I nodded, but didn’t say anything. The disdain in Avis’ voice was centered around the fact that Monique – who could probably go toe-to-toe with any super on the planet – had eschewed the family business in favor of being a housewife, which she enjoyed immensely.
“As to Dad…” Avis continued, then merely shrugged her shoulders as she trailed off. The gesture hinted at the fact that our fathers were generally estranged (as brothers sometimes are), so it was unlikely that Megaton would put in an appearance tonight.
“Anyway,” Vela interjected, gracefully changing the subject, “who’s your friend?” She inclined her head towards Myshtal.
“Sorry,” I mumbled apologetically. “This is Princess Isteria of Caeles. Princess, please allow me to present Vela and Rara Avis.”
Mentally, I frowned as I made the introductions, which involved a couple of judicious decisions. First, I had chosen to introduce Myshtal by her formal name. It was what my grandmother had done with Nobaxlin, so I thought it important to follow suit.
Next, I had sidestepped mentioning that Vela and Avis were my cousins. In truth, almost no one knew that the two women were sisters, and even fewer were aware of the fact that they were related to me. Basically, there was a deliberate practice in my family to avoid disclosing familial relationships, for both privacy concerns and to avoid the inevitable comparisons that would result if the information became known. Of course, that hadn’t stopped Avis from announcing on social media that Kid Sensation was her cousin; the only silver lining at that juncture was the fact that few people knew that Jim Carrow and Kid Sensation were the same person. (On my part, I’d only recently found out that I even had an uncle or cousins, so keeping that info under wraps had never really been an issue for me.)
Naturally, no one seemed to notice or appreciate the shrewdness I’d displayed in acquainting Myshtal with my cousins. My affianced bride greeted Avis and Vela warmly, and it became immediately apparent that she was going to charm them as quickly and completely as she did almost everyone else. However, the three of them had barely exchanged a dozen words before someone else cut in.
“Aren’t you going to introduce me?”
Recognizing the voice, I groaned inwardly and then glanced around until I laid eyes on the speaker: Vestibule.
Chapter 21
She was standing just a few feet behind Avis and Vela, dressed in a simple but elegant teal gown. She also sported a subtle shade of pink lipstick and lightly-applied eye shadow, and had her hair braided into a fishtail. All in all, it was a much more subdued look than most other occasions when I’d seen Vestibule. (Usually, she looked as though she were headed to or coming from a modeling gig, and strutted around like she was the peacock with the largest plume.)
Hurriedly replaying the last few minutes through my mind, I had a vague recollection of seeing her in the receiving line, as well as following in my cousins’ wake as they came over to greet me. Obviously, I had been so focused on Vela and Avis that I hadn’t truly noticed her. And even though I’d known she’d be here, her sudden appearance, having come somewhat out of the blue, caught me a little unprepared.
“Introduce me?” Vestibule repeated, bringing me back to myself.
“Oh, um, sure,” I muttered half-heartedly. “I think you already know Avis –”
“We’ve met,” Vestibule cut in sharply, giving me an odd look. Her expression probably stemmed from the fact that she and Avis were both part of the A-List Supers and traveled in the same social circles, which was something I knew.
“There’s also Vela,” I continued.
“We’re acquainted as well,” Vestibule declared.
“Okay, great,” I said flatly. “Well, this is Princess Isteria.” I gestured towards Myshtal. “Princess, meet Vestibule.”
It was short and to the point, but apparently represented the intro that Vestibule had been angling for, as, smiling, she immediately moved forward to greet Myshtal. However, they had done little more than say “Hello” to each other before Avis spoke up.
“Please excuse us for a minute,” she said. “I need to speak to Jim about something.”
She then placed a firm hand on my elbow and practically marched me a dozen paces away, not releasing me until we were safely out of earshot.
“Look,” she stated firmly, “I know that you and Vestibule have some kind of thing going, but –”
“No,” I interrupted, “we have no kind of thing going.”
“Well, aren’t you supposed to be dating?”
“No!” I declared emphatically. “Did she tell you that?”
Avis shrugged. “She mentioned something along those lines.”
“Well, it’s not true. We’re supposed to go on an outing – a single, solitary outing – but it’s not a date.”
“Fine – date, outing, whatever. I just need you not to tick her off. She’s my ride home tonight. Vela’s too.”
“So she teleported you here. Big deal. Vela can run at like a thousand miles per hour, and you can fly at Mach speed. Why does either of you need a ride home?”
“Well, I can’t speak for my sister, but I’m not sure I’ll be in any condition to fly at the end of the night.” With that, she knocked back her drink, finishing it off. “Plus, I’m not keen on zipping back through the air in this dress, and I’m sure Vela feels the same about running on the road in hers.”
“Well, in case you’ve forgotten, I’m a teleporter, so I can get you home.”
“You mean you can get me close, since you don’t know exactly where I live. Same thing for Vela.”
“Unless you’re passed out or slurring your words so badly that I can’t understand you, I can get you there. But even if I can’t, you’re forgetting something else: this is your uncle’s house. If you don’t think you can make it home, you can always crash here.”
“Yeah, that’s a great option,” she quipped sarcastically. Noticing the puzzled look on my face, she explained, “Your old man has rules about overnight guests that
