Chapter Eight

The Night that Ended Veda's Childhood

Salinger

Various people wonder why I chose Veda, after what she did on graduation night. They said I should have given up on her because she was incurably selfish. The problem was, I researched Veda before I chose her. I interviewed everyone who knew her: her cousins, her pupils, her teachers, and her relatives. Everyone had something unique to say about her. To me, graduation night seemed normal, so I had no interest in condemning her.

To contrast her foul reputation, I learned quite a few interesting things from her cousins before I announced my intentions toward her.

Fair Isle reported, “I know she seems snotty, but she's not. When I told her I wanted to get these piercings, she wouldn't let me go to a salon to get them done. She took me back to her house and did all of them herself. Not all on the same day, but every time I wanted a new one, she took care of it for me. Saved me a fortune and I've never once got an infection. I've also never gone shopping for new rings. I tell her what I want and she finds it or makes it for me. She doesn't even like piercings and she doesn't think they look good on me, but she always gets me exactly what I want.”

Clementine explained, “More than any of the other girls, Veda is completely aware that I am the queen of the pack. When I start talking, she always quiets down and listens. She even tells the other cousins to stuff it so she can hear what I have to say. She knows how to listen and follow directions when I give them. That's what I like about her. Plus, I've never had to beat her.”

When I first got to Edmonton, Pearl said a few things before she and Antony became a couple. “Honestly, I've never liked her. She is always hounding me to be different. She's worse than my mother and all my aunts combined. I'm supposed to choose a color and not wear stripes. I can't pick anything that pleases her. She doesn't understand how I feel. She has boys falling at her feet, especially Antony, and I don't think a guy has ever looked at me. I don't think choosing a color would make anyone notice me. She's seventeen, but she’s like an old hag who has already had her life so she doesn't understand what it's like to be at the beginning and to be uncertain.”

What Pearl said about her after Veda rejected Antony was different. “Honestly, I've always liked her. She has always encouraged me to be the best I could be. She's a much brighter influence than my mother and aunts. She told me I should choose a color and now that I have, so many wonderful things have fallen into place. It all started when Antony asked me to be his date for graduation, and it feels like we are falling in love, and we were always meant to be together. Veda's like a fairy godmother who was just waiting for the right moment to grant my wish. Now I get to go to the ball too!”

I did not point out the contradiction.

Intarsia’s account was different. “Veda and I are not close, but I think I’m her best friend. She does not make friends easily. She knows how to talk to people because she is so proper, but it isn't real. Like a dead person, she’s numb, because she doesn't feel anything for anybody. She’s relentless in her desire to remain aloof and distanced from everyone. It’s like she’s afraid to take part in real life. I wish I knew how to wake her up to how great real life is. I had hoped Antony would make better strides with her, but I think he was doomed to failure from the start because he looks so much like her. As much as I would like to help, I can't. She has to grow up herself.”

When I looked over the interviews, Fair Isle’s was the most intriguing. I didn't notice it until she mentioned Veda's involvement and then it was too obvious. None of Fair Isle's piercings were real. Veda had tricked her, and everyone who saw her, into believing they were real. I wasn’t sure why she cared. It probably had something to do with the goals she had for Fair Isle. One of them was to save her cousin from turning herself into a pincushion.

What Clementine said about her was interesting too. It meant that Veda wasn't a fool, which the other girls obviously were. She saw Clementine for who she truly was.

Veda would only meet with me twice a week, which I learned was exceedingly generous of her. She was a busy person. She had a million little projects on the go for a million different people. No wonder she was pleased with lunches and candlelit dinners because she was always doing things for other people and it was a rare occasion that someone did something for her.

On the night of the graduation ceremony, I rode in a limo with Intarsia to the school for the opening banquet. She had a table with her mother, Fair Isle, her mother, Clementine, Pearl, Antony, and his parents. We filled the table.

“Where's Veda?” I asked my red-lipped date. Veda was dead right about the red lipstick. If I hadn't been so enchanted with Veda, I would have chosen Intarsia solely for those red lips. She looked stunning. Her red hair fell in fragile curls down to her waist. Her green gown was a lighter color of green than what she normally wore and the lightness did her a favor. On top of all of that, she had the sweetest heart out of all the other girls. If there was an opening for 'The Good Witch of the South', I was certain she would have been an excellent candidate. One thing was certain, I would have to be sure not to burn that bridge if things didn't work out with Veda.

“Veda said she didn't want to come to the banquet,” Fair Isle snorted.

When we moved to the gym for the speeches and diplomas, I sat in the audience with the parents, Clementine, and Pearl. In the sea of black graduation gowns, I couldn't spot Veda. Where was she? When they called her name and she got up to accept her diploma, there was nothing to see. I couldn't even swear it was her who accepted the rolled-up paper. It was the same during the graduation march, where all the graduates got dressed up in their finery and paraded around the gym. She should have been there, but I didn't see her. Was this her magic or had she skipped?

