“Where would she go?
You must have some
Guy in mind?”
Verne looked so childish, shoulders collapsed,
Unresponsive iPhone fallen to the floor.
I was not going to mother him.
I felt sorry for him but I also
Fel everything was his own damn fault
How could such a lucky man
Wealthy and free
So mismanage his own life?
Suddenly my dream was
Magically achieved; I felt
Old; sophisticated;
Like HE was fourteen and
I was thirty-seven.
I pushed coffee.
It’s always been my
Panacea.
He sipped in new docility.
“Black. The way I like it.”
I corrected brusquely,
“There is no cream or sugar.”
“It’s mean strong. I need it
To fight back.”
I wish he’d stop raising these
Disturbing concepts –
Was that what he liked about me?
How was that possible when
He hated it about Mirabel?
Maybe he was trying to apologize.
I muted.
He studied me ironically.
“Will you tell The Folks?”
Mirabel’s word for them.
Felt a chill.
How explain this to the world?
Did I finally have
Something to write about for my break essay –
I could rush home
To my life as a
Powerless teenage nobody.
“We don’t know what
Happened.” At the very least we should
Figure out what the hell
Was going on. It’s true that Verne
Seemed a loose cannon now but
I could always lock my door.
Grab that bull by his
You Know Where.
“No more kissing. OK?”
He flushed a dirty red.
“No. Hell no.
I’m sorry.”
“Maybe she’s in trouble.”
He shrugged this off.
“Impossible. She’s just a tease.”
This did not feel right.
If she could get out of her depth with Verne she could
Certainly do it with other men.
Plenty going on am
I am curious.
I was slowly realizing that
Because Verne was Verne he MIGHT
Always be the last to know.
“You really think she’s left you?”
He writhed. “We played the hurt game
To the top of our bent This could
Be her winning shot.”
What was the score?
Why inject me?
Did she owe me or –
Did I owe her? I said,
“If she left you
She left me, too.”
Why couldn’t I believe
That Mirabel would ghost me?
Wasn’t that what she’d always done?
But it was different now –
We’d been “sisters” together –
For one split second.
Fresh chills fevered me –
Was she handing off her bridegroom?
The matching dresses were just too weird.
On the other hand, fashion is transgressive;
Always trying to break the rules.
No. no. Can’t go there.
“Until Mirabel calls it off
It’s on. This could be nothing.
She might come back.
She’ll call. Sleep on it. Have some
Lemon cake.” He shuddered. Grumpy.
“I asked for Hazelnut.”
I easily imagined a Mirabel
Blocking his desires.
He settled for coconut
Companionably we ate together.
He’d fed me, now I fed him.
That’s called a relationship.
Then he fixed me with
A gnarly eye.
“Did she warn you?
What did she tell you?
Did she say anything
About HIM?”
I always hated third degree.
I blush as if I’m guilty.
“She told me nothing,”
I said coldly. “I
“Was invited to a wedding.”
“She’ll never call,” he moaned.
“She’ll keep the tension up
Until the victim dies. That’s her way.”
“Then you should call it off.”
I scraped the rest of my cake
Into the trash – I only
Like the frosting – and
Hardened myself against their
Nuptial craziness.
Verne rose so decisively
His plate fell to the rug.
“I’m going to find her,”
“Game on. She chose me. She doesn’t get
Another choice.”
What was the matter with this man?
Physically attractive –
Wealthy – powerful –
So insecure?
The only game with players is REFUSE TO PLAY.
Mirabel had always coveted those
She could manipulate. But
Did I know that of my own
Knowledge – how could I – or
Did my parents prompt me?
That’s the thing about growing up –
It slowly dawns on you that
All you’re told is nonsense.
A dose of sense is
Obviously required.
“I think you’re looking at this wrong,
Mirabel’s frightened
Of our dad. He’s the “other man.”
Verne gaped at me,
His focus readjusting as if
He saw me for the first time.
“Explain.”
“Don’t you know the story?
She pretended to go to college but really cashed all
Daddy’s checks and lived the high life.
She got in trouble with the student loan people,
Forging documents. We haven’t heard from her for
Six years. Dad’s still angry.
I thought something was up when
She wanted to come home.”
“I didn’t know. Quite little scamp.”
He seemed cheered.
“Think we should wed in church?
I don’t know one marriage that’s survived ten years.”
This man could certainly surprise me.
“Mom and Dad have been married FOREVER,”
Worse than that –
Unimaginable without each other;
A true team – like Laurel & Hardy or
Abbott & Costello.
I could imagine no other human
Puting up with either of them.
How to convey this?
“Maybe you shouldn’t get married
When you are so uncertain,” I suggested.
Would I get kissed or
Slapped for interfering?
Adults don’t like to second-guess but
Mirabel forced my hand.
“All our bridges burned,”
He sighed.
“The only way is forward.”
Depressing thought.
Keeping up this guy’s mood is work.
“Let’s figure out where she
Could have possibly gone. Like,
How would she travel?”
Verne sat straight up.
“Car service,” he announced.
“I pay the bills. We can track her.”
He worked his phone.
“I’m so glad
“You’re staying. I need you.
You’re Alt-Mirabel.”
Alysse Aallyn 
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