Fallen (6 page)

Felix must have sensed the direction my thoughts were taking because he swayed across the kitchen
toward
me and
patted my
shoulder. “Don’t you worry,
”
he said
,
in an attempt to be comforting
,
as he
guided me back to the kitchen table, pulling out the chair and pushing me down
into
it
. “
We have fabulous furniture…and w
ith the exception of Rufus’s
odd
feet stench and Ezra’s
predilection
for coffee
all day long
, we’re a good lot to live with.”

I caught a glance at
Rufus
, who
flicked
a
piece of bacon
at Felix
which hit him square in the nose and caused an offended gasp in return.

I could just barely see the side of
Rufus’s
cheek turn up
,
and I figured
he was satisfied with
the reaction he’d
gotten
.

“Well, I’ve asked you to take care of it in the past and you refuse,” Felix replied,
his pride
wounded
more than his nose
.

Rufus pick
ed up another piece of bacon, threatening,
and Felix immediately
turned away, busying himself
.
He placed
a container of organic soy butter and bottle of sugar-free organic syrup next to my plate. I had to
fight
not to make a face at them. “Eat up now. It’s getting cold.”

Rufus looked over his shoulder with a cautionary
expression
, shaking his head in warning.

“You know, Felix, I’d guess that Maggie is more of a coffee drinker too,” said Ezra,
pulling
a mug
from the now fully stocked cabinet. She poured the
steaming co
ffee
and
s
lid it
in front of me with a wink
;
I gave her a thankful smile
for the
excuse
. “When it comes t
o food, Felix likes to suggest-”

“Monitor,” muttered Rufus at the stove.

“Suggest we eat in a healthy way. You’ll get used to it.”

“We must treat our vessels like a temple,” said Felix between chews of his own
cottage cheese
pancakes
.
By his
imperial
tone,
I guessed that
he’d recited this
phrase
many times before.

Unable to determine an appropriate response
, I took a
sip of coffee
and
changed the subject.
“I didn’t know you all knew each other.”

The three of them looked at me with surprise
so I explained
.
“
Aunt Teresa
did a photography book on mystics a while back so we traveled the psychic circuit for a while.
I saw Ezra reading tarot cards in
Phoenix
, Felix doing palm reading in
San Francisco
, and Rufus…I saw
you in
Austin
doing caricatures
.”

Felix placed a hand to his chest and sighed, his teeth biting his lower lip as if he were about to cry. “She remembers…”

“’Course she does,” replied Rufus. “’S not like we’re easily forgotten.”

His statement and the uniqueness of each of them, in physical appearance and in mannerisms,
were
ironic. On the psychic rounds, you meet all kinds of people with oddities, which they use to make a quick buck. It’s so prominent that once you’ve been to
enough
of
the tourist spots that allow them
to congregate you are no longer amazed at what you see.

Still, the three currently in the kitchen with me – my new roommates
–
had definitely stood out. They were undeniably their own person
s
, unimpressed and untainted by other’
s opinions of them
.

Ezra turned to address me. “
I’m no longer a tarot card reader. I’ve changed careers and now work with under-privileged children. And there is one
requirement I have of all those I watch over
.”

“Okay…” I replied, hesitant. There was an insinuating tone to her words. She was leading up to something.

“
It’s
one request
. Just one
,”
she added cautiously
, apparently already knowing I wouldn’t like it
.

“Uh huh…” I muttered, coolly.

“
Aunt
Teresa
and I selected a private school
for you.”

She was right.
I didn’t like
it
.

“
No…Absolutely not
.
” I shook my head.

She was again looking at me with an empathetic but resolute stare. “It’s the only
request
I’ll make
,
Maggie
.
We both felt this was a school you would enjoy and it’ll secure you a spot at any college you pursue.
”

“Ezra,
I endured a
private
school once. It was
full of snobs and authoritarian dictators. No…” I added determinedly. “I won’t go.”

“
Teresa
warned me that you would disagree.”
She paused
,
assess
ing
my expression, w
hich I was certain reflected
disgruntled agreement
.
“
You might be surprised.
Indulge me
, Maggie
.
It’s only one more year
until you graduate
.
”

I looked at Rufus, standing
still
at the stove
with his curious focus on me
, and to Felix, where he
anxiously
tapped
his right foot
against
the ground at a surprisingly rapid pace
, and then back to Ezra
,
waiting patiently for my answer
.

When I made a promise, I kept it. So, I took a few minutes to answer.
I was already agreeing to live in one place for an exhaustingly full year. To do it surrounded by snobs was downright intolerable. Still, I realized
that
– in her mind -
what Ezra was asking
was
in my best interest. I appreciated
it
,
but
there was one thing I needed to make very clear to her…

“
Any other demands
and you’ll find me gone
.”

She nodded
,
understanding the insinuation I made
, without any noticeable flinch
.
“
Let’s work at avoiding that
,” s
he
replied, not
appearing
to be
the least bit concerned
.

Realizing
I’d had enough
of this conversation
,
I
stood
and left the kitchen
without bothering with another word
.

“
We’re glad
you agreed
, Mags,
”
Felix called out gleefully
.

That last
word
made me
stumble
and for a second the kitchen doorframe
came threateningly close to my forehead
.

He’d used
a shortened version of my name –
a nickname.
I’d never had a nickname before. Although my full name was Magdalene no one ever called me by
it
. In fact, no one cal
led me anything but Maggie and that was just fine with me
. Nicknames meant people were getting close to you, becoming friends. I’d avoided friends for the same reason I’d avoided roommates. The closer
they came to me
, the more potential there was for
them
to be dragged
into
the problems I caused.

I went upstairs to sho
wer as
the name he’d used
swam
through my head. In about fifteen minutes I’d decided
that
I liked it and that I would even respond if he used it again. This was a big breakthrough for me –
the one
who kept everyone at arm’s length.

When I stuck my head through the kitchen’s back door to say goodbye, Felix beamed at me
and said it again
. “See you there, Mags.”

I flinched at the name, still unfamiliar with it, but quickly recovered.
“Where?”
I asked.

“
Jackson
Square
,
” he replied, chuckling at me.