Traveling, seeing the wonders of this earth, makes immortality bearable again. I find myself laughing at the slightest whim and Dymeka seems younger in spirit than I’ve seen him in decades. I think we have found purpose and pleasure in life again and, most importantly, in each other.
Chapter 9
Esmeralda
So we talked. Well, I talked. Charlie mostly snorted, gave the occasional comment, and gestured for me to continue after he was done secretly judging me about something. It was cool, the most fun I’d had since being banished. I was a little surprised he hadn’t said anything about the gang or Marty, even though it was obvious there was more to that part of the story. But we could get to it later, much later. It felt great to spill my guts about my family, to get the impression that someone actually cared about what I was saying, maybe even wanted to know about my shit.
It wasn’t until I got started that I realized I actually wanted to talk about it. I wanted someone to carry all of this with me.
Eventually, and unfortunately, we arrived at our destination. Charlie blinked up at Dinah’s estate, his mouth going slack.
“I know,” I muttered. “Wicked awesome, ain’t it?”
Charlie arched an eyebrow before comprehension dawned. “Oh, you were being sarcastic that time. Gotcha.”
The door swung open and hit the wall with a bang that echoed across the quiet neighborhood. Golden light came from the house, outlining the shape of an old woman with a hunchback. She came marching down the steps and across the lawn.
I leaned over to Charlie and said, “Brace yourself,” out of the corner of my mouth.
“You,” Aunt Dinah said, squinted fiery eyes fixed on me. “Explain.”
I clasped my hands behind my back and rocked back and forth a little. “Well, after you snapped at me for no damn reason, you reminded me of my dear ol’ stepdad and I started feeling real sad. So I hopped out of my window, climbed down the drainpipe, and went for a stroll in the city. There, I ran into this guy.” I nodded at my escort, who raised a hand in greeting and awkwardly said, “Hi. I’m Charles.”
A vein began throbbing on my aunt’s forehead so I hurried to conclude my tale. “He was worried something bad might happen to me since I was alone, and offered to walk me home. Now, here we are. Oh—” I shrugged out of his windbreaker. “And he let me borrow his jacket because mine sucks. Thanks, by the way.”
Charlie accepted it, quickly shoving his arms through the sleeves. “Don’t mention it.”
I crossed my arms against my chest. A shiver ran down my spine. I watched Aunt Dinah expectantly.
The old woman continued standing there, trembling in rage, mouth working as if searching for the right words. Charlie zipped up his jacket and threw me a questioning look.
“Oh, this is normal,” I told him, further sealing my horrible fate. (If you’re going to hell, you might as well have fun on the way there, right?) “See, it takes her a minute or so to come up with the right punishment and the nasty-ass words she wants to use to deliver said punishment. You can probably go.”
“You may not go!” Aunt Dinah snarled.
Charlie stayed where he was.
Then came the familiar chirp of a cop cruiser. Charlie and I turned to see the car slide into park on the corner of Meridian and eighty-sixth, blue and red lights flashing.
“That’s my uncle.” Charlie turned back to Aunt Dinah. “He’s a detective at the North Precinct. I asked him to come get me once I’d seen Esmer home safely.”
“If any of that is true, I’ll be very impressed,” Aunt Dinah grumbled. “Thank you for returning my niece to me. Goodnight.” Then she turned on her heel and marched back to the house.
I blinked after her, my mouth drawn back in an upside down parabola shape. “Oh-kay, then. I guess that’s my cue to exit stage right.” I smiled at him. “Thanks. Really. This was fun.”
“Yeah,” Charlie said, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “It kind of was.”
I brushed the dancing hair out of my face. “So I guess I’ll—”
“Esmeralda!”
I jumped at the fierceness with which she said my name and then hurried across the lawn. “See you in art class, Charlie boy!”
I didn’t hear a reply.
Aunt Dinah shut the door after I’d entered the house. She came uncomfortably close to my face. I think her nose actually touched mine. I took a step back so I could see something other than her murderous eyes.
“I’ll be hiring someone to install a security system tomorrow morning,” she growled. “I’ll be arming it every day after you get home from school. If you sneak out of your window again, young lady, I’ll be giving your description to the police and telling them you stole something very valuable of mine. No one will be paying for your bail. Have I made myself clear?”
“If you bark at me like that again when there ain’t no good reason for it, I might just confess to the crime and spend the rest of my life in prison,” I said through a plastic smile.
Aunt Dinah reared back as if I’d slapped her, but she quickly regained her haughtiness and came in close to poke me in the chest with a bony finger. “Prison isn’t nearly as nice as it is here, Esmeralda!”
“Oh, I know,” I said, stepping out of her reach. “I’ve been there
