Page 107 of Jinxes and Drumsticks

“She was in the middle of making tea,” Satoshi says, nodding over to a waiting teapot with a sieve settled over the mouth of the vessel. It remains filled with dry tea leaves waiting for their steep. The light over the range colors the room the same ugly yellow of a fading bruise. “Fire was still on when I got in here, but no water in the pot. Must have boiled off.”

“Yeah,” I say.

“Who is this person?” Satoshi asks. “Why the fuck are we here, Dame?”

“Lillith’s mother,” I say. “And, uh... Well, do you want the truth? Because it might fuck you up a little.”

“We almost got obliterated. The girl I’m into is literally doing freaky corpse shit right now. I think I’m already a little fucked up,” he says.

So, I tell him. The whole thing. Lillith’s curse, why she’s not with us, The Buried City, the hope of finding a way to get Lillith free of her magical house arrest. When all is said, Satoshi stares at the doorway to the kitchen, sighing.

“Gonna bail?” I ask. Wouldn’t be the first time Satoshi vanished when things got too real.

To my surprise, Satoshi drops his head and shakes it. “Nah. I’m kind of all in, I think.”

“Guys?” Wren calls. “I need some muscle.”

We both go out to the living room, finding Wren brushing away tears from her face. “Uhm—sorry,” she says, collecting herself. “Just—one thing we have to do before calling. There’s a gun safe downstairs in the basement. We gotta move it, and... and she has a little hiding spot behind it. There are some books in there.”

“Alright, we’ll work on that,” I say. “Why don’t you make the call while we do? Get some air.”

“Okay,” Wren says, her breath hitching a bit. “Yeah. Okay.”

I brace for Satoshi complaining but when I look at him, he’s staring at Wren as she exits the house. He frowns and, without looking at Lillith’s mother, says. “Can we cover her back up? She shouldn’t just be laying here on the floor half naked.”

His throat bobs in a way that looks painful, and I find myself having a rare moment of worry for the guy. “Yeah, I’ll get her covered up. You want to head downstairs? If you’re uncomfortable...”

“I’m not uncomfortable,” he says quickly. I think he meant to say it harshly, like he always does. But it just sounds... sad.

“You okay, man?” I ask him.

“Your girlfriend or whatever. Was she close to her mom?”

I know Satoshi was standing right there when Lillith talked about her shitty mom with Oren, but I don’t give him shit for it. This is the closest I think I’ve seen Satoshi come to acting like a fucking human being instead of a lump of anger.

“No. They were estranged,” I say gently.

He nods. Like that’s a good thing. Like he’s relieved on her behalf. He runs a hand through his loose topknot, his eyes shining in the dingy light with something that might be tears, but how would I know?

“I uh—when my Mom passed...”

I kneel to start rebuttoning Lillith’s mother’s shirt, careful not to look at him. I’m worried if I do, the moment will shatter. He’ll just go back to being the same asshole he usually is.

“My dad—he just ignored her wishes. For what happened after. I just—I worried that without Lillith’s input... I mean...”

He trails off, and I lift the woman’s head to set one of her throw pillows beneath it. I grab one of her threadbare quilts and drape it over her body, folding it just under her chest. Finally, I fold her hands over her stomach. She looks like she’s sleeping.

I rise back up to my feet. Satoshi stares down at the body, but I don’t know if he’s really seeing her. I think he might be seeing his own mother.

I pull him into an embrace. A very manly, very dude-like embrace. Because I just get the feeling that if I make it too real, he’ll bristle up like a porcupine and lash out.

“Thank you, man,” I say. “For caring about her wishes.”

He doesn’t return the hug, but he sinks into it. He’s like a stray cat being scratched under the chin for the first time.

“Your girl’s or her mother’s?” he asks against my shoulder.

“Both,” I say. “For a fucking dickhead, you can be pretty thoughtful once in a while.”