Lifeblood

2 Movin'-2

“Anyway, he told me that now that he had his own wife and kids, he was pleased with his life and didn't want any more bad blood,” continued Terrence. “He wanted us to have the chance to be the brothers as adults that his parents didn't let us be as kids. So all is well, and the ill will is gone.”

“That's good to know, son,” said Mr. Decessio. “I appreciate the fact that Lloyd was mature enough to feel that way.”

“Besides all that,” said Bobby, whom Jonah was glad to see had been successfully distracted from the football jab, “you get to have four brothers now!”

“No complaints there,” snorted Terrence. “Family's growing by the second. Hey, Mom, what's good for dinner?”

Shortly thereafter, the majority of the conversation ceased due to the Mrs. Decessio's glorious meal of baked chicken, crescent rolls, potatoes, and salad, topped off with apple cobbler and vanilla ice cream. Reena happily partook in the chicken, salad, and potatoes, but respectfully declined the dessert. Jonah, Terrence, Bobby, and Alvin had no such reservations.

“Man, I shouldn't have eaten like that,” commented Jonah. “I feel like my system still hasn't fully recovered from that wedding food.”

Reena cast stern eyes on him, but she made no comments. It was a celebratory dinner, after all.

“Wonderful, Ma, as always,” said Bobby, who rose from the table and kissed Mrs. Decessio on the cheek. “Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go change into some looser pants, and then play some Madden.”

He left, and several minutes later, Alvin did, too. Reena offered to help with the dishes, but Mrs. Decessio, a self-proclaimed “kitchen general,” kindly passed on the assistance. So Jonah, Terrence, and Reena retreated to Terrence's bedroom, which was upstairs, and opposite Alvin's.

Jonah hadn't ever seen Terrence's room at his home, but it just looked like an extension of his room at the estate: Clothing strewn on the floor, across the bed, and across the weight bench near the window, an eclectic assortment of CDs that featured his beloved alt-rock and metal bands, a closet that appeared to be bursting at the seams, and, plastered across the wall near the bed, was the grinning depiction of his beloved Duke Blue Devils.

“Don't ever leave me alone in here,” scoffed Jonah. “I'm liable to burn that damn thing.”

Terrence flopped on the bed, and regarded the poster with reverence. “If you manage to succeed,” he replied, “I have another one in the closet, and two up in my room at the estate.”

“Oh great,” said Jonah, shaking his head. “Just great.”

“It's great to be home,” said Terrence as he rested his eyes.

“Really?” said Reena. “After being in Hawaii, you're glad to be back in Rome?”

“Don't get me wrong,” said Terrence, whose eyes were still closed. “I adored Hawaii. Adored everything about it. But I don't think I could do those two, three month vacations like rich folks do. Just seems like the novelty would wear off.”

“Speak for yourself,” said Jonah. “I would force myself to grow accustomed to extended vacations if I could afford them.”

“Well publish some of those books you've got, and Reena and I could follow you everywhere.”

“I wouldn't have to if you pitched an idea to the Food Network,” retorted Jonah.

Terrence flung a pillow at him, which sailed past his head and landed awkwardly on the edge of the chest of drawers near Terrence's window. Jonah reached for it, which allowed him to glance out of the window for a moment.

He saw the tall figure again. The man was at a different sign this time, and unless Jonah was mistaken, the figure, even from a distance, had his face trained in his direction.

Jonah blinked, but this time, it had no effect. The man wore a dark duster (which was odd by itself, seeing as how it was midsummer and there wasn't a chill in the air at all), and he was also hooded. Unlike Jonah's previous encounters with hooded, faceless figures, this person did have a face. The bottom half of the man's face was covered, similar to an old west bandit or something.

The figure also seemed tense, as if he fought the urge to lash out and attack someone or something. Jonah almost went into Spectral Sight (that was how he'd known something was up with Roger way back when), but he didn't. Terrence and Reena would know for sure that something was up.

“What say you, Jonah?” said Terrence's voice from somewhere. “Jonah?”

“Uh?”

“Jonah.”

It was as if someone slapped him, but then Jonah realized that he'd been hit with another one of Terrence's pillows.

“Huh? What?”

“I asked if you were up to playing some Madden with Bobby,” said Terrence. “You were completely zoned out.”

“Yeah,” murmured Jonah, who chanced a glance out of the window again, but saw no one. “Sorry.”

“You alright, man?”

“Oh yeah, of course,” said Jonah hastily. “I'm great.”

But then Jonah noticed, with a trace of apprehension, that Reena didn't have on her dampener, which meant that his essence was susceptible to reading. She gave Jonah a look that said, No, you aren't alright, but Jonah wasn't going to comply. Not today, at least. This was a happy occasion, and he wouldn't mar it with thoughts of suspicion and alarm.

“I'd love to play some Madden,” he said with conviction. “It'd be just the thing to change the mental pace.”

Jonah, Terrence, Reena, and Bobby spent three days at the Decessio residence, partly because Terrence wanted extra time with his parents, and partly because they were such pleasant company that no one really wanted to leave any sooner than that. At times, Jonah caught himself just observing Alvin's and Bobby's interactions with their parents; that whole “nuclear family” dynamic. It was also so admirable that they treated Terrence like another son. Like he'd been there all along, and hadn't been taken in as an adolescent. Jonah had only had his grandmother, and she was as wonderful a woman as could be. But her great qualities never extended to Jonah's extended family. To this day, they were pretty much strangers to him. This must be what a true family unit entailed. It was a great thing to behold. Jonah hoped that Alvin, Terrence, and Bobby knew what they had, and always appreciated it.

