The Deal Maker (Book I)

Chapter Seven - Summoned

                                                                               Chapter Seven

                                                                                  Summoned

I threw myself into a nearby lawn chair with sweat dewing on my forehead and my hair pulled tightly into a ponytail. Almost the middle of March and it felt like a balmy summer day. I hated the humidity and how it was just below freezing last week. Don’t get me wrong, I love the sun and the dry heat of summer. This, however, was a torturous type of heat, the kind that strangles you. I took several gulps of my iced tea and spread my body out in hopes that some wind would blow and cool me down. Why was I out here? I had decided to surprise David, who has been pulling double shifts like crazy, by turning his weeds and tall grass into a clean looking lawn. A simple task to a normal person, but I’ve never used a lawn mower before. Why would I have ever needed to? My mom either had her boyfriend at that time mow or she’d just let things grow.

After viewing YouTube videos, I mastered it. Well, if mastering it means squealing and running away when it fired to life. I managed to mow it all in the end. The humid air made it harder to recover from the long, exhausting day. I chewed on ice cubes and watched the neighbors come home from work with either groceries or kids in the cars. This was normal for any ordinary person, to spend a Monday afternoon mowing, that is. I saw the look of exhaustion on each person’s face as they went into their homes with slumped shoulders and relieved smiles on their lips that this day was over. What was this all for? Food on their tables and a roof over their heads. I thought about my most recent stack of job applications I dropped off last week. No one even called me back. As miserable as some of them looked, at least they felt important.

David hasn’t brought up how long I’ve been here. I mean, I’ve lived on his couch since the middle of December. He has been encouraging when I’ve brought up jobs and encouraging when I’ve brought up cleaning around the house. He encourages anything I do. It’s both sweet and upsetting at the same time. So here I was trying to earn my keep at his house by doing odd jobs like mowing or cleaning drains. It made me feel like I had a purpose, or at least not like a lazy bum on his couch. Ever since he has been working harder I’ve felt the need to work harder as well.

A black car pulled into the driveway with tented windows and shiny rims. I sat up and pushed my sunglasses down to cover my eyes. I knew this car, I’ve ridden in it. When the backdoor opened I was immediately relieved to see it wasn’t the vampire threesome, but instead a nervous Jacky with large sunglasses and shaky legs. She spotted me and began to walk my way with tiny steps in her heels. She was paler than I remembered, though that whole place held nothing but pale skin and cold stares. When she reached me I was already standing in defense mode.

“Hello, Joanna,” she greeted with a nod towards me.

I crossed my arms over my chest and tilted my head to the side for a tougher look. “Jacky,” I acknowledged.

She was unfazed by my cold attitude. “You’ve been summoned by Matthew.”

Matthew? I figured it would be Nicholas or Beth because they showed more interest. At least they got my name right. “Why didn’t he come here himself?” I glared at her through my dark shades.

Her ruby lips smashed together as if she resisted the urge to laugh. “The sunlight, of course.”

So the sunlight theory was true? I took note of that and turned my attention from the car back to her. “I decline being summoned, now go away.”