CHAPTER 13. FRIENDLY WARNINGS
The sun was slowly sinking into the deep green hills west of the campus as Leesa and her three friends waited on the sidewalk in front of the dorm for Uncle Roger to pick them up and take them to Meriden for a home-cooked meal. Leesa had been back for dinner several times since school started, but this was the first time she was bringing her friends. After a month of subsisting on dorm food, they were going to love her aunt’s cooking, and she couldn’t wait until they tasted one of her uncle’s pies.
The Indian summer of a few days before was now but a pleasant memory, and the late afternoon had grown crisp. Leesa zipped her San Diego sweatshirt up against the chill. Cali had dressed down for the occasion—“rule ninety-nine: don’t make the relatives think I’m a bad influence,” she’d joked—wearing her pink hoodie with the checks on one sleeve, hip-hugger jeans with no rips, and a pair of gray Nike running shoes adorned with pink swooshes. Her “girly sneakers,” she called them. She had six or seven leather and bronze bracelets dangling from her right wrist to keep her from feeling “too plain.” Stacie wore a fuzzy, oversized powder blue sweater that hung below her butt cheeks like a short dress, with tight black leggings and gray Ugg boots, while Caitlin sported a black argyle sweater with gray and white diamonds in vertical columns down the front, dark gray pants and black flats.
Uncle Roger pulled to the curb at precisely six o’clock, as promised. He left the engine running as he climbed out of the Expedition and waddled around the front to give Leesa a big hug. Leesa hugged him back, then pulled free and introduced her friends to her uncle.
“Nice to meet you all,” he said, smiling warmly. “Leesa’s told us all about you.”
“Not all about us, I hope,” Cali joked.
“Ha! Don’t worry,” Leesa said. “Only the good stuff.”
“Well, let’s get going,” Uncle Roger said. “My wife’s eager to meet you, too.”
Led Zeppelin was singing about some lady who was sure all that glittered was gold as Leesa climbed into the front seat. Her friends slid into the back, with Stacie getting stuck in the middle. The car smelled deliciously of fresh-baked pie. Uncle Roger had come straight from the bakery, and three steaming pies lay across the back cargo area. Leesa recognized the aroma of cinnamon-laced baked apples and thought she detected the smell of peach as well.
“Yum!” Caitlin said, breathing deeply of the sweet aroma. “Maybe we should have dessert first.”
“You know what we say in the bakery business,” Uncle Roger said. “Life is short—eat dessert first. I’m not sure my wife would approve, though. She’s making pizza.”
“Double yum,” said Caitlin.
Saturday traffic was light, and the ride to Meriden passed quickly. Leesa led her friends into the house after Uncle Roger assured them he could handle the pies himself. Max raced to greet her as soon as she stepped through the doorway. She dropped to one knee and gave him her traditional chest-rub greeting, then introduced him to her friends, who fawned over him with equal enthusiasm. With so much attention, Max was in dog heaven.
Finally, the girls stood up, and Leesa introduced them to her aunt, who pulled off her spattered blue and white checked apron and hugged each of them in turn.
“It’s so nice to meet all of you,” Aunt Janet said. “I hope you’ll come often.”
“If that pie tastes as good as it smells, Caitlin may never leave,” Cali joked.
“There’ll be plenty to take back with you,” Aunt Janet said, laughing. “I hope you all like pizza.”
“Are you kidding?” Stacie said. “What college kid doesn’t?”
“Go ahead and sit,” Aunt Janet said, refastening her apron. “Dinner will be ready in a couple of minutes.”
The girls arranged themselves around the table, Caitlin and Stacie on one side, Leesa and Cali on the other. The table was covered by an ivory tablecloth and set with sand-colored dinnerware and crystal goblets. Two tall red candles flickered in brass candlesticks a third of the way from each end. Max wasn’t allowed near the table while people were eating, so he retreated to his favorite spot in front of the fireplace. After depositing the pies in the kitchen, Uncle Roger joined his guests at the head of the table.
Aunt Janet emerged from the kitchen carrying a big wooden salad bowl filled with tomatoes, green and red peppers, mushrooms and cucumbers on a bed of Romaine lettuce. She set the salad down in the center of the table. Leesa thought it looked delicious.
“I don’t know if you young ladies like salad,” Aunt Janet said, “but I know Leesa does, and I’m sure your mothers will be happy I offered.”
She disappeared back into the kitchen, returning a moment later with three flasks of homemade dressing. “Balsamic, Italian and Ranch,” she said, placing the bottles on the table. “Help yourselves.”
Leesa dug into the salad, filling her plate, then passed the bowl to Cali, who took enough to be polite. Caitlin took about the same, while Stacie took almost as much as Leesa.
