Page 3 of Who Pissed Off Ivy Dell?

About to head over to the community center for the meeting.

There’s a meeting?

Not for you. Just for the regular residents.

Oh, okay. I need to go to the store, anyway.

Drive safe.

I will.

I know what he meant about the meeting not being for me, but it still sucks to be reminded I’m technically an outsider. I pay rent. I’ve helped clean and plant, and I’ve repainted all the signs for the casitas. But I’m temporary, and everyone else is aregularresident. How many years will I have to come back temporarily before I’m seen as a regular part of this place? Will it ever happen?

Jensen

Mirror, Mirror

I linger in thecommunity center for a while after the meeting adjourns. I’ve got a list of things people want me to fix, but I need a moment to breathe in the familiarity of this space before I get started. This was always supposed to be temporary for me.

My thumb taps the image Ivy sent earlier. She’s going to miss those little rats when she goes home. Maybe I’ll miss them someday, too, but I bet it would take a long time.

Dice comes back inside. “Hey, if the Spirit Sisters had something they needed you to take care of, put them ahead of me on your list.”

He has a soft spot for the old women. He’s known them a long time, and he’s basically a nice guy in general.

“Okay. Thanks. Theirs is minor. Your septic issue might take a while.”

“You know I’ll help. I’ll go rattle Cujo’s cage if we need another set of hands.”

“I’ll probably try to recruit him on my way to your place. Might not mention it’s septic work.” We both laugh. “Hey, you never told me if you had to face her at your last tournament.”

Dice runs his hand through his hair. “You know, it’s a hell of a thing to look across the table at the only woman who could ever outplay you. Full-circle, right back to the way we met. I knew before we even got started that she held the upper hand.”

I know he means that in every way possible. Then and now. “Eh, you’ll win the next hand.”

He shakes his head. “I might be done. When one thing changes, why not two?”

“Careful. They say bad things come in threes.”

“Yeah, but they say that about good things, too. See you in a bit.”

As much as I’d like to avoid them today, I park in front of Whispering Winds, home to the spooky sisters, Alma and Elma, and their spirited business.

Elma opens the door. “Hello, there. It’s kind of you to come so quickly.”

“Yes,” Alma says from somewhere behind her. “Ours wasn’t an urgent request, but we are eager to have the mirror hung. Though its usefulness here may be limited.”

I am not about to encourage her to explain what she meant by that. It could have simply been a reference to how much longer they’ll be able to interact with ghosts here, but it also could’ve meant they believe there is something otherworldly about themirror itself, and I don’t need to know anything about a haunted mirror. Especially not if they plan on freeing something from it.

The mirror in question is an antique. A very heavy one. Screws alone won’t hold this. I’m going to have to anchor it. I hate drilling into these old adobe walls. Patching holes in them and getting a good match on the color and texture is impossible. Not that it really matters at this point.

If the sisters want this mirror hung, I’m going to hang it for them.

When the job’s done, the twins come up behind me in the mirror to admire it. The three of us are reflected in it, me with my hair sticking out from under my Giants ballcap, and them with their long, gray braids . . . we look like we’re from completely different eras.

But we’ve been a part of the same community for the past four years, all three of us falling more and more out of touch with the way people live outside our fences.

It’s always been odd. But I owe a hell of a lot to this place and these people.

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