Jenny Plague-Bringer: (Jenny Pox #4) (15 page)

Jenny stood in front of the little wall mirror in her studio, her shirt off, turning
side to side as she examined herself.  At four months, her belly was really starting
to pooch out.  So far, she’d kept to wearing loose, bulky shirts and sweaters, and
she’d joked about how the French cheeses and chocolates were fattening her up, but
it was clear that she would have tell Seth the truth pretty soon.  She was shocked
the pregnancy had already lasted so long, but she hadn’t used the pox at all, except
to frighten Mariella once, which she regretted.  Besides that, she’d done what she
could to keep the developing baby safe.

She opened a door to a cabinet where she kept her art supplies, and she reached all
the way to the back of the bottom shelf.  Even as she picked up the bottle, she cursed
herself.  It was empty, and she’d meant to buy another one, but it had slipped her
mind.

She gave it a shake anyway, but there was nothing inside.  Jenny had started taking
the prenatal vitamins about a month ago, despite knowing the baby was almost certainly
not going to live.  She wasn’t sure why she’d started doing it, and she tried not
to think about it too much.  Clearly, she wanted the baby to live, but it was useless
to desire impossible things.

Jenny heard the loud squeal of tires on pavement, following by an ear-shattering crash. 
She hid the pill bottle and walked out to the living room, where Seth was playing
a Nintendo Wii game that involved racing and crashing big monster trucks. 

“You can take the boy out of South Carolina...” Jenny said.

“Ha ha.  You can drive Grave Digger if you want to race.”

“I think I’ll pass. I have to run to the store.”

He paused the game. “Why?  What’s up?”

“Nothing.  I just have to get some cream and, uh, nutmeg.  For the eggnog.”

“Don’t worry about the eggnog.  It’s Christmas Eve already, everything might be closed.”

“No!  I mean, it doesn’t really taste like Christmas without eggnog.  My dad always
had some.”

“I’ll go with you.” Seth stood up.

“You don’t have to.”  It would be hard to buy prenatal vitamins without Seth noticing,
Jenny thought.

“It’s icy out there, and it’s almost dark, too.”

“What do I care about the dark?” Jenny asked. “I almost feel bad for anyone who tries
to attack me.”

“Why would you feel bad for them?”

“I said
almost
.” Jenny bundled up in a scarf, knit hat, coat, and gloves, and she grabbed her purse.
“Do we need anything else?”

“Wine.  You keep forgetting to buy it.  And bourbon for the eggnog, if you want to
get lucky tonight.” He winked at her. “It could lower my inhibitions.”

“Seth, you don’t have inhibitions.”

“What do you mean?”

“I seem to remember you hooking up with some random blond girl at the festival in
Charleston...”

“Oh, come on, that was Ashleigh's fault.  She was possessing Darcy, and she forced
me to do that.”

“It looked like you were suffering pretty badly.  The way her boobs were in your face. 
Lots of pain involved there.”

Seth sighed and rubbed his eyes. “You know Ashleigh was trying to drive us apart. 
First possessing Darcy and pretending to be your friend, then making me hook up with
some random hottie and making sure you caught us—”

“You did
not
just call her a ‘hottie.’”

“That’s not what I meant...What happened, Jenny?  Why are you in a bad mood tonight?”

“Not a bad mood.  Reflective, maybe.  See you in fifteen minutes, if I don’t have
to kill a mugger or anything.” Jenny walked out the front door and down the hall to
the elevator.  She hadn’t meant to bite Seth’s head off, it was more of a ruse to
keep him from joining her.  She was a little flushed and angry, though, thinking how
she’d discovered Seth that night, his mouth open and eyes glazed as the other girl
rode on top of him.  Even if Ashleigh's wicked, loving touch had been involved, it
still made Jenny angry sometimes.

In the plush lobby, filled with the sound of old jazz, Jenny waved at the security
guard at the front desk.  As usual, he wore his burgundy-and-brass uniform coat and
gave only a very slight nod as she passed.

Then she was outside in the cold December night.  A thick snow had fallen on Paris
this year, blanketing the city in white and hanging icicles from trees and window
ledges.  Their apartment was located in
Le Marais
, a district full of centuries-old mansions that had mostly been converted into museums. 
There were also a number of cabarets and nightclubs, where Jenny had made Seth take
her to a couple of drag shows.

Her favorite corner shop was already closed, so Jenny had to continue on several blocks
to the big Monoprix supermarket.  The streets were mostly empty as a fresh flurry
of snow tumbled down among the beautiful old buildings.  Music played from a couple
of bars she passed, but nearly every shop was closed.  Jenny smiled, feeling for a
moment that she had all of Paris to herself.

Then she passed through glass doors into the Monoprix, where a crowd of last-minute
shoppers were checking out before the store closed.  Jenny automatically drew her
arms close around herself, even though her gloves and coat ensured she wouldn’t touch
anyone.

She found the prenatals in the pharmacy area, and then paused in an aisle full of
baby supplies.  Bottles, diapers, pacifiers, little toys and pajamas and tiny pairs
of socks.  Her baby wouldn’t be needing any of this, she thought.  Then she barely
managed to stop herself from crying in front of everyone.  The pregnancy seemed to
make her emotions spiral out of control fast, for the stupidest reasons.

She hurried to the check-out, then out the door.

Jenny was halfway home before she remembered that she was supposed to buy eggnog ingredients. 
She cursed under her breath, then doubled back to the store.

