Moonlight Mile (4 page)

“Just browsing,” Jordan said.

Nina nodded. “We're looking for costumes, but we're
not quite sure what we're looking for,” she explained.

The shop owner pursed her lips. “I understand. Half the fun is in the search, hmm? Just let me know if I can help.”

She went back to her work as Nina and her friends headed deeper into the shop. “Okay, let's spread out,” Trinity said briskly. “We have a lot of stores to cover today.”

Marie's shop was crammed with treasures. It was tempting to stop and examine everything that looked interesting, but Nina tried to stay focused. There wasn't much time to pull two costumes together, and she wanted them to be perfect. So she barely paused over a gorgeous tie-dyed tank top, and only held up a cool old sundress in front of her instead of trying it on.

Still, she didn't find anything that seemed right for her Serena outfit, or for Jordan's Mardi Gras costume either. Finally she pushed past a rack of plus-size dresses to get to the back corner of the store. That was where Marie usually kept what she called “oddities”—pieces that didn't really fit anywhere else. Nina wasn't sure what she might find there that would work for either her costume or Jordan's, but she could never resist taking a peek at that rack. It was
where some of her favorite finds had come from, including her fringed poncho and a cool embroidered vintage apron she'd turned into a lampshade.

This time there wasn't much on the oddities rack—just a couple of bathrobes, a fake fur coat, and a few other things. Nina was about to turn away when she noticed beige fabric peeking out from behind the fur.

“Wait, what's this?” she murmured under her breath, pushing aside the coat.

She gasped when she saw what was there: a pair of old riding breeches. Trinity heard her and peered over a rack of shirts.

“What'd you find?” she asked. “Something good?”

“Something spectacular.” Nina pushed her way out into the main part of the store, clutching the hanger. “Check it out!”

She held up the breeches. Trinity grabbed them for a closer look. “Wow, these look pretty old.”

By then Jordan had heard them and wandered over. “Are those riding pants?” She wrinkled her nose. “They smell kind of musty.”

“I can take care of that.” Nina grabbed the breeches back from Trinity. “I'm going to try them on.”

“You mean for your costume? Would Serena have worn that?” Jordan trailed after her toward the tiny dressing room in the opposite corner of the store.

“Not for the costume.” Nina pushed aside the paisley curtain and stepped into the dressing room. A precarious stack of shoe boxes stood in one corner, making it even smaller than usual. “For the regular part of the show,” she called out through the curtain as she peeled off her pants.

“You're going to wear those in the
show
?” Jordan sounded faintly horrified. “But—”

“Perfect!” Nina sang out as she pulled on the breeches. “Well, close enough to perfect, anyway.”

She stepped out to show her friends. Trinity glanced up from digging through a pile of jeans and nodded. “Very cool,” she declared. “Very retro. I like.”

Jordan looked less convinced. “Are you sure you want to wear those in the show?” she said. “It'll make you look, you know, different.”

“Exactly.” Nina smiled at her friend, knowing that
Jordan always struggled to understand Nina's love of being different, unique, interesting. “I was thinking my show outfit seemed kind of boring. I mean, navy jacket, white shirt, black boots—where's the fun, right? These will give it the perfect touch!”

“If you say so.” Jordan still looked dubious. But she didn't say anything else, probably because she'd known Nina long enough to know it was pointless to argue about stuff like that.

Meanwhile, Trinity was already turning away. “Change back, Neens, and let's move on,” she tossed over her shoulder. “I fully approve of impulse buys, but we can't get too distracted. And I don't see anything that'll work for either of your costumes in here.”

Trinity kept them moving nonstop for the next hour plus, hitting every suitable shop within a ten-block radius. They found harlequin-print pants and a purple blazer for Jordan's costume, and a floaty gray tunic top for Nina's. Finally, as they left yet another resale shop with bags in hand, Jordan gestured to the coffee shop across the street.

“I'm dying of thirst,” she said. “Let's take a break.”

“Exactly what I was about to say,” Trinity agreed, leading the way.