After the babble that passed for speeches was over, there were photographs, snapshots, and selfies. I went to find the area where I was meant to congratulate her. She was nowhere to be seen.

“Hey, Antony! Have you seen Veda?”

His expression read, 'Who's Veda?' He was so caught up in Little Miss Pearl that he hardly remembered his other cousin existed.

After the pictures, there was a dance in a different gym down the hall. I told Intarsia I would be back for her. She was very busy getting pictures taken. I marched off to the dance. Lots of the other guys who were tired of being photographed were going. Would Veda have missed her own graduation just to get rid of me? I agreed with her that Intarsia was enticing, but that wasn't enough to change my mind and I was anxious to tell Veda nothing had changed how I felt.

I knocked open the door with my shoulder and entered the gym. It was already half full of graduates and their dates. I felt stupid going in alone. I should have waited for Intarsia. I turned to get her when something caught my eye. Surrounded by a tight knot of teenage boys in tuxedos was a girl in a white dress. I wouldn't normally have looked, but something triggered my memory at the sight of this girl's dress. Veda said her dress was like the stars shining during the day. That was what this girl looked like. I took two steps to get a closer look. Certainly, Veda would have worn black to her graduation. She wore black every other day.

The guys were packed too closely around her for me to see her. I wouldn’t have gotten a view if a few angry girls hadn't hauled their dates away bodily. With the space cleared, it was easy to see Veda standing in the midst of them.

She looked like a bride who had forgotten her veil. Sensational. Beauty everywhere. But why? Why didn't she throw on a black dress like she did every other day and let Pearl and Intarsia outshine her? Later, that was why everyone said she was cruel and selfish because her beauty left everything else behind her. I stared and tried to discern if she was using some form of glamor. I knew she used some in her hair every single day, and grad was no exception. It was there, but was there more? I couldn't tell, which bothered me. I could always tell.

Tearing my eyes from her, I met Intarsia and the rest of them at the door as they came in.

It took two minutes for the cousins to notice her and as soon as one of them did, they quickly formed a knot.

“How could she do this?” Fair Isle hissed.

“I don't know. Veda always took her color vow very seriously. I've never known her to break it,” Intarsia muttered.

“She did it to make the rest of us look bad,” Fair Isle persisted.

Antony was staring at her the way he had been staring at Pearl no less than a minute ago. Pearl stuck her chin in the air, hooked her arm around Antony, and led him firmly from the gym. Mystified, he didn't resist. Hopefully, Pearl knew a charm to undo the damage that had been done. Poor Pearl. The boy she liked was so shallow he could only think about appearances.

I felt shallow myself. As beautiful as Intarsia had seemed moments ago, the effect of her red lips had completely worn off.

What was Veda thinking? Even girls were swarming her. I could hear their shrieks of, “Where have you been hiding all these years?”

“I didn't even know you were pretty!”

“What's your secret? Did you have a last-minute makeover?”

Meanwhile, in the coven of witches, Clementine had started talking. “You boneheads! It's because she's never going to get married. She's wearing a white dress because it's her only chance to wear a white ball gown.”

“As if!” Fair Isle balked like she didn't believe what she was hearing.

Clementine bonked her on the head with the heel of her hand. “Think about it! How many occasions arise in a woman's life when she gets to wear a dress like that? Only her high school graduation and her wedding. Veda swears she is not getting married, ever, so this is her last chance.”

Fair Isle's face flattened with dismay before her eyebrows lifted and her skepticism returned. “That sounds like the biggest load of crap I have ever heard.”

“I'm not saying I believe it either. I'm saying that's what she said when I saw her in the bathroom after the march. She did this for Salinger's benefit, so he wouldn't forget during all this that he's hers.”

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Then all three girls stopped speaking and turned to me.

“Well, are you enchanted?” Fair Isle demanded.

I delayed answering by glancing at Veda across the floor.

“She's not dressed like that for me,” I answered, turning directly to Fair Isle. “This is her last hurrah before she joins the convent she's making for herself. She just wants to show the students that she's not as boring as she's always seemed. That's all.”

“And you are unaffected?” Fair Isle had the nerve to ask.

“She doesn't want me to be affected, which is why she's been careful to avoid me all night.”

“But are you?”

“She should have tried harder to avoid me,” I admitted, tasting a drop of the poison they felt. I swallowed and my mouth filled with saliva. I had never wanted anything more.

Clementine laughed. She clearly thought I was an idiot, while Intarsia was disappointed, and Fair Isle was angry.

The black-haired pixie put her hands angrily on her hips. “She gets everything. I think it's time we informed her of our decision.”

Intarsia grabbed her cousin’s bare shoulder. “Stop it. There are five of us. We might get another member to make a coven of six. We shouldn't be too hasty. Remember what happened to June?”

