Magical Midlife Invasion (Leveling Up 3)

“I live five hours away from all of them, Mom,” I said, staring daggers at her. “I’m just taking a little me time after the divorce.”

“I’ll never understand this new emphasis on me time. Back in my day, if you had a bump in the road, you just got on with things, right, Tom?”

Mr. Tom finally pulled out a crystal set. “Yes, madam, on that we can agree. I have repeatedly told the miss that she must get back out there. She has had a few failed dates, not strictly her fault, but that is no reason to give up.”

“Yes. Exactly. My, isn’t this beautiful? Jacinta McMillian, when did you get such beautiful dishware?”

I didn’t bother correcting her on the last name. She’d never acknowledged the name change before; it seemed less than likely she’d start now, which was actually preferable. I didn’t really feel a connection to it anymore, anyway.

“It was left over from the last owners,” I said. “Most of this stuff came with the house.”

“Such a steal.” She finished transferring the items into the new bowls and pushed them into the center of the island. “Though I did see a couple cracks forming in the TV room.” She waved her hand at the far wall. “Must be the plaster or something. The plaster is coming off. I just pushed on it, and it seemed to click back into place, so that’s good.”

I widened my eyes, looking at Mr. Tom. His brow furrowed. Could she be talking about the secret doors? They were innocuous enough to look like cracks in the wall when they were popped open. What else could it be? But why was Ivy House opening the secret doors for them?

“I better get a bowl for your father,” she muttered into the suddenly still room. “He won’t want to come all the way in here to get it, and I doubt all these young people with good hearing want to go into that room with the blaring TV. They’ll be deaf in an hour!”

“Let me, madam.” Mr. Tom reached for the Tupperware of clam dip, prepared to scoop some into the smaller dish he already had at the ready.

“No, no, I have it, don’t worry.” She shifted, throwing her shoulder against his arm, knocking him out of the way. I’d never seen her so pushy. “Anyway, Jessie, you have a handsome young man right there. He looks about your age. You two should go out. What are you waiting for?”

“We can’t, Mom. We work together.”

“What, on the woods stuff? That’s not really work. You don’t have a boss. I don’t think it’s a problem.” My mom took the bowl from an increasingly hostile Mr. Tom and spooned some of the thick white dip into it.

“I do owe you that date,” Austin said, watching me pull the chip bowl closer and grab a ruffled chip.

“You going to try that stuff, alph—Austin?” Ulric asked. Jasper leaned over the island, watching.

“When in Rome…” Austin reached for a chip.

“There, see? A date is a great idea. You two seem like you get along.” My mom beamed.

“It’s just as friends,” I said, my voice tinged with warning, hoping my mother would just drop it. I wasn’t so sure a date, even as friends, was a great idea. Not after that episode outside. When it came to Austin, my brakes weren’t holding up as well as I would like. “Anyway, Mom, what about the dolls?” I said. “You can’t leave those things lying around the house. Wait…did you leave the door to the doll room open?”

Austin paused with a chip barely dabbed with dip nearly to his mouth. Ulric’s eyes widened. Everyone knew what those dolls were capable of. Giving them free run of the house was a nightmare. A literal nightmare.

I closed my eyes, mentally pinpointing the door to their room. Thankfully, it was shut. I’d have to keep checking it vigilantly, just in case. My mother could not be trusted. Neither, it seemed, could Ivy House.

Having apparently ignored my question, my mom fussed with rinsing out the empty Tupperware. While she was otherwise occupied, Mr. Tom recognized his opportunity and grabbed the smaller bowl meant for my dad, then the bag of chips, and hurried out of the room.

“Drat that man.” My mom fumed after him. “He just will not take a break. He’s doing too much, Jessie, he really is. He doesn’t need to wait on us!”

“Mom. Listen to me, those dolls need to stay in that room. That’s their room.”

“Tell that to the rodents you have running through it. Your father and I heard a big one up there. I’d hate for those lovely little dolls to get chewed up. I made sure to move them around the house so they can be enjoyed and stay safe. Your father is going to tackle that rodent problem tomorrow. It’s the least we can do.”