Nina wasn't going to argue. Jojo's Brew was one of her favorite hangouts. She and Jordan had spent countless hours there doing homework, gobbling down delicious, freshly made beignets, or just gossiping over steaming cups of coffee or frosty iced tea.

When they walked in, the place was packed and echoing with talk, laughter, and clinking spoons. Even in the crowd, Nina spotted Brett immediately. He was perched on a stool at the narrow counter by the front window, flanked by several friends Nina vaguely recognized from the neighborhood.

“Oh, good,” Jordan said as she spotted her brother. “He owes me money—now I won't have to borrow from you guys to pay for my drink. Hey, Brett!”

Brett glanced over his shoulder. When he saw them, he leaped up and hurried over, leaving his friends behind.

“Hey,” he said, shoving both hands in his jeans pockets. “What's up?”

Nina returned his smile, feeling self-conscious. “Hey,” she said. “You know Trin, right?”

“What's up?” Brett glanced at Trinity and nodded. “So you guys had a caffeine craving too, huh?”

“You owe me five bucks.” Jordan held out her hand. “Pay up, okay?”

Brett dug some crumpled bills out of his back pocket. “Whatever, here,” he said, glancing at the bags the three girls were holding. “Let me guess, you spent the rest of your money on shoes and hair ribbons and stuff.” He grinned, obviously finding his own joke hilarious, though Jordan just rolled her eyes.

“Don't you ever listen when I talk?” she complained. “I spent like half of breakfast telling Mom how we were shopping for costume stuff today.”

“Oh, right, the horse thing.” Brett shrugged and laughed. “I keep waiting for you to give up on that and take up a real sport.”

Jordan frowned at her brother. “Riding is a real sport,” she retorted. “You'd know that if you had the guts to try it.”

“Nah, I'm not a fan of prancing around in tight pants and playing with ponies.” Brett grinned at Nina. “Speaking of ponies, I hear you and your runty little spotted thing are doing this show too, huh? Hope he can see over the top of the jumps!”

Nina wasn't easily annoyed. Not usually, anyway. For some reason, though, Brett's words made her feel defensive of Breezy. Typical boy—Brett obviously thought that her pony's modest height had something to do with his abilities.

“We're doing it, all right,” she snapped, ignoring her friends' surprised looks. “And we're going to win every class we enter, too!”

CHAPTER

4

“PASS ME SOME MORE OF
that shrimp would you, Nina?” Uncle Oscar patted his belly. “Still got a little room left in here, I think.”

“If not, he'll make room!” Nina's cousin DeeDee barked out a laugh and elbowed her longtime boyfriend, Tim, who was sitting beside her, shoveling down his second helping of Gramma Rose's potato salad.

Nina grinned and grabbed the dish between her and her grandmother, passing it across the table to her uncle. It was Friday night, and this week the family dinner was at Aunt Toni and Uncle Elijah's place, a comfortable but rather small shotgun house in Bayou St. John. It was a full
house that week, which meant about twenty members of Nina's father's family were crowded around two tables in the front room, including Nina's four aunts and uncles, all six of her first cousins, and various spouses and significant others. Most of the little kids—Nina's young second cousins, who numbered nine so far, with one more on the way soon from Cousin Jeremy and his wife—were eating in front of the TV in the bedroom, though baby Ella was on Grandpa Jack's lap while her mother, Nina's cousin Charlotte, took a break from feeding her.

Nina was the only person in the house between the ages of seven and almost-thirty, but she was used to that. Her father was the youngest—by almost fifteen years—of Grandpa Jack and Gramma Rose's five children. At forty-one he was the same age as his oldest niece, Nina's cousin Kim. Nina's dad had grown up with Kim and Kim's brother, John, and Nina's cousin Tommy, who were all within a few years of the same age. From all accounts, they'd spent their childhood running wild throughout the Seventh Ward, where Gramma Rose and Aunt Vi still lived, though the rest
of the family had scattered across the city and surrounding areas.