“No. Now is the perfect time.” Fair Isle shook off Intarsia’s hand. “Have you had any brainy ideas as to where we could get that sixth member? All the people we interview want a third person. They're twins and searching for one more member so they can have three. It's time she knew.”

Clementine rolled her eyes and mouthed, “This is so stupid.”

Fair Isle plowed her way across the dance floor.

Arriving at Veda’s side, she delivered her devastating news with her serpent’s tongue. Veda nodded and went straight back to flirting with her admirers like what Fair Isle said meant nothing to her.

It was obvious. She was never planning on joining their coven in the first place.

Needless to say, her bored response made Fair Isle crazy. She came back and deliberately led Clementine and Intarsia away from me, so I wouldn’t see her toxic meltdown. I wished it wasn't so obvious that I was the piece of meat they were fighting over.

Isolated, I stood in the middle of the dance floor feeling like an idiot. I approached the only person I knew, Veda.

I came up behind her. “Outdone yourself with the glamour tonight, didn't you?”

She glared at me, and I felt lucky, lucky to have her notice me enough to glare at me. “Actually, I always look like this. I dumb down my beauty constantly. I just let it out for once. It doesn't mean I like you.”

“Of course, it doesn't.” I shooed away her admirers with grouchy looks too foul for them to ignore.

“Are you planning to dress like that all the time then?”

“No. Did you see Emi? She's still so witch-like even though she abandoned the coven. No matter what happens, I'm not giving up basic witch behavior. This dress is only because--”

“You're never getting married, so if you didn't wear a white dress tonight, you'd lose your only chance,” I supplied.

“Exactly. Would you get me something to drink?”

“No. Like you would ever drink something I gave you. You'd be too paranoid I’d slip something into your drink.”

Veda smiled. It was world-stopping. Then she whispered in my ear, “Too true. I’d be suspicious because I slip things into people's drinks all the time.”

“Do you really? Like what?”

“Like a sleeping drought into a girl's pop at a sleepover party when I think she's annoying. Sometimes I mix in medicine if she's got a problem she won't get help for.”

“Have you ever slipped me anything?”

“Of course not. You need your eyes wide open so you can see why I am a terrible choice for you.”

“Your little outfit tonight isn't helping. Antony had to be escorted from the room.”

“Don't worry about that,” Veda said confidently. “I told Pearl how to deal with problems like this efficiently. If she listened, she’ll correct the problem swiftly.”

“What did you tell her to do?”

“Antony wants to be a successful lover. He’s going to like her for her easiness. I'm not easy. I don't make things easy. He'll do something nice for her and it actually will sweep her off her feet. He’ll feel like Adonis. She just needs to capitalize on that feeling and make it last.”

I gave her a look.

“What?” she asked. “I don’t get swept off my feet.”

I gave it to her again. “I don't believe it. All that means is that no guy has ever gone about it in the right way. Has anyone ever written a spell book just for you before?”

“I said I would read it and consider you,” she said slowly like she was extremely interested but did not wish to appear so at all costs.

“Don’t use your beautiful mouth to lie to me. You are planning to read my book and discard me.”

She smiled—all sparks and sparkles. “Doesn’t that make you want to forget about me? I mean, you shouldn’t like a girl who would use you so obviously.”

I shrugged my shoulders. “Go ahead and use me.”

In the scattered light of the dance, her cheeks went flush with heat. “I wish you would get back to Intarsia and forget all about me. What do you think of her lipstick?”

“You're right. It is a great improvement. Though, I think you shot yourself in the foot.”

“How so?”

“You look so charming tonight. How am I supposed to give Intarsia all my attention when you deliberately outdid her. That's why they're all so angry.”

She looked at me like she was dealing with an unpleasant customer at a service desk. “Just because I look better doesn't mean I am better. Remember how I said Pearl was easy-going? That's her power—flexibility. Well, Intarsia is nice. She is a kind witch. If I were choosing your wife for you, I'd choose her, and you would never be sorry.”

“I know.”

She stamped a white-slippered foot. “Then what are you waiting for?”

“At the moment, Fair Isle is hosting a pow-wow over what a brat you are. I'm fanning the flames standing next to you, but I don’t know anyone else here. I'll stay here if you don't mind.”

“I’m telling you to leave me, not just here on the dancefloor, but in every other way. I’m telling you to fall in love with her instead of me.”

I changed the subject. “Do you want a drink?”

“No. I'll spill on my dress.”

“Didn't you just ask for one? What makes you so sure you'll spill?”

“I always spill. I'm clumsy.”

I gawked. “I don't think I've ever met any person less clumsy than you. Don't you teach dancing?”

