Velda looked around. Inez did the same. Simultaneously they hitched closer to Destiny. “There’ve been strange goings-on around here.”
Inez nodded solemnly. “That’s right, Sister, you tell her. Listen to her, dear—it’s mojo. Bad, bad mojo.”
Laughter bubbled up in Destiny’s throat, but she blinked rapidly, battling to stay solemn. The two women deserved respect. They were gossips, but they were sharp. Destiny settled back into her chair. “I’m Destiny, by the way.” She felt she owed them her name because they had spotted her on the streets often enough to recognize her. If they could see her as she moved rapidly along the streets at night, they had sharp eyes to go with their sharp minds. And more than that, they had restored a semblance of balance in her world. “Please do tell me.”
“No one believes us, Sister,” Inez cautioned. “They think we have bats in the belfry.” She parted her bright hair, and Destiny noticed that her nails matched the amazing shade of purple. So did her tennis shoes. The laces were coiled and metallic purple.
“I doubt that,” Destiny answered decisively. “You’re very well respected by everyone. If you say something is going on, it probably is. I’d have to hear some details, though, before determining what sort of detective you’d need.”
The sisters exchanged a long, satisfied look. It was Velda who took up the challenge. “It started a month or so ago. We began to notice small things, but at first we didn’t connect them.”
Inez nodded wisely. “Small things, you know?” she echoed solemnly while her head glowed purple and red from the odd lighting of the streetlamp.
Velda shushed her. “Sister, let me tell her.”
“I was just verifying. An account must be verified or no one takes it seriously. Isn’t that right, dear, don’t you want verification? Two eyewitnesses are better than one, don’t you think?”
Destiny didn’t know if she reached out or if Nicolae was already a shadow in her mind. Or maybe she was a shadow in his. All she knew for certain was that she wanted to share with someone the extraordinary relationship these two wonderful women had. They were everything she had always wanted in a grandmother. They made her smile inside and lightened the burden she always carried.
She was pleased with Nicolae’s reaction. Warmth flooded her, amusement, but not mocking laughter. He saw the sisters the way she saw them. It was the first time she could remember sharing something fun, lighthearted, a connection of warmth rather than pain and degradation. She knew that the moment would be etched in her memory forever.
Destiny took in every detail of the two women—their open, honest faces, their eccentric hair and attire. Even the green-and-white striped lawn chairs. The way the wind was riffling the leaves in the bushes and blowing small bits of dust and debris along the streets. This was as close to happiness as she had ever come.
“Destiny?” Inez prompted. “Velda’s right about this. She has the second sight, you know.”
“Do you, Velda?” Destiny asked curiously. She had never run across another person who had special gifts.
Velda nodded sagely. “I know things about people,” she whispered. “That’s how I can match people up. And that’s why I know something’s wrong.” The whisper was dramatic, the voice theatrical. Destiny automatically scanned the minds of the two sisters, even though she knew it was an invasion of privacy. Velda was worried and so was her sister. They believed something had crept into their neighborhood, but no one would listen to them. They fully expected Destiny to laugh at them.
“I know things about people, too,” she admitted, seeking to reassure the sisters. “It can be frightening to have information and not know how to convey it so that others listen. Please tell me what you’ve observed, Velda.”
Velda patted her arm. Inez patted her knee. Neither seemed to notice that she squirmed uncomfortably, but Destiny knew them now. They were both good at reading people; they knew she didn’t like to be touched, and they were determined to push past the protective barrier she erected around herself.
“You’re a good girl, dearie,” Velda said approvingly. “You were right, Sister—she’s the one who will listen to us.”