Chapter 22
Julia
I light the last candle and turn off the lights, running to the coffee table where my two favorite gal pals are waiting. Scottie is reclined on her wheelchair, legs propped up on a carefully stacked set of pillows, and Kayla leans on the couch behind her.
I plop onto the pink pile rug on the kitchen side of the table.
The Ouija board Kayla brought sits menacingly in the center like it knows we’re not ready, but I swallow down the nerves and rub my hands together dramatically. “Let’s do this.”
Yoko Ono—the dog—is bouncing beside Kayla, desperate for attention. She scratches the back of his neck lovingly, but it’s not good enough for him. He starts licking her ear like it’s steak, and she giggles and pushes him down lightly.
“Yoko, come here!” I call, fully aware that he’s about as obedient as a windstorm. But maybe one day he’ll listen. Manifestation is key. I circle the table and grab him, holding his thrashing little body in my lap as I take a seat next to Scottie again on the pink pile rug.
“I still can’t believe you have a dog!” Kayla squeals. “And that you just found the breed you’ve always wanted in the park? What are the chances of that? Like one in a million?”
“I know.” I smile hugely. “It’s so wild, but Ace and I were just walking along in Central Park, and he came running over, straight into my arms. I swear it’s like it was meant to be.
I was really nervous that he belonged to someone, but Ace called all the shelters around the city to see if anyone was looking, and he wasn’t wearing a collar or anything.
I guess someone could turn up, but until then, I’m claiming him.
” I pet his head and shrug. “Technically, Ace says he’s both of ours since we both found him, but he ran straight to me and barks every time Ace tries to hold him, so I don’t know if that’ll stick. ”
Scottie licks her lips and nods, her expression a little suspicious, so I babble on quickly to keep her distracted.
Finn explicitly tasked me with occupying her tonight so he could do the last-minute work for her surprise birthday party on Friday, and if she somehow finds out on my watch, Finn is liable to flip out.
“Anyway, we settled on Yoko Ono, even though we know that was a lady and our Yoko is a boy, because she didn’t really break up the Beatles like everyone said she did, and since Ace and I are unbreakable, her being part of our union without breaking it up feels like it brings some justice back to her name. ”
“Okay,” Scottie laughs. “That’s an Ace Kelly explanation if I’ve ever heard one.”
I giggle and shrug. “I liked the sound of it because it felt like some kind of win for women, so I went with it. My only other option was Bernie Barks-A-Lot, but that might have just been a gateway to failure. Like, hello? Am I asking the universe for a dog that barks all the time?”
“So, what now? You just have a dog?” Kayla questions with a laugh. “What are you going to do if you’re out?”
“I already talked to my mom and Ace’s mom, and they both said they’d dog-sit whenever I needed. Cassie already has Philmore and Thatch, per her own explanation, so what’s one more animal.”
Both girls laugh, and I cuddle Yoko a little closer.
“So…who’s going first?” I jerk my chin at the Ouija board.
I’ve never used one before, and for some reason, it’s making me super nervous.
But maybe that’s just because my period is imminent and I’m a hormonal, emotional swamp monster whenever I’m in the middle of my flow.
“Not me,” Scottie says, grinning. “I’ve got enough problems without hearing from the other side. Someone else can vibe check the ghost energy first.”
“Fine, I’ll do it,” Kayla volunteers. “I don’t have that much to lose. What’s the worst that can happen? It tells me my ex-boyfriend is going to break up with me again?”
“Oh, Kayl—”
A rapid knock on the door cuts off Scottie’s sympathy, and Yoko goes absolutely berserk. He’s yapping and jumping and flipping and flopping, and it’s all I can do to keep him out of the appetizers and Ouija board.
“Jiminy Cricket, Yoko, it’s okay! Relax, relax. It’s probably just Ace anyway.”
“Ace?” Scottie asks, glancing at Kayla and back at me again. “I thought he was with Finn.”
“Yeah,” I call back over my shoulder. “He texted earlier and asked if he would mess up girls’ night too badly if he dropped by. He promised to be quick because he’s supposed to meet Finn.” I giggle nervously. “Sorry in advance if Finn’s upset later because his buddy was late.”
“Oh, no issue with me,” Scottie says. “Right, Kayla?”
“No issues.”
My eyebrows draw together. “Okay, I can’t put my finger on it, but you guys sound weird.” Ace knocks again, soft but loud. “Remind me to interrogate you later.”