“Pizza’s on,” Aunt Janet said, carrying a rectangular wooden cutting board covered with a steaming pizza into the dining room. The aroma of spicy tomato sauce preceded her. “It’s Hawaiian style, Leesa’s favorite. I hope you girls don’t mind ham and pineapple on your pizza.”
“No problem,” Caitlin said. “It smells great.”
“Eat all you want—there’s another one in the kitchen.” Aunt Janet set the pizza down next to the salad. “Is Diet Pepsi okay for everyone? I have bottled water if you’d prefer.”
The girls all chose soda. Aunt Janet brought four cans from the kitchen, and the girls filled their goblets. Uncle Roger poured red wine for his wife and himself.
“To new friends,” he toasted, lifting his glass.
They all clinked glasses, then got down to the business of eating. The first part of the dinner passed in relative quiet, as the hungry girls concentrated on the pizza. The talk consisted mostly of comments about how good the pizza tasted and how bad dorm food was. The first pizza disappeared quickly, and Aunt Janet brought in the second. She and Uncle Roger were happy to let the girls enjoy their meal. As their appetites became sated, the conversation blossomed.
“Did Leesa tell you she met a guy she has the hots for?” Cali asked from behind her soda, her tone all innocence.
Leesa blushed and kicked her friend’s ankle under the table.
“No, she didn’t,” Aunt Janet said, looking at Leesa and smiling. “Pray tell.”
“It’s no big deal,” Leesa said. “I’ve only talked to him twice.”
“I’ve warned her to be careful,” Cali continued. “He’s a Maston.”
Uncle Roger turned to Leesa. “Oh?” he said.
Leesa thought she saw a bit of concern on her uncle’s normally cheerful face. “You know about the Mastons?” she asked.
“A little.” Uncle Roger wiped his mouth with his napkin. “I grew up in East Haddam. That’s not all that far from Moodus. My buddies and I used to go up there when we were in high school, see if we could hear the noises. Never went into the Maston settlement, though.”
“Did you ever hear the noises?” Stacie asked.
“One time, yes. It was the strangest thing, sort of like a subway rumbling underground. It lasted almost ten minutes.”
“Did you ever see any blue fire or hear any screams?” Cali asked.
“Oh, come on, Cali,” Leesa said, frowning. “You know that stuff’s nonsense.”
“I didn’t, no,” Uncle Roger said. “But a friend of mine swears he saw blue flashes out there one night.”
“But no human sacrifice?” Leesa asked, looking sarcastically at Cali before pointedly helping herself to another slice of pizza.
Uncle Roger chuckled. “No, no sacrifices, human or otherwise.”
“I know the Mastons don’t drive, or use phones or computers or anything,” Aunt Janet said. “What else have you heard, Roger?”
“The same crazy stuff Cali was talking about. Voodoo magic kind of stuff. No
thing to believe.” He turned to Leesa. “I’m surprised one of them goes to your school though. I didn’t know they mixed with regular folk like that.”
“He’s not a student,” Leesa said. “He just hangs out on campus now and then. He’s really cute.”
“Well, that trumps everything,” Uncle Roger chuckled. “As long as he’s really cute.” He scratched absently at his neck. “I wonder why he hangs around Weston. That’s a pretty long walk from Moodus.”
“Probably looking for young virgins to sacrifice,” Cali said, laughing.
Leesa pushed at her friend’s shoulder. “Stop it!” she said, but she was unable to keep herself from chuckling. The others joined in the laughter.
“Seriously, though,” Uncle Roger said when the laughter subsided, “there’s something a little weird about him walking all the way to Weston to mingle with students. I don’t think it’s a good idea to get involved with him, Leesa.”
“I agree with your uncle,” Aunt Janet added. “No matter how nice he is, I’m not sure what could come of it. You live in such different worlds.”
Leesa knew that what her aunt and uncle said made sense—more sense than what Cali kept saying, for sure. She couldn’t call Rave, or even text or email him. And how would they ever go anywhere, when he wouldn’t ride in a car or take a bus? She wondered if it was okay for him to ride a bike. That would be something, at least. Was he allowed to go to the movies, watch TV or play Guitar Hero? Her aunt and uncle were right—she and Rave did live in different worlds. But her aunt and uncle had not felt the feelings that surged through her when she saw him—heck, when she even thought about him. She wasn’t sure she could give that up even if she wanted to.
She was glad she hadn’t mentioned Stefan to anyone, except in passing to Cali as a guy she’d talked to briefly at the party. They’d be on her case doubly hard, especially if she told them that Rave said Stefan was a vampire. She could only imagine their reaction to that. No way was she going there. They’d think Rave was out of his mind, for sure. This family had heard enough about vampires.
“How about some pie,” she asked instead.
“I’ll second that,” Caitlin said.