Page 14 of Two’s A Charm
THE MOON MADE ME DO IT
Effie
Effie had read the same paragraph half a dozen times and still had no idea what it said. Something about mountains. There was definitely a goat, or perhaps a big sheep, or at least some kind of ruminant.
She resettled herself on the couch, snuggling into the nest of decorative throw pillows and blankets she’d made.
Cosiness and bookishness went hand in hand, and the living room had a draught that she hadn’t quite been able to conquer.
The chill swept in around the ancient window panes and down the chimney, curling its fingers around the decorative tiles on the fireplace and onto the rug that Mom had inherited from some distant, apparently well-off, relative.
Effie always loved its patterns: the floral swirls, the bright stars, the stylized protective motifs that kept their family safe.
Even the threadbare bits had their charms.
You’re distracted by a rug, Effie , she scolded herself.
Ever since she’d come home from her shift at the library, she’d found her thoughts wandering.
All right, not since then. Ever since Theo had shown up at the library, which was infuriating, because usually Effie’s thoughts were logical, steadfast, focused.
Tonight, they were as scattered as Bonnie’s, and kept wandering off down alleys filled with coffee dates and garden paths abloom with studious conversations.
Effie had been attracted to people in the past, of course, but attraction usually came on slowly for her.
So slowly that by the time she was ready to properly entertain the idea, the other person had long since moved on.
If they’d ever been interested at all, which, let’s face it, was questionable at best. Bonnie had tried to nudge Effie into action a few times throughout her life, but Effie didn’t do things Bonnie’s way.
Besides, the way Bonnie went about the whole business of dating was the antithesis of how Effie intended to.
There would be no surprise poltergeists in Effie’s bedroom.
If only Mom were here. She would’ve listened, leaning back on the couch, gently braiding Effie’s untameable hair as Effie stuttered out her thoughts and insecurities, nodding in that quiet way to show that she understood, but without judging or trying to push her towards something she wasn’t ready for.
But no matter how hard Effie tried to hold on to the memories through the bookmark she carried around with her, those moments were lost in time.
There came a thud, then a bang, then a muttered dammit as Bonnie bashed into the grandfather clock in the hallway.
Effie bit back a grin. All right, so maybe Effie had charmed the light in the room to make it slightly more likely that someone might bash into said clock, especially if one were texting at the same time, which Bonnie inevitably was.
‘We’re selling that stupid clock,’ snarled Bonnie.
She stomped into the living room, rubbing her shin as she went.
After more ostentatious stomping that added a scuff to the rug, Bonnie dropped down on the long yellow couch that ran almost the whole length of the room.
For years, the three Chalmers women had watched movies on it, sprawled over each other, with feet in laps and fingers twined, passing chocolate-smothered popcorn and tiny hot dogs and trying to guess the name of every actor on screen.
‘You wouldn’t believe who came into the bar tonight.
’ Bonnie stretched out, kicking off her shoes and prodding Effie with her pink-painted toes.
Effie smacked her with the paperback she’d been trying to read.
If only she’d been able to follow through with the Proust. That was a massive hardback that could do some damage.
‘Henry Cavill,’ suggested Effie, a little bit wistfully.
‘I’d still be at the bar if that were the case,’ noted Bonnie.
Effie felt her wrists glow. And perhaps her eyes as well, although that had never been documented. ‘You saw Theo.’
Blinking, Bonnie shook her head. ‘No, I actually meant—’
‘He came into the library today. Insisted on applying for a library card.’
Bonnie raised an eyebrow. ‘Criminal. How dare he.’ She inspected the imminent bruise on her shin. ‘How much do grandfather clocks go for online? We’ll split the profits.’
‘It’s not for sale! It was Pop’s!’
‘Oh, who cares.’ Bonnie pulled the leg of her jeans back down, hiding the bruise.
‘He’s been dead for how long? You think he’s up floating around in the great wherever worrying about whether we’re keeping his clock polished and buffed?
’ She cackled. ‘That sounded crass. Sorry, Pop!’ she shouted to the ceiling.
‘Well sure, if family memories are meaningless, we’ll just chuck out everything in the house belonging to a dead person.
