Chapter 19
PANDORA’S DIARY
Physical gifts: Too overwhelmed to count, but one thing is clear, I am loved
I know my mother’s gift better than I know my own. Which isn’t saying much, considering I have no clue about my own. Still, I was raised in the embrace of Mom’s gift, so when I woke in that room in the library, I immediately knew that everything was okay.
The pillows beneath my head told me that she’d looked after me, as did the gentle tinkle of a wind chime. The soothing scent of pine and ginger made me realize Deja had looked after me, too.
Then I heard a man’s voice, talking low.
Leo can’t sing, but his voice is melodious.
So yeah, everything was good. As I listened to him speak I drifted, half-asleep, swathed in the afterglow of magic.
I drowsed happily, barely aware that I’d awakened my gift, though I still had no idea what it actually was.
Deja responded to Leo, speaking more softly than I’d ever heard. He told her about something called the Lost Shipment, and I woke fully—then a minute later I found myself in his arms. Which was equally dumb, comforting, and exhausting.
I felt like a part of me had been lost. I’d decided years ago I didn’t need a gift, and that core belief remained.
I didn’t. There are plenty of spectacular normals, and more than a few tedious, unimpressive faerie-kin.
I’d forged my life around that belief, yet I could finally admit that while a gift didn’t mean much to me, my memories did.
Now I’d keep all my memories of the faerie-kin community. Forever. And that was no small thing…
Apparently I drifted off again. The next time I roused, I felt warm and flushed, sort of pleasurably feverish. Almost buzzed. Deja had left and Leo was sitting there with two coffees.
“How do you feel?” he asked.
“Great!” I said. “Toasty like a cat in a patch of sun.”
I grabbed one of the coffees and looked around the room in amazement.
The rock sculpture, the bed, the cornucopia overflowing with fruits.
Leo showed me Shrig’s sign, and the menu featuring gourmet pizza slices that Jamar and Sheila had promised to bring when I woke.
Apparently they’d been talking about going into business together.
Leo admired Gabe’s earrings with me, and I worried about how Gabe must feel now that he was the only one of us without a gift.
“Dennis promised you free rounds at the Driftwood for the rest of the week. And Albert agreed to let you stay in the library until you recover, despite bickering with Grace over redecorating. Your parents wanted to stay, but had guests at the Inn to look after.”
“I—I can’t believe everyone did all this for me,” I said.
“Yeah, it’s shocking,” Leo said, mixing his latte with sarcasm.
“What?” I asked.
“It’s weird how much everyone adores you,” he teased.
“It is! Especially considering I spent the last ten years insisting I didn’t want a gift.” My gaze settled on the gauzy curtains. “Is it wrong that I’m almost disappointed?”
Leo looked unsure how to respond.
“It just feels like this is a betrayal of everything I stood for,” I continued. “Like I’ve been lying to myself this whole time—but I haven’t. I don’t think I have.”
“You were given a gift, Pan. One you couldn’t refuse. No one is going to judge you for taking some joy in that.”
“No one except me,” I said, then did a double-take, looking at the window. “It’s morning?”
A buzz sounded in the room. “You slept all night.”
“After…” I couldn’t keep the smile from my face. “Getting my gift.”
“I knew you would,” he said, over the buzzing.
“It’s not what I wanted.”
“I know.”
“I genuinely didn’t care.”
“I genuinely know, Pan. But this will only add to your life, it won’t take anything away.”
“Yeah, but… it feels weird.”
“Well, don’t worry, you’re still as abnormal as ever.” He made another face I couldn’t read. “And as—as beautiful. You were magical before, but—”
I felt myself flush, as the buzzing continued. “Would you get that? Your phone is vibrating.”
“I don’t care.”
I plucked his phone from the table and gave it to him. “Maybe it’s the professor with more information.”
He looked at the screen. “It’s your mom. Good morning, Gra—”
“Is Pandora okay?” my mother interrupted, loud enough that I heard her clearly.
“She’s fine, she’s right here. She’s awake and we—”
“Give me to her, Leo!” Her voice shrilled: “Pandora, it’s Mom!”
I took the phone and rolled my eyes. “Oh, I had no idea.”
“Are you okay? Nothing’s wrong? You’re okay?”
“I got my gift. I hope you’re happy now.”
“That’s not important! I just wanted to check you were okay.”
I almost yelled, ‘What do you mean, it’s not important? You’ve been hounding me for ten years!’ Then I realized that she never panicked about me unless there’d been a natural disaster or a plane crash or something. “Why? What’s up?”
“Oh, nothing. Nothing. Except, did you feel an earthquake?”
“What now?” I glanced at Leo, but he shook his head, no. “This is Maine, Mom. We don’t get earthquakes.”
“How would you know? You were asleep. A wasps’ nest landed in the carrots where your father was weeding, they stung him a dozen times.”
“Wasps?! Where did they come from? What does that have to do with an earthquake? Is he okay?”
“He’s fine, don’t worry. Well, except for the pain.
And apparently there was a massive cart crash downtown, and a rogue wave washed away the kayaks at the harbor and the quake pelted one of my guests with acorns this morning, I mean, like, biblical-stoning-level pelted, and now he’s blaming me so I just wanted to check that you were okay. ”
“What are you talking about? I’m fine, Mom, I promise. You deal with Dad and the guests.”
“Good. Love you!” she said. “Oh, and don’t bother thanking me for decorating the library for you, it was no trouble!”
I opened my mouth to respond, and she hung up.
“Did she say ‘acorns’?” Leo asked.
“Biblical acorns,” I said. “And sounds like my dad’s in rough shape with wasp stings.”
“We should head home.”
“What about the book?” I asked.
“Tucked away safely.” He nodded to a high shelf. “I had Gabe move it, and Albert gave me the room key. We’ll keep the door locked so the manuscript’s safe until we finish researching. It belongs to the library and I’m pretty sure it’s worth a fortune.”
We grabbed my gift loot, then headed downstairs. Well, I sort of drifted downstairs, still feeling buzzed. We found Albert chatting with Hattie at the front desk again. She looked upset, and wrinkled her nose when she saw me.
“Laurels and laudations,” Albert told me. “You’re finally one of us.”
“Gee, thanks,” I said.
“I am pleased you finally understand the paramount importance of getting one’s gift.”
“Yes, laurels,” Hattie grumbled, before I could reply. “Laurels, indeed.”
Albert’s disdain for normals was truly off-putting and Hattie’s mood seemed uncharacteristically sour. Maybe the earthquake messed with her precious plants.
I followed Leo outside into the Beane Isle morning. It was seventy-five degrees and full of summer greens, marine blues and red and white sails in the harbor. The island felt alive. How in the world could we have had an earthquake?