Just a Little Magic Ch. 07

"What's your favourite colour?" I asked Trish.

"Green."

"Your favourite food?"

"Italian."

I glanced at Sammy. "Are you writing this down?" Then I returned to Trish. "What's your favourite hockey team?"

"Leafs." she said (accompanied by the unspoken 'Duh!').

"My condolences." I said. "Four of diamonds."

Sammy was concentrating so hard, I thought he was going to burst a blood vessel.

"Sam," I asked, "is there one girl here tonight, in particular, that you might be interested in?"

He groaned. "Let me rephrase that question: is there someone here tonight, that you might just - maybe - like to get to know better?"

"Pete ..." he muttered, through gritted teeth.

I looked at Trish, and winked. She was already smiling, and not the least bit offended.

"3 of diamonds." I said. "Interesting." Sammy and Trish had consecutive cards of the same suit. No - I did not stack the deck.

Colette was worried. A moment later, so was I.

I couldn't read her card.

For a moment there, I almost panicked - I can't read this one! But Colette wasn't talented; she wasn't actively blocking me - I just couldn't read her! Her thoughts were confused, scattered like Grade 8 kids on a field trip. There was no hint of a card - not even a suit - running through her mind.

Finally, I understood. Brian had shuffled the jokers into the mix. By pure chance, he had included the blank card from the bottom of the deck. Colette was confused because she didn't know whether to tell me or not.

I decided to play this one straight.

"Colette, I know that you got a card - I just can't tell which one it is."

She shyly revealed her blank card.

I laughed aloud. Sammy and Trish were leaning over to see.

"No way." said Trish.

I had Colette hold up her card so that everyone could see it.

At that point, I pleaded dry throat. Sammy was quick to grab me another beer from the cooler.

From there on, it was mostly clear sailing. I asked a couple of innocuous questions, and identified what card people were holding. One girl had a card that she thought I might have trouble with.

"Joker." I said. "The jester, in red and gold."

That brought me around to Sophie.

God Bless her. She was concentrating as hard as Sammy.

"Are you having a good time?" I asked her.

"Better than I expected."

"Two of hearts."

She proudly held the card up to show that I'd got it right.

Two more people, and then only Brian was left.

I should have known; it was my first university gig all over again. He just had to be the center of attention, to upstage me. Brian had kept two cards.

"Are you a competitive person?" I asked him.

"Of course."

"Would you ever bend the rules to create an advantage?"

"What?"

"You have two cards, Brian. The nine of spades is in your shirt pocket, and you have the queen of diamonds in the back pocket of your shorts."

The expression on his face was priceless. Of course, people clamoured to see what was in his pockets.

I thanked everyone for helping me, and went back to sit down, next to Sophie.

"That was incredibly impressive." she said. "How did you know?"

"How could I not? You were practically shouting it at me. I could hear you."

"You can read minds? Really?"

"Sometimes."

"What am I thinking now?" she asked.

"That you were right all along: Brian is an asshole."

Sophie laughed. That wasn't what she'd been thinking at all. She'd been wondering if I had a girlfriend.

I wouldn't have described her as smitten. Curious, at most.

Trish, Sammy and Colette came over to join us.

Sammy wasn't angry at me. He had his arm around Trish's waist, so they had obviously come to some sort of understanding. Maybe my meddling, or my prompting had done some good there.

Colette was apologetic. She felt bad for 'almost spoiling' my magic trick. Colette was enjoying her (almost) moment in the (almost) celebrity spotlight. She wasn't quite at the total groupie stage ... but with a little work, I could possibly have taken her home after the party. Only ... I wasn't interested.

"I have no idea how you did that." said Trish.

"Magic." said Sammy.

"You guys should really come out to one of our shows." I suggested. "Sammy could set up you up with tickets."

"Oh! That would be so cool!" said Colette (okay, upgrade her from a possible to a probable).

I turned to Sophie. "Would you be able to come?"

"It depends on the date." she said. "I'm still in the process of moving."

"Oh? Where are you moving?"

"Just to a new apartment. I start a new job at the beginning of September."

"Congratulations." I said, with a mild sense of relief. "Where do you live?"

"Montreal. I finished my degree at McGill." I have to admit it; my heart sank a little when I heard that.

Trish explained to Sammy. "Sophie's Mom lives here, but she grew up with her Dad in Montreal."

"Cool." said Batman.

Sophie was thirsty, but didn't want another alcoholic beverage.

I stood up. "Can I get you something to drink? A Perrier, or something?"

"That would be nice."

I found a washroom on the ground floor, and had a piss - and a bit of a think. Maybe it was the mention of Montreal. I still thought of Ginette, from time to time.

Sophie wasn't a groupie. She didn't strike me as a one-night stand, either. I wasn't about to mess up Sammy's burgeoning relationship with Trish, in any case, but I also didn't want to fumble any possibilities for myself.

I'd somehow blown it with Michelle, and - more painfully - with Danielle. Since then, I hadn't really met anyone other than Ginette who made me think of long-term prospects. Yet here I was, sitting next to a woman I'd only just met, wondering what it would be like to date her - even though she lived in another city.

I returned with a bottle of Perrier, and beers for Sammy and me.

"The girls are thinking of swimming." said Sammy.

"Maybe later." I said.

"Suit yourself." said Trish.