The two of them devolve into giggles, and I chalk it all up to pitcher margaritas and charcuterie. We’ve been gabbing for two hours now, and the two tiny shots of tequila I poured in the mixer—which Scottie approved of—must finally be hitting us.
When the door swings open, Ace is smiling so big I can see his molars. I laugh. “Hey, buddy. What’s up?”
“Sounds like you’re having a big time in there,” he says, still grinning. “Want me to take Yoko for a little while so you don’t have to worry about him?”
The offer is both considerate and unexpected, and I find myself swooning a little over Ace’s ability to know what I need without my having to ask.
Still, I have a part to keep up, and that includes the white lie that Ace is supposed to meet Finn to do guy things—not work on Scottie’s secret party that she’s not supposed to know about.
“What about Finn?” I ask loudly, just in case Scottie heard him, and he raises his voice back, thankfully catching on.
“I’ll just drop Yoko off at my mom’s on the way to meet him. No biggie.”
I lower my voice to a whisper. “Okay, actually, yes. Please take him. He’s fine, but he’s been a little rowdy and won’t stop licking Kayla’s ear.”
Ace chuckles. “I hear Harry Wethers from Chem One had the same problem our first semester.”
I shove his shoulder. “Stop. Let me get the dog.”
“Wait. Here,” he calls, stopping me in my tracks and spinning me back toward him. “I brought some chocolate too. And a warm compress. And I know you guys had your own food planned, but I brought a couple steaks from that place you love. On the corner.”
“Brasilia?”
He winks. “That’s the one.”
“Oh my God, that’s amazing.”
“I had a feeling all of it would be beneficial today. You know, because it’s about that time of the month.”
Whenever I’m on my period, red meat is my go-to. It’s a trick I learned from my grandma Savannah. But how in the hell Ace knows all that is beyond me.
“Wait…time of the month?” My jaw drops. “Are you… Are you tracking my cycle?”
He holds up both hands defensively, a freedom he has because I’m now holding the heating pad, bag of steak, and box of expensive chocolates. “Not tracking. I just…kind of know now. I’ve been around a long time, remember?”
“Yeah, I guess you have.” I shake my head, incredulous. “Pretty wild, though, that you remember that shit.”
“Of course I remember that shit, Lia.” He wraps his arms around my shoulders and presses a kiss to my forehead. “Anyway, I thought this stuff would be comforting, but if you’re not into it, feel free to give it to the girls or get rid of it. Whatever.”
“No. It’s…great. Honestly. I can’t believe I didn’t think to get steak myself. The charcuterie was good but a little fluffy.”
“That’s what I’m here for, Jules. So you don’t have to think about it.” He winks, and I melt a little inside. Even on me, his winks have always held a certain level of power. “If you need anything else, just text or call, okay?”
I nod.
“Have fun with the girls.” He leans down and kisses me on the forehead again, and then in no more than a moment, he and Yoko are gone.
But thoughts of him linger. Dangerous, scary thoughts of what it’d be like if we were more than just friends.
I go back to the girls and the Ouija board, and of course, we start asking it questions. They’re throwaways at first—channeling our ancestors for basic hellos like it says to do in the instructions.
Is anyone there?
Are you friendly?
Can you tell us your name?
But as the night goes on, and the second margarita pitcher gets lighter, we get bolder and bolder.
Am I on the right path in life?
Do you use your spirit to guide me?
Is fate fair?
And finally, I work up the courage to test the scariest question of all.
“If you are able, and it’s not too much to ask, could you tell us the first letter of the name of our soul mate? Kayla first. Then Scottie. Then me.”
We watch as the planchette moves around the board in a circle. It stops first at the letter C, then an F, and then an A.
I gasp, and then we all erupt into hysterics. Kayla accidentally knocks over the hummus, and the planchette flies off the board like it’s had enough of us.
I know it’s silly. Probably not real.
But that A?
It scrambles something inside me. Not in a big, meaningful way or anything. Just in a tiny, oh-no-my-heart-did-a-weird-flip kind of way.
It could’ve been D. Probably should’ve been D. Logically, D made more sense.
But nope. There it was. A.
And now I’m sitting in the flickering candlelight trying really hard not to read into anything.
It’s fine. Everything’s fine.
Nothing to see here, ghosts. Move along.