They were back at the estate around noon on a pleasant but very hot August day. Jonah never got tired of nor accustomed to the Grannison-Morris estate. The gardens were always pristine, and the innumerable trees that surrounded the estate never felt claustrophobic or off-putting. If anything, Jonah thought that it felt like protection. The trees seemed like a barrier to any extraneous forces that dared threaten any Eleventh Percenter here. At this moment, Jonah felt like he was in the safest place in the world, and that was no small feat, given some of the experiences he'd had since he'd discovered the place.

A shriek of delight jarred him from his thoughts, and he was nearly blown over by a blond blur. Someone had just run up and thrown themselves into Bobby's arms. Bobby, who didn't even seem to care about the fresh dirt that was now smeared on the back of his T-shirt, reciprocated the embrace, and lifted the girl off of her feet.

Jonah and Terrence looked at each other and shook their heads. It was Liz Manville; who else would have been so excited to see Bobby?

“Um, we're here, too, Liz,” laughed Reena, and Liz detached herself from Bobby. Bright-eyed and chipper as ever, Liz had to be playfully restrained by Reena before she bestowed an earth-laced hug on everyone.

“Oh, right.” The smile never left her face as she pulled off the filthy gloves, tossed them aside, and hugged everyone else. “I saw you coming up the drive!” she announced. “I think I trampled some flowers when I dropped them to run up here! Vera and I were collecting carnations for some of my new solutions.”

Jonah turned, and realized that Liz's zealous welcome had distracted everyone from the second figure, who'd approached at a more leisurely pace.

Vera was dressed for gardening, and was as dirtied up and sweaty as Liz was. She dispensed with her straw hat and smiled at everyone. Her face flushed somewhat when her smile reached Jonah. As Jonah took in Vera's brown-blonde hair that was pulled back in two haphazard bunches, as well as the barely noticeable scar that ran along the base of her jaw, he felt his own face warm. But he didn't think anything of it. It was a hot, sticky August day, and they were all feeling it. His face was warm because of the sun beating down on it, and Vera's face was flushed with color due to heat and gardening. Yeah, that was it.

“Hey all!” she said.

“Hey, Vera,” said Jonah, patting her shoulder. “How goes it?”

“I'm doing a lot better than the last time you saw me,” Vera joked, but she indeed looked like the picture of perfect health. The last time Jonah saw her, she'd been convalescing from two sprained wrists, cuts, and first-degree burns that she'd sustained after being taken hostage and having her ethereality abused. Which reminded Jonah of something.

“Vera, how is your training going?” he asked. “Jonathan said that he was going to help you better manage your ethereality.”

“Oh, Jonah,” said Vera with excitement, which Jonah thought was a rather odd response, because Jonathan made it seem like it'd be strenuous, “it's some of the most fun I've had in years! The spirits and guides that Jonathan put me with are awesome; they're even better than some of living teachers I had back in school! Oh, sorry—life never ends…anyway, I'm still a minute early for everything. There isn't anything that can be done about that.”

“Ah well,” said Jonah, “that sounds like a small price to pay.”

His attention shifted to Bobby. “So, are you two official now?”

Liz and Bobby grinned, but neither of them answered. They didn't have to.

“Although,” said Terrence shrewdly, “maybe we shouldn't be talking about them.”

His gaze slid downward, along with Liz's, Reena's, and Bobby's. Puzzled, Jonah and Vera followed suit. At some point in his conversation with Vera, Jonah's fingers descended from her shoulder and joined hers. Neither of them had noticed that they were freaking holding hands. The fact was made more comical by the fact that Vera, unlike Liz, hadn't removed her gardening gloves, so Jonah's bare fingers were entwined with Vera's filthy gloved ones. Embarrassed, they both let go. Everyone snickered, but Jonah noticed that hint of wistfulness in Reena's smile again.

“Let me get my last two bags in here,” he said, once again blaming the August weather for the heat in his face. “It's beyond time to get settled in.”

Before Jonah and Terrence reached Jonah's room, however, there were more friends to greet. Maxine Pearson waved from a corner, the usual Anime book in her hands. Magdalena Cespedes and Melvin Price broke their conversation and greeted them with hugs and high-fives. Royal Spader had changed his hair, which was no longer long and reddish-orange, but short, spiked, and jet black. He nodded glumly at Jonah and Terrence, and then returned to a game of solitaire. Jonah knew why he was of low spirits; he was no doubt dismayed that Liz and Bobby were now a couple, and he was doomed to continue his role as unrequited observer.

“And still, he wonders why Lizzie never notices him,” he sighed to Terrence. “Yeah, he's smart—exceptionally smart—but he uses that to con and finagle people out of money.”

“Jonah, Liz doesn't notice Spader because he is two years younger than her, dresses like a goth bum, and has yet to discover the benefits of a shaving razor,” said Terrence. “But he's seventeen; there are plenty of other girls—”