Sophie stood up, turned away from us, and peeled off her T-shirt. When she turned back, I saw that she was wearing a reasonable modest one-piece swimsuit. I also happened to notice that she was quite remarkably stacked. Busty.

Sammy and I opened our beers as the girls went to the pool.

"I was going to kill you." said Sammy. "But I think that it's working out."

"Trish likes you, Sam." I said. "She thinks you're funny, honest, and genuine. No ulterior motives. It's not love - yet - but it's a hell of a good start."

"Thanks, man." he said. "I was ... nervous, you know."

"I understand." I said. "I understand very well."

Sammy chuckled. "Sure you do."

"Sam, there's a big difference between a one-night stand and finding a girl you can ..." I wasn't able to finish my sentence.

My best friend understood. He was silent for a moment.

"You mean like Danielle ..."

I didn't answer him. I was watching the pool, where Trish had simply jumped in. She was uninhibited, a free spirit. She came splashing back up, grinning. Colette was more self-conscious. She was all too aware of the people around her, wondering how she looked to them - and to me. She turned around, to see if I was watching her.

Sophie slid into the water, then pushed off with her feet and launched herself into the far end of the pool. She did one smooth breaststroke, and then swerved to avoid someone who was blundering around in the deep end.

She moved to the edge of the pool, and hung onto the side. Then Sophie turned her head, and looked directly at me.

There was no hiding the fact that I'd been watching her - she made eye contact immediately. Instantly.

And that moment changed the trajectory of my life.

I had a destination: my father's evil plan, and my mission to save 13 women was the greatest purpose I could imagine. But as I gazed at Sophie across that backyard, I somehow knew that I wanted her in my future. Distance be damned.

She was hanging on to the edge of the pool. Only her head (plus one arm and shoulder) was visible. Her long, wet dark hair was plastered close to her head.

The first thing that struck me was her bright blue eyes. Even from this far away, they dominated her face. Olive skin, bumpy nose, arched eyebrows ... that's what I remember.

That, and the fact that she was looking right at me.

I even noticed her ears - they were partly covered by her wet hair, but they looked liked elven ears - as if she was some otherworldly creature.

Sophie climbed out of the pool in one fluid motion. I watched in awe as she came walking back towards us.

Sammy was busy watching Trish splash about. I just couldn't help it: I watched Sophie come my way. She picked her towel off the back of her chair, and wrapped it around herself.

I grabbed Trish's towel, and pressed it into Sammy's hand.

"Her towel. Wait - take Colette's too."

Off ran Sir Galahad, towels in hand.

"Robin?" said Sophie. She had one eyebrow raised.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to deceive you. Sammy and I always call each other Robin, because we both want to be-"

"Batman?"

She understood? Sort of?

"I know. It sounds a bit ... silly."

"It's alright." she said. "I don't think you're that big of an asshole, Robin."

"Not quite in Brian's league?

"Hah! Hardly."

I loved her facial expressions right away. The only person I knew who had a similar range was Janine. But my partner usually expressed a challenge, or condescension. Janine smirked, or smoldered.

Sophie simply ... looked at me. She didn't bare her teeth all that often - it was partly worry that she didn't have the world's greatest orthodontist at her beck and call, and partly humility.

And I looked at her. Yes, I'd noticed her prominent bust. But I was far more intrigued - for now - by her face.

Janine could stop traffic. Sophie was more of a second look type. You might not notice her immediately if there were other women around. But if you took the time for a good second look ... well, let's just say that I was increasingly drawn to her.

I asked her questions, so that it wouldn't look too odd for me to be staring at her.

"What did you study at McGill?"

"Chemistry."

"Ouch."

"I feel that way, too, sometimes." she said, with a smile. "But it's led me to a good job."

"Oh? What kind of work do you do?"

"Lab technician. Clinical research."

"Sounds important."

"More important than magic?"

"Most everything is more important than magic." I replied. "I do parlour tricks. People are amazed for a few moments, then they go back to their lives. No big deal."

"I thought you were supposed to have a huge ego." she said.

"That was according to Brian."

She laughed. "It's a good thing that he had this party, though."

"I think so too. I wasn't going to come here at all, but Sammy insisted. Now I'm very glad that I did."

"Serendipity." she said.

I cocked my head. The word sounded vaguely familiar, but I wasn't quite sure what it meant.

"A happy chance." she said. "When something good happens, or when things just ... work out."

"Serendipity." I repeated. "I like the sound of that."

"So do I." said Sophie.

"Are you a mind-reader too?" I asked her.

"Not quite. But I can try a guess: were you wishing that I didn't live so far away?"

"Close." I said. "I was wishing that I lived in Montreal."

She smiled. "I'll be back in October - to spend Thanksgiving with my Mom.

"Then you should give me your contact info. You never know - I might be back in Montreal sometime soon."

"That would be great." she said.

On my way home that evening, I finally remembered where I'd heard the word 'serendipity' before: Danielle had said it when we ran it each other at the Sick Kids Hospital.

* * * * *

Three people at Brian's party took videos of me working my way around the pool. One of them was good enough to go mildly viral. Then it went seriously viral.

Janine was mildly annoyed.

Brian wanted to be paid some kind of royalties.

* * * * *

Canadian Thanksgiving: the 2nd Monday in October. Americans celebrate in November.