The weekly family dinners were always fun, no matter where they took place. But that night Nina was a little distracted. She'd been working hard on her costume all week. In her riding lesson that afternoon, Miss Adaline had kept things simple and easy, telling the students she didn't want to wear out the horses before the big day. Afterward, Nina and Jordan had taken their mounts for a quick graze on the levee, though they'd left earlier than usual to put the finishing touches on their costumes.

All I still have to do tonight is finish dyeing my gloves,
she thought.
Then I should get to the barn early to set up the stuff I'll need to turn Breezy all ghostly. . . .

“So Nina,” Kim said, breaking into her thoughts. “Your horse show is tomorrow, right?”

Nina nodded and took a sip of water. “It starts at ten,” she said. “I can't wait.”

“We can't wait to come and cheer you on,” Tommy's wife, Brandy, told her. “The kids are really looking forward to it.”

Tommy chuckled. “I'm still not sure it's a good idea to let them that close to the ponies. I hear riding lessons are expensive.”

“You're telling me,” Nina's father said. Everyone laughed at that.

Nina's mother helped herself to more salad. “Did we tell you all that Nina and Breezy are entering a costume class at the show?” she said. “Nina's been working on her costume all week.”

“That's right.” Nina's father smiled. “And I think some of you already know who she's dressing up as.”

Cousin Kim nodded. “Nina told me all about it at dance class on Wednesday,” she said. Kim was a dance instructor at a local studio and the main reason Nina had been dancing for most of her life. Before taking up riding, Nina had spent several afternoons a week and at least one weekend morning at the studio. These days, between Breezy, school, and other activities, she was down to once a week, but she still loved it. She'd taken classes in just about every style Kim offered, and was currently taking a contemporary class.

Grandpa Jack looked up from tickling the baby. “Don't keep us in suspense,” he said in his raspy voice. “What's the costume, Nina?”

Nina glanced around the table. Aside from her parents and Kim, the only ones she'd told about her idea were DeeDee and Tim, since they'd stopped by the day before while she was working on the costume in the front room.

“I'm dressing up as Great-Aunt Serena,” she announced.

“Serena?” Aunt Iris exclaimed. “What a terrific idea!”

Most of the others nodded, but Gramma Rose raised an eyebrow and Uncle Oscar frowned. “Are you sure you want to do that, Nina?” he said. “You know what family legend says about Serena—she can be vengeful.”

Nina's cousin Jeremy laughed. “Here we go,” she said. “Okay, Gramma. Your turn—tell us how it's unwise to mess with the spirit world.”

Gramma Rose pursed her lips. “It's true,” she told Jeremy, sweeping her gaze around to include everyone. “I know most of you don't believe it—”

“That's because most of us have joined the twenty-­first century,” DeeDee put in with a smirk.

“Or at least the twentieth!” Aunt Vi added.

“It'll be okay, Gramma,” Nina said. “I'm being respectful. I just think it's cool that we have such a colorful ancestor. It's like a tribute, you know?”

“That's right,” Kim said. “I think it's cool too.”

Meanwhile Charlotte's husband, Paul, looked confused. “Hang on,” he said. “Who's Great-Aunt Serena? Is she the distant cousin who lives in Biloxi?”

“No!” Aunt Toni laughed. “And don't let Cousin Tilly hear you think she's that old!”

“Serena was actually our great-great-great-aunt, I think.” Aunt Toni glanced at Gramma Rose. “Is that right, Ma?”

Gramma Rose nodded. “That's right.”

“She lived around the time of the Civil War,” Charlotte told her husband. “I'm sure we've mentioned her before. . . .” With help from the rest of the family, she filled him in on Serena's life story.

As they finished, Uncle Oscar was shaking his head, making his jowls shake. He glanced at the window, where bright moonlight was filtering in through the sheer ­curtains.

“It's a full moon tonight, you know,” he said in a somber voice. “Some believe that's a time of great supernatural power, especially for black magic and voodoo.”

“Oh, come on now, Pop!” DeeDee rolled her eyes. “Serena was just a poor sad woman who lost the love of her life. That doesn't make her a voodoo queen or something—no matter how many tall tales our family likes to tell!”

