Love-in-Idleness (23 page)

“So, what happened last night?” he asked.

“I’m not supposed to explain it,” Grace said.

“That sounds mysterious.”

“It is.” Grace laughed. What the hell, she thought. He had a right to know. “If I tell, you have to keep it between us.”

“Will you tell me who I was in love with?”

“Yeah, that was Chloe. The raving lunatic dressed in white. You were crazy for her. Now, she’s crazy for you.”

“That’s insane,” Ryder said.

“More than you could possibly know.”

So they sat, his arm around her shoulders, her head on his shoulder. She told him everything that passed since she went to sleep in his guest room many hours ago. They spoke quietly, intimately, like people who love each other should. Grace knew that once they left the Oberon’s penthouse, their relationship would have to be completely renegotiated. For a couple of hours, it was nice to cling to the past.

Puck burst into Miles’s office, furious and ready to demand an explanation. How was it possible that he was sent to assist in last night’s plan without full disclosure? No wonder he messed up. If Miles had told him Grace was his cousin, everything would have been different. It didn’t make sense. If Grace was their cousin, why would Miles want her to be with Cam? Did Cam just seem more prone to incest than Puck? Was it because Puck was clearly the brother most suited to deviancy? The favoritism never ended.

In spite of his anger, Puck was careful not to fling the door. Flinging was for women. Instead, he pushed on the door and stopped suddenly so that when Miles looked up, Puck was standing in the door. Miles chuckled. “Good entry. Have you been practicing?”

“Damn!” Puck said. He could feel himself deflate as he was reminded of exactly who was in charge and why. “You’ve deflected my anger with sarcasm. I hate that.” As Puck spoke, Cam walked into the office.

“I locked Chloe on the balcony. That should give you time to answer some questions,” he said to Miles.

“Sit down, boys,” Miles pointed to the empty chairs in front of his massive desk. “We’ve got a lot to discuss.” Puck sat in a chair next to Cam’s, across from Miles.

Miles had a way of directing the conversation that made Puck feel as though he should raise his hand to speak, but he was spared the embarrassment by the ever-entitled Cam.

“I’m not sure where to start asking questions,” Cam stated simply. “You sent me to Brooklyn on what seemed to be a fool’s errand, and then the whole world went nuts until this morning.”

Miles sat back and began to explain. “It would seem we have a bit of an information jigsaw amongst the Oberon men. Let me give you the background and maybe you’ll begin to fill in the pieces for yourselves.” He bent forward for a moment and Puck could tell that Miles was fiddling with the safe that sat in the bottom right-hand part of his desk. When he sat up again, he held something small and metallic between his thumb and index finger. When Miles moved his hand out into the open, the boys could see that he was holding a ring with a flat top.

Puck’s felt a surge of excitement when saw the symbol etched into the surface. “I know that symbol,” he volunteered. “That’s sulfur.” Miles nodded. “But what’s the metal? Is it copper?” Puck asked.

“No, I wish it were that easy. Feel it, it’s much harder than copper,” Miles answered.

“But the color…” Cam chimed in. Puck noticed that Cam’s interest seemed to increase upon seeing that Puck had some knowledge in this matter. “I wish it were a simple copper ring,” Miles continued. “Unfortunately, no one who has seen it has been able to properly identify this material. It is a mismatch with the descriptors of every known metal. The density, color, and even its reactions to other substances are all inconsistent with the definition of any known substance.”

Cam spoke before Puck could, which was unusual. “How is this relevant to last night?” It was clear to Puck that Cam was primarily interested in the part of the story that pertained directly to him. That was to be expected; since Cam’s education was so deficient in so many areas, his scope of interest was limited to his own paltry affairs.

“Let me continue,” Miles scolded. “There are three of these rings. Can you guess what the other two symbols are, Puck?”

Puck didn’t hesitate. “Mercury and salt.”

Cam looked confused, which made Puck deeply and importantly happy.

