The cat pee had done it. In our teens I had gone with Annie to visit her Nonna in her 5th floor walk-up on Elizabeth Street. Afterwards, Annie had made me promise that if she ever took to keeping multiple cats and smelling like pee I’d put her out of her misery. I’d only promised on the condition she’d do the same for me. I considered calling Annie and telling her I’d gotten there. I might not have a cat, but I did have a pet mouse, who had crept in while I was crying and was rooting around in the wet mail. He nosed a robin’s egg blue flier into my lap. I picked it up and read: “Handyman Bill! For all your household needs – no repair too big or too small. Plumbing, masonry, roof repair – you name it, it fits the Bill!”
I snorted. “Let’s hope his handyman skills are better than his punditry,” I remarked to Ralph, picking up the phone. I got a garbled voicemail message. I left my name and number and told Handyman Bill I had a basement full of water and a leaking roof and would he please get back to me as soon as possible. Then I hung up and tried three plumbers listed in the phone book. None of them picked up. They must be all out draining other people’s basements after yesterday’s rain.
Disgusted, and sick of my own smell, I boiled some hot water in the electric kettle and brought it upstairs with one of the plastic basins I’d used last night to catch drips. I mixed the hot into the cold water until it was the right temperature. Then I took a sponge bath. It wasn’t as satisfying as a soak in the tub, but at least I didn’t smell as much anymore. Which meant I wasn’t as bad as Annie’s Nonna or Lura Trask. I wasn’t rich but I had enough money to hire people to fix the house – just until Brock came back. And he was coming back. I’d make sure of that, just as I’d make sure the door remained open so that my friends wouldn’t have to go back to Faerie forever. To reassure myself, I checked on the Aelvestone again. I took it out of its flannel covering and held it in my hands for a moment. Surely there could be no harm in that. Its warmth coursed up my arms and spread through my chest. A sense of well-being suffused my body. It was better than a Xanax! With this much Aelvesgold, I’d be able to help Brock and keep the Grove from closing the door. With this much Aelvesgold, I was capable of anything! Ann Chase wouldn’t have to choose between helping her daughter and curing her arthritis. Liz would never have to grow old and die – no one would ever have to grow old and die! The possibilities were endless … but for right now I’d better put it away. Both Liz and Lura had said it was dangerous to handle it too often.