Uncle Oscar folded his arms over his chest. “Well then, how do you explain the weird things that have happened in this family over the years?” he challenged his daughter. “Like the disaster at Great-Uncle Lou's wedding—”

“Or the way John cracked his head open trying to keep up with the younger guys from the office on the basketball court that time, right?” Cousin Kim elbowed her brother. “Yeah, I'm so sure that was Serena and not Jumping Johnny's own pride at work!”

“John's concussion aside, there have been plenty of incidents that can't be explained,” Gramma Rose said. “My mother told me her grandfather's brother was badly injured when his horse spooked at nothing on the way to a party being held in his honor—even though by all
accounts he was an excellent rider who never fell off.”

“So what are you saying?” DeeDee shook her head. “Good old Serena figured a party was too much fun and decided to punish him? Yeah, right . . .”

Nina listened, nibbling on her potato salad, as the family discussed that incident and several more. She'd heard all the stories before and always enjoyed them.

“I've got a new one for you,” she put in after Uncle Oscar finished recounting the legend of some long-dead relative's ruined business. “Serena's messing with Mom now!”

“Eva?” Gramma Rose glanced at her. “What happened, dear?”

Nina's mother looked up from her plate. “Nina's just joking around,” she said. “I dropped a piece I was getting ready to enter in my show next weekend.”

“And you said it was probably Serena's work,” Nina reminded her with a grin. “She thought you were getting way too successful, so she broke your sculpture!”

“Hmm.” Aunt Vi raised an eyebrow. “That's as may be. But speaking of your show, Eva, how are you coming along? It's only a week away now, yes?”

“Yes. I'm ready except that I still need to decide which piece to substitute for the broken one. And for some reason I'm feeling indecisive.” Nina's mother shrugged. “I keep going over it, but I'm having trouble settling on which piece to use.”

Aunt Iris looked up from her shrimp and rice. “I know which one I'd pick,” she said. “You should use the one you did when Nina first got her pony. It's of the two of them riding in the moonlight. Remember?”

Nina tilted her head, trying to figure out which sculpture Aunt Iris meant. Her mother had sculpted her countless times, of course, and Breezy a few. But Nina didn't remember the one Iris had described.

“Which piece is that?” She glanced at her mother, who looked thoughtful and a little sheepish.

“I'm not even sure where that one is,” she said. “Nina, I meant it as a surprise gift for you that Christmas, but I put it away and forgot about it. Remember, Gabe?”

“Not really,” Nina's father admitted, spearing a bit of potato on his fork.

But Nina's mother was nodding slowly, gazing into
space without seeming to hear him. “But you're right, Iris, that one just might fit in the show. I should try to find it and see if it turned out as well as I remember.”

“Good.” Aunt Iris looked pleased. “Anyway, we're all looking forward to opening day next Saturday.”

“Thanks.” Nina's mother reached for the water pitcher. “But first we've got Nina's show to look forward to tomorrow. And don't forget, Gabe's band has a gig right down the street tomorrow night—hope you'll all be there, too.”

“We wouldn't miss it,” Charlotte said. “Got the babysitter all lined up.”

Nina nodded. She'd almost forgotten about that gig. Her father was an attorney by profession, but he also played in a jazz band with some friends. They were all amateurs, but they were pretty good and often landed gigs at local spots. Nina made a mental note to invite Jordan and some of her other friends to come with her to hear his band play the next evening. It would be the perfect way to celebrate and blow off steam after the horse show!

Nina was pulling on her nightgown when her cell phone buzzed. She picked it up and saw a text: a friend from school inviting her to see a late movie that night.

Sorry,
Nina texted back quickly.
Going to bed soon—got to get up way too early tmw. Rain check?

She sent the text and then turned off her phone. It was tempting to accept the movie invitation, but she'd already turned down several other activities that evening. She definitely wanted to be fresh for show day.

Especially since I told Brett we were going to win all the ribbons in sight,
she thought ruefully. What had come over her that day at the coffee shop? She wasn't the type of person to get all worked up about stuff like competing and winning. She also wasn't the type to let other people's comments get under her skin—especially since she was pretty sure Brett had just been joking around.