Jane Goes Batty

“Can?” Jane asked.

“Bathroom,” Ant explained.

“Of course,” said Jane. “It’s down the hall, on the right.”

Ant took another handful of chips and walked away. Jane looked at Lucy. “Remind me not to eat anything he’s had his hands near,” she said.

The ding-dong of the doorbell broke through the sounds of the party. Jane left Lucy in the kitchen and went to see who had arrived. She was pleased to discover that it was Ben Cohen and his daughter standing on her doorstep.

“I’m afraid it’s all going to be a bit casual tonight,” Jane said as she welcomed them inside. “I hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all,” said Ben. “The more the merrier.”

“You must be Sarah,” Jane said, extending her hand to the little girl.

“And you must be Jane,” the girl replied, taking Jane’s hand and shaking it firmly.

“You mean Ms. Fairfax,” Ben said, correcting his daughter.

“Why?” asked Sarah. “She didn’t call me Ms. Cohen.”

Ben looked at Jane and shook his head, as if he couldn’t believe his child’s impertinence.

Jane laughed. “It’s all right,” she said. “As long as you don’t mind me calling you Sarah.”

Sarah grinned, revealing a neat row of teeth with a single gap where one of her incisors had fallen out. “I don’t mind,” she said.

“Wonderful,” said Jane. “Now why don’t we go into the kitchen and see about getting you something to eat. I hope you like hamburgers.”

“I love them,” Sarah told her. “Is there corn on the cob too?”

“There just might be,” said Jane, winking. “And apple pie.”

As Sarah darted ahead, Ben took Jane’s arm and stopped her. “Are Walter and his mother here yet?” he asked. “I can’t wait to see what Miriam is like.”

“I’m afraid you won’t get the chance,” Jane told him. “They aren’t able to make it.” She felt a little guilty telling the rabbi an untruth, but she wasn’t in the mood to discuss her and Walter’s relationship. She would tell him later what was really going on. Once I figure it out myself, she thought glumly.

Ben smiled kindly. “Another time, then.”

He knows something is up, Jane realized as Ben continued on into the kitchen. She was amazed at the man’s ability to pick up on the feelings of others.

In the kitchen Sarah was talking to Lucy, with whom she had apparently already made friends.

“Daddy, there are movie stars out there,” Sarah exclaimed, pointing out the window.

“Is that right?” said Ben. He looked at Lucy. “I’m afraid I’m not really up on my movie stars.”

“You’re not missing anything,” said Lucy. “By the way, I’m Lucy Sebring.”

“Ben Cohen,” said Ben.

“Ben’s the rabbi I’ve been meeting with,” Jane reminded Lucy. To Ben she said, “Lucy is the manager of my bookstore. More important, she’s my best friend.”

“An enviable position to have, I’m sure,” said Ben.

“It has its moments,” Lucy joked. “Would you like something to drink? We have soda, wine, beer—pretty much everything.”

“A beer would be great,” said Ben. “Thanks.”

“And how about you?” Lucy asked Sarah.

“Ginger ale,” she answered immediately. “Please,” she added when she noticed her father watching her.

“One beer and one ginger ale,” said Lucy. She opened the refrigerator and handed a bottle to Ben and a can to Sarah.

“Wow. Great service you have around here,” Ben said to Jane.

Lucy laughed and tucked a stray length of hair behind her ear. Ben leaned against the counter and popped the cap from his beer. “So, you manage a bookstore. Who are some of your favorite authors?”

Jane, who was opening another bag of chips, suddenly felt a tingling down her spine. She looked around, half expecting to see another vampire standing there. But only Lucy, Ben, and Sarah were in the room. Sarah was sitting on the floor playing with Jasper, who was busily snuffling about looking for any dropped food that might be lying around. Then Jane’s gaze moved to Ben and Lucy.

Around both of them there was a slight rippling in the air, barely noticeable. Tiny sparks, infinitesimal and glittering like diamonds, swirled and spun. Jane’s skin tingled with millions of electric pinpricks. For a moment she had no idea what was happening. Then it hit her.

They’re attracted to each other, Jane realized. But how was that possible? They’d just met. Surely she was imagining things.

“No, you’re not.”

Byron’s voice startled her. She looked at him. “I’m not what?” she asked.

“You’re not wrong,” Byron whispered. “They’re falling in love. Well, they’re interested, at any rate. But it’s looking pretty sparkly.”

“How do you know what I’m thinking?” asked Jane, annoyed.

“Relax,” Byron said, smiling mischievously. “I’m not reading your mind. Although I can if I try very hard. I just saw the expression on your face, saw the energy field around those two, and made a good guess.”

“Energy field,” said Jane. “Is that what that is?”

Byron nodded. “Your powers must be getting stronger if you can see it. Congratulations.”

He picked up a bottle of red wine, poured himself a glass, and started to leave. Jane grabbed his elbow.

“Wait a minute,” she said, dragging him away from the kitchen. “You mean I can see when people are falling in love?”

“Falling in love, really angry, in despair,” said Byron. “Overcome by lust,” he added, taking a deep drink from his glass and winking at her.

“What a lot of bother,” Jane remarked. “I’m not at all sure I want to be able to do that.”

“Oh, you don’t have to,” said Byron. “You can learn to turn it off. But that will mean more practice. Until then, don’t be surprised if you see this sort of thing now and again.”

Jane sighed deeply. “Just when I think I have one thing mastered, another rears its ugly head.”

“I would hardly call falling in love ugly,” Byron remarked.

Jane glanced back into the kitchen, where Lucy and Ben were still surrounded by a cloud of sparks. “You’re right,” she told Byron. “It’s beautiful.” Suddenly she realized fully what was going on. “Lucy!” she exclaimed. “And Ben!” She grabbed Byron’s hand. “It never occurred to me,” she babbled. “I mean, I never thought …” She couldn’t form a complete sentence. “Lucy,” she said. “And Ben. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before.”

“Don’t get too excited,” Byron warned her. “It could be temporary.” He watched the electrical storm surrounding the two humans. “But that is a pretty spectacular display.”

Before Jane could respond the doorbell rang.

“Who could that be?” Jane said. “Everyone who could possibly be here is already here.”

She walked to the door. As she approached it her skin began to tingle again. She stopped, waiting to see if the sensation ceased. It didn’t. She took a few more steps toward the door and the tingling increased. Whoever was waiting behind the door was feeling something incredibly strong. But what? She had no way of identifying the specific emotion.

For heaven’s sake, I’ve only been able to do this for ten minutes, she thought.

The bell rang again. Jane reached for the doorknob but found herself afraid to turn it. Her fingertips rested against it, the electric sparks of emotion coursing through the metal and up her arm. The feeling was more intense than the one she’d gotten from Lucy and Ben, and somehow less pleasant.

There was a sharp, impatient rapping on the door. Jane hesitated a moment longer and then opened it, revealing a petite woman whose closed fist was coming toward Jane with great purpose. It stopped just short of