smiled and held out her arms. “James, my favorite nephew!” She said the same thing to all my brothers. “Come here and give me a squeeze.”
She engulfed me in a warm embrace. I was used to Auntie Mo’s exuberance and normally would have returned her affection with equal enthusiasm. Frankly, I adore her, even if she intimidates the hell out of me. But James was more aloof, so I confined myself to a few light pats on her back.
“So you’re the poor bastard roped into helping us this year. You sure your sister isn’t here with you? I could have sworn … No, I’m being silly. None of you would be here if you didn’t have to be.” But still she held on to me as if she could peek beneath my aura with her fingers.
“Mo, come here.” Mom’s voice, thank God. “The caterer is at it again. Can you handle it while I call the liquor store?”
Mo reluctantly let me go. I headed straight for the attic and started hauling out chairs. After umpteen trips up and down the narrow stairs, I started folding paper. A hundred and ten paper cranes (okay, so they looked more like airplanes; wings are wings, right?) and sixteen paper cuts later, I faked an incoming call from the university and made my escape. Even Mom and Auntie Mo couldn’t argue with a command appearance before one of James’s professors. Everyone in the family was getting desperate for him to actually graduate with a degree in something, so his schoolwork superseded all else.
The cab dropped me at the building that housed James’s lab. I paid the driver and left without waiting for change, praying that James had come up with a solution. Cute as Molly was as an ape, I really
“Mother, slow down. I don’t do origami.”
“Of course you do, dear. You made me lovely origami gifts when you were a child—remember the swan? Or was that a goose? The neck was kind of in between, but whatever it was, it was gorgeous and I loved it, such a shame the dog ate it. Anyway, you made them all the time when your brothers were out playing football. It’s why I thought of using origami instead of flowers. We could go with silk flowers, of course, but that would be tacky, don’t you think? If you use flowers, they should be real flowers, not fake flowers, though I suppose, when you think about it, fake flowers are somehow symbolic of us, aren’t they? Wait—no, not really. I mean we are realistic fakes, not fakey fakes—”
Damn . “Mom—Mother! I’ve, um, forgotten how.”
“Don’t worry. I bought a book. Just follow the directions—it’ll all come back to you.”
Not likely. I’d never made an origami figure in my life. I could only hope the directions were clear and my fingers were more dexterous as James than they were as myself.
“Ciel? Is that you?” my aunt’s voice piped in from the kitchen.
“Of course not, Mo. It’s James. Why would Ciel be here?” Mom called back, then ran to answer the phone.
Auntie Mo made an entrance, emerald eyes flashing and auburn hair gleaming. She was named for Maureen O’Hara, and her resemblance to the actress—when the actress was in her prime, of course—was uncanny. I suspect she may fudge a little.
“Why indeed would Ciel be here?” She pierced me with a look. I swallowed hard.
Family rumor had it that Auntie Mo was visited by occasional flashes of the Sight. Billy has tried to reassure me that Mo herself was the one to start the rumors, but I’m not sure they don’t contain a grain of truth.
At last she smiled and held out her arms. “James, my favorite nephew!” She said the same thing to all my brothers. “Come here and give me a squeeze.”
She engulfed me in a warm embrace. I was used to Auntie Mo’s exuberance and normally would have returned her affection with equal enthusiasm. Frankly, I adore her, even if she intimidates the hell out of me. But James was more aloof, so I confined myself to a few light pats on her back.
“So you’re the poor bastard roped into helping us this year. You sure your sister isn’t here with you? I could have sworn … No, I’m being silly. None of you would be here if you didn’t have to be.” But still she held on to me as if she could peek beneath my aura with her fingers.
“Mo, come here.” Mom’s voice, thank God. “The caterer is at it again. Can you handle it while I call the liquor store?”
Mo reluctantly let me go. I headed straight for the attic and started hauling out chairs. After umpteen trips up and down the narrow stairs, I started folding paper. A hundred and ten paper cranes (okay, so they looked more like airplanes; wings are wings, right?) and sixteen paper cuts later, I faked an incoming call from the university and made my escape. Even Mom and Auntie Mo couldn’t argue with a command appearance before one of James’s professors. Everyone in the family was getting desperate for him to actually graduate with a degree in something, so his schoolwork superseded all else.
The cab dropped me at the building that housed James’s lab. I paid the driver and left without waiting for change, praying that James had come up with a solution. Cute as Molly was as an ape, I really
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