’ Effie glowered. Bonnie was being her usual thoughtless, indifferent self.
Couldn’t she see what she was suggesting?
That, post death, there was a time limit on your value on Earth?
Once a predetermined socially acceptable amount of time had passed, you could bin anything belonging to a deceased person?
‘Mom’s been gone almost a year,’ she added, running the edge of her bookmark under her fingernails. She always did this when she was anxious. ‘Should we start forgetting her as well?’
‘That’s not the same. Sheesh, Effie. What’s with the beehive in your stupid bonnet.’
‘No beehive. No bonnet.’ Effie sniffed. ‘I can’t believe you think I’d wear a bonnet.’
‘I’ve seen you in worse.’ Bonnie folded her arms, flashing her tattooed wrists at Effie. ‘So, what happened after Theo got his library card? Did he check out anything good?’
‘He joined the Friends of the Library Club.’ Effie made a face.
‘Oh no, anything but that.’
‘He also made a sizeable donation,’ admitted Effie, who felt conflicted about it. Donations were always welcome, but they also came with strings attached. And Effie was wary of strings.
‘A monster. Did you report him to the police?’
Effie was tempted to charm a bigger bruise onto her sister’s shin. ‘You’re not taking me seriously.’
‘It’s hard to take you seriously when you’re mad that Theo joined your library, showed interest in the organization that supports your library, and then used his money to support your library.’
Well, when she put it like that...
Bonnie leaned forward to take a bite from the cookie Effie had been saving until she finished her chapter. ‘Anyway. You should be nice to him. There’s clearly something wrong with him, after all. Self-esteem issues, maybe.’
Effie bristled. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’
‘I mean that you should be grateful for the attention! For some reason, he seems to like you . The town...’
‘The town what?’ asked Effie quietly.
‘Nothing.’ Bonnie polished off the rest of the cookie. ‘Nothing.’
Effie didn’t comment on the cookie. She had better battles to fight. Besides, the cookie had chia seeds in it, and hopefully Bonnie would be picking those out of her teeth for the rest of the night. ‘Better than the town narcissist. I’ve seen how you treat Bobby.’
Bonnie’s eyes flashed, and Effie vaguely worried that Bonnie’s wayward magic might set the entire house on fire.
‘You don’t know anything ,’ snapped Bonnie. ‘You only see what you want to see.’
‘I think I know what I see,’ retorted Effie. ‘And that’s you swanning around expecting everyone to do your bidding. What will you do when you’re not young or pretty any more?’
Bonnie jerked back as though Effie had slapped her.
‘I’m more than just my looks,’ she said, her voice quavering. ‘Other people see it. Just not you. Why only tonight, Uncle Oswald offered—’
‘Uncle Oswald!’ scoffed Effie. ‘You’re using him to make your point? The man’s a charlatan. No wonder he picked you to talk to.’
‘Well, he certainly wouldn’t have picked you, Little Miss Rules and Regulations!’ snapped Bonnie, her wrists glimmering purple from anger. ‘The only reason anyone shows up to your stupid library is because everything there is free .’
‘At least you don’t have to be drunk to enjoy the library,’ retorted Effie, her own wrists crackling a furious green. ‘Besides, unlike your bar, the library isn’t all about me .’
‘Well, that’s fortunate, because it would be even more depressing if it were!’ shouted Bonnie, a stream of purple exploding from her wrist and knocking a needlepoint off the wall.
‘Oh good,’ snarled Effie, waving a glowing hand at the broken frame. ‘Yet another one of your messes for me to clean up. Just another day in the life of being Bonnie Chalmers’ big sister!’
Bonnie glowered, but said nothing. Effie could tell her words had cut deep.
Well, good , Effie thought, trembling with indignation. It was about time Bonnie heard the truth. And she’d spoken only the truth, after all.
There was a beat as the two sisters tried to decide whether they’d gone too far and needed to resolve their argument, the way Mom would have insisted upon. She never let an argument extend beyond bedtime.
But pride won out. Instead of reconciling, both sisters raced to their respective rooms.
Effie’s only regret was that her sister beat her to the door-slamming by a fraction of a second. Damn Bonnie’s athleticism .