The Late Bird's Tale: A Tale of the Floating World

Part 1 || 6 | Judy | The Four Jacks, Manners and Vows

"I . . . I did nothing, ma'am," he said.

"You did something to her, didn't you?" she said. "Don't lie, or I'll kick you so hard, you'll be—"

"I'm sorry for offending you," he said, bowing to her and keeping his eyes to the floor, which pissed Judy off even more, because she thought this cosplayer was trying to act all nice just to cover up some hideous deed. In fact, Judy was about to kick the man in shins—

When Grace called out from her bathroom upstairs, saying, "Judy, he's harmless! I'm just in the bathroom at the moment. I'll be out in a minute, so hold on."

So Judy passed by the intruder, stalking through the living room, till she reached the stairs and looked back over her shoulder at the weird cosplaying man staying put in Grace's living room. She said, "Just stay there, and we won't have any problems," and she turned back towards the stairs. "Grace, what's going on? Do you know this guy?"

"Hold on," Grace said from the upstairs bathroom. "I'll be out in a second."

So Judy waited for a little more than 30 of those seconds, but she heard Grace opening her door with the click of the latch and descending the stairs in her own pajamas with a towel wrapped around her head, drying her wet hair.

"What's going on?" Judy said and jerked her thumb over her shoulder. "Do you know him?"

Grace looked up at the dashing teenager in a doublet and trews and a beret and said, "Only since this morning."

So Judy crossed her arms, saying, "What's going on?"

"That's what we'd like to know, too," said three familiar voices at the entrance of Grace's house, and one of them added, "May we come in, lass?"

"Sure, come in," Grace said beside Judy. "Just take off your shoes and leave them in the foyer."

And so, while the three Jacks did just that, Judy looked at her friend, then at the fourth Jack talking to his three cronies like they were jolly drinking buddies, though his manner of fine speaking made him out to be somewhat of a lightweight in the drinking department. When the other Jacks finished, they stood back up and flashed their dashing smiles and waved their hands at Judy and her friend.

"Ah, hello again, lass," the Jack of Spades said.

"Did you miss us?" the Jack of Hearts added.

"Or not?" the Jack of Clubs added.

Judy just stared at her three intruders (turned stalkers) before looking back at Grace Ransom with the Jack of Diamonds muttering something behind the backs of his cronies near the doorway. After some moments of staring and gawking, Judy said, "I'm not sure what to say, other than this is the weirdest morning of my life."

Judy's three unwanted intruders traded puzzled looks, raising their eyebrows and shrugging their shoulders.

So the Jack of Spades said to Grace, "Ah, and nice to meet you, lass. I'm the Jack of Spades."

"Same here, my lady," added the Jack of Hearts. "I'm the Jack of Hearts."

"Same here," added the Jack of Clubs. "I'm the Jack of Clubs."

Then all three Jacks bowed in the living room of Grace's house like a trio of Renaissance stooges, while the Jack of Diamonds went on muttering to himself about something involving three rakes and one saint. Which caught the ire of the three visiting Jacks, who turned on their youngest member and pulled him forward in front of Grace and Judy.

"And this young man here," the Jack of Spades said, "is a bit of churlish fellow—"

"—with a thing for holding onto grudges," added the Jack of Hearts, "and muttering to himself—"