When she’d finished her second visit to the store, she walked down the narrow
R
ue Vieille du Temple
alone, hearing her footsteps echo back from the masonry and closed windows above
her.  The walk back seemed somehow less pleasant.  She was aware of being alone, of
the sunken doorways and dark windows around her.  She felt a twinge of childhood fear,
the kind that fully believed monsters could be hiding in every shadow, waiting to
snatch her with a clawed hand.  She shivered.

Her sense of fright only grew worse as she approached her apartment building, as if
something evil and twisted waited for her inside.  There was danger in the air, even
though she couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

She waved to the security guy as she passed through the lobby, and he nodded once,
very slightly, in return.  Everything seemed normal.

Her sense of dread grew worse as the rattling elevator carried her up to her floor. 
She could feel her heart beat in her chest as she inserted the key into the lock.

Stop being paranoid, Jenny
, she told herself.  Then she opened the door.

Seth was on the couch, but he was no longer playing the Wii.  He faced a girl with
deep red hair, almost black, and a long leather jacket who now sat beside him.  Her
back was to Jenny, but Jenny could see that they were gripping each other’s hands,
and Seth’s eyes were closed.  His eyes opened as Jenny stepped in through the front
door.

“
Jenny!” Seth said, with a goofy smile on his face.  Then he seemed to notice that
he was holding hands with the other girl, and he disentangled himself and stood up.
“This is Mariella.”

Mariella turned toward Jenny, and a look of shock crossed the Italian girl’s face.

“
You!” Mariella said.

“
Me,” Jenny replied.

“
I’m confused.” She looked from Seth to Jenny. “You said you did not know him.”

“
Wait, you know each other?  Now I’m confused,” Seth added.

“
It’s a confusing night,” Jenny said. “Strange things happen when you go out for eggnog. 
Looks like you two were having fun.”

“
She was reading my future,” Seth said.

“
Really?  And?” Jenny asked.

“
We’re all in a lot of trouble,” Mariella said.

“
Yep.  Especially Seth.” She walked into the kitchen to put away the groceries, and
Seth followed her.  She’d already tucked the vitamins into a coat pocket.

“
Where did you find her?” Jenny asked.

“
She came to the door.  She said she’s had visions of meeting me in the future, and
they led her here,” Seth whispered.

“
And you believed her?”

“
She knew things about me.  She knew about my healing touch.  I had to see what she
wanted, or if she was a danger to us.”

Jenny put the nutmeg in the spice cabinet, in front of the other nutmeg that was already
there, and slammed the cabinet door. She turned to face Seth. “So.  She tells you
she’s like us, and you think it’s a good idea to let her touch you?  What if she was
like Ashleigh and made you her little slave?  Did you think of that?”

“
How could she do that when her power is seeing your future?” Seth asked.

“
Why did you trust her enough to take the risk?”

“
I...you...” Seth stared at her for a moment, clearly fumbling for an answer.  Then
he asked, “How do you already know her?”

“
She showed up at our front door one day, looking for you.”

“
She did?  What do you know about her?” Seth whispered.

“
She’s a student here in Paris.  Working towards degrees in art history and economics...and
Google tells me that her family in Milan are crazy rich.  Fashion, media, banking. 
Your parents would love her.”

Seth scowled a little at that.

“
She wears gloves all the time, even when she doesn’t know I’m watching,” Jenny said.
“She’s either like us, or she’s going to a lot of trouble to pretend she is.”

“
So you knew there was another one of us right here in Paris, and she knows where we
live, and you never thought that was worth mentioning?” Seth asked.

“
Excuse me,” Mariella said.  She stood at the edge of the kitchen, pointing back over
her shoulder at the front door. “Should I be leaving now, or...?”

“
That might be a good idea,” Jenny said.

“
Wait,” Seth said. “I think you should stay for a minute.”

“
Do you?” Jenny asked him.

“
We should talk about this,” Seth said. “Figure out what the hell’s going on.  Let’s
have some wine.”

“
Sorry, forgot to buy any,” Jenny said. “Let’s go back to the living room.  It’s getting
crowded in here.”

Seth and Jenny took the settee, while Mariella sat alone on the loveseat and brought
out a golden pack of Fantasia cigarettes and a lighter.

“
You can’t smoke in here,” Jenny said. “You can smoke if you leave.”

“
I am sorry.” Mariella tucked the cigarettes back into her purse. She sat with her
hands in her lap, her knees bouncing nervously in her tight designer jeans.  She looked
like nothing so much as a kid in trouble at school, waiting to see the principal.
“Can I ask...why didn’t you tell me about him?”

“
About Seth?” Jenny asked.

“
Is that his name?  Seth,” Mariella said, as if trying it on, and she smiled warmly. 
Jenny wanted to stab the girl with her own stiletto heel.

“
What do you expect me to do?” Jenny asked. “Some girl shows up at my door, so eager
to meet my boyfriend she’s practically ripping her panties off, and what am I going
to do?  Introduce you to him?”

“
Oh.” Mariella’s face fell, and she looked at the floor. “He is your boyfriend.”

“
What did you think we were?  Roommates?” Jenny asked.

“
I have not had time to think about it.” Mariella frowned deeply, which pouted out
her lower lip. “This makes no sense to me.”

“
I know, he’s kind of goofy, but I stick with him anyway,” Jenny said.

“
Wait, somebody was ripping their panties off?” Seth asked.

“
Quiet.” Jenny knocked her knee against his leg, and she hoped it hurt. “Why did you
come back, Mariella?  Have you been stalking us?” She asked the question self-righteously,
as if Jenny hadn’t stalked Mariella herself.

“
No, I wanted to see you,” Mariella told her.

“
Right.  Why would you want to see me, after last time?”

“
What happened last time?” Seth asked.