“Exactly,” Miles said.”Those three ancient symbols represent the building block of all that exists in our world. There is a legend that identifies this ring and its companions as having the power of each element. When possessed by an individual, that person has the ability to control our world in unimaginable ways. This goes beyond parlor tricks. We’re talking about manipulating the weather, the rotation of the planets, or causing irrevocable changes in the human population. No one knows whether or not the legend is true or exactly how to harness this power, but you can both see how the moral character of the one in possession of the rings could influence the world?”

Puck could feel that his eyes were wide as he nodded. This time, he didn’t catch himself before he raised his hand.

“Yes, Puck?” Miles responded.

“Where are the other two rings?”

Almost inaudibly, Cam spoke. “Grace is wearing one of them. She’s always fiddling with it. When she’s nervous, she spins it on her finger.”

Puck looked at Cam, and then at his father. “Is this true?”

“Yes,” Miles said. “She has mercury, which is fitting somehow. Mercury is from the earth. It represents an intelligent, perceptive person, often female, since mercury is associated with Venus. Anyway, her mother gave it to her, and until tonight, she thought it was a useless bauble. She would still think that if my sons had been able to persuade her to join our family without full disclosure. Now that I know her a bit, it was a misguided plan, one that would have worked on that blond bit of nonsense in the other room.”

“Chloe,” Puck and Cam said in unison, both of them distorting their faces derisively.

“Yes, Chloe.” Even Miles made a little puckered mouth when he said her name, as if he nibbled a lemon. “Anyway, I gave Grace a big dose of reality last night, and I need to get you two up to speed. Your job is to shut up and listen. Do you think you can do that?”

“So are you saying she knows more than we do right now?” Puck asked.

“Yeah, you just met her.”  Cam’s voice cracked a little when he spoke. “Why…?”

Miles cut him off. “Let’s try again. Shut up. Listen.”

As Miles spoke of long-lost sisters and the missing third ring, it occurred to Puck more than once that he was still receiving an edited version. He was pretty sure he was getting the whole story about Emma being related to Miles and Grace needing to be kept close. But there was something else bothering him that he couldn’t put his finger on.

It seemed as though Miles had been speaking for a long time when he finally began to wrap it up. “One last thing,” he said, just when Puck thought there couldn’t possibly be more.”It’s about you boys.”

Puck’s ears perked up. He looked over at Cam, who returned his glance and shrugged, as if to say,
Your guess is as good as mine.

“There was a time, quite a few years back, when I had a mistress. Don’t waste a lot of time being shocked by my lack of morals. We aren’t that kind of family. Just follow along.” He paused, but the boys didn’t interrupt. “She had a son who wasn’t mine, and he was so much like his mother that I took to him. He was just as attractive and kind as she was. When she died suddenly, I learned that she had no family and the father listed on the boy’s birth certificate didn’t really exist. She just made up a name. The boy was going to become a ward of the state if I didn’t intervene. Here was this amazing child who meant so much to me, I couldn’t let him be placed into a series of orphanages and foster homes, so I adopted him. Puck, I told your mother that Cameron was a distant relative that was suddenly orphaned.”

Before he could stop his body, Puck leaped out of his seat, leaped and punched at the sky with one fist. “YES!” he shouted at the top of his lungs. As his feet returned to the ground, he couldn’t keep them still. He wanted to dance and wiggle and shout. He was the one. All those years of knowing that something wasn’t right about Cam, he was right. Cam was just a little orphan, not an Oberon. Puck was the one who would inherit all of this. Puck was the chosen one. His whole life had been building up to this one moment in time. He was the real son. He was the most deserving. Cameron was a charity case.

When the moment passed and he collected his thoughts, he saw that the others weren’t even looking at him. Miles and Cam were huddled over an old picture of a woman. Even from where Puck stood, he could see that the color seemed a bit faded and the clothes were out of style. He leaned in and saw something unbelievable. It was Cam’s face, but a completely feminine, soft version. A flutter of embarrassment passed through his stomach, but Puck disregarded it. He sat down again and could see that Cam looked troubled.

