Page 54 of Jagged

Clem nodded, her smile steady now as she seemed to relax some. "Yes. We're rather close. Are your parents still around?" I noticed how she used my terms, which seemed slightly unnatural to her.

"No. They both died serving overseas in the Army. They were in the same unit. Mom was a nurse and Dad a Sergeant."

"Oh wow. I'm sorry to hear that." Clem's expression softened and the wave of grief that appeared to replace it startled me. "Were you young?"

"About ten." Unease settled in my stomach at disclosing so much to her so soon. "My grandmother raised me for a bit afterward."

"I never met my grandparents. Was your grandmother nice?"

"She was amazing. Random fact." I wiggled my fingers in front of me, mimicking a sewing motion. "She taught me how to knit. Still can."

"Really?" Clem grinned. "You'll have to show me."

"If the opportunity rises to show you that I can knit, I will." I laughed and dropped my head back against the seat.

We fell into a comfortable, amused quiet for a moment. With darkness settling around us as the summer night closed in, Clem's profile in the lights of the traffic called to me. Her soft features coupled with a sharper nose gave her a perfect profile, in my opinion. The darkness shielded her face, and I imagined what she would've looked like painted on a crumbling façade.

An hour or so passed with us listening to quiet music, occasionally chatting, or calling out the origin of a license plate. It surprised me at how many New York plates littered the streets for some reason.

"Do you like your name?" I asked her randomly. "Clementine is unique."

"Jagger is, too. I generally like it. Mainly for the history of it."

"What's the history?"

"Mom named me after Clementine de Vere, also known by her stage name Ionia. She was the most influential female magician in the beginning of the twentieth century. She was born in Belgium but was a British citizen. She performed with the stage name Ionia the Enchantress or the Goddess of Mystery. Pretty lofty names, but the idea of being a magician is pretty fun. Though I could never be in front of a group of people like that." Clem shook her head. "No way."

"Really? You seem pretty confident."

"It's a mask. I can hold it together briefly, but it has about a twenty-minute expiration time." She snickered when she said it.

"Me too. I start melting at the thirty-minute mark. It's pathological."

"Nah. It's just a part of who we are."

We arrived at the campsite a little after ten and unpacked the car together. There wasn't a specific area for tents or anything that delineated this part of the woods as a camping space. Instead, Clem led me to a small clearing where she showed me how to set up the tent. Pitch black surrounded us, save for the suddenly clear sky above. The half-moon hung over us, shedding enough light for us to see our work. I stood there for a moment, my hands on my hips as I stared upward. I hadn't seen a sky like this in years. I rarely left Seattle, hardly ever, actually, unless it was for work. And if it was for work, I didn't have time to stare up at the sky. I let it wash over me, then glanced at Clem. She stood beside me, her eyes upward as well. I noted immediately the way the twilight bathed her skin, casting an iridescence to it, turning both her and her flowing hair into an ethereal dream. A soft breeze fluttered past us, catching her hair just the same.

A strange and unusual sensation swirled behind my bellybutton. It spiraled like sickness at first, until it turned into a cryptic warmth that radiated both up and down at the same time. Nervousness squeezed me as goosebumps coated my arms, and I felt my palms grow sweaty.

She smiled at me while pointing upward. "Like what you see?"

"Yeah." I cleared my throat. "I do."

"Me too." She smiled and looked back up at the moon. "It seems like you haven't looked up much."

"I don't. I mean…" I returned my attention to the night sky. "I do, but I don't see this in the city."

"It makes me think of something whenever I'm under a sky like this," she began as we stood side-by-side staring up. "'It seemed to travel with her, to sweep her aloft in the power of song, so that she was moving in glory among the stars, and for a moment she, too, felt that the words Darkness and Light had no meaning, and only this melody was real.'" Clem's fanciful voice shared the quote. "Madeleine L'Engle. A Wrinkle in Time."

"I remember that book." I smiled when she said it. "Mrs. Whatsit was my favorite."

"I liked Meg. The flawed but honorable hero."

"Most of the good heroes are flawed."

"Yeah." She smiled and shifted abruptly, ending the moment of whimsy. "Do you know how to make a fire?"

"Legit the queen of fire starting." We parted ways and continued about our camping duties. "Let me go find some kindling."

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