“A very hard-won ability, I assure you, and if another instructor is in the room while I'm teaching they practically have a fit. I have poor posture, lousy footwork, and my motions are too large. I am not a very good dancer, but the people I tutor don't care. They're boys. They just need someone there to help them who doesn't make them feel like a loser. I'm very good at that. They request me.”

I looked at the curve of her silhouette from behind. “I bet they do.”

She rolled her eyes.

“What if I wanted to take dancing lessons from you?”

“I don't give lessons. I supplement courses already being taken. Get it? I help the boys learn specific dances.”

“I get it,” I said. “What about now? Will you dance with me now?”

“Do you know how to dance, or are we just going to stand in one spot with both my hands on your shoulders and both your hands on my hips?”

I shrugged. “Yeah, something like that.”

“Not tonight. Your date needs attention.”

Antony and Pearl had joined the group and Intarsia looked embarrassed. I would have gone to her immediately, but that meant leaving Veda alone. I had scared off her crowd of admirers. I didn't know if I could leave her.

“Get going,” she said calmly. “I won't be alone.”

“Do you have someone in mind?” I asked, wondering if she'd fall in love with someone else if I left her alone. A woman was vulnerable to that sort of thing when she put too much effort into being beautiful.

She flicked me between the eyebrows. “No. Get going.”

Reluctantly, I turned away from her. Then I remembered Fair Isle was having a party at her house after the dance. Was Veda still going to go after Fair Isle was so unfriendly toward her? I turned around to ask her, but in the three seconds, since I'd turned my back, another guy had taken my place and asked her to dance. Apparently, he’d had better dance lessons, because she had taken his hand and was swirling across the floor.

⚘⚘⚘

I was living in the attic of Fair Isle's house, which was a house enchanted from six directions. It wasn’t Fair Isle’s magic that made my attic alluring. It was her mother, Willow, who worked the magic. The attic was designed like a tiny house, meaning there was a loft in the room with one bed above and another one below. I understood it was common for students to stay as boarders from time to time and the space needed to satisfy their notions of decent living accommodations.

I chose to sleep in the loft as there was a beautiful triangular window that looked out over the school grounds. If I looked far out that window, I could see Veda’s house.

One of the walls of my room was covered in a wallpaper designed to look like the forest, while the adjacent wall was covered in wood panels to make the wall look like a wood cabin, which, of course, the house wasn’t. A different window pointed toward Edmonton’s skyscrapers. My bed had a black metal frame that extended high over the bed. Each of the metal poles was wrapped in fake foliage and fairy lights. The inside was a cozy wilderness and the outside was a cold metal city.

The other end of the room was divided in half. One side was an extremely limited kitchen with a tiny rose gold fridge. The other side was the bathroom. A miniature room with half a bathtub. The mirror over the sink was very grand and I wondered if I spoke to it if it would spring to life and tell me how attractive I was. Not that I needed much flattery. I already thought very well of myself.

When the dance was over, we went back to Fair Isle's for her backyard party, I went upstairs to change. Who wanted to stay in a tux all night?

In my loft, I could see Veda's house across the green. Someone hadn’t closed the drapes as carefully as they normally did. Across the way, I saw Veda's starlight dress shimmer in the kitchen.

When I saw her, I got this brainy idea to go over and escort her over to Fair Isle's. It seemed like the gentlemanly thing to do, so I didn't change but slipped out the front door unnoticed. With my hands in my pockets, I walked directly toward the window that showed that enticing view of Veda.

I could see her clearly. June was beside her. The older witch gave Veda an envelope. Veda looked delighted, but June didn't. June's concern was evident across the grass. Veda opened the envelope, took out the paper within, and read it. She shook her head like she couldn't believe what she was reading. It was not good news. She read it again and asked June for clarification. June explained. Veda dropped the paper on the table like it was poison and backed away from it.

I quickened my pace.

The last sight I had of her before she passed from view was the bustle of her skirt bobbing as she ran down the hall. June blocked my view as she took off after her with a lady-like stride.

I bounded up the back steps and knocked on the door twice. No one answered. I tried the knob and let myself in. The paper was left in plain sight on the kitchen table. I glanced over it. The exact meaning of the document took a minute to unravel. My first thought was that it was good news, so why was Veda upset?

There were no sounds from her bedroom down the hall. I expected Veda to come out, dressed in something more comfortable, because even if the cousins were mad at her, she was expected at the bonfire. Minutes passed and no one emerged from the room. The house was silent, not even a clock ticked and I suddenly felt very out of place. I let myself out the way I came.

Walking back across the grass in the late spring evening I thought about what the paper said. Veda was to be the sole owner of the house she was living in. Her mother was turning the title over to her on her eighteenth birthday, which was only three days away. The document explained how much money was left on the mortgage and advised Veda to sell the house, take the earnings, and live the way she wanted to. Her mother expressed some wish for her to attend university.

I froze in my place when I realized what the news meant. Veda’s mother was not coming back and she was on her own.