“Listen, boys,” Miles addressed them both again. “Go to bed, take some time. I can’t spend my whole day in here, talking about our feelings. I’m sure that the issue of money will occur to you soon. Cam, don’t worry. Your inheritance will come from a different place than Puck’s, but you’ll have plenty. Family money will go to Puck, but I’ve set up a trust fund for you with my own money. You will be absurdly wealthy until the day you die.” Miles stood up. “So, I think we’re finished here.”

There was a long pause. Puck hated it when his father laid out a lot of highly charged information and then dismissed them.

“One more question,” Cam said.

“Last one,” Miles said sternly.

“Why was I in love with Chloe last night?”

Miles pushed back from his desk and began to walk around it and toward the door. Right before he left, he stopped to address Cam, who was now turned in his sea
t. “Puck put a spell on you. Good night, boys.” And with that, Miles walked out the door, closing it behind him.

Crap
, thought Puck. Here he was, alone with the orphan, busted on the one count he was hoping would slip Cam’s mind in light of everything else that had happened. He looked at Cam and grinned, “Well, I think that went pretty well, don’t you?”

The two boys sat for a full minute in silence. Puck was aware that Cam’s options were limited. Whatever he did, whatever he said, the facts would not change. He could lash out at Puck, but the consequences would be unfortunate. No matter how physically strong Cameron was, without magic, he would always lose any physical exchange. Verbal confrontation
was pointless. Puck was always victorious.

Eventually, Cam spoke. “Maybe,” he said, “this could be a chance to put this ridiculous rivalry behind us. I know you need reassurance that you are the favorite child
. I don’t know if this makes you his favorite offspring, but it certainly takes me out of the running.” With that, Cam stood and left the office, closing the door behind him.

Puck wasn’t sure why he felt so deeply disappointed. Cam had never held up his end of their feud very well, anyway, but now he was sucking every drop of fun out of the situation. There had always been some satisfaction in torturing his brother, even when there was little resistance, but now Cam wasn’t even his brother. After years of wanting Cam gone, in a strange way, it was almost as though Puck
had been granted his most precious wish. He didn’t understand why he wasn’t happier about it.

Cameron Oberon was
sitting in the garden, looking out over Central Park and debating the merits of crying. It wasn’t something he had much practice with. There had been times in his life that it had crossed his mind to do so; times of frustration or disappointment. However, something in his mind always reminded him to step back and find perspective on the situation. A failed test or thwarted crush was certainly fodder for some tears, at least in others. But he was an Oberon. He had never once seen his brother or father cry. The only tears in his household were those of women, and those were often concealed behind closed doors. In time, he internalized the idea that men don’t cry, even though the sentiment was never spoken aloud.

Today, though, he was no longer an Oberon. Was he now exempt from all of the expectations that went along with his lost lineage? What was expected of him? It was his understanding that he had no blood relatives at all, so was he to rely complet
ely on nurture to provide his parameters? He would never know what elements of his personality were truly inherited. Miles could provide some input, but Cam knew that it would be at least a couple days before Miles would be willing to discuss anything again. That’s what Miles did. He dropped a bomb and let you stew in the news for a while before he revisited the topic. This allowed the recipient to get all of those pesky emotions out of his or her system before Miles had to sit with them again. It was a very time-efficient system. Follow-up conversations weren’t burdened by weeping and needy little questions. Everyone present could settle into the discussion and knock it out in short order.

Just as Cam decided that knowing when it was time to cry was not a conscious decision, Grace interrupted his musing with
a light a hand on his shoulder. He jumped a little at her touch, and turned to see her standing next to him. She was lovely, with the sun behind her, backlighting her gorgeous auburn